A humble Sydney grocery store is home to a master perfumer with a reputation for creating instant copies of any fragrance.
A world of aromas lies at the end of the grocery aisle at the Rockdale convenience store, where Ali Jalloul of Jalu Fragrances It promises ‘top-notch inspiration’, custom-made copies.
With bottles filled with all manner of exotic perfumes, the colourful counter looks like the home of a mad scientist with a passion for fragrance, and has attracted crowds of fans from across Sydney since it opened three years ago.
Safa Abouradi’s visit to the perfume store famous for its “amazing perfume knockoffs” was viewed 1.1 million times after being posted on TikTok.
Safa, who has been wearing Yves Saint Laurent’s best-selling fragrance Black Opium for five years, asked for a copy of her favourite scent.
All it took was a few moments for Ali to smell the luxurious feminine fragrance, beloved for its notes of intense coffee and seductive flowers, before telling Safa: “I know I can do this.”
After twenty minutes of mixing and adjusting different scents, Mr. Jalloul had perfected his clone of the YSL designer perfume that sells for $282 for 90 ml.
“This is me trying the perfume and let me tell you it was identical, I’ve been using Black Opium for five years and I know what it smells like,” said Safa delightedly.
Ali Jalloul of Jalu Fragrances mixes custom and designer perfumes at his busy counter at the back of a Sydney convenience store.
It took perfumer Ali Jalloul just twenty minutes to recreate the floral and coffee scent of YSL’s best-seller, Black Opium.
Safa Abouradi couldn’t believe how accurate the clone of her favorite YSL fragrance, the Jalu fragrance, was.
It’s easy to miss Jalu Fragrances, tucked away at the back of Nobby’s Discount store in Rockdale.
Ali Jalloul has been obsessed with fragrance since he was a child and has been making perfume knock-offs for Sydneysiders in the know for three years.
“When I say I’ve found a hidden gem, I mean it,” he added.
Commenters were shocked to discover that the Sydney perfumer charged Safa $70 for his version of Black Opium, more than $200 cheaper than the original.
Jalu Fragrances fans agree that Ali has an uncanny ability to replicate the most popular fragrances.
“Almost all the fragrances I’ve tried are very similar to the originals, two that I have are clones of Louis Vuitton Ombre Nomad and Imagination, and both are great,” said one man.
“It’s lovely and the perfumes are perfect,” another woman agreed.
Ali Jalloul of Jalu Fragrances mixes perfumes to order in the back of a Rockdale convenience store
Jalu Fragrances makes copies of much-loved classics from Tom Ford, Yves Saint Laurent and Chanel
A fragrance lover was thrilled to discover it was possible to recreate a favorite scent that is no longer in production.
‘Oh my God, I have a little bit of a perfume left that is no longer made! I’m definitely going to try it.’
He Jalu Fragrance The website lists a wide range of fragrances for him and for her, with many replicas of best-selling scents from brands such as Tom Ford, Chanel and Louis Vuitton.
People who wanted to know if the imitators lasted as long as the original perfumes were told that the scents lasted just as long or even longer.
Mr Jalloul spoke to Femail about his obsession with smells that began when he was a child smelling his mother and father’s fragrances.
The first perfume she loved was Black XS by Paco Rabanne.
While Ali can recreate fragrances from the sense of smell, she typically relies on formulas to meet demand for her perfumes, which has grown exponentially in recent years.
Mr. Jalloul names the Baccarat Rogue 540 by Maison Francis Kurkdjian and the Creed by Adventus as his most sought-after models for men and women.
Jalu fragrances can be found tucked away at the back of Nobby’s discount store in the southern Sydney suburb of Rockdale.
The current cost of living crisis has led to a surge in popularity of designer items, with many people forced to cut back on luxury spending as mortgages, rents and food prices skyrocket.
Beauty products from budget retailers such as Kmart remain popular with cash-strapped Australians.
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