FM Perfume Review: Is it good & can I save money?

FM World Perfume by Federjco Mahora 366 is a dupe of YSL Black opium. The perfume is on a fluffy pink background with blue purple orchids. Lei Hang review of the FM Pure Royale Perfum 366

First of all I’d like to thank Jordan Ayton, owner of Scents and Beauty by Jordan who was very kind to gift me a full sized bottle of Frederico Mahora (FM) Pure Royal 366 Perfum and a sample vial of the FM 20 Pure Perfume to try and review.

I’ve seen & heard about FM Perfume a few times before, but have never tried them before. Some people have told me that FM has a large collection of dupe perfumes. The thought of having a dupe to use for everyday use and my original branded signature scents such as Victor & Rolf Flowerbomb and YSL Black Opium for special occasions was tempting. You already know I’m always trying to find ways to save money without having to compromise much! I wasn’t sure whether FM perfume was actually a match to the luxury brand. Therefore I’m very grateful to get the opportunity to try these FM fragrances out!

Lei Hang has been gifted a full size bottle of FM pure royal perfum 366 which is a YSL Opium dupe and FM 20 a Victor & Rolf Flowerbomb dupe to try and review on The Thrifty island Girl .

What is FM world?

Federico Mahora World is an award winning global company selling cosmetics and cleaning products. FM works in partnership with DROM Fragrances to create their perfume collection. The scents are created at the Drom Factory, which is based in Munich, Germany. Each bottle contains a perfume concentrate of 20%.

A guide to perfume types

I know all the different types such as Perfum, Eau de Perfum, Eau de Toilette etc. can be confusing. To help you understand the different perfume classifications and their percentage of pure perfume oils, I’ve created this infographic for you. I hope this helps you with your future fragrance purchases whether it’s an FM scent or any other branded fragrance.

A guide on Perfume Types in Teal by Lei Hang at the Thrifty Island Girl. The fragrance infographics guide explains the difference between Parfum, Eau de Parfum, Eau de Toilette, Eau de Cologne and eau de fraiche

Why if FM perfume so popular?

Many people rave about FM fragrances, because they have a huge selection perfumes that smell like the designer fragrances! They have smell alike scents from popular brands including Chanel, Jo Malone, Victor & Rolf, Gucci and many more.

When I’ve heard people talking about their FM perfume purchases and how a like they smelt to the luxury branded scents; I had to try it myself! I love Yves Saint Laurent – Black Opium and have previously tried a dupe that so many hyped about from Poundland. Though the Black Dusk Poundland dupe smelt exactly like the real thing, the scent only lasts about an hour before it evaporates! So if you are a fan of Black Opium like me, then the Poundland version is great to go to the gym. However for out and about, I ‘d want something that lasts at leasts a few hours!

I’ve also noticed that FM has different collections of perfumes, which include Pure, Pure Royal, Pheromone, Intense and Classic. I did’t understand the difference between the different FM perfumes.Thankfully the gorgeous Jordan came to the rescue and has sent me a picture explaining the difference.

My experience

When I’ve received the parcel containing the perfumes, I’ve notice Jordan has done a great job in safely packing the perfume to prevent damage during delivery. What I absolutely loved was the turquoise/teal tissue paper wrapping, because it’s my favourite colour! Hence I’ve also chose a teal theme for my blog.

My thought of FM perfume’s packaging

The FM Pure Royal 366 perfume came in a simple yet elegant box. As Leonardo Da Vinci says : “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication!” The perfume itself comes in a clear classy looking bottle with golden detail. 366 is the perfume match for YSL Black opium, but since Victor & Rolf Flowerbomb is my all time favourite signature scent, Jordan popped in a perfume vial of FM Pure 20. The Frederico Mahora Pure 20 is a scent match of the sexy V&R Flowerbomb fragrance.

What does FM Pure Royal 366 & Pure 20 smell like ?

FM Pure Royal 366 (YSL- Black Opium)

FM Pure Royal 366 perfume on a floral pink striped background by Lei Hang.

The Black Opium smell alike aka 366 was the first scent I’ve tried. As usual I’ve sprayed 1 spray on my wrist, rubbed it against my other wrist and rubbed it on my neck. I’ve waited about 30 minutes for the perfume to settle. Perfume always smells different on a perfume strip vs on your skin. Once the 30 mins have passed, I’ve smelt my wrist to see whether it’s actually a match to the popular scent by Yves Saint Laurent. I have to say, I’m impressed! It smells just like YSL-Black Opium.

The next test was the scent duration test! When I buy perfume, especially when I’m at a duty free shop in the airport, I always go for Eau de perfum (EDP) . This is because it has a higher perfume oil concentration to Eau de Toilette (EDT), hence the bigger price tag to EDT. My original luxury brand perfumes are all EDP and the scent usually last around 8 hours. I was a little skeptical about FM Pure Royal 366 and didn’t expect it to last as long as the original. But guess what it did last about 8 hours too!

FM Pure 20 (V&R Flowerbomb)

FM Perfume Pure 20 flowerbomb dupe on a striped pink floral background by Lei Hang

I’ve carried out the same test with the Victor & Rolf smell alike, FM Pure 20 as I’ve done with FM Pure 20. It passed the scent match test. To me it smells identical to the original luxury branded one. However when I’ve done a scent duration test, it didn’t last as long as the FM Pure Royal range. It still lasted a decent duration with approximately 4.5 hrs. Though I had this scent in a perfume sample vial, I’ve included a picture of the bottle above for you to see what the bottle would look like .

My conclusion

I believe FM perfumes are a great alternative to the expensive luxury branded perfumes, especially if you love a bit of luxury while on a budget. I personally still like having the original branded bottle to use for special occasions, but love having a perfume dupe that is still of high quality for everyday. At least with a high quality smell alike to my favourite fragrance, such as the FM Pure Royal 366, I wont feel guilty using every day, as it costs a fraction of the luxury branded one.

How much money can I save?

The FM scents all come in 50ml bottles. The prices range from £16.90 to £26.50, depending from which FM perfume collection your chosen scent is from. FM Pure fragrances cost £16.90, FM Intense scents are 20.90 and their high end collection FM Pure Royal perfumes are £26.50.

As mentioned earlier, I was gifted the the perfumes by Jordan. However, If I had bought FM Pure Royal 366 at £26.50 instead of YSL Black Opium, I would have saved £41.50. YSL-Black Opium EDP 50ml is currently on Sale at Boots for £68. The V&R Flowerbomb scent match FM Pure 20 costs £16.90 for a 50ml bottle, where as the actual V&R Flowberbomb EDP retails at £78. If you make the swap, you’ll save a massive £61.50. I wish FM had Flowerbomb in their Pure Royal collection, as I prefer the higher quality of oils.

If you’d like more info on FM perfumes or order, get in contact with Jordan via her facebook page here.

Want to know how to save tons of money on shampoo? Check out my article From bottle to bar: Save money & the planet with a shampoo bar!