The hack
Choose a hair perfume to give you the perks of your favourite perfume at a fraction of the cost.
The test
While some people see perfume almost like a body spray, to fragrance fans like me it is much more than that. And nothing smells quite as good as the original. Case in point, Aldi’s take on the classic Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir candle, that to me, smells completely different. So what can you do if you want to keep the quality of your perfume, but pay a little less? Meet hair perfume. Sales of it are up across leading retailers and it has more than 117.8m views on TikTok.
It’s essentially a lighter version of the original scent, created to perfume the hair, but traditionally seen as an extravagance, aimed at those who have everything. The formulations may differ from traditional scents (often hair perfumes contain less drying alcohol and have added nourishing ingredients) but crucially, they’re also way cheaper.
I spritzed Byredo’s Bal D’Afrique Hair Perfume (£58 for a 75ml) on one wrist and the original perfume (£140 for 50ml) on the other. The hair mist was definitely lighter by the end of the day, but it was also the perfect amount of scent for the summer months. Misted into my hair, it meant that I got a waft of scent every time I turned my head.
The verdict
A huge win. I’d always rather have a smaller amount of the real thing, and this is an excellent way to do it. So for those who want to keep buying their favourite scents in economically tough times, this is a hack worth knowing.
