I Found a $90 Substitute for My Favorite Now-Discontinued Perfume

I recently finished a bottle of a favorite perfume, one Selena Gomez even complimented me on: Costa Brazil’s Aroma. When I went to buy a refill, I came across a message essentially stating a hiatus, if not an end, to the brand. Two minutes of research later, I found out its parent company had declared bankruptcy, taking one of my favorite luxury brands and decadent musky perfumes with it. I’ve been panickedly trying perfumes, looking for its successor, and I can finally say I found one in DedCool’s Milk Layering Fragrance.

DedCool’s Milk is not a “dupe” or a perfect substitute, but it is spiritually similar and less than half the price. It’s a unisex “layering” perfume that can be worn on its own or with other scents to enhance and elongate their wear. Milk is more subtle and universal than Costa Brazil’s — this is an approachable fragrance, even for the perfume-shy.

Credo DEDCOOL MILK Layering Fragrance — CREDO

Buy Now$90

Worn alone, DedCool’s Milk smells like me but muskier, warmer, and more sultry. The combination of white musk, amber, and bergamot is pretty common in perfumes, but there’s an additional splash of magic because this specific concoction lasts and smells better than most — if not all — of the rest.

As a layering fragrance, it wonderfully amplifies and equally compliments perfumes that both have similar base notes and boast complete opposite scents — I’ve worn it under the similarly masculine and rich Bal D’Afrique by Byredo and Chanel’s feminine and slightly floral Chance.

Though DedCool’s Milk is a recent discovery for me, it’s now an under-the-radar perfume. The brand may not have household name recognition, but it has one of those very rare, very devoted fanbases. The proof is in all of the follow-up products it’s inspired: a Milk Room and Linen Spray, laundry detergent, dryer sheets, body wash, and body lotion (I own the first three and will be procuring the second two). There’s even a more potent version of the Milk Fragrance called Xtra Milk.

Thankfully, DedCool is a (relatively) affordable brand because I want to envelope every square inch of my body and home in its Milk Scent, and am in the process of doing so. Head to Credo Beauty to begin your journey of obsession with DedCool’s Milk Layering Fragrance.