Ex Nihilo The Hedonist Extrait is £240 for 100ml at Harvey Nichols, and carries a £325 recommended price elsewhere in the UK. Take the cheapest figure we could find and it is still £2.40 a millilitre.
Aromara Hedonia is 80p a millilitre. At the low end of their range that is three times the price. At the recommended price it is four.
Hedonia is our take on The Hedonist Extrait. 35% Extrait, 7+ hours guaranteed, 60-day money-back. Try the 5ml for £6.99, or the 50ml at £40 (buy any 2, get 1 free).
Read this bit first: Extrait is not the Eau de Parfum
Ex Nihilo make two different fragrances with almost the same name, and most dupe listings get this wrong.
The Hedonist is the Eau de Parfum. The Hedonist Extrait de Parfum is a separate, later release. They are not the same scent at a different strength.
The Extrait adds grapefruit, lychee and patchouli that the Eau de Parfum does not have. Grapefruit makes the opening sharper and more bitter. Lychee adds a cool, slightly synthetic fruit note in the heart. Patchouli darkens the base.
So if you tried The Hedonist in a shop and found it softer and rounder, that was the Eau de Parfum. Hedonia is built on the Extrait. If you want the version with the grapefruit bite, this is the one.
The Hedonist Extrait vs Aromara Hedonia
| Ex Nihilo The Hedonist Extrait | Aromara Hedonia | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £240 for 100ml at Harvey Nichols, £325 recommended elsewhere (checked 17 September 2026) | £40 for 50ml, £6.99 for 5ml |
| Price per millilitre | £2.40 to £3.25 | 80p |
| Concentration | Called an extrait. No oil percentage published. | 35% Extrait, printed on every listing |
| Signature | Grapefruit and ginger over lychee, akigalawood and vetiver | Same signature, full notes below |
| Longevity | Not guaranteed | 7+ hours, guaranteed in writing |
| If you do not love it | Check the retailer's returns policy | 60-day money-back, even after wearing it |
| Made | France | UK, small batch |
What The Hedonist Extrait smells like
Grapefruit and ginger first, and it is properly bitter. This is not a sweet citrus opening, it is closer to peel and root than juice.
The heart cools it down. Lychee brings a clean, almost watery fruit note, and cedarwood gives it a dry spine to sit on.
Akigalawood is the signature. It is a woody material with a peppery, oud-like bite, and it bridges the fruit and the base so nothing feels stuck on.
Underneath, ambery woods, vetiver, tonka bean and patchouli. Warm and earthy, but dry rather than sweet. The whole thing stays bright for hours instead of collapsing into vanilla.
The notes in full
- Top: Grapefruit, Bergamot, Ginger
- Heart: Cedarwood, Lychee, Akigalawood
- Base: Ambery Woods, Vetiver, Tonka Bean, Patchouli
Hedonia is built on the same structure, at 35% Extrait.
Who it suits and when to wear it
Fully unisex, and one of the easier niche scents to wear in daylight. The grapefruit keeps it fresh and the woods keep it serious.
It works in spring and summer better than most woody fragrances, because the opening is bitter rather than heavy. It also holds up in autumn.
Good for the office, daytime events, travel and warm evenings. Two sprays. It is a clean scent, not a loud one, so it will not fill a room.
How Hedonia differs from the original
Both are called extraits. Only one of them tells you what that means.
Extrait is a category name, not a measurement. No house has to publish an oil percentage, and almost none do, including Ex Nihilo. So the word on the box tells you very little.
Hedonia is 35%. We print it on every listing. That is the highest concentration disclosed by any UK dupe brand we have found, and it is the reason we can put 7+ hours in writing.
It matters most with citrus. Grapefruit is volatile and it is the first thing to disappear from a weak formula. Oil percentage is what keeps the bitter opening detectable hours later instead of twenty minutes later.
We are not claiming ours is the same liquid. It is not. It carries the same grapefruit, lychee and akigalawood signature as the Extrait, built at a strength the original does not disclose.
The 60-day dare
Buy it, wear it for a full day, and if you can get to a counter, spray it next to the real thing.
If you can tell the difference, you have 60 days to get your money back. Opened, used, half gone, it does not matter.
No other UK dupe brand we know of goes past 30 days. We do not claim free returns and we do not need to.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Ex Nihilo The Hedonist Extrait dupe in the UK?
Aromara Hedonia is our pick. It is a 35% Extrait built on the same grapefruit, lychee and akigalawood structure, £40 against £240 or more, with a 60-day money-back guarantee.
What is the difference between The Hedonist and The Hedonist Extrait?
They are two different fragrances, not two strengths of one. The Extrait adds grapefruit, lychee and patchouli that the Eau de Parfum does not have, which makes it sharper up top and darker in the base. Hedonia is built on the Extrait.
What are the notes in The Hedonist Extrait?
Top: grapefruit, bergamot and ginger. Heart: cedarwood, lychee and akigalawood. Base: ambery woods, vetiver, tonka bean and patchouli.
How long does Hedonia last?
7+ hours, guaranteed, or your money back. It is a 35% Extrait.
PS. Both bottles say extrait. Only one brand publishes the number, and only one costs £40. Start with the £6.99 5ml sampler and check the grapefruit is still there at 6pm.
Keep reading: the Ex Nihilo story, Ex Nihilo Blue Talisman and the strongest perfume dupes in the UK. Browse all Ex Nihilo-inspired scents or shop all fragrances.
