A woman said in her TikTok video that she bought a Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue at Costco to replace the sample she received from her Ipsy subscription. Abby explained that the package from the store looked like the one she already had, yet the two fragrances did not match when she compared them side by side.
She showed the large light-blue box and frosted glass bottle she said she purchased that day next to a small blue sample card from Ipsy. Abby stated that the scents smelled entirely different even though the packaging appeared similar at first glance.
On-screen text in the video read “What am I not understanding here??” as she held the items. Abby opened by saying, “Make this make sense, okay?” while pointing out that the scent notes printed on the Costco box did not match the notes listed on her Ipsy card.
Different scent notes appear on the Costco and Ipsy versions
Abby claimed the Ipsy sample was labeled Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue Eau de Parfum and listed Sicilian Lemon, Frangipani, and Ambery Woods. She then turned the larger Costco box and said its notes read Lemon, Granny Smith Apple, and Cedarwood. She asked why the notes differed and insisted the two items should be the same product.
She ended the clip by holding the small Ipsy card next to the larger Costco box and repeating that she believed they were the same thing. The video showed both items resting side by side on a sunlit carpet as the comparison finished.
A scent guide by Fragrance Lord explained that Eau de Parfum and Eau de Toilette versions of a fragrance usually contain different amounts of perfume oil. According to the guide, Eau de Toilette typically holds 5-15 percent fragrance oil while Eau de Parfum holds 15-20 percent, which can change how long the scent lasts and how the notes develop.
The same guide stated that an Eau de Toilette often lasts about three to five hours and opens with a brighter top-note burst, while an Eau de Parfum tends to last six to eight hours and unfolds more slowly. Fragrance Lord noted that these formats are structured differently by design rather than simply being stronger or weaker copies of one another.
Viewers who watched the clip quickly offered explanations that lined up with those concentration differences. One commenter focused on the Ipsy card and wrote, “Your sample is the eau de parfum which means it has more perfume oil and lasts longer.”
Another person pushed the same point further and stated, “They’re not the same. One of them is Eau de Parfum and the other is Eau de Toilette.” A third viewer wondered why more people had not already mentioned the range of options and wrote, “idk why none is talking about there is like 3 different light blues idk.” Store purchases going wrong is a familiar theme in viral shopping videos, like when one shopper allegedly discovered a gift card was empty right after buying it.
Several commenters treated the mismatch as a simple store issue rather than a lasting puzzle. One advised, “You got it at Costco just return it.” Another shared a similar past purchase and wrote, “I returned my costco burberry her smelt nothing like the drugstore original boo don’t trust the costco.” Costco purchases have sparked other questioning TikToks too, such as one where a Costco shopper said cans felt empty after buying a pack of Diet Pepsi.
Published: Nov 12, 2026 01:00 pm