Baccarat Rouge 540
Maison Francis Kurkdjian × Baccarat (2014)

Baccarat Rouge 540 is beautiful. Like a grown up cotton-candy with deep amber and a very slight salty aspect - probably due to the ambergris which to me is very present in this. It's an absolutely fantastic fragrance... for a woman over the age of 40. Men, stop wearing this! Give it to your mama to use.

I've had a large decant of Maison Francis Kurkdjian's Baccarat Rouge few years ago.

I like the scent itself but I cannot wear it. On a strip of paper it seems very nice, woody and ambery with a nice spicy saffron in the background. On my skin, different story. It's very sweet. Smells like a cotton candy with some woods and resins (fir resin) in the backend of the scent. What makes it quite unique and niche-like is a little metallic tinge to it.

Longevity is 10-12 hours, sillage is slightly above average.

So, why can't I wear it? It smells too feminine (or maybe even girly) for me to pull that one off. A good and a solid niche perfume. Just not for me.

I find myself in the middle on this one. There's a whole lot of love for this scent, there's a whole lot of hate as well. Then there are some of us who are somewhere in the middle. I can appreciate it for what it is, but what it is is a lot of synthetic chemicals. On top, "saffron," which of course is not saffron, because natural saffron is an allergen. I am reminded of the opening of Oud for Greatness. The slight difference in the opening is provided by a synthetic smelling orange. Then, honestly, all I seem to get is the sweet cedar of Iso-E-Super.

On one arm right now I've got Oud for Greatness mixed with my own spray bottle of Iso-E-Super. On the other arm, Baccarat Rouge 540. To my nose, they are absolutely identical.

I find it pleasant overall, good longevity and sillage, and I do get compliments. But let's not kid ourselves and say this is the height of sophistication or anything. It's a very flossy, sweet candylike cedar (again - Iso E Super). And for a lot of people, that just works.

For the price though? Find a clone.

For about year, I got by total chance a job working at a high end department store and over the months I was there, I identified a certain character type who wore this perfume a lot. Which has a lot to do with my neutral/ambivalent/do I love it or hate it? stance on BR540. It was always, ALWAYS, the same personality who seemed to douse themselves in this scent like a madman - the insta baddie wannabe. You know who I am talking about: PrettyLittleThing monochrome ensemble, obviously fake Birkin bag squelching on the countertop, and an aura of BR540 surrounding her like a thick fog. I hated this perfume for the longest time because some of my most obnoxious customers wore this and I had developed unconscious associations with it. I bought samples, it turned my stomach for whatever reason, and I swore that I would never ever wear it in my life ever again.

However, I've been kind of bored recently with my usual scents and buying Ariana Grande's Cloud encouraged me to revist this scent because the former is a softer, more approachable, and more accesible, but nearly identical version of BR540. There are still somedays when I don't like this perfume because it, for whatever reason, can come off as smelling a little bit like morning underarm funk. Not downright stinky, but not the most fresh smelling thing in the whole world. I've come to appreciate though the duality of masculine and feminine qualities. From a distance, this smells like a soft men's scent, leathery, cottony, comforting, warm. Up close and if sprayed directly on skin *lightly*, it smells sweeter, burnt. Almost like popcorn, but not quite. Honestly, the best way I can describe BR540 is to imagine yourself surrounded in a cloud of sheer, golden light that seems to vibrate and that's what wearing BR540 reminds me of. I think it smells best when you do the spray and walk through technique. The molecules diffuse softly and cling to your hair, skin, and clothes and it has a lovely, comforting, almost angelic quality. However, I notice that this is the one of those rare scents I do get headaches from if I wear it too much or too heavily, so apply sparingly. You really do not need to overspray as this is molecular so it carries in the air and body heat amplifys it tenfold. Also, I've come to the personal conclusion that some people's body chemistry can bring out the ugly side of this scent so this is definitely not a one size fits all fragrance.

This scent blew me away at first sniff. It's so potent that it can quickly make you anosmic, so even a single spray to the chest can be overwhelming. I prefer to apply a tiny dab to the wrist, and it's enough to last the entire day. On clothing, this can last for days. I like this version over the extrait de parfum because of the absence of the almond note, making it more aromatic and bright, and less nauseating.

It's unisex, but it leans feminine because some people perceive it as "cotton candy." However, any person can wear this scent with confidence. Up close on skin, the amber is dense and sickly sweet but becomes floral and bright in the air. The note breakdown indicates wood, but it doesn't smell woody in the air. I'd describe it as floral-fresh amber because I find it hard to explain the scent.

I haven't come across any natural smell like this, so I'm inclined to say it's synthetically composed. Despite the note of ambroxan, there is no roughness or abrasiveness, but others might perceive it differently.

My only issue is with the price. Fortunately, Al Haramain offers Amber Oud Rouge, which smells strikingly similar (90%) to Bacarat Rouge 540. Forget about Ariana Grande Cloud or Burberry Her, and go for the Al Haramain clone.

If you're not into sweet scents, you might want to skip this one. Personally, I think this is a masterpiece and worth sampling. Just be cautious about how much and where you spray it. It can easily become a nauseating mess.

Ambroxan, cotton-candy, and amberwoods. Super loud, sweet, and synthetic. It certainly gets noticed ... but this isn't the kind of scent that I want to get noticed wearing.