Club de Nuit Untold
Armaf (2022)

Untold presents itself as a respectable rendition of BR540, as highlighted by Varanis Ridari. However, it's worth noting that, as Ridari points out, the fragrance seems to lack the seamless blending found in the original and may employ more economical ingredients. The almond extract note doesn't feature prominently for me, which leads me to believe that Untold aligns more closely with the original fragrance.

The projection and sillage of Untold are commendable, requiring only a modest number of sprays for a noticeable effect. Personally, I find Al Haramain's Amber Oud Rouge preferable, as it exudes a less synthetic and chemical aroma. Despite this preference, it's essential to acknowledge that Untold boasts a higher potency. Considering its price point, this fragrance emerges as a commendable choice.

Club de Nuit Untold by Armaf (2022) is the expected clone of Baccarat Rouge 540 by Maison Francis Kurkdjian (2014), and as such doesn't need much detailed description if you've already smelled this most-famous and popular MFK release. If for some reason you have not, then this is the smooth, sweet, velvety almond-woody-cookie-musk scent trail that you can encounter in various ubiquitous forms in any upper middle-class to upper-class social third-place, such as a shopping district, restaurant, or fancy hotel lounge. I have my reservations about the original "BR540" and how it has become completely over-hyped, and also extremely commonplace due to its many copycats, that there is no reason to spend a small fortune on a bottle of something one really can't discern from its many pretenders. In essence, this is the same phenomenon that also came to plague Creed Aventus (2010) beforehand, and more-recently Delina by Parfums de Marly (2017) - which as luck would have it - also received a Club de Nuit clone of its own as well.

What this does right that the original BR540 does wrong for me personally, is have more stand-out notes and accords, meaning your nose-brain has something to latch onto rather than the whole thing disappearing in a cloud of mental fog - and anosmia - due to the singularity of smell. The truth is that this is likely due to a cheaper, less-blended product; but this ironically goes in Club de Nuit Untold's favor, as it makes for a scent which stands out more. The opening is exactly how you'd expect, with the ethyl maltol "cotton candy" note mixed with saffron materials, jasmine hedione, and vanilla. The "amberwood" ambrocenide and cashmeran musk are here in great effect, but the nutty almond nuances more-commonly found in the extrait variant of the original BR540 is here too, as is the sharper, more-bracing peppery vetiver and cedar feel of the masculine twist that Parfums de Marly put on its own Kalan (2019). The rest of the smooth, musky synthetic goulash is retained beyond this point; but I admit the extra woody, peppery, nutty nuances are just enough to push this over the edge into "want to wear" territory for me.

Performance for an eau de parfum is almost comically strong, stronger than any concentration of BR540 that MFK currently makes available, and stronger than any other clone I've smelled. This stuff is absolutely bonkers for the asking price in terms of value for money, and much like other Club de Nuit scents, is a single-spray application for me. Of course, if you really do not like anything from this particular family tree, and if you feel even more over-encumbered by the proliferation of other people wearing this in your vicinity than I do, then you may want to continue avoiding buying any form of the "BR540 DNA" whether it is better for cheaper or not. Being as I smell this a lot all year round, I will likely only wear Untold when I want to play "when in Rome do a the Romans do", which historically for me only happens in the dead of winter, when smells like this become more strategic for me to wear and enjoy in contrast to the chill nippy air, being one of the advantages of working outside I suppose. Thumbs up

Maison Francis Kurkdjian - Baccarat 540 on a budget, this is a very impression of the BR540 & for the lovers of this scent DNA, here's yet another impression of it.
Long lasting and potent when sprayed on outfits, it lingers and lingers.
Big almond note on this one, so its more enjoyable for me at least.