Baccarat Rouge 540 Extrait de Parfum by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Pure luxury. An indescribable yet unmatched scent that makes you feel powerful the moment you apply it. It projects beautifully and lasts over 12 hours on the skin.

Baccarat Rouge 540 Extrait: Kurkdjian delivers bottled luxury and elegance. The intense red bottle with gold plaque is a work of art. It smells sweet, like cherry with a potent saffron touch. As it dries down, it becomes a delightful floral, amber, and woody scent, reminiscent of burnt cotton candy with jasmine. It lasts over 10 hours on skin. It’s an aroma that goes from hate to love, but it has incredible charm. Only the price seems excessive to me. I would definitely buy it again; it’s fascinating and very unisex. Ideal for formal occasions, weddings, or fancy dates. Worth it if you like it. Rating: 9.5/10. The downsides: the price and the fact that not everyone will like it.

Perfection. It reveals itself differently for everyone. To me, it smells like almond and burnt sugar. Very beautiful, deeply seductive. After trying it once, it’s hard to give it up. It’s long-lasting with a great sillage… a masterpiece.

If I could choose one scent for my skin without wearing perfume, it would be this. I’d love to smell like this every second of my life. At first, I notice the precious almond note, then it turns creamy, resinous, and sweet. The saffron in the Extrait version is delicate, nothing like the strong stuff in cheap clones. What a wonderful perfume. I’ve been in the perfume and niche world for years, and although I arrived late to this, I now adore it and say so with pride.

As for longevity, it’s a real beast! I’m impressed by how long it lasts on the skin. I smell it very differently, definitely unique. It opens with a spiced note of clove that transforms into a delicious mix of pepper and caramel. It’s sweet and feminine, although some might see it as unisex; for me, it’s not. It stands out for its singularity and presence.

I went with the hype and bought it blind, big mistake 😣. At first, it smelled a bit like Mancera’s Velvet Vanilla (which I don’t love), then it literally smelled like the toothpaste I use—I get the ‘dentist smell’ association. While it does have a sweet almond note, woods, and saffron in the dry down, that toothpaste scent never goes away. I don’t find it as scandalous as others say; on my skin, it’s moderate to soft, but there are almond scents 1,000 times better. I’ll use it because of the price, but I won’t buy it again or try the BR540. If you’re thinking of buying it, DO NOT BUY IT BLIND. It smells different from Cloud or BB Her. Edit: it fixes differently on everyone; I gifted it to my sister and she loves it. It depends heavily on your skin chemistry.

One of my favorite perfumes. I’ve used originals and dupes from many brands, and honestly, none of them compare or last as long as the original.

An exceptional perfume, but not for everyone. The Baccarat Rouge 540 extrait is eternal on skin and clothes. It reminds me of my grandmother’s Youth Dew, which lasted for days. Regardless, it’s a delight. I wish it were more intimate for regular use, but it’s scandalous and impossible to ignore. You can smell the combination of almonds and amber. The big difference is that the parfum is sweeter to my taste; the extrait feels drier to me, with a slight liquor-like air. It lasts two days on skin and weeks on clothes. Two or three sprays are enough; more gives me a headache, but it smells rich and elegant. Ideal for formal events or activities where you want to be noticed, but not in very enclosed spaces. Only Cloud by Ariana Grande is similar, though Cloud has more coconut and whipped cream. Burberry Her is in a different league. It’s sad to read that many find it resinous, but claiming it smells like toothpaste is another thing. It doesn’t suit everyone, and not everyone likes it. My only complaint is that it became mass-produced with clones, and wearing it in the heat was terrible; this perfume should be worn in cold weather. But since the bottle is eternal, it’s already going out of style, and I enjoy it much in these cold days.

To me, this perfume smells like chaotic destruction from which the Phoenix eventually rises. After buying the original, I must say there is no 100% perfect dupe; they only reach 60 or 70%. They only match in the wood and burnt caramel notes. The opening is ‘dentist-like,’ which is confusing but attractive. In the dry down, that black caramel appears like the night, along with wet resinous wood. There’s a strange citrus note, likely saffron, and a metallic hint, like the taste of blood. One spray lasted me the whole day. The dupes are super feminine, while the original is unisex, and I’d love to smell it on a man.

I decided to buy the sample pack on the Maison Francis Kurkdjian website to try the EXTRAIT version. In my opinion, it’s almost identical to the eau de parfum, just lasts infinitely longer. Story: I was in the dentist’s waiting room after applying the perfume (which felt weak on me), and a lady walked in, pinched her nose, and upon leaving, commented that she thought someone was wearing a super strong perfume. Is this one of those perfumes where the people around you perceive it more than you do? I wouldn’t want to think that, but that’s how it is. The next day, after showering, I still smelled the perfume in my hand as if freshly applied. That night, I smelled it in the room or on my clothes, I don’t know why, but it wasn’t as potent. Over time, I bought the full bottle and got bored because it became mass-produced and I could smell it at the gym, Zara clones, etc. It stopped being unique and impressive to me.

I had almost compulsive urges to try this extrait, which everyone praises, and managed to get a decant through an unexpected swap. Maybe I don’t have the nose to appreciate this elitist, reserved scent meant for a small circle of ‘qualified’ people like trendy YouTubers, but what I’m saying is that entering the niche has become prohibitively expensive, and the result isn’t always worth it. I’m a bit tired of smelling perfumes that don’t excite me, of being disappointed by acclaimed masterpieces that say nothing to me, at best being pleasant. Unlike others, I notice it clearly right from the start: it smells of bitter almond rounding out soft florals. Worth noting: it’s an extrait too subtle for something so sweet with those notes. It lacks originality and that extra something that would make it unique. The evolution isn’t surprising, though the almonds and saffron give way to a very discreet, sweet amber-woody base. It’s proof you don’t need to spend a fortune to find magic. If you’re thinking of buying the full bottle, test it with a decant first.

I have the decant and I can’t smell it 🥲, it smells like nothing, just a plasticky scent like a brand-new doll, I think it’s the famous ‘doctor smell’. On the English Fragrantica forums there are many posts saying people can’t smell it or only smell ‘a part’. I thought the perfume was bad, but it was my sense of smell 💀. Apparently, it’s due to the formula’s molecules having a higher molecular weight, causing an olfactory blockage, and I’m one of the many who can’t perceive them 🥲. I’ll never know what it smells like, but I got the Zara dupe, it’s something. The good news is it took away my anxiety about owning it; there’s no point paying so much for a perfume I can’t smell 🥲.

I love it so much! ☯️ I think it’s the yin and yang of perfumes, a perfect balance between sweet and woody. It lasts more than 10 hours. Now Cloud Pink smells a lot like my beloved BACCARITO.

I loved it, it lasts a long time, and its trail is huge; whenever I wear it, people think it’s cotton candy. It’s a comforting scent; I wouldn’t categorize it as elegant or complex.

This is undoubtedly my favorite perfume in life along with its EDP sibling. Unfortunately, it’s true everything they say about it being somewhat common now. What a pity because I still haven’t been able to buy it and they’re already killing it socially. This won’t stop me from getting it someday because it’s a dream. And I know it is for a high percentage of people in the fragrance world because I doubt anyone has the money to just buy it. At the same time, I appreciate every brand that has copied it because I’m not lying when I say I’ve had at least 6-7 dupes because the price is ridiculous. The bummer is that the best dupe was discontinued 🙁 Still, I’ve learned that NO DUPE will give you the product at 100%. So if you’re going to spend the money, use it, have the beautiful bottle in your collection, and the satisfaction of knowing you own this work of art… go for it!! Finally, use what you like!! Who cares if everyone wears it. Obviously, if I’m going to pay the ridiculous price it has, I’d want a bit more exclusivity, but it’s not like that anymore and won’t be. Especially now… since they were already complaining it was a popular scent, it will be MUCH MORE NOW that Tini revealed she uses it. Everyone will be looking for dupes and it will be an even more popular fragrance. Gotta say ‘uta la weaa’ and keep going! ajajsaj