Baccarat Rouge 540 (2014)
by Maison Francis Kurkdjian for Baccarat

Saffron, Marigold and - a bit less prominent - as well as a jasmine impression join in together to reveal an usual and creative opening potpourri.

The drydown mixed some amber with leather, dried oak wood, with a phenolic undertone (the Evernyl mist likeky) - a but like an artificial mossy impression.
.
The base continues the wood theme - cedar and for balsam - and mixes it with a highly plasticine ambergris.

I get moderate sillage, very good projection, and ten hours of longevity on my skin.

A bright spring scent, which is egregiously synthetic but with a good performance.

Baccarat makes some of the finest glassware in the world. This scent, alas, although not bad, is of a lower standard. 2.75/5

You'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between this and the 2016 release, because your brain is lit up at first sniff.
You'd also be hard pressed to not like this. I was not a fan initially, it was just so in your face. But as I catch facets of it, I sometimes only want to wear this, period.
Only other fragrances that have this effect on me is Aventus and Tuscan Leather. Owning all three means you will be well complimented all the time.

I often find myself asking "would I wear this but for the hype?" I still don't know the answer to this. I wore this on my wedding day. I narrowed down to 5 different scents and went with this one b/c a guy said it's the sexiest of scents.

This scent does not equal sexy to me. It equals playful and young. (I married at 40). I don't mean it's immature....I mean that you can be mature and wear this and you won't smell old. (hope that makes sense). This is the opposite of scents that I gravitate towards. I like heavy, chypre, oriental scents. I basically like to smell like what I imagine Joan Collins smelling like on dynasty. But this scent fills a need for me. It fills that sweet spot while being sophisticated at the same time. The complexity is astounding.

Some say it's polarizing. They say they smell it everywhere. I don't. I have only smelled this scent on me. The longevity and silliage are both insane. This just keeps going and going and going. I think it can be worn anytime of year, but feels too "happy" for fall and winter for me. But if I need a pick me up during those months this is for sure something I would reach for.

Salted sugary cotton candy with something alluring and seductive. The more I wear it the more I am seduced by the sweet unique smell. I cannot help but like it.

The longevity and silage, for me, were greater than I have experienced on most other fragrances - 1/2 sprays really does plenty for the day. It really lingers on fabrics too, even smelt it on my cuff after washing a shirt!!
If these were the only factors in evaluating this fragrance, it would get 10/10. I can't emphasise enough how crazy the silage is!!! Everyone around you will smell it.

Despite this, the actual smell of BR540 became sickly for me very quickly. Maybe I overused it when first purchasing, I don't know, but I no longer wear it due to the highly synthetic sweetness. The entirely-synthetic makeup is one of a kind, but not a big hit for me. It definitely smells better in the masses of silage it leaves behind, but on me personally it gives me a headache and I have to wash it off. I get a mixed array of compliments, from 'it's too feminine' to 'you smell incredible!!'.

The story behind this fragrance as well as the how it's made is the real uniqueness here; I would urge anyone to try it if they see a tester bottle when next shopping in store. Overall I am pleased I tried this fragrance, but I would not buy another bottle at the current retail of £200/70mL. Other MFK fragrances such as Amyris EDP, Grand Soir and Oud are much better!!!