Perfumed Genius – Francis Kurkdjian launches Baccarat Rouge 540

IN FRANCOIS Truffaut’s film of Ray Bradbury sci-fi title Fahrenheit 451, this is the temperature of the auto-ignition point of paper — the heat at which it will catch fire without being exposed to an external flame. In the case of the Baccarat crystal, it is a heat of 540 degrees that once applied, with consummate skill, to the raw materials of sand, lead and 24-carat gold powder create the beautiful red incandescent crystal for which the house is famous.

Francis Kurkdjian MFK Baccarat Rouge 540-BottleFrancis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540 fragrance

Created for both men and women, Baccarat Rouge 540 – the latest fragrance from Francis Kurkdjian – is a collaboration between the master French perfumer and the crystal house (an “encounter” he says) to celebrate its 250th anniversary.

The company is renowned for its chandeliers and glassware with these red crystal embellishments – red being the signature colour of Baccarat since 1847 when its first red crystal was created. And it is this transubstantiation of heat and mineral, as well as the sublime craftsmanship required to create the red Baccarat crystal, that has inspired this perfume and which Kurkdjian has attempted to recreate in fragrance form.

francis Kurkdijan Baccarat Rouge 540Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540 fragrance

 

“A graphic and highly condensed signature”, says Kurkdjian, Baccarat Rouge 540 is a amber woody floral perfume, constructed around  the notes of fresh jasmine, fir balsam and ambergris, to represent respectively the mineral, heat and craftsmanship of Baccarat.

At first Baccarat Rouge 540 gives a fizzy effervervent rush with a warm candy-flossy blur before drying down to a mysterious long-lasting intense woody and metallic scent. A very alluring seductive perfume. As Kurkdjian says, “fragrance needs mystery” and this modern subtle and sophisticated creation certainly gives the wearer this.

by Caroline Simpson
Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540 fragrance £195 EDP (70ml) and a limited edition and numbered Baccarat crystal edition £3,000 EDP (100ml)
Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540 fragrance is available at HN Selfridges Les Senteurs and Maison Francis Kurkdijan boutiques worldwide.

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