How to smell like Baccarat Rouge 540 for less

Right around the time Maison Kurkdijan's Baccarat Rouge 540 scent went viral on TikTok, I received a bottle as a gift. It's been called the next Santal 33 in terms of how intoxicating—and popular—its scent is, and judging by how many dupes there are on the market, I'd say Baccarat Rouge 540 has even eclipsed Santal in terms of popularity. That might also be because BR540 is $325 for a 2.6 oz. bottle, and as much as I am willing to splurge on fragrance, I don't know that I would actually pay that much for it. It's a very unique scent—the notes are a very appealing-sounding combination of jasmine, saffron, cedarwood, and ambergris—and on me, it comes across as very sweet, very expensive cotton candy. Scent is a very subjective thing, and your own body chemistry can affect the way a fragrance smells (Glossier You, for example, is amazing on everyone but me); I am honestly more a fan of Santal 33, but that's just a matter of personal taste. In the name of service journalism, however, I decided to seek out some dupes, because I know you love them. Here are a few ways to smell like Baccarat Rouge 540 for less.


What to wear with a caftan

Hi, remember me? I feel like I've been slacking a lot on this blog, and literally the last thing I want to do is turn into that blogger who tapers off into nothingness. (Um, like when I ended up taking a three-year break awhile back.) The truth is that I have been working my heinie off, partly because we're neck-deep in holiday at the moment, and partly because I'm about to take the longest vacation I've had in probably 7 years. So to give you fair warning, I am going to take the first two weeks of September off and really unplug—like, not-take-my-laptop unplug. But in the meantime, I've got a few posts planned, and in the spirit of vacations, this one is all about the caftan. Caftan? Kaftan? I'm going with a C for Cheryl. Caftan it is! Here's my favorite one and how I'm wearing it. 



How to wear Barbiecore

I've found myself inexplicably drawn to the color pink this summer, and turns out I'm not alone: Barbiecore is everywhere at the moment. As Vogue explains, it's a little Valentino fall 2020 runway, a little excitement over the upcoming Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling (!!), and a little summer dopamine dressing. Pink comes in all different kinds of shades—my last pink outfit was definitely in the bright category—and while there's a Kardashian way to wear Barbiecore, here's how I'm doing it.