Dollars & Scents

Two fragrance concoctions may include the same key ingredients, but what makes one smell luxurious and the other less so?

- Syed Zulfadhli

A recent TikTok trend has been going around, where a fragrance is compared to a dupe to see if the more expensive one is worth its price tag. Among numerous comparisons, one famous example is Maison Francis Kurkdjian's Baccarat Rouge 540 versus Ariana Grande's Cloud EDT - both feature a gourmand cotton candy-like note with hints of sweet spices. Many - including this writer, who has been in the business for eight years - could not tell the difference at first whiff. As both fragrances dried down over a few hours, differences in other aspects, including longevity, sillage and finish, became more apparent.