Maison Francis Kurkdjian Perfumes & Colognes

Two bottles, and one of them is the most copied fragrance of the last decade. This is the shortest luxury shelf on the site and among the most expensive.

The perfumer who made Le Mâle at twenty-five

Francis Kurkdjian composed Le Mâle for Jean Paul Gaultier in 1995, when he was twenty-five. It became one of the best-selling men’s fragrances ever made, and he spent the following years working for other houses before opening his own with Marc Chaya in 2009.

That order is worth knowing. Most niche houses are founded by business people who hire a perfumer; this one was founded by the perfumer, and his name is on the door because he did the work.

Baccarat Rouge 540

It was made in 2015 for the crystal house Baccarat, to mark its 250th anniversary — the 540 is the temperature in degrees at which Baccarat’s red crystal is fired. It was never intended as a commercial flagship.

What happened afterwards was not planned by anyone. It became the reference fragrance of its decade: saffron, jasmine and a burnt-sugar amber that is unmistakable and carries a long way. It is also, by a wide margin, the most imitated scent on the market — a great many bottles you have smelled at a tenth of the price are aiming at this.

Being honest about that: the interpretations are often good, and if you want the effect rather than the original there are cheaper routes. We stock it in two sizes, and the smaller one is the sensible way in.

Oud Silk Mood

The other bottle here is the more serious composition and the more expensive — oud and rose done properly, and closer to what the house does when it is not being famous.

Before spending at this level

Both are Eau de Parfum at high concentration. One or two sprays is genuinely correct, and a bottle should last years rather than months.

The comparable shelves we carry are Creed, Xerjoff and Initio Parfums Privés. Baccarat Rouge 540 is listed under unisex, which is accurate — this house has never divided its work by gender.