For better or for worse, as Strategist editors and writers, we cannot turn off our shopping brains. In Saw Something, Said Something, we write about the tiniest of details that have caught our eye — status toothpaste in the background of Lizzo’s TikTok, a plant so rare it’s called a Birkin, or a specific face cream in a Roy sibling’s medicine cabinet.
I’m a fragrance freak. Although a few dozen perfume bottles already crowd my dresser, I still have a long wish list. And if I happen to catch a whiff of someone else’s perfume in the air, I always ask what it is. So when I spotted a fragrance collection on Kacey Musgraves’s Instagram story, I immediately started identifying the bottles. Here are my findings.
Starting on the left, we have Mixed Emotions by beloved fragrance brand Byredo, which features top notes of blackcurrant and mate and a heart of violet leaves and Ceylon black tea rounded out with a woody base of birch and papyrus.
The beveled glass bottle in the center is obviously full of Chanel No. 5 L’eau, a reinterpretation of No. 5 from former Chanel perfumer Jacques Polge that launched in 2008. This powdery floral is a lighter take on the original.
While the label is almost entirely obscured, the bright-red bottle is unmistakable: Baccarat Rouge 540 by Maison Francis Kurkdjian. It was originally made to scent the lobby of the Baccarat Hotel, and our friends at the Cut called it “the scent of 2021.” Although most people are familiar with the original — which I spray liberally before a night out — Musgraves has an extra-large bottle of the Extrait de Parfum, which is an especially concentrated version.
Next is a bottle of Maison Louis Marie No. 04, a brand we first wrote about way back in 2017, with notes of woody sandalwood and cedarwood, earthy vetiver, and warm amber and spice. I’ve tried a tester of this one on my wrist many times while browsing at Sephora and have been impressed by the longevity considering it costs less than $70 — the most affordable perfume of the bunch.
Last but certainly not least is a bottle of The Sun Card by Marissa Zappas. Zappas is one of my all-time favorite perfumers, so I’d recognize the gold caps of her Garden Collection anywhere. Zappas describes the scent as “ceremonial, regal, fresh.” To me, it feels like golden hour.
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