Zeta

Nothing quite compares to perfumes for rousing the memory. A sudden scent that wafts under our noses can awaken memories of a distant time, catapulting us back to those moments we have tucked away in a remote corner of our minds. We do this often; unfortunately, we consume and move on, forgetting—almost unaware victims of this insatiable desire for living, for doing, for conquering—which frequently forces us to forsake important emotions along the way. Those familiar with contemporary cotton candy-focused perfumes will have noticed how similar and recognizable these scents are. It is no coincidence that, when I tested a sample of Zeta, I initially confused it with "Baccarat Rouge 540 (Eau de Parfum) | Maison Francis Kurkdjian", the same genre with a strong dominance of ethyl maltol. For this reason, I never wanted to delve deeper into the knowledge, having already some perfumes with a strong dominant of cotton candy. But after a few hours, the scent changed towards something salty and amber, more similar to the "Erba Pura | XerJoff" genre from which the fruit has been subtracted. This sudden change, which marks a seamless passage from one scent to the other, and not a layering of the two scents, was the spark that pushed me to buy and wear this essence. What is the authentic story that Zeta wants to tell us? The perfume belongs to the trend of innovative ones, which exploit gourmand accords to create new emotions, smells, sensations, and memories. At the opening I get a shower of cocoa powder like the one to sprinkle on sweets and pralines, for example, truffles rolled with cocoa powder, together with a burnt sugar accord. It is a fine cocoa, very powdery, but with that talc that only cocoa can offer, and which diverges from that of iris, violet, and coumarins. As the opening settles, the cocoa transforms into a dark, creamy, bittersweet and salty chocolate. The scents of a cocoa hazelnut spread emerge, whether Nutella or something similar. Compared to #baccarat, here we do not find the pungent, metallic, quasi-medicinal note of saffron, which especially in the extract takes on tones that recall paint and nail polish. So, if the first notes and moments of the perfume’s life recall Baccarat Rouge 540, everything changes as the perfume evolves, and the similarity vanishes. There is for a while a bizarre scent, a bit mentholated, balsamic, but never medicinal. It is not bad, it is just unexpected. Little by little, the fragrance enters the heart phase and releases a bomb of ambergris, which is probably a mixture of ambroxan and musk. The accord is that of a musk soaked in salt water, without, however, exceeding the threshold of the aquatic and marine families. It is an amber accord that amplifies the perception of the essence, helping it to spread in the air. When the perfume approaches the dry-down, the similarity with Erba Pura is more evident. The saltiness of the amber, however, is here enhanced by the presence of the almond, with its characteristic bitter nuttiness. Do not expect the almond you get from xxx or yyy. Here the white nut is bitter yet dusty, never lactonic. It has nothing to do with the Amaretto liquor or similar things, but a kind of almond granella. A salty and powdery trail is what remains around you for hours. I think Zeta is smoother and less intrusive than Baccarat Rouge, with the powderiness replacing the leatheriness. It is dynamic, so you catch many faces while you wear it. I find it a neutral perfume, which does not show any particular gender bias, beautiful on both men and women. With a moderate dosage, it can be worn during the day, but it is also suitable for cold evenings and nights in the autumn and winter seasons. I do not think it is necessary to dwell on the performance, which is enormously above average. Be careful if you spray it on clothes, as it will remain attached for many days. I based my review on a bottle I've owned since January 2025.

I put this to my nose without knowing anything about the brand or the fragrance. The first impression is indeed very close to BR540. But it also lacks the revolting medical facility smell that for me dominates BR540. So it may initially come across as a dupe, but it manages to take the best from all of the fragrances it's being compared to and combine them. From the opening on it goes down a slightly different path. I've never smelled true natural ambergris to be able to compare, and I am certain that most of the notes in this are simply not listed. The mid-development is dominated by this ambergris accord. Slightly marine, slightly ambery, slightly salty, slightly caramelly. But as it begins to dry down the combination of cacao and almond comes forth and the composition takes on a dry powderiness. Do not mistake the cacao here for a chocolatey note. It's nothing like a chocolate ganache or Nutella, but instead almost dusty in a way. The fragrance has plenty of sweetness, but it doesn't become an overt gourmand. It takes something we thought we already knew and flips it. Update: Looking back at this ambergris-saffron-whatever era I can say that Zeta is the only one that has managed to take the original idea and make it better. It could very well be that its more appealing now that there's just less of it everywhere, but I don't fault Zeta for not being the original. Instead I think it's the most successful incarnation of a polarizing idea, that has taken something highly controverisal-smelling and turned it into something BR540 ought to have aspired to be.

I enjoy this fragrance more in the Fall as this wears slightly gourmand on my skin. Keep in mind that chemistry is a huge part of how well a fragrance smells on you or doesn’t agree with you. Some may assume that this is a dupe or smells like BR540. I owned BR540 and I would go anosmic to it. The only similarities that Zeta shares with that fragrance is that Zeta is also airy and sweet. That is where the similarity starts and ends. The notes on Fragrantica are accurate. This is straight from the Morph site: Top Notes: Venezuela Chuao (Cacao) Middle Notes: New Zealand Grey Amber Base Notes: Avola (Bitter) Almond The Cacao note in Zeta shines and it is one of my favorite notes when it’s done well as it is in this fragrance. Projection: Arm’s length and it leaves a nice airy scent trail. Longevity: 4-5 hours in skin, and longer on clothes. Paired with the matching body butter extends the longevity.

Stunning scent, I was on vacation to Catania and was walking around in a mall and got a big WHIFF of some dudes fragrance that walked past me. I was literally speed walking back to him and he didn't even speak English so it was so awkward. But through google translate he told me it was this. Sadly I live in Canada so this is hard to find out here. I bought one bottle online from a shop that shipped to Canada but it was way too expensive considering the duties and delivery cost. If I was able to find this for 100$ or so it would be my signature. Edit: there’s a seller selling this in Canada so now that it’s easier for me to get backup bottles it’s my signature scent. In my opinion this is one of the best scents I’ve EVER put my nose to. Smelling like this straight up makes you confident in yourself. You just KNOW you smell good.

Like many other, when I first smelled it on another dude in the gym I was sure it was BR540. I even asked him and so I found about about this house in Naples. I had to order one and I am not disappointed. After several wears I am not sure anymore that this was constructed to he a clone or inspired by Baccarat Rouge honestly. It has it's own DNA and boy it is a super damn strong one. It's a powerull gourmand, volume turned up to 10+ it stays on you all day long and on your clothes days and days! It is an head turner, for many just too strong and definitely not something you would wear in like formal work meetings. Not even on a date probably if you are not sure about the other half. My wife for instance doesn't like it a bit.