DIME 7 Summers Perfume Review: CLEAN Baccarat Rouge 540 DUPE!

If you follow along on Instagram Stories, you’re probably no stranger to the clean perfume I’ve been wearing + sharing for months now: DIME 7 Summers. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves: how did I get to caring about “cleaner” fragrances in the first place? I’m glad you asked. Long story short, I started making some lifestyle changes and swaps to “cleaner” foods/drinks/products on my doctor’s recommendation after learning I’m hypothyroid and potentially experiencing hormonal imbalances, which obviously negatively impacts your ability to conceive and overall health. I’ve always been a BIG perfume girl – I have a whole tray of signature scents on my vanity because I cannot pick just one – but turns out, fragrance is not exactly “good” for you. Many fragrances have phthalates in them, which are chemicals to help make the scents last longer – but they can also cause cancer, reproductive and developmental toxicity, respiratory problems, birth defects, and disrupt your endocrine system. They’re considered toxic…no bueno. Since fragrance is something I wear every single day, I figured I should try and find a healthier alternative that wasn’t hurting my body – and I stumbled upon DIME Beauty perfume and their sampler kit specifically. DIME Beauty perfumes are clean, vegan, cruelty-free, hypoallergenic fragrances that don’t disrupt your hormones – so I’m here for it. Now, I had heard about DIME at that point from what felt like every blogger and her mother, and honestly, I had resisted being “influenced” by it all. That is, until I started making those aforementioned health swaps; I figured a “healthier,” cleaner fragrance wouldn’t hurt.

I NEED to smell something on myself before buying it to see a.) how long it wears on me, and b.) HOW it wears on me, since perfumes wear differently on everyone given our varying skin chemistries. So I added to cart and carried on my merry way, eagerly awaiting my sample set to arrive. Upon its arrival, I got to testing each scent and had a clear favorite: DIME 7 Summers. It’s got notes of warm sugar, vanilla, champagne, praline, coconut cream, bergamot, pears…smells like a literal dream. And HEADS UP from the get go – discount code THRIVE20 will take 20% off your entire order at checkout! Bless up!

If you’re familiar with fragrance, it’s a near EXACT dupe to Baccarat Rouge 540 – a $325+ alternative at the designer perfume counter – but it’s significantly cheaper AND healthier. If you want a Baccarat Rouge 540 dupe, let me tell you how similar DIME 7 Summer is: I passed my girlfriend Tara on a Disney creators trip and said, “Oh, are you wearing the DIME perfume??” She smelled exactly like me! She goes, “Nope…it’s Baccarat Rouge!” So when I say they smell identical, I literally mixed them up smelling them on someone, even with how different how individual skin chemistries can adjust scents. I don’t personally own Baccarat Rouge 540 because I cannot for the life of me bring myself to drop $300+ on a bottle of perfume. But especially knowing there’s a great Baccarat Rouge 540 dupe out there that literally smells THE SAME *AND* won’t bring the same bad effects most designer fragrancess do…no need to spend the big bucks.

*Edited to add: I’ve also seen this DIME perfume compared to Baccarat Rouge 540. I own it, as well – and I will say, it’s pretty darn similar. BUT, fragrance is such a personal thing, I honestly think either ONE can end up smelling like Baccarat on you depending on how it mixes with the oils on your own skin. The same perfume can smell totally different on two different people depending on how each layer and frangrace note interacts with your own personal chemistry, so it’s a bit of a science experience to find your signature scent! Dans Les Bois specifically has notes of amber, as does Baccarat Rouge 540, so my guess is that note is what pulls the nose to liken the two. I also think DIME 7 SUmmers and Dans Les Bois smell very similar to each OTHER – at least similar enough that if you like one, you’ll also like the other. Dans Les Bois is a *bit* woodsier and 7 Summers is a bit sweeter, if I were differentiating them. I personall own, wear, and lovelovelove both, and I’ve seen both compared to Baccarat Rouge 540 – so I think it’s safe to say that you’ll get the scent you’re looking for either way. 🙂

While DIME 7 Summers is my personal favorite, again, I recommend snagging a sampler kit to test them ALL for yourself to see what smells best on you, to you! They’re all naturally derived scents with safe synthetic ingredients, with botanical-based and lab-made blends to ensure that everything is safe + hypoallergenic. They’re all also US-made with ethical, eco-friendly suppliers, and all ingredients are rated 3 or lower on the EWG scale.

Since I’ve been wearing DIME 7 Summers for quite awhile and testing a few other DIME products for a few months, too, I’m stoked that I snagged us a community discount code so that you can try some of DIME’s clean beauty + skincare bestsellers, too. Total transparency: DIME is NOT sponsoring this post. DIME was a sponsor of the THRIVE podcast over the summer (YAY! Thankyou for helping us all THRIVE!), and my code just so happens to still be working…I’m honestly not sure when it’ll get turned off, so carpe diem and treat yo’self while you can get 20% off your order! Code THRIVE20 will do the trick. 😉