XerJoff: Oroville

I'll 'fess up. Tobacco scents are not the easiest to review. For many of us, when it comes to tobacco-inspired fragrances, we tend to look for familiar associations we have with tobacco from our past - be it the cherry pipe tobacco grandpa used to smoke or the cheap bidi favored by certain groups of people. My own earliest recollection of unsmoked tobacco is the lingering scent on the aluminium wrapper you find inside a cigarette box.

Xerjoff's Oroville is none of the above. For that reason alone, some reviewers may be inclined to think of it as a tobacco lite, with little tobacco. They are not necessarily wrong though some of those opinions might have been shaped by side-by-side comparisons to fragrances with more prominent tobacco accords such as Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille or By Kilian's Back to Black.

Surprisingly, the first note off the top of Oroville was galbanum with its unmistakable earthy yet balsamic profile. But Lanvin for Men this is not, the galbanum giving way to a blossoming spicy floral blend tinged with the peculiar mustiness of clary sage. Unlike in a number of other Xerjoffs, the neroli and orange flowers are very much subdued here, existing mainly to add some piquancy to the sweetish spiciness of the carnation-tobacco blend as it slowly unravels.

At this point of the fragrance development some might venture to suggest "clove cigarettes...??". Well, not quite, at least not to my nose. The aura of tobacco is nowhere near as densely crude nor as sweetly spiced as that of clove cigarettes. Neither does it have the dry unsmoked cigarette quality I find in Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille or By Kilian's Back to Black. The closest I could think of was the tobacco absolute used in Sonoma Scent Studio's Tabac Aurea but where Tabac Aurea's rendition is a little creamy and powdery sweet, Oroville's version leans towards lightly musky woods and dry spices. Distinctively masculine and hardly sweet at all.

Oroville wears close to the skin, perhaps a little too closely for most wearers, with elevated body temperature improving its projection ever so slightly. But I have to admit it is an intriguing, smolderingly sexy scent up close, poised perfectly to start a lusty spark from that little cuddle with a lover. It continues along this line until the 4th hour when the tobacco and spice start to wear off, dwindling down a couple of notches to a warm ambery drydown with subtle hints of galbanum. Not much vanilla though. Overall longevity is good, easily 8 hours on my skin and tenaciously survives even a light shower.

Much has been said of the quality ingredients in Xerjoffs. I'm happy to note that this is not just marketing blurbs. In fact, until Oroville, I have never smelled a tobacco note quite as beautiful. How does it compare to Tobacco Vanille and Back to Black? Let's just say that if the Tom Ford is a loud yet linear powerhouse, and the By Kilian a somewhat bombastic masterpiece, then Xerjoff's Oroville is more of an understated yet suavely classy fragrance for the gentleman who appreciates quality craftmanship. Anyone who expects an edgy, avant garde composition or a mind-blowing showstopper from their USD345 bottle of Xerjoff is clearly missing the point. But if you are the sort who favors a Breguet over a Casio when both tell the time almost equally well, you'll probably understand why there is always a place in the market for the likes of Xerjoff.

Is Oroville full bottle worthy? I honestly do not know. It's probably best to let your bank account be the judge.

Notes:

chamomile, clary sage, carnation, orange flower, neroli, tobacco, musk, sandalwood, galbanum, vanilla, amber.

Photo: author's own

XerJoff: Kobe

Yet another fragment of the same meteorite found in Kobe? Yeah, right.

The opening blend of neroli, citrus and petitgrain is simply gorgeous, with just about the right balance between hesperidic sparkle and citrus-peel bitterness. Unfortunately this aspect of the scent lasts no more than 20 minutes on my skin, giving way to a sweet but surprisingly oily and (gasp!) flat combination of tonka, amber and perhaps vanilla. It did get a little drier and resinuous later on but my nose could not detect whatever passes for 'oud'.

The list of notes may look like a grocery list for Amazing Race participants but it certainly didn't fool me. Ultimately Kobe may still work well on fabric but on my skin? Disappointing. Even more so considering the price.

Notes:

Calabrese bergamot, Florida orange, Italian neroli, Paraguayan petitgrain, rose wood, resins, oud, palisander, tonka, amber.

XerJoff: Modoc

USD 7 per ml? Outrageous! If you expect to be instantly 'wowed' by this scent, you're in for some disappointment; you're probably the wrong fit for the XerJoff lines anyway. But fret not, give it a little time and I'm sure Modoc will win you over with a masterclass in understated elegance.

On my skin Modoc projects modestly at first but as the warmth radiates through I smell something lovely wafting around the room - a subtle blend of iris, soft citrus and amber, edged with the bitterness of artemisia and earthy vetiver roots. Up close I also detect something akin to cedar and sandalwood even though these are not listed as notes. It may not be the most compelling of compositions, not by a long shot but it is certainly one of the smoothest and natural-smelling. Fans of subtle understated fragrances should give Modoc a try even though it seems a little too safe, lacking the distinctive qualities of Nio or even Dhofar.

Notes:

lemon, orange, artemisia, Fiorentine iris, orange flower, vetiver, vanilla absolute, amber, musk.

*photo courtesy of jrd4t*

XerJoff: Dhofar

Dhofar is a region in southern Oman. How it relates to XerJoff's Shooting Star line and its backstory of a meteorite shower over Siberia is anybody's guess. But a little research reveals a piece of meteorite had been named 'Dhofar' after the location where it was found. Nonetheless, with a moniker hailing from the Arabian peninsula, I expected something exotic with perhaps a Middle Eastern vibe.

I was right. Although Dhofar opens with a classically inspired herbal lavender, the pine needles, the jatamansi and spices harmonise wonderfully with a darkly earthy patchouli (though I swear it smells more like vetiver) to produce a distinctly masculine aura. It feels as though a traditional classic masculine such as Eau Sauvage is given a Middle Eastern-styled makeover, the continuous tension between soapy and earthy-spicy elements creating a rather interesting dissonance. Very original indeed. Unfortunately I'm neither tall, dark nor hairy(?) enough to carry Dhofar with aplomb.

Notes:

lavender, coriander, pine needles, jatamansi, African orange flower, carnation, patchouli, Australian sandalwood, French labdanum.

XerJoff: Nio

If all you care about is getting from point A to point B, it probably matters little whether you are driving a Volkswagen or riding on a Greyhound coach. But others who look for a more engaging experience may prefer the looks and the smooth assured handling of a BMW roadster.

XerJoff Nio is clearly for this latter group. It breaks no new grounds with its delightful rendition of a spicy green woody aromatic but if you're looking for the best of its class, Nio is probably right up there. It wears very well as a classy Mediterranean-styled masculine. And the more I tried it the more I grew to love it. I never thought I'd say something this crazy but this fragrance might just be worth skipping lunch over the next 3 months!

Notes:

neroli, Calabrian bergamot, cardamom, nutmeg, pink pepper, green leaves, cedar, guaiac wood, Haitian vetiver, Indian patchouli, amber.

XerJoff: Uden

BEFORE the frat boy jokes begin (believe me, I hear it all the time), let's get the name out of the way. XerJoff (pronounced as 'zerr-joff') is an Italian luxury house of fine fragrances that seeks to interpret natural wonders through Italian craftmanship.

As of today it has a total of 22 fragrances. This is a review of Uden from the Shooting Star line, named after one of the places in Russia that experienced a meteorite shower on February 12, 1947. As the marketing spiel goes, stars can indeed get closer than we think.

XerJoff Uden starts off with a scintillating symphony of citrus and fruity-florals. Trying to isolate individual notes here is an exercise in futility for the blend is quickly enveloped by an oriental-like musky woods overlaid with a slightly boozy note of rum. At this juncture I understood why XerJoff classifies it as a 'marine fougere' - the resultant accord certainly has a marine-salty airy feel to it. But the 'fougere' aspect continues to elude me even today. Nevertheless given its eau de parfum strength, Uden projects beautifully, lasting a good 4 hours before drying down to a delicious aroma of vanilla over lightly roasted coffee.

Few would not balk at the retail price (USD345 for 50ml) but there is no question over the quality of the ingredients used even if they don't feel quite as natural as some of the best I've tried from the likes of Creed. Other reviewers however attribute this niggling 'flaw' to the house style; I would be wise to sample further from this house before drawing my own conclusions. It's just that the white musks feel a touch overdone here while the drydown could be richer. Neither is the transition from top notes to drydown as silky smooth as I have come to expect of a fragrance with such an exorbitant price tag.

Hefty expectations from hefty prices? Perhaps so, but that sounds pretty fair to me.

Notes:

citrus, lemon, grapefruit, floral/fruity notes, rose, sandalwood, guaiac wood, rum absolute, amber, vanilla, coffee absolute, musks.