XerJoff
XerJoff
483 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The green apple hits first—tart, almost fermented—before frankincense smoke envelops everything in its resinous embrace. Leather and basil create an aromatic, slightly medicinal edge that feels both ancient and startling, like biting into fruit whilst incense coils around a tannery.
The oud emerges with animalic intention, its fermented funk tempered by iris's earthy coolness and cedar's dry woodiness. Bulgarian rose adds a jammy sweetness that the coriander spices into submission, creating a complex push-pull between floralcy and the growing amber warmth beneath.
What remains is molten amber—thick, resinous, almost treacly—with tobacco leaf adding a cured, slightly sweet darkness. The vanilla and sandalwood meld into a creamy base whilst musk ensures everything stays close to the skin, intimate and animalic, a private indulgence that whispers rather than shouts.
Alexandria Orientale is Christian Carbonnel's love letter to the ancient incense routes, where Omani frankincense smoke mingered with the scent of leather saddles and precious woods. This is XerJoff at its most unapologetically opulent—opening with a tart green apple accord that slices through bilhowing clouds of resinous frankincense like a Damascus blade. The apple isn't sweet or candied; it's sharp, almost cider-like, creating an unexpected tension against the sacred smoke and supple leather. As the basil adds its herbaceous bite, there's something distinctly medieval about the composition, as if you've stumbled into a Venetian merchant's quarters where Bulgarian rose petals are scattered across iris-dusted parchment.
The heart reveals Carbonnel's masterful hand with oud. The Malayan variety he's chosen is animalic but refined, never veering into barnyard territory. It tangles beautifully with Virginia cedar and coriander, the latter adding a skin-like warmth that prevents the composition from feeling too austere. The iris lends a rooty, earthy quality rather than powdery prettiness, whilst the rose breathes Turkish delight sweetness into the woody architecture.
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3.6/5 (84)