XerJoff
XerJoff
912 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Caramelised strawberries hit first, but not the fresh kind—these are jammy, cooked down with sugar until they're almost burnt at the edges, whilst labdanum adds a leathery, resinous warmth that stops everything becoming too fruit-forward. Peach provides a fuzzy, soft texture, like biting into Turkish delight dusted with icing sugar.
Saffron's metallic tinge cuts through the sweetness as amber and leather begin their slow takeover, transforming the gourmand opening into something more sophisticated and skin-like. Rose threads through the composition with an almost medicinal quality, whilst ginger adds a prickle of heat that keeps the sweetness from overwhelming—this is where La Capitale shows its architectural complexity rather than simple dessert mimicry.
Bourbon vanilla and benzoin create a creamy, balsamic base that's surprisingly restrained given what came before, with oud adding woody depth and a subtle animalic muskiness. The fruit has vanished entirely, leaving only the ghost of caramel and a plush, resinous warmth that sits close to skin—intimate, enveloping, and decidedly adult.
La Capitale is Christian Carbonnel's exercise in controlled excess—a fragrance that takes the opulent gourmand trend and drapes it in aged leather and resinous darkness. The opening announces itself with an almost jarring collision: caramelised strawberries and peach skin meeting the burnt-sugar depth of labdanum, creating something that hovers between confectionery and incense. This isn't the clean fruitiness of modern niche; it's stewed, macerated fruit with a sticky, ambered richness that immediately signals indulgence.
What saves La Capitale from saccharine collapse is the leather-saffron-oud trinity at its heart. Persian saffron lends its metallic, medicinal bite whilst rose provides just enough floralcy to create breathing room amongst the sweetness. The leather here isn't crisp or saddle-smooth—it's soft, worn, and infused with that peculiar warmth that bourbon vanilla and benzoin bring to animalic bases. The oud never screams; instead, it adds a woody, slightly funky undertone that grounds all that fruit and caramel in something earthier, more substantial.
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4.0/5 (306)