XerJoff
XerJoff
371 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The lychee hits like a freight train—intensely sweet, almost synthetic in its clarity, with freesia creating a fizzy, champagne-like effervescence around it. Bergamot flickers briefly at the edges but is quickly overwhelmed by the fruit's sheer persistence, creating an opening that's decidedly maximalist and borderline cloying if you're unprepared for the onslaught.
The milk accord emerges as the hero here, wrapping itself around rose and jasmine to create something unexpectedly soft and pillowy, whilst osmanthus introduces its peculiar leather-apricot duality. The sweetness remains dominant but becomes more textured, less singular, as the florals gain ground and the composition begins to reveal its layers rather than shouting them all at once.
Patchouli and leather form a dusky, slightly animalic base that feels surprisingly restrained compared to the opening, with oud adding a resinous, woody murmur beneath it all. The sweetness never entirely dissipates but becomes skin-like, milky rather than fruity, leaving a soft haze of spiced woods and that persistent creamy quality that defined the heart.
Soprano opens with an almost hallucinogenic blast of lychee—not the polite suggestion of the fruit, but the full, dripping flesh of it, syrupy and heady, with freesia amplifying its synthetic sweetness into something borderline narcotic. The Calabrian bergamot attempts to cut through but barely registers against this tidal wave of fruity opulence. As the composition settles, a curious thing happens: milk accord softens the Bulgarian rose and Egyptian jasmine into something creamy and diffuse, whilst osmanthus adds its peculiar apricot-leather facets, creating an effect that's simultaneously gourmand and refined. The base is where Soprano reveals its true ambition—oud and leather converge with patchouli in a way that feels unexpectedly subtle given the exuberance of the opening, creating a musky, slightly animalic foundation that prevents the fragrance from collapsing into pure dessert territory.
This is a fragrance for those who enjoy the maximal approach to perfumery, where restraint is an alien concept. It's unabashedly sweet, unashamedly loud, yet there's craft in how the milky florals prevent it from becoming a fruit compote disaster. The wearer is confident, likely familiar with the niche landscape, and unbothered by projection. Soprano works best in cooler weather when its density becomes enveloping rather than suffocating, ideal for evening occasions where you want to leave a distinct olfactory impression. It's unapologetically itself—a high-pitched aria of fruit and flowers with a dark, woody undertone that grounds all that sweetness in something more complex.
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3.6/5 (125)