Torino23

XerJoff's Torino23 reads like a love letter to the northern Italian city, where baroque grandeur meets alpine freshness. This is rose given the full operatic treatment—not the soliflore route, but rather rose as the centrepiece of a complex floral arrangement. The opening feels almost medicinal in its brightness, as bergamot's sharp citrus cuts through nutmeg and cardamom's resinous spice, creating an aromatic haze that hovers over the floral heart. That rose, however, refuses to play demure: it's full-bodied and slightly jammy, lifted by neroli's bitter-fresh petals and grounded by tuberose's creamy indoles. The ylang ylang and jasmine add a narcotic sweetness that could tip into headache territory, but the spices maintain an airy quality that keeps everything from collapsing into cloying.

What makes Torino23 compelling is its constant push-pull between fresh and opulent. The base introduces cashmere wood's fuzzy softness and a polite patchouli that's been scrubbed clean of its earthy funk, whilst amber and musk create a skin-like warmth beneath the florals. There's cedarwood here too, though it reads more as texture than statement—a woody framework rather than pencil shavings. This is for someone who wants their florals substantial but not suffocating, who appreciates rose without drowning in it. Wear it to gallery openings in converted palazzos, to afternoon aperitivos when you've dressed slightly too well. It's expensive in feeling, though not necessarily in execution—polished rather than revolutionary.