Roberto Ugolini
Roberto Ugolini
595 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Tart grapefruit pith meets orange zest in a bracingly unsweetened citrus blast, immediately cut through by geranium leaf's metallic greenness. The dual pepper accord fizzes at the edges like tonic water, creating an aromatic sharpness that feels more botanical than gourmand, more tailored than casual.
The woods emerge with surprising speed—cedarwood's pencil-shaving dryness wrapping around sandalwood's creamy sweetness whilst the geranium persists, now more herbal than sharp. Styrax begins its slow leak of resinous leather, adding weight and a subtle phenolic darkness that anchors all that earlier brightness. Patchouli darkens the corners, earthy and almost mossy, whilst the peppers settle into a warm, skin-close spiciness.
What remains is a vetiver-dominant woodiness, smoky and slightly bitter, softened by vanilla's gentle roundness and patchouli's persistent earthiness. The styrax creates a subtle leather impression—old books and worn shoe leather rather than tannery sharpness—whilst cedarwood provides a clean, almost soapy finish. It's quiet, close to the skin, but remarkably tenacious for something so understated.
Oxford reads like a love letter to British tailoring translated into olfactory form—crisp citrus pressed against warm wood panels, the ghost of pepper hovering where a wool lapel meets starched cotton. The grapefruit and orange opening possesses none of that syrupy bergamot sweetness you find in countless masculines; instead, there's a tart, almost astringent quality that immediately gives way to geranium leaf's green metallic bite. This isn't the rosy geranium of heritage fougères—it's the stem crushed between fingers, vegetal and sharp.
The pepper accord works in tandem with that geranium, creating an aromatic spiciness that feels more Savile Row than souk, whilst pink pepper adds a fizzy, almost gin-like effervescence. What makes Oxford compelling is how the woody base refuses to play supporting actor. Sandalwood and cedarwood create a creamy-dry foundation that the patchouli darkens considerably, pushing the composition away from contemporary fresh-woody territory into something more brooding. Styrax adds a leathery, almost phenolic quality—there's that resinous sweetness you find in well-worn leather goods, not the suede-soft kind, but proper brogues that have seen rain and polish in equal measure.
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3.9/5 (323)