XerJoff
XerJoff
105 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Grapefruit and bergamot sparkle briefly with citric clarity, whilst rum adds a warming spice backbone that feels almost promising. Within minutes, however, the castoreum begins its emergence—animalic and slightly funky, anchoring the composition firmly to earth and leather before the citrus can establish itself.
The leather moves centre stage, now warmed and textured by cumin's earthy spice and cinnamon's peppery bite. Myrrh and labdanum deepen the base, creating a smoky, vaguely incense-like quality, whilst cedarwood provides clean, dry structure. The fragrance becomes genuinely complicated here—neither warm nor cool, neither fresh nor entirely animalic.
Castoreum, leather, and myrrh dominate almost completely, with only whispered traces of spice remaining. The composition settles into a smoky, slightly dusty leather skin scent—intimate and close, with the burnt wood accord becoming more pronounced as brighter notes fade entirely.
Cruz del Sur I unfolds as a deliberately unsettling composition—leather and smoke dominating with an almost feral intensity. The opening marriage of grapefruit and rum creates a deceptively bright prelude, but this is merely a gateway to something altogether darker and more contemplative. What emerges is a leather fragrance with genuine teeth, where castoreum and myrrh confer an animalic rawness that prevents any pretension towards refinement.
The heart reveals Xerjoff's compositional ambition: cumin and cinnamon provide a peppery, almost medicinal counterpoint to the leather's dominance, whilst cedarwood adds structural rigor rather than warmth. These spice notes interact with the leathery base to create something vaguely reminiscent of old saddle leather infused with clove and cardamom—think less of a classical chypre and more of a leather worker's studio after years of labour. The dried fruits (likely prune or fig from the accords) appear as shadowy undertones, adding a subtle fermented complexity without sweetness.
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4.2/5 (99)