17/17 Homme
Xerjoff (2007)

This one comes across as loud, linear, and masculine. A classic Russian leather style, akin to the well-known Knize Ten. The leather is quite oily, almost petrol-like, driven by clove and an ambery undercurrent. One of the better ones from the line, though not necessarily unique.

A man of simple and classic taste. He wears a classic black suit, a white shirt, black tie, and black leather shoes, a simple white pocket square, minimalistic cufflinks, classic leather banded watch and his long night begins with Sylvia (Anita Ekberg). A modern stylish gentleman's leather scent in a classic way. sophisticated, elegant and classy.

It opens with a sharply herbal and smokey leather which lasts a short while. As the heart unfolds, many facets of the leather combine with the spicy floral heart that's quite distinct in a fragrance. As it dry down it gets softer, and woody notes starts to dominate the fragrance aling with the leather. The dry down reminds me of Cuir de Russie. It's what the overly manly man is wearing as he fights a bear, preferably in a tweed suit.

Love it...if it wasn't for the ridiculous price I would grab a bottle right now...you walk into a tire store...the waiting area is wood paneled and has a few potted flowers sitting around...the guy behind the counter is eating a fruit salad...you can smell a little bit of gasoline drifting in from the garage...you hand the guy your keys and he does a burnout in the parking lot before driving your car on the ramp...beautiful...

I hope I'll never be with someone who loves this. The opening smells like you're driving backwards, too fast, with the hand brake on. Wah... This burnt rubber and metal smell makes me sick. It's well done, so I can't give it a negative, but it could kill me.

Spot on redolence to Knize Ten's legendary, in-your-face men's cologne experience, with its own distinctives. Similar also to Guerlain's Habit Rouge, which is also highly aromatic with wild florals, spices, and woods like Knize Ten is.

XJ Homme is a leather-lavender-clove dominated traditional masculine fragrance. This fragrance has a sheerness to it, a fairly unrelenting confidence and loudness that isn't for the faint of heart! Ylang is rife in this one, adding a powdery banana-like touch within the whole busy production.
Vetiver adds an earthy touch to it all.

I love clove, and here it's a main player on stage. THrough it all, it takes a patient, thoughtful wearer to let XJ Homme run through its various phases to what is a mellow, slightly petrol-like edge.

Lasts a LONG time and leaves one heck of a projection for all the world to behold. A great, expensive alternative to Kinze Ten (don't know who'd go in THAT direction!).

This fragrance has four distinct phases, a trademark of a fine fragrance. The opening is a typical rich, fresh blend of bergamot and Lavendar giving a fougere feel. After 5 minutes the spices and the strong leather note come forward while the bergamot exits and the florals begin their departure. The leather materialises as a sort of petrochemical smell which one would associate with the remnants of substances used to treat leather for furniture and the masking agents used to cover up those substances. After 45 minutes the powerhouse leather dies down and this is where the Knize Ten connection is very accurate. 2 hours later the leather is gone and all that is left is the cloves and powdery woods for the remaining duration. It is this final stage that leaves me feeling a bit short-changed and makes the $675 price tag seem ridiculous. At this point the fragrance smells "spent", fatigued and you really wish the journey ended at the Knize Ten stage.