17/17 XXY
Xerjoff (2007)

This goes more on the masculine side, specially in the very traditional opening. Then the mix of everything made me think of Xerjoff's Oud fragrances. There's a slight feminine touch, but given the name, it stays way too dry.

A woody-spicy offering from the 17/17 collection by Xerjoff.

Intro fruit and citrus sparkle gets a nice floral and peppery mix in the heart - powdery iris plus ripe banana-peel ylang, sensual jasmine - along with fruit-like orris (a nice continuation of the peach). Herbal and green homestretch comes from vetiver, patchouli, along with warmer and darker rockrose, musk, and sandalwood.

This fragrance reminds me a lot of L'Instant de Guerlain EdT for men: Powdery, touches of tanginess, light spice, and ambery, leaning more towards a masculine scent than unisex. Decent performance, though not a revolutionary offering, and though the quality of ingredients is top-notch, I can't say that I'd ever pay the price for anything more than a decant.

Note: Bergamot, Grapefruit, Peach, Ylang-ylang, Jasmine de Grasse, Orris, Black pepper, Patchouli, Vetiver, Sandalwood, Labdanum, Vanilla beans, Musk.

XXY smells good, sometimes that is enough, sometimes it is not. At these prices, I honestly demand for more than simply a good smelling fragrance. Creativity (not there), uniqueness (not there), amazing drydown (not there. Woody amber anyone?).

The fragrance opens with a nice fruity/citrus combo immediately joined by a consistent dose of iris while jasmine remarks its presence firmly yet gently. So far, so good...Pepper breaks in and together with vetiver and patchouli provides a masculine twist that turns the initial feminine accord into something pleasantly androgynous. A strong deja-vu feeeling starts to materialize in my mind...Don't ask me why but I start to think about Coromandel, about L'Instand De Guerlain Pour Homme and, more in general, I think about Guerlain, Chanel...wait, a chypre without oakmoss, 31 Rue Cambon...Ok, just kidding, XXY shares (almost) nothing with the aforementioned fragrances but, at the same time, it's the classic type of composition that makes you think about something else...it's familiar (as opposed to unique).

After a couple of hours, the party get spoiled by the usual woody amber drydown. Now, my point is this: why we should splurge our money for an (overall) average quality fragrance? In an hypothetical world where fragrances could be compared to music, XXY would be just like an extremely talented musician releasing a new record made only of cover versions of trite songs and charging you for the full retail price.

I came to the conclusion that every country has its own "Creed". In italy we have Xerjoff.

Do yourself a favour, get a vintage Guerlain.

Parfum - highest concentration. Sampled,tested once this evening ,as a going out fragrance. Chypre- Oriental to me. Notes of black pepper,patchouli,bergamot,jasmine,amber,woods.It has a delicious citrus opening ,almost savory ,bright ,alittle black pepper that comes in , the pepper gets stronger on me and stays ,swirled in with the pathcouli and jasmine . Lovely drydown - I get pepper, patchouli ,amber ,woods . Opens bright, turns down on volume ,still pulsates beautifully on my skin.** The XJ 17/17 Collection samples are ALL parfum versions .I love how these parfums are totally unisex. Even Homme could be used by a woman .