Casamorati Mefisto
Xerjoff (2009)

I read a few of the reviews and this a good scent. Yes, it smells fresh. But if you brought it, that should be what you're going for. Mefisto answers the question: what scent is out there that smells fresh with only hints of floral and woods but will last me all day? Mefisto.

So we'll blended. I hate the smell of rose and rose is definitely in here but the lavender and woods take the rose and makes it herbaceous yet fresh.

This is the scent for day time. It's casually fresh and bright. Can be worn by either gender. People will smell you and you'll smell like you smell good but in an effortless way. This a crisp white blouse with denim bottoms for walks and chats in the park. This is tea time with pals.

Sillage is impressive even if confused for clean laundry soap. I sprayed this on a friend and let them walk in front of me. They smelled really fresh like they bathed, washed their hair with a hint of something floral and lotioned with a slight citrus moisturizer.

Longevity is good 6+ hours on skin 10+ on clothes.

Definitely unisex.

Well blended.

The price isn't too bad if you wait for sale. I picked up 1 oz for $84.

I will definitely keep this bottle in my collection and if I run out, I am getting another. It's just one of those scents you want to have for crisp spring and summer days. Easy and wearable and truly laid-back.

Also great quality expected from Xerjoff that doesn't disappoint.

My feelings are somewhat mixed when it comes to this fragrance. It's a citrus blend with a musky base that can come across as a bit generic at times, reminding me of a drying sheet or fabric softener. However, there are moments when the Amalfi lemon takes center stage and creates a nicely balanced lemon scent. The only downside is that it doesn't feel very natural when you smell it up close. I agree with Del Boy that it's not worth the high price tag.

Continuing my discovery of Xerjoff, this time dipping in to the "basic" line of Casamorati.

This is a fresh citrus floral on a woody amber backdrop. Prominently featuring the violet leaf/cucumber note of Folione. Smells very clean, to the point of mostly being reminiscent of fabric softeners. Not a poorly scented fabric softener, but still.

I suppose the diabolical aspect is the asking price.

2/5

What good news – Mefisto avoids the synthpop clichés of ‘blue' perfumes (in this case a blue bottle rather than the liquid coloured that way) and there's little that's demonic about it either. Instead, it's a rather languid creation of a fantasy island scene – a little cool water in a pool, citrus fruit ripening in the sun and the inviting call of sweet pink roses from among the foliage. It's a calm, unhurried thing; not a grand statement by any means but comfortably fresh without being hyper.

I popped for a 30ml of this since it is described as similar to SILVER MOUNTAIN WATER but with some legs. It lives up to that.

SMW has a bit more of a hard edge on it with the metallic or inky vibe, but this ends up smelling a lot like SMW after the dry down.

Very unisex but a pleasant and somewhat modern smelling scent. A good warm weather scent, but probably works year round.

A bit like an EdC style scent, but a bit heavier with a touch of musk and sandalwood.

I like layering it with a bit of SMW to get the edgier opening of SMW combined with the longevity of MEFISTO.

Xerjoff is pretty well known for squirting out tons of accessory perfume lines in various series or sub-labels like Shooting Stars, Oud-Stars, XJ, Sospiro, Casamorati, and so on, but amongst all that prolific output, they do have some winners that seem almost worth their high price. One such winner from the Casamorati 1888 range is Mefisto (2009), a traditional floral citrus a la Creed that feels more French than the Italian theme it is given. Mephisto is labelled masculine, but there is nothing inherently masculine about it really, as most of the ingredients in it stay pretty gender-neutral. Everything also smells fairly natural and has weight despite being a light fragrance by design, but it better had for the price tag. Mefisto feels oddly-named because there is nothing particularly diabolical about the smell of this stuff, but seeing how many things this house has released since 2003, I almost feel like they just pull a name out of a hat and slap it on a bottle because it sounds cool like Calvin Klein might do.

The opening of Mefisto is a blooming citrus trifecta of lemon, grapefruit, and bergamot, and these citrus notes linger unnaturally long into the dry down, which is a hallmark of the brand you can see in other scents like 1861 Renaissance/XJ: 1861 Renaissance (2011/2015). Iris and rose come in feeling quite feminine at first, then are rounded back to neutral with a sweet French lavender, making a dandy sort of white floral heart which reflects the citrus top quite well. Beyond that, there is the usual soft but voluptuous ambergris and white musk base, accented with what is listed as sandalwood and cedar, but for me just registers as non-descript "dry woody note". Most of these Western houses regardless of price point aren't using much real wood essences anymore if any because of how pricey they are cost-wise (thanks to over-harvesting poachers), so despite the quality present, the one area where this stuff cheaps out a tad is in the base. However, this is a tiny nitpick in what is otherwise a very impressive floral fragrance. Wear time is well over 12 hours and performance is north of moderately strong.

Casamorati 1888 Mefisto is a bit of a contradiction of itself, since it comes in a blue bottle, doesn't smell "blue", and is named in a way to provoke intimidation, yet is onle of the mildest mannered things I've smelled. Since the Casamorati 1888 line is one of the rare sub-lines that has been allowed to keep its unque bottle design (while many other ranges like the XJ, Join the Club, and Sospiro ranges have been condensed back into newer "standard" Xerjoff bottle designs), this will stand out if you collect the house, with weird shoulder epaulets and a cloth tassel hanging from the neck. Usage-wise Mefisto feels built for summer but is honestly powerful enough to bring "summer" into any season you wear it, although it's one of those fussy classic French floral affairs so it doesn't read casual at all. If you're in the market for a gorgeous white citric floral and have the kind of cash Xerjoff requires, check it out. Otherwise, it's just another indulgence for the rich. Thumbs up.

A lot of cucumber it seems, for a very usual masculine fragrance. Clean musk as well. Fresh, clean. It does the job, but many cheaper fragrances do the same.

At first sniff i must say i was a bit disappointed, all i could perceive was lemony grass. All this hype got me expecting a masterpiece. Well, it is not. Certainly quality stuff and a fresh scent. Truth is i enjoy the opening more than the dry down where everything calms down and the frag reminds me of a grown mature man -or woman. So and so.

Big, loud opening. There's a rich, green-sweetness that made me think of GIT first but this is definitely closer to Silver Mountain Water with all of the florals that are the real featured notes overall. My wife immediately noticed this from the other room and commented on how good it smelled. She's more of a fan of GIT than SMW so that's why I feel like Mefisto has more green and sweetness than SMW, which seems to have more of the inkiness. That gives it a fresher and perhaps more modern lean on SMW, if you're looking for something similar but just a little different.

Projection is very good during the first 4-5 hours.

Just received Mefisto in the mail and I am quite impressed. I heard the buzz, the resemblance to Creed's Silver Mountain Water and now that I have it in hand, it does have a Silver Mountain Water vibe, yet nice.

Although I do have Silver Mountain Water, I don't regret purchasing Mefisto. Well, because I got an authentic 98.9% full, 30ml bottle for $65, yes $65. So, I am really please with this fragrance and the purchase.

At the start, I get a citrusy-grapefruit, aquatic, even fresh, slightly sweet, metallic smell with some watery elements in the mix. And quite nice I might add.

Right away my wife liked this one...she doesn't really have reactions to my fragrances, however with this one she immediately said, "O-K; I like that one-that might be my favorite!" She noticed the watery element and could attribute this to a fragrance I have already, namely Creed's Silver Mountain Water.

Projection:7/10
Performance:8/10
Silage:8/10
Longevity:8/10
Overall:8/10

This fragrance is a homage to Creed's Silver Mountain Water. It smells similar to Silver Mountain Water but is more green and floral, and lacks the ink and tea notes of Silver Mountain Water. In the opening I smell a mix of citrus fruits including grapefruit, bergamot, and lemon, along with some green note in the background. As it dries down it gets sweeter and I can somewhat detect the lavender, rose, sandalwood, and musk notes blended together. They are blended together so well though that I can't pick out individual notes but just a general herbal sort of sweetness. Projection for this fragrance is subtle for a Xerjoff (projects moderately; better in hot weather), while has fairly good longevity, projecting well for 4 hours, and then remaining as a skin scent. Overall, it's a nice niche fresh fragrance. However I can't help feeling performance could be better, and also that my $25 Frank Olivier Sun Java White smells and performs similar to this (though less natural smelling and more metallic), which is why I haven't granted it a perfect score.

4/5

Xerjoff Mefisto has a strong reputation and in trying it today, I can understand why. Its blend and note breakdown are excellently arranged to create a balanced, enjoyable freshie.

First, the opening of mixed citrus (lemon, bergamot, grapefruit) is great, and grapefruit and bergamot in particular vary from one another enough to create a sort of general citrus vibe that's enjoyable while not being overwhelming.

Next, the heart of mixed florals, perhaps the three greatest floral notes, in rose, iris, and lavender. It too is fresh, but also sharp and deep and nuanced.

Finally, the base of amber, sandalwood, cedar, and musk, is soft, warm bed for the fragrance to rest on after drying down, the amber and musk adding some sweetness to contrast the citrus and floral opening and heart, respectively.

This is a near-perfect formula for a winning fresh fragrance: variant citrus and floral notes with just enough woodsy and whim while still being on-target and not too quirky to be universally enjoyable. Still, somehow, though, it feels sophisticated and not so commonplace to be regarded as boring or generic.

Mefisto's main pitfall, at least on my skin, is its performance, which seems to be moderate (at best) in terms of both projection and longevity. Apparently the consensus is somewhat more favorable.

Only with respect to performance, then, is Mefisto a tough sell. Even its discounted pricing ($238 for 100ml on FragranceX) is a tough sell, let alone the retail ($290 for 100ml on Luckyscent), but surely there are deals and decants to be had.

In conclusion, it's a superlative freshie, held back only by its performance on my skin, but hopefully it does better on yours.

8 out of 10