Oud Stars : Al-Khatt
Xerjoff (2012)

Sampled this hoping for a good Jasmine and Oud pairing. I guess I forgot this is still Xerjoff. A weird Jasmine accord, an even weirder Oud accord, sweetened up by synthetic vanilla and cashmeran. A sweet-floral synthetic mess that doesn't smell of Jasmine or Oud. I can't believe this one gets so much praise. Doesn't come across as animalic at all.
I sampled both the Vintage and the current version. They are 85-90% identical, don't fall for the "vintage is better stuff". Both suck.

Immediately after spraying I got the usual artificial candy-like tutti frutti smell of this line. Very fast, soap was added to it, with some kind of incense hiding behind. Then it became disgusting. A putrid diarrhea smell. It softened to something very animalistic, which stays on and on and on. Is it the cashmeran I'm not enough familiar with? Or white pepper? Game meat cooking? I don't know why; I wouldn't wear it, but it's special and different enough for me to give it a positive rating.

Another great Xerjoff!!! I know the floral note can be dark and off-putting to some but I quite like this stuff!
The grapefruit notes I smell also as Xaterian Stormrage describes I get as well, reminds me a tiny bit of the Annick Goutal citrus/grapefruit smell. The oudy, incense maybe Elemi,frankincense Smelling to my nose is very good. I do only wish the creaminess was turned up a notch but nevertheless another Five-Star fragrance IMHO. A great job here,very satisfying smelling this on me through out the day, longevity, silage are fine. Will keep this in my collection as well as the other 98% of the Xerjoff's I tried & have. Thumbs Up!

*****
****
****

Wonderful opening. Xerjoff got this right, you better believe it. Jasmine-floral softness combined with sweet natural vanilla. Also, nice bergamont-grapefruit tartness and creamy sweetness to add to the equation. You quickly get some incense-smokiness from the base, perhaps an oud of unknown origin to me? Light synthetic wood (cashmeran) adds a dark solid base to the sweetness of the overall scent.

As it reaches its second stage, the sweetness takes over the dark-floral elements and it becomes a bit much to my nose. Nothing overwhelming but a bit linear. For me, who likes sweeter scents, I have no issue.

The ingredients here are finally made and this is very good juice: expensive though, Xerjoff doesn't come cheap. However, this stuff lasts quite awhile and the projection is...pretty good (slightly above average), which is almost universally the case from this line. A good spring/summer nighttime scent, although light and sweet there is a sensuality here that underlies everything else. Worth a full-bottle purchase.

7.5-8/10

Really arabic in conceptuality and hard to describe. A intricated musky accord of light smoke, creamy jasmine, secret ripe fruits, hesperides, woodsy resins and voluptuous vanilla, overall surrounded by a typically oriental freshly spacious musky-oudish-saffrony aura. Finally warmer, I detect in it hints of yummy creams and piquant spices. A Xerjoff's appointment for luxuriant ambiences at Imperial Palace, mysterious receptions and lascivious nights of seduction.

Whew!! A thick one, this...

Al-Khatt is a worthy member of the "Oud Stars" collection by Xerjoff. It is a beastly indolic smoky oud experience that is an acquired taste (not for everyone), and it is a bad candidate for blind buys at any price or size.

Down-home dirty agarwood expression that is caressed by jasmine sambac and sweet touches of benzoin and vanilla, earthy dressing of oakmoss, and smooth cashmeran cuts the intensity of the "barnyard" oud vibe a bit.

For anyone who likes their oud messy and strong!

A fruity + jasmine (indolic) + barnyard smell. Excellent stuff.

I first put it on, I found it okay.

BUT!.. shortly after, wow! Awesome fragrance, and I was sold based on the sample. Got a full bottle shortly after.

Probably my favorite Xerjoff so far.

Ah.... Al-Khatt!

The opening brings a sweet-ish Jasmine floral note...with a little bergamot to my nose. But...It's no doubt already pretty polarizing-love or hate. Nothing else. Thanks to the lofty barn yard type Oud that hits you in 10 seconds. This type of "poopy" vibe though...it's more "Bonanza's" type. A clean ranch. Well kept.
Never the less, sample first. That's an order-as just the opening may cause some to head for a pressure washer. Hang on... You can do it!!
That's more or less how it *stays on me as it fades to black...or brown ;)

*More on this as well as some more details:

While it does have a slight "barnyard" going on... It's quite amazingly done!!
Working here ONLY as the supporting actor for the "star" of the show- the sweet florals & to a lesser degree some very soft Oud.
The sweet Jasmine here is a bit transparent due to that mysterious - barn yard "wart" provided by Cashmeran?? Benzoin?? The Oud is most likely the culprit. Still.. Many Floral/Oud combos don't have this "Ponderosa" DNA :-/
Regardless it works. The "how" is perhaps a mystery, but for me it works.
Try this on skin. It really differs with ones body chem.

Amazing huh?
I remember when I gave an young gal I dated many years ago some fresh cut flowers planted in a pot of horse manure. She loved them. ;) (did I really need the wink there?)
Still, it gets compliments. Can you say Xerjoff?!

Lastly (Dear Lord lets hope) I found this fragrance one of the most difficult to describe:
I really struggled articulating Al-Khatt due to Xerjoff's ability to make a nice "light"-sweet floral frag a bit poopy and not disastrous. Especially to my novice nose.

So 2-ish hours in:
Sweet and slightly "horse stable." Still quite nice and well balanced thanks to a remarkable ability to blend high quality ingredients with the perfect amount of each one- which is the "keystone" holding this fragrance together---i.e. quality AND quantity make this very unique and provides a mysteriously, slightly sweet nuance.
Tilt this too much in any direction and it's a scrubber for sure.

Xejoff manages to transform an otherwise light/sweet/floral frag (quite common) into a notable gem. Not that there's NO hint of synthetic "stuff" but way less than many other houses tend to use at this price point IMHO.

Dry down on my skin is a bit linear. Time brings more sweet florals and a bit of smoky woods. I still get the barnyard (a tad) but again because of Xejoff's ability to blend the perfect amount of each ingredient, it's dry down never gets too dirty for me.

While I'm sure this may (will) be off-putting to some (as per the reviews), I'm not one of them.
I will however advise that if you wear this fragrance, it should be worn with both confidence (you) and respect/consideration (others near your scent bubble).
To my nose though, it is a quite clever and quite amazing. With just the right amount applied, it will get you compliments. I've gotten a few so why not at least sample it?

The verdict for me:
I Love it! Other say "wow sweet flowers and horse crap?! Really!?"
But I love love love it!
As I said I do get a few unsolicited compliments.
Unisex-so ladies have at it.
I'm actually thinking it may be a bit more femme 60/40? Poop-N-all. :)

projection/ longevity/sillage are above average So again please exercise caution with the trigger.

Overall- 4.5/5

Ciao ;)

A fascinating opening to this one – a smoky, almost hay-like accord with some sweet notes and idolic florals. There a stemmy sourness to it, but what's driving it really is the smoky effect of the “oud” (smells like an ashtray) merged with sweet animalics. It's has a bit of a castoreum thing going on – that sort of overripe, animalic leather that castoreum delivers, but it's the smoky oud that really makes this work. I don't know if they're using any actual oud (for as pricey as Xerjoff is, their stuff is still mass factory after all), but I personally don't care as the overall effect is very good – a dry, throat-catching smoke effect that's rendered most apparent against the fruitier notes. Overall, it's a clever blend with a distinctly Eastern feel, but quite bodied and oppressive, so it's not going to be for everyone. One of the better Xerjoffs I've smelled, but that's not saying much.

"Ten thousand cows..."

By the time I was finally able to stop laughing, I was convinced that the guys at Xerjoff's must be wizards or something! There's no other way to explain how they managed to fit a whole stable in a bottle. Especially when it's filled with all the cows who previously ate the jasmine fields that were surrounding it. It surely delivers in spades, but there's a little problem here, about what these spades actually deliver. And it's neither oud nor jasmine... It's something much-much more horrible, that no one would ever want to happen under his feet...

Belongs to the mercifully small category of jasmines drowned in syrup, the point of which somewhat escapes me. All vitality is sucked out of the floral scent in order to squash it under the weighty backside of something unrelentingly sweet. The lino glue tones of the opening didn't do much to help either. Why this is an Oud Star is a bit of a mystery, anything resembling oud is submerged.