Xerjoff Shooting Stars fragrances: new luxury line review

Whenever a new luxury line of niche fragrances launches the main question at the back of my mind ~and often on my lips too~ is "why". Isn't the niche market already saturated? Is there something beyond formulaic that is lacking? Why do new brands bring out a "collection" in one go? Is perfume business the latest it-maker, coached by perfume labs churning juice in a niche degeneration phase? Some examples might point out that entrepreneurs are often tricked into believing that yes. One might wonder what type of business schools these entrepreneurs graduated from.
The latest incriment in the perfume market bidding game comes from an exotic sounding brand by the name of Xerjoff. Now before you misread this as Jerkoff, a plight that is plausible for native English speakers (thankfully I have escaped that peril, thanks to my non Anglo-Saxon credentials), let me spell it out to you: X e r j o f f. Something tells me we'll see a lot of misspelling on that one. Anyway...
The point is I came to try the line through the enslaving kindness of one of my loyal readers, the lovely Mystic Knot. She kindly assembled a comprehensive collection of ample samples of the whole Shooting Stars line (and included other treats as well), so it was a mini-Christmas in the warmth of May. Thank you dearest! But I digress yet again.


According to the official blurb regarding the Xerjoff luxury Shooting Stars fragrances: "In frosty Siberia in 1947, a glowing fireball illuminated the dawn before elongating and shooting over the horizon. In its wake shimmered a trail of meteor dust. This meeting of heaven and earth inspired Xerjoff to create the Shooting Stars collection of twelve exquisite fragrances. Each Xerjoff scent is a modern classic, painstakingly crafted with old world artistry and the finest raw materials. Among the collection is a fragrance to reflect every mood, from serenity to seduction. Each selection comes in an etched Tuscan glass bottle with a heavy gold-plated top, and is enveloped in a silken pouch". The collection is promised to "lie at the perfect nexus of luxury and fantasy".
The fantasy sounds like it was conceived in the mind of Italian businessmen who have a thriving Russian and Arabian clientele; hence the names, I'd venture.

What is immediately striking about the packaging is just how gorgeous and (yes!) truly luxurious the Xerjoffs are: They -supposedly- include a piece of a meteorite in each. Someone with more connection in NASA than I do, should perform the test I guess. If you really want to dazzle your eyes with beauty and brilliant photography nevertheless I urge you to go visit this and that link on the worthwhile site hesmellsshesmells.com where the bottles shine in all their glory. Beautiful, no? It's an utter pity that the fragrances inside do not justify the high prices asked, however.
Not that they're not competent or smell bad. But I did not detect that special something that would make them the stuff of dreams; at least in what concerns the Shooting Stars collection (I will return for the rest of them which haven't hit the US shores yet...).

Right in the midst of them there are at least two which remind me clearly of other things: There is the ubiqutous Angel sister in the exotically named Dhajala: a little less dense in patchouli and instead suffused with galbanum, but the fruichouli skeleton clearly legible. Ibitira is a violet laced with a smidge of orange blossom and rose and a hint of spice (like in carnations, but much lighter), "reading" on skin like a Meteorites wannabe. Lua is another fruitchouli, proof positive that the genre has legs and is not set to die any time soon. It's pleasant in the Coco Mademoiselle meets Lys Mediterranée mould and I predict it will be well-received, its most interesting subfacet a light salty note in there, like lilies wafting in the sea breeze. Modoc will probably prove quite popular: It has the smooth ambery sweet character that produces cooing recognition voices from perfume aficionados around the world: amber is a popular theme after all; but nothing revolutionary is hiding here. It's a decent, spicy amber with subtle floral and citrus notes. Oesel reminds me of Fleurs de Citronnier by Lutens: a soapy floral with orange and lemon blossoms, musky honeyed base with a little patchouli thrown in to be a little different, quite nice actually.
I found the masculine Dhofar interesting, if a little thin: Supposedly a "complex oriental chypre", it has the nice aromatic bite of pine needles and laurel, but not sweetened. Nio is a standard aromatic fougère, with a weird -to me- ozonic middle stage. You could grab some vintage Paco Rabanne Homme and be set. Tobacco Oroville smelled as if it contained higher naturals than the rest of the line, clearly discernible tobacco and quite a bit of sandalwood.
On the whole they're conservative, well-behaved and just the thing if you want to have something flashy looking in your wardrobe. No moral judgements on that last bit whatsoever and I was very excited to have been able to sample them.

The Xerjoff line includes the following fragrances:

For Her:
Esquel - Floral Fougere
Shingl - Sparkling Floral
Dhajala - Green Oriental
Ibitira - Woody Powdery Floral
Lua - Juicy Gourmand Oriental

For Both:
Oesel - Intriguing Woody Floral
Modoc - Spicy Amber Chypre

For Him:
Uden - Tantalizing Marine Fougere
Dhofar - Complex Oriental Chypre
Tobacco Oroville - Rich Fresh Tobacco
Nio - Refreshing Woody Aromatic
Kobe - Sweet, Tart, Woody Citrus

The sampler of all Xerjoff scents retails at Luckyscent right now: 50$ for 1ml samples of all 12 scents. Each bottle of 50ml/1.7oz of Eau de Parfum retails for 345$ (or 470$ if you want the whole caboodle of the gift box presentation). Something tells me there will be travel sets and refills in about a year or so...but it's just a hunch.

Paco Rabanne Lady Million: Bottle like a Diamond

The new feminine fragrance by Paco Rabanne, Lady Million, is packaged in an impressive diamond shaped bottle with the spray mechanism incorporated in the design. Looks stunning as far as Im concerned. I don't know how the fragrance will smell (like a million bucks, they'd want us to believe obviously), but if you missed the news about the latest launch, you can read it all in this article.

Christopher Brosius: "In this country, a lot of people wear perfume for everyone else"

A very good profile of Christopher Brosius, the man behind Demeter fragrances and CB I Hate Perfume innovative scents is published on the Wall Street Journal by author Paul Glader. (click the link to read the article).

"In this country, a lot of people wear perfume for everyone else," said Mr. Brosius, 47 years old. "People wear my perfume for themselves first. Everyone else comes second." A former architectury student, Brosius now makes 36 blended perfume (costing between $65 to $275 for different sizes) and caters to those with eclectic tastes and those who....hate perfume. Well, not really, but the concept is of a perfumery that trancends the seductive, the keeping up with the Joneses and the aspirational social climbing.
What I especially liked is that "Regardless of demand, he says he wants to keep his perfume staff at five or fewer. 'This is, really, a luxury business,' he said 'Part of that means remaining small.' The recession dented his sales last year, but now he says growth is back on the rise, and he is considering a move to a larger factory and, perhaps, a storefront in Manhattan. He's also thinking of launching a clothing line."

On that last part, Avery Gilbert had the most hilarious comment (and artwork to accompany it): "I met Brosius once at a Fragrance Foundation event in New York where he was wearing a cape and black leather pants with what appeared to be a silver-studded codpiece". Codpieces or not for this new venture, let's hope Brosius maintains the perfume business anyway.


photo of Christopher Brosius via Sniffapalooza Magazine

Comme des Garcons Wonderwood: new fragrance & short film

The new fragrance by Comme des Garçons is called Wonderwood and focuses of course on...woods! The unisex fragrance is acompanied by a short film shot by the Quay Brothers who are highly renowned for their stop motion filming technique. The story involves a man for whom the love of trees simply cannot be put into words. The edgy video has been uploaded on Youtube where you can watch it with ease (the video had debuted exclusively at Love Magazine UK). The video medium is fast becoming the new vehicle through which top brands choose to promote their products, often assisted by artistic direction by top creators.

Fifi 2010 nominee Giveaway 10

As we announced previously, the Fragrance Foundation is giving away bottles of the nominees of the 2010 Fifi Awards every day starting Monday 17th.

Today's fragrance giveaway is Only the Brave by Diesel. Three perfumers worked on the masculine scent at IFF: Alienor Massenet, Pierre Wargnye, Olivier Polge. The focal notes are amber and labdanum.

All you have to do is connect to the FIFI Facebook page and leave a comment until 5pm (the sooner the better obviously) for a chance to win one of the free bottles.

Certain terms and conditions apply.
Disclosure: We are not affiliated with either the Fragrance Foundation or the companies which provide the fragrances for the giveaway. This is a public service announcement.