The best Xerjoff perfumes by style, and which three to try first

How to read a Xerjoff before you smell it

Xerjoff bottles are expensive to guess wrong, and the names give almost nothing away. Naxos, Lira and Starlight could be anything. So read each perfume as a short story in three acts. The top notes are the greeting, gone within the first stretch of wear. The heart notes carry the middle of the day. The base notes are what remains on a scarf or a cuff by evening, and they decide whether you still like it hours later.

Then look at the community votes on seasons and time of day. A perfume that voters save for winter nights is built to fill a cold room; one they pick for summer mornings is built to stay light. Two perfumes can share a note and still sit on opposite sides of that line.

Treat the men, women and unisex labels loosely. Several of the perfumes below are listed as unisex, and many people wear across the label anyway. If you are new to houses that sit outside the department-store counters, our guide to niche perfumes worth trying and our piece on how niche differs from designer perfume give useful background.

Fresh and bright, for daytime

Torino21 by Xerjoff

Torino21, from 2021, is listed for men and smells like a kitchen garden after rain. Mint and lemon open it, sharpened with basil and thyme. Black currant, rosemary and lavender take over the heart, with a little jasmine to soften the herbs. The dry-down is clean and quiet: musk with a green thread of vervain.

This is the Xerjoff to wear to the office when you want to smell awake rather than dressed up. On longevity, most community voters settle on long lasting. Its projection stays polite: most voters call its sillage moderate, which suits a shared desk. Summer days are when voters most often reach for it.

Mefisto by Xerjoff

Mefisto is one of the older perfumes here, launched in 2009 and listed for men. Grapefruit, bergamot and Amalfi lemon make a sharp, zesty start. The heart turns softer and more polished, with lavender, iris and rose giving a powdery edge. Musk, sandalwood, Virginia cedar and amber settle underneath.

Think of a crisp white shirt with a pressed collar. For longevity, the community's votes tilt towards long lasting, with moderate the runner-up. A clear majority of voters put its sillage at moderate. Voters wear it through spring and summer, in the daytime and at the office.

Erba Pura by Xerjoff

Erba Pura arrived in 2019 and is listed as unisex. The opening is a bowl of Mediterranean citrus: Sicilian orange, Calabrian bergamot and Sicilian lemon. A fruity heart follows, juicy and sweet rather than sharp. The base is the part that stays with you, a soft cloud of white musk, Madagascar vanilla and amber.

It is the sunniest perfume on this list and also one of the loudest. The longevity votes tilt towards eternal, with long lasting just behind. On sillage, voters lean towards strong and then enormous, so a light hand pays off. It is picked most for summer and spring, both by day and after dark.

Erba Gold by Xerjoff

Erba Gold, from 2016, is the older, more layered cousin of Erba Pura and is also listed as unisex. Brazilian orange, Sicilian lemon and Calabrian bergamot open it with a spark of ginger. The heart is an orchard with a spice rack beside it: melon, pear and green apple next to cinnamon, Guatemalan cardamom and cloves. White musk, Madagascar vanilla, amber and woody notes form the base.

Where Erba Pura is all sunshine, Erba Gold adds a cool, watery freshness and a warm glow in the middle. A clear majority of voters describe its longevity as long lasting. Most community voters also rate its sillage strong. Summer and spring are its seasons in the votes, from daytime into the evening.

Honeyed, sweet and gourmand

XJ 1861 Naxos by Xerjoff

XJ 1861 Naxos launched in 2015 and is listed for men. It starts with lavender, bergamot and lemon, which makes the first minutes brighter than you might expect. Then the heart pours in honey with cinnamon, cashmeran and jasmine sambac. The dry-down is the heart of its appeal: tobacco leaf, vanilla and tonka bean, warm and slightly smoky.

Picture a pipe tobacco pouch left open in a sunny room. Voters are clear on longevity, and most choose long lasting. Most community voters also rate its sillage strong, so expect it to be noticed. For voters it belongs to winter and autumn, worn at night and in the evening, and it suits going out.

Lira by Xerjoff

Lira, from 2011, is listed for women. Blood orange and bergamot give it a juicy start, with lavender keeping it from turning too sweet too soon. Cinnamon and licorice spice the heart alongside jasmine. The base melts into caramel, vanille and musk, like the sugar crust on a warm pastry.

It is sweet, but brighter and more playful than the heavier gourmands below. Its longevity votes tilt to moderate, and long lasting comes second. On sillage, most voters settle on moderate. Voters favour it in autumn and winter, and wear it both at night and in the day.

La Capitale by Xerjoff

La Capitale came out in 2018 and is listed for women. It opens rich from the first second, with labdanum, strawberry, caramel and peach. The heart is where it gets its character: leather, amber, saffron, ginger and rose, dark and a little animalic. Bourbon vanilla and benzoin close it in a warm, resinous way.

Imagine strawberries dipped in caramel, served in a leather-lined room. On longevity the community is clear, with most voters choosing long lasting. Its sillage votes tilt towards strong, moderate the runner-up. It is a cold-weather perfume in the votes, for winter and autumn nights and evenings.

Tony Iommi Monkey Special by Xerjoff

Tony Iommi Monkey Special, from 2021, is listed for men and is the most boozy perfume in the selection. Rum and passionfruit open it, with bergamot and geranium around them. The heart turns darker: Singapore patchouli, cinnamon, leather and Bulgarian rose. The base is long and sweet, with caramel, vanilla, tonka bean, sandalwood, labdanum, ambergris and musk.

It reads like a dark rum cocktail in a smoky bar. Most of the community votes put its longevity at long lasting. It is not shy either: most voters rate its sillage strong. Winter and autumn evenings and nights are its territory in the votes.

Spiced and ambery

Dolce Amalfi by Xerjoff

Dolce Amalfi arrived in 2017 and is listed for women. Quince and apple meet cardamom and saffron at the top, fruity and gently spiced at once. Tolu balsam, cloves and incense form a resinous heart. The base is soft and rounded: vanilla, tonka bean, amber, cedar and musk.

It feels like baked fruit with a wisp of church incense in the air. Longevity votes tilt to long lasting over moderate. Sillage votes tilt to moderate over strong, which places it between the quiet and loud ends of this list. Voters choose it in autumn and winter, for evenings and daytime, and it suits a working day.

Starlight by Xerjoff

Starlight, from 2019, is listed as unisex and has one of the shortest note lists here. Cardamom and bergamot open it. Cinnamon, almond and cloves make a heart that smells like spiced marzipan. Amber and cedar keep the dry-down warm and dry rather than sugary.

If you like the idea of Christmas baking without the sweetness of a full gourmand, start here. The longevity picks of voters tilt towards long lasting, and eternal comes next. Its sillage votes in the community tilt towards strong, with moderate second. Cold months suit it best in the votes: winter and autumn, at night and in the evening.

Deep and woody, for evening

Alexandria II by Xerjoff

Alexandria II launched in 2012 and is listed for men. Palisander rosewood, lavender, cinnamon and apple open it, woody and spiced with a touch of fruit. Rose, cedar and lily-of-the-valley form a heart that feels formal and composed. The base is the deepest on this list: agarwood (oud), sandalwood, amber, vanilla and musk.

This is a perfume for a dinner jacket, not a gym bag. Most voters put its longevity at eternal, the top of the scale. Its sillage votes tilt towards enormous, with strong behind, so one spray may be plenty. Winter nights and evenings are when voters wear it.

More Than Words by Xerjoff

More Than Words dates from 2012 and is listed as unisex. It begins with bergamot and neroli, a bright, clean start. Iris and jasmine form a powdery floral heart. The dry-down brings musk, vanilla and sandalwood, smooth and warm.

Its listed accords include oud and amber, so expect more depth than the short note list suggests. On longevity, most voters choose eternal. Sillage votes tilt towards strong, then enormous. For voters it is a winter and autumn perfume, worn at night.

Three Xerjoffs to try first

Twelve perfumes is a lot to weigh up without a strip in your hand, so here is a short route through the house. The idea is to pick three perfumes that differ as much as possible, so each one teaches you something about your own taste.

Start with Erba Pura for the bright, fruity side of Xerjoff. If it feels like too much sweetness in the base, you know to look at Torino21 and Mefisto rather than Erba Gold. Add XJ 1861 Naxos for the warm, honeyed side. If you love it, La Capitale and Tony Iommi Monkey Special are the natural next steps; if it feels heavy, try Starlight or Lira instead. Finish with Torino21 for the green, herbal side, the easiest of the three to wear on a weekday morning.

Wear them on separate days, and pay attention to how you feel about each one in the late afternoon, not only in the first minutes. The dry-down is what you live with. If sweet, warm bases turn out to be your thing, our guide to vanilla perfumes by style widens the search beyond one house.

Wear it before you buy the bottle

A full Xerjoff bottle is a serious purchase, and a spray on a card in a shop only shows you the opening. The fair test is your own skin, across several days, in the places you actually go. That is what 10ML is for: every decant comes straight from the original bottle, which means the scent on your wrist at home is exactly the one a full bottle would hold.

A 3ml holds around 60 sprays, which is enough to wear a perfume for several days and see how it behaves from morning to night. When one of your three pulls ahead, a 10ml decant gives you around 200 sprays, weeks of regular wear, in a size that slips into a jacket pocket. Once you are sure, move to the 30ml: around 600 sprays, and the lowest cost per ml of any size.

How long a perfume stays on skin depends on the perfume and on you, so read the community votes above as a guide, not a promise. For a feel of how far each size goes in daily use, see how long a 10ml perfume lasts. To see the whole house in one place, browse every Xerjoff perfume in the catalogue.

The bigger picture: The best perfumes for women: a shortlist by style, from fresh to amber and The best perfumes for men: a shortlist by style, from fresh to warm.