Xerjoff Oesel
 Because of you, the heady perfumes of Summer pain me; because of you, I again Seek out the signs that precipitate desires: Shooting stars, falling objects. Pablo Neruda, Love By Marina I was not prepared to like an orange blossom perfume; after being over-exposed to one of those (even if one of the most beautiful ones) for several years, and this time of the year, this is just not a note I appreciate. So loving an orange blossom perfume came as a shock. Another shock was discovering that the exuberantly floral Oesel was in fact meant by creators as a masculine scent. Not that I mind in the least, anything is unisex anyway. I suppose I can see how the masculinity can be justified: by a certain dryness of the blend, the lack of sweetness one might expect from a mix of orange blossom, jasmine, rose and acacia. And yet...there is something so ...breathily, effervescently feminine about Oesel. The dazzlingly bright orange blossom is the dominant note, to my nose. Aided in the top by a more verdant, sharp citrusy-ness of petit grain, it stays on my skin right though the whole development of the composition, singing louder than the other flowers in the heart and even getting through the sumptuous dark muffle of patchouli and woods in the base. The aroma of this fleur d'oranger is like a sheer, bright yellow of a diaphanous organza fabric blowing in the hot summer wind...The vividness of the note makes one catch one's breath and then go, delightfully, aaahh! ...There is just something so infinitely, vibrantly beautiful about it. I should emphasize again how non-sweet this floral explosion is on my skin. And despite the brilliant dominance of orange blossom, the composition retains a certain degree of darkness. If Mona di Orio's truly nocturnal, indolic, earthy, complex Nuit Noire and L'Artisan's buoyantly sunny, fresh and simpler Fleur d'Oranger had an offspring, it would have been just like Oesel...a luminous, joyful creature, which throws an unexpectedly dark shadow... Available at Xerjoff's website and Luckyscent, $345.00-$470.00. Labels: orange blossom, Xerjoff |
posted by Marina |
5:00 AM
34 Comments:
Oh. I love orange blossoms and child of Nuit Noire and Fleurs d'Oranger sounds really good. And as I see, very expensive. :(
Ines,
Yes, the price is ...ouchie! But the scent is just so beautiful, at least worth a try.
You make this sound so very interesting. I am all for non sweet flowers at the moment. I am all sweetened out ;) Did you try more of the line? It seems interesting, but the pricetag is something to reckon with here.
B,
I tried quite a few of them and liked quite a few of those I tried. I don't like liking perfumes this expensive :)
I hear you, M :)
Am staying far far far away from the Xerjoffs... I just do not need anything at that price range, however good they may be.
Or so I tell myself.
I'm not a big orange blossom fan anyway, so Oesel won't be on my radar. But I will be the uneducated American and say that the name makes me think of weasels.
I'm laughing to myself at the juxtaposition of the Xerjoff right about the $30 fragrance I was so excited about yesterday...
When I went to investigate the Infusion Organique, my thought was, eh, pass. With so many great things already in my collection... you know the drill.
Today, reading (another!) great review of a Xerjoff has me saying aloud to myself, PASS! PASS!
LOL. I've got to convince myself, before the exclusivity entices me...
Geez. Right "above", not about. Pardon, all!
I'm one who is always grateful for a dryer and/or less sweet blend...I find that association with dessert as a "feminine" thing interesting, as it is the *guys* who are charted as having pumpkin pie and vanilla as at the top of their favorite smells.
Anyway, this one sounds like it is full of potential. I'm going to proceed through the day ignoring the price point, so I can imagine its potential being fulfilled.
Oh, I cannot get enough of orange blossom, so I will definitely look into this one. Yet, I cannot help noticing that the price is outrageous...
museinwoodenshoes,
There are some other names there that also perhaps were better left not used in relation to perfume. But other than that and the price, I can't find anything bad to say, darn it.
Its a straight rip-off of JPG Fleurs de Male. Pass.
D,
Yes, quite a contrast in price :) And the problem is that there are so man Xerjoffs, that it is quite possible that at least one would have your name on it...
S,
It is full of potential. We fell for expensive perfumes before and somehow we always manage to acquire some, in some form.
V,
Undoubtedly the price is due to the bottles. I wish there was a way to get these in plain ones...
Anonymous,
Really? Interesting! I don't smell that but would try side by side.
Lovely review Marina as always. I may be being dense here, but what was the orange blossom fragrance you were over-exposed to?
Tara,
Thank you! It was L'Artisan Parfumeur's lovely rendition.
Many thanks!
Wow, it's exactly what I would love too, except for that price tag!
Donna
there are so many in their collection that I think you might like...
This sounds so good. I find their names kind of .... out there, though. I'm not even thinking about the price.
March,
all scents in this particular collection are apparently named after meteorites...some really are out there :)
*Sigh*
I taught myself to love orange blossom last year, right about this time (love florals in winter) (and in summer). But. The name! The price!
Really, it makes the L'Artisan, which I never did get to try, look quite reasonable...
Alyssa
Taught yourself to love it? :)
Oesel and Irisss are the 2 that stood out to me from that collection. It's always surprised me that Oesel doesn't get more love. I'm so glad to see it coming from you!
Absthurd
Irisss is a favorite for me too!
Just out of idle curiosity, how does it compare with the Lutens "Fleurs d'Oranger"? (Which I love, adore, worship and wore today to great effect!) Orange blossom is one of my favorite notes, and I'm always on the hunt for the ultimate in orange blossom.
The only thing that gives me pause for thought is Xerjoff's price tag. Ouch. Amouage is quite bad enough.
tarleisio ,
Lovely to see you. The two I quite different I'd say. SL FdO is "thicker" smelling to me, sweeter, also- cumin-y. This one is airier, drier, sharper somehow. FdO would be velvet, this is organza.
Stumbled into liking it? I *feel* like I taught myself. But maybe it was Serge Lutens who taught me. I kept coming back to SL's FdO until it caught me, but good. And then I finally understood the appeal of the other, simpler orange blossom samples I had lying around... And now I love almost all orange blossom. Couldn't stand it before. It smelled insipid half the time, like baby aspirin the rest...
Alyssa,
which orange blossom scent is your most favorite? The SL one?
Anyone wanting to try Xerjoff , like me, and could not buy a whole bottle try a sample set. I have two now and I was astounded by the quality . I havn't got the one I really want yet so I hope they keep them and think about selling the fragrances in glass bottles. I would love to be wealthy enough to collect the bottles but I am not .
Angela,
which scents do you like the most?
There are some other names there that also perhaps were better left not used in relation to perfume.
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