Astaral

#978 in my "Tour de Fragrance" Got this as a decant. Kemi Blending Magic was such a genius fragrance house, so God bless Xerjoff for bringing their scents over unchanged in the acquisition. In my career I've managed 32 mergers and acquisitions and this is such a rarity it's almost beyond belief. Usually the acquired brand disappears entirely as the bones are picked for talent, patents, technologies. Think L'Oreal's disastrous and destructive acquisition of Thiery Mugler and the resulting loss of some of the best men's fragrances ever made. (I'd still like to find the SOB behind that in a dark alley.) Astaral remains the fabulous fragrance Kemi created, remaining bottles selling on eBay for just under $500. But this is the same juice available for under $200, so unless you want the Kemi bottle for collector purposes you needn't spend the money with the scalpers of eBay for this fabulous fragrance. It is a little oriental in a way I usually dislike with all the rose and florals, but not enough to make it grandma juice. Kannauj shamama attar really is magical, and gives this scent a completely unique and complex herbal quality I haven't encountered with any other ingredient. I can't stop sniffing it. If you're carpooling or otherwise in tight spaces this stuff really projects at first. It will get noticed, and if overdone will not be appreciated by everyone. So go easy. Though in terms of longevity, makes it to lunch, not much beyond. I wouldn't wear this to the office, but it would be a definite for date night. Unisex for sure, leaning a bit femme with a floral opening, but that gets out of the way in 15-20 minutes. I'm in for a bottle.

Those accords and that scent pyramid are crazy, does not at all align with my experience. It opens fruity-floral and I'm instantly thinking feminine scent. The first comparable I reached for was Pink me up by Atelier des Ors. A little bit harsh up-close, some bitterness. As it dries, the fruity-floral accords have some freshness and some soapiness added. But once we exit minute 5 or so, what I begin to notice is a very dominating rose - a dewy/sweet/jammy rose that seems recognizable from a lot of the scents released by Fragrance du Bois and some also from Roja Parfums. For example: Parisian, Oud Rose Intense, Taif Aoud, Amber Aoud - scents in that general bracket. Or if I'm more harsh about it: rose-oud scents where there is basically no oud. The tones flanking the rose eventually become slightly comparable to those in Nishane's Favonius - a cypriol/nagarmotha-driven backdrop is mildly apparent after hours 2-3, maybe hour 4. But the craziest part is that this Xerjoff is far louder, has far better longevity, and costs €290 for 100ml vs. those FDBs and Rojas trading at 2x the price for worse performance. So shoutout Xerjoff for not offering a watered-down product at an absurd price. Purely from the perspective of what the comparables are, this is great value and I would encourage anybody to try this side-by-side with the scents I listed above and see what your performance impressions are. Most suited for spring-fall, might have a narrow feminine lean to some. Works for both day and night. Not sure I'd touch it in summer or winter. Does it smell like Blue Sapphire? I wouldn't know.

If I had to review Astaral in three words I would say "delicate and delightful". Subtlety is something i much admire and think we need more of in our lives. Hence my deep love for this perfume. On my skin, it is not a projection monster, but rather an ethereal, yet consistent and uplifting presence. In a fragrance landscape often dominated by olfactory maximalism, Xerjoff has done something admirable: they have created a scent that whispers, and in doing so, says far more. There is a celestial airiness to Astaral: From its slightly spicy opening, to the long-lasting rose heart, and the sweet woody base, the fragrance stays light and delicate. It is clearly a rose scent, but never powdery, never heavy, more like catching the scent of a rose on a breeze outside a spice market. As the projection recedes a bit with time, the intensity of the scent itself remains remarkably consistent. It is just perfectly constructed from top to bottom. The oud is mild and well-behaved, grounding the airy top and floral heart in a sweet, woody spiciness, an experience bordering on the spiritual. The rose-oud combination is well-trodden territory, but the lightness and spice here give it a genuinely fresh twist: timeless without feeling dated. Astaral is perfectly unisex and flattering at any age. I love wearing it on a spring or early summer evening with a leather jacket. I am also looking forward to trying it on colder days. Could potentially be a date night fragrance. It is the kind of scent that invites you to lean in closer, and that, perhaps, is exactly the point.

I hated this on paper and now I just can’t get enough of it on me. I think I tried this because of the shamama attar note listed and is supposed to be a mix of many spices and herbs from what I understand and definitely feel that. Theres warm edible smelling spices and herbs along with a very clean Oud note that I really can’t get enough of, I don’t really get much of a rose but definitely detect a chocolatey patchouli in the dry down. Performance starts off borderline nuclear but after about an hour it seems to start fading but I’ll say it’s above average. One of the best rose ouds I’ve tried it doesn’t feel right to even call it such, beautiful.

Fucking Awesome! Sometimes blind buys work out. I just had to have the bottle for my collection, but when I read the notes, I was a little worried. I am not really into spices, oud or ambers for that matter. From the first spray, I went from it’s not that bad, to it’s actually pretty good, to OMG! This is awesome. I have no idea what Shamama spices are but I guess they smell great LOL. The fragrance is beautifully blended - you can pick out the rose and oud and you really try, but just sit back and enjoy. I find it to be similar, but better, than Alexandra II. What an underrated fragrance.

At first I wasn’t sure if I needed this one in my collection, eventhough I enjoyed it a lot, it wasn’t something new to my nose. But my gosh a week later here I am testing my sample again, and wow, these warm windy summer days carry this fragrance completely different. 10/10 on both - my skin and my clothes. All of a sudden I can’t get enough of it. I can’t believe I finally found a Xerjoff bottle that I actually want to own. Welcome to my collection Astaral!

I really like this. It’s a classic rose/patchouli/oud perfume, but done in more of an understated way. Some perfumes in this style kind of slap you in the face, but this is a bit more softer and rounded. The oud and spices are a bit more toned down, and the amber is toned up, giving it a warmer profile. That being said, it’s still quite sexy and better suited to night time. Projection and longevity and insane, hefty performance.

I love everything thing about this but not the price tag lol. The bottle 11/10 easily. The scent 9.5/10 some might say its not so groundbreaking, i hate fragrance that smell too woody but this right here rose amber oud blended very well without the oud being too dark. Its perfect for special occasions

This is so unique. Shout out to this bottle design, when it hits the sunlight... Definitely full bottle worthy for the presentation itself! I liked this one out of its others in the kemi-blue line. This is very strong as well, performance is really good—nothing bad to say about this one. 9/10

Perfect , The best from xerjoff in my opinion Its like alexandria 2 and oud satin mood had a baby (just without the vanilla and the caramel) Long lasting and very very nice projection . 10/10 for me.

A spicy incensed and herbaceous rose with some oud stringing along for the ride 😍 amazing!

I've spent the last 12 hours with Xerjoff Astaral on one arm and Boadicea Nemer on the other, comparing them side by side. Both fragrances are quite similar and impressively good, mostly staying close to the skin. Astaral is slightly less powerful in terms of lasting power and projection but still has a very appealing scent. I find myself repeatedly drawn to smell each arm, discovering a unique, slightly salty mineral quality in both, similar to the scent of a magnesium salt bath. While they are incredibly alike, Nemer stands out for its stronger scent, offering twice the intensity. This could make it the preferred choice for some, but Astaral's lower price makes it an attractive option as well. Astaral is definitely not falling far behind, offering great value. Both are worth trying for anyone interested in unique, skin-close scents. Given Astaral's more affordable price, I'm leaning towards purchasing a full bottle of it, but I'd suggest testing both to see which one you prefer.

Astaral by Xerjoff under Kemi-Blue line (USD 170) Astaral is new debute scent when Kemi blending magic merge into Xerjoff. From my point of view, this is very easy to use Oud-Floral-Amber fragrance, dry down powdery. The Shamama Attar accord in here is quite difference. I am not sure rather is that kinda leans Incense or else, to me a perceive this as Kala Jamun rose syrup. Even this have Anise, I don't find this is hot at all. Comparision to Sahan from Penheligons' The heart, I perceive real oud, little banyard. Rose is prominant with additional of Violet sweetness in Candy aspect. In the dry down, it settle to Musky powdery realm. Slightly cooling however the floral/violet sweetness from heart is transit to the dry down as well. I would rate this 8/10 even their is strong spice scent. When everything is settle down is beautiful after all and easy to use. Floral note in here really help everything better. Final dry down is Powdery/Floral-woody/musk.

Warm spicy woody floral that showcases the Shamama Attar (a spicy woody ambery oil made from over 50 ingredients in Northern India) to Western perfumery. The perfume opens with the Attar accord surrounded by some pepper and anise. The heart is mostly rose surrounded by labdanum and slight violet. The perfume settles into a dense powdery base of patchouli, oakmoss, amber (mostly synthetic) , slight oud, and cedar. The unisex scent has moderate to strong sillage and good longevity. The dense enveloping sweet and spicy scent is not suited for every taste, and persons are encouraged to try first before purchase. Enjoy!

It's nice. Brittle oud and a soft rose to round it out. It does come across a little bit medicinal. But it's pleasant enough. Other than the rose and oud though, not much going on. Would love to see some spices or ambers come out to put an edge on this. If you like rose and oud by themselves, then it might be for you.

Straight off the bat, its comes off as a typical rose + oud combination. While it's good, it's not amazing. It dries down into something slightly sweeter, but I wouldn't say it's too different from the first impression.

Beautiful scent from my fav house! Leans a bit feminine in the opening. FB worthy!

It's not bad, but it reminds me too much of every oud-rose combo release from Montale. I sense a faint Roja Amber Aoud vibe in there as well. Not spectacular, but not bad either. I would say this is one of the more wearable rose-oud combos. Nothing for young people though, 28+ and up.

The projection is very close to the skin. I barely smell this even after applying and then it almost vanishes after an hour. It's a good composition, but it goes unnoticed- at least on me.

Neviem či mám zlú fľašu ale toto vonia na mne maximálne 30 min. A drží sa to blízko pokožky. Vôňa pekná ale výdrž a Siláž sú velmo slabé.