Cruz del Sur I

I don’t know why this one isn’t more popular. It’s not that strange of a scent. It reminds me of a creamier version of Tuscan Leather...or Clive Christian C...or Widian London. I think it’s much better than all of those, but I’m also fond of Xerjoff. Performance? Well, I put on two sprays from a tiny atomizer. About 45 minutes later, I’m in KFC which you can literally smell a mile away. A woman about 8 feet from me complimented me. If it can cut through chicken and biscuits at KFC, it can cut through about any club scent. And I liked her reaction - almost one of confusion. I like when a scent changes someone’s facial expression because their senses are processing something they’ve never sensed. That’s the definition of niche to me.

I haven't experienced Overture Man. However, I do have Overdose which has been described as a close match. I wore Overdose on one arm and Cruz Del Sur I on the other. They are similar. But the differences are very apparent. Overdose lasts longer. Overdose is more wearable in the opening. Which is odd. With grapes, rum, and bergamot I assumed the opening would be safe. It isn't. After some time it is certainly wearable. I guess its wearable regardless depending on your taste. Dries down to a animalic leather with incense. I find it interesting. Probably will not get as many wears as others I have. But I will wear it. Presentation is fabulous as always and I do appreciate the small things like the meteorite fragments. Neat touch.

First spray it pushed me away. Then the dry down got me hooked straight back in. This fragrance is undoubtedly well crafted. There’s these smoky and spicy tone that really captivates me. Pretty similar to Amouage Memoir another similar kind of scent. Both incredible but don’t take me wrong you gotta pass the sour opening to appreciate the cinnamon sweet smoky vibe afterwards. Despite not being a crowd pleaser I doubt people won’t like the way this scent lingers in the air. It’s pretty good. At least on my skin. I would definitely pull that off on a cold night out. Thanks XJ but next time whilst creating something that good make it a 100ml of it.

I love the way it smells, for me I go straight to the dry down and get that combination of rum, leather, Incense, and amber. I got this sample on accident when I was meant to get cruz del sur 2, but I found that I love the first. It is an amazing scent for fall and winter 8/10

Wow, thought it was so powerful it had to have Oud in there. But I guess not. Intense leather, spicy, incense and rum. Made for a lion. Love it. Kinda reminded me of Oud Abramad by Crivelli. But, I think this has a lot more going on. Glad I got my hands on this.

I love this fragrance: classy, elegant, animalic, leathery. It's for a man in charge not looking to please anybody around him. I only wear this dressed up in a suit and when I have an important meeting.

Has an uncanny resemblance to Cabernet Sauvignon. Mulled red fruits, earthy, musk, warm spice and a touch of leather

Perfection in a bottle. One of the best from the house.

I hate leather. Something about the note of it, is just old, "gentleman" skanky, uber masculine. Just not me at all. I really struggle with any "Leather" fragrances. So this truly shocked me. Bit surprised so few reviews on this one. However I recently tried to find a bottle to buy and none of the usual haunts were selling it, so perhaps it's not "out there" for people to find. Shame, because this is a good one. SCENT It's reasonably linear, there isn't a huge amount of transformation going on. There's a strong smoky bonfire note in the opening that lasts the whole time it's being worn. It dies down a bit and changes to a more smoky vibe, but it's very good. Leather is certainly there too, but it's seriously pushed back and only co-exists rather than overrides. So I do very much like this Bit incense and resinous also a little bozzy which adds sweetness. It's a good scent though, well blended and all the notes play nice without being a bully. LONGEVITY and PROJECTION Projection is good. It's not a beast in performance though. I found it pushed out a good scent cloud for a few hours, then eased back to the occasional whiff. After 4 hours it was faded and gone totally by the 6 hour mark. APPEAL Not a young persons scent. 30+ maybe. OCCASION Smart, or smart casual (emphasize on the smart). Expensive date nights. Upmarket Bars. Not casual and definitely not a gym scent. TIME OF DAY / YEAR I'm wearing it mid Spring during the daytime at the moment and love it. But I think I'm pushing it! It's designed for cool evenings and cozy Winter days. MASCULINE OR FEMININE Some woman could wear this... but it's much more of a masculine scent because of the smoky leather... I don't know, there is a sweetness there which softens it quite a bit. Some woman could certainly wear this, but I think only a handful would like to wear it.

In many holy places, households, during evenings before sunset there is a practice of burning bukhoor to cleanse the energy of the environment, and for many other varied reasons. The first 3 sprays of Cruz Del Sur 1 hits banging through the senses; a massive smoky, not-so-typical, very surprising, less animalic, heated incense of high quality, as if you’re hotboxed in a room full of bukhoor smoke. Instantly shifts you into a deep mindset, mindful, relaxed yet overpowering feel. Grapes being one of the top notes is ridiculous because I get no trace of it, makes me think it’s completely upside down. The base notes are the top notes and then the middle notes and after 7 solid hours you get the sweeet top notes, which feels like the hotboxed room’s windows opened for smoke to pass away and now there’s a feast of fresh extra sweet halwa, some made right there, the steamy sugary syrupy aroma, while the person in charge of the kitchen smokes a thic cardomom and cinnamon based cigar. A very challenging perfume which has to be shelved very high and get hands on only for spiritual occasions, during a visit to the tibetian monastery, historical places of worship, and pilgrimages.

Very classy masculine fragrance. It is very well blended with the leather, castoreum, amber, sandalwood and a touch of rum resulting in a very pleasant, unique scent. I got less of the incense and spices. No worries here about the cumin - no BO scent at all. Leans a little more formal/night, although would work casual/day. A bit heavy, so not the best for summer unless you're in AC. For sure not a summer patio/barbecue party fragrance. This does not remind me of Overture Man which has its challenging aspects. Cruz del Sur I did not have any way out notes and I found it very pleasant from the opening to the dry down. Longevity and sillage both very good. UPDATE: Had to update after testing Iron Duke. Yes, Cruz del Sur I has a similarity to Iron Duke. To be honest, Cruz del Sur I is the better fragrance.

A truly unusual Oriental gourmand with a slight animalic vibe from Xerjoff, this is a slightly bold venture from a house mostly known for crowd pleasing offerings with high quality ingredients. The perfume truly evokes the imagery of places in South America I have visited but not specifically any one country. The brief tropical opening is that of grapes, bergamot and rum. The heart is aromatic woody mostly with cedar, cinnamon, cumin, cloves, and dried fruits. The perfume settles into a leathery powdery base of sandalwood, amber, myrrh, frankincense, amber, leather and castoreum. The perfume is unisex with moderate to strong projection and very good longevity. It is definitely not a crowd pleaser, but has a distinct vibe of an exotic tropical paradise. I find it quite beautiful. Enjoy!

In the opening I got a really smoky bonfire note. Interesting but not so pleasant to my nose. I was thinking to scratch it off, but I gave it some time. After 20 min it start to fade into a kind of dark, smokey tuscan leather. Mixed with christmas cakes and there is also a metalic vibe. Gets better and better as it settles down. Addicting effect. Some dried fruits in the background. High quality and I enjoy the dynamic aspect of the scent. If the right person wear this, the scent become a statement of the personality. Can be extremly sexy and bring out the soul of the right person. Good to stand out. Interesting this one, but not my type of fragrance to wear.

The opening is very pungent, it reminds me of that time I tried making wine and ended up with rotten grapes. The first few minutes after the initial spray are unforgivable. This fragrance truly disturbs my spirit in an unpleasant way. It eases up with the dry down and the clove ambery notes are actually enjoyable. It is unisex but I would prefer it on my man. It's boozy, it's spicy, leathery, quite sexy after all.

I get a weird leather, incense and honey(?) combo. I like it a little better that Cruz del Sur II but it's not at all wearable in my book.

Wasn’t a big fan at first but I guess I’m getting used to it and becomes more palatable

The opening to Xerjoff’s Cruz del Sur I is quite strange, it was immediately obvious why this is so polarising. It’s hard to really convey what I was initially hit with, but it was much like a fusion of the musky leather from Xerjoff’s Homme and the fruitiness from Cruz del Sur II, which when combined create a scent that, at least to my nose, was reminiscent of pungent rotting fruit (seriously). Dry down isn’t nearly as bad, with the leather becoming much softer and smoother as well as the fruity notes becoming drier and less sweet. Even with this improvement I find that this is essentially made completely redundant by Xerjoff’s Tony Iommi Monkey Special, that was released more recently, as it took the same core concept and was executed perfectly (or at least much more successfully) with the inclusion of additional notes that brought everything together beautifully.

Cruz del Sur I by Xerjoff is a very challenging perfume for me. It’s way too potent for my taste. It is completely overpowering from start to finish. The mix of rum, leather, dried fruits, castoreum, and incense just doesn’t blend well on my skin at all. I can appreciate the originality and artistic direction behind it, but honestly, I find it pretty disgusting to wear. This is an extremely niche fragrance made for a very niche audience. The performance is undeniably strong though with a massive sillage and is incredibly long lasting. If you enjoy dark, animalic, smoky compositions, you might appreciate it more than I did. I rate this 3/10.

It feels like a cruel joke that this perfume and Cruz del Sur II share the same name. I bought a sample of this believing it was its fruity creamy sequel. A terrible mistake. They are nothing alike other than a salty green note that I can just barely pick up on in II but permeates I for me. On me this fragrance smells like olive brine almost to the point of photo realism. I have no idea how that’s possible with the listed notes but it is undeniable. Maybe it’s just my ph but it’s definitely not a safe blind buy.

I really disliked this - and I rarely just smell something and say "No". But that's what I did with CDS I. I get a sour note that reminds me of pickle juice. The reviews I see on II look much different, so I'd like to pick up a sample of that as well.