Groove Xcape

Groove Xcape is the Xerjoff release that accidentally wandered into a liminal corridor of the brand’s catalogue.Too experimental to stand with the crowd‐pleasers, too polished to be filed under “weird indie” and ultimately destined to hover in that charming nowhere-space where hidden gems tend to live. Born from Joff’s collaboration with Max Casacci (Subsonica's co‐founder who composed an entire track using only the clinks, hisses, and swirls of perfume bottles), the project had all the makings of a cross‐disciplinary triumph, yet somehow slipped under most people’s radar. This offbeat release concept is exactly what placed it in liminality: it wasn't quite a perfume launch, not quite a multimedia art experiment, and not quite an ambient soundscape... but rather a little bit of all three. And that is precisely why it’s interesting. On skin, Grove Xcape mirrors that liminality and, ultimately, the bottle's design makes a lot of sense. The metallic flash of ginger, cardamom, and elemi feels like stepping into a dream mid‐scene: a sharp, glimmering threshold rather than a conventional top note. Vinchon-Spehner’s command of resinous materials becomes even more obvious as the scent drifts into frankincense, mimosa, and myrrh: suddenly the edges blur, and the whole composition takes on the disembodied quality of a lucid dream you’re not sure you’re supposed to be in. In the last part of this trip, comes the base: labdanum, cedarwood, benzoin are grounding the liminal haze. The result? A fragrance that’s neither here nor there. Grove Xcape wasn’t built for mass appeal or Xerjoff’s usual luxury sheen... but it was certainly built to perform. It will last on your skin for 12+ hours, with an above average projection which gets stronger when your body warms up. If you enjoy perfumes that feel like they’re glitching reality (but they are often available at heavily discounted prices), this one is worth stepping into the hallway for. You might never come back. Enjoyed the read? Find more of my fragrance ramblings on my NEW YouTube channel: @mostly_just_perfumes

We open with the protection spell of fresh orange pomanders, studded with cloves. Evil energies dispersed, we move into a heart of resins and incense. However this isn’t the typical bright churchy incense of Cardinal/Avignon/Full Incense, instead taking on a cold, flinty, matchstick-gunpowder tone, which I find has more in common with Fille en Aguilles, but lacking the Lutens’ contrast of sugary fruit and festive spices - I’d only wear this austere scent at Christmas-time if I’ve been a very bad boy indeed. And the conflict between presentation and use case is a bit of a conundrum. This is sophisticated and ultra high quality, you can easily dress it up. But if someone at a formal event asks you what scent you’re wearing and you start jabbering about some fragrance created by a DJ and intended for ravers and it’s called Groovy XXXcapade or something ... they’re gonna gawp at you like you just sprouted a third head. Oh well. I love it, but it wears like an extrait - dense and eternal but close to the skin, so I probably won’t ever be asked. If it happens I’ll just lie and say it’s a Filippo Sorcinelli or something.

It's pretty similar to Honor Man in the opening, perhaps a bit more complex, and the ambroxan isn't quite as loud here (although it's still an ambroxan bomb, make no mistake). It changes dramatically after 20 minutes, going in a sweet, floral direction. Very strange, I can't decide how I feel about it for now. Update: OK yes, it's absolutely genius, LOVE it. People say it smells more like an Amouage, and I can see what they mean, but there are a few which overlap between the brand style in this way, and the interesting thing is that this perfume doesn't resemble any Amouage perfume, apart from in the opening. After that it diverges drastically from what Honor Man does. Honor becomes a peppery vetiver scent, whereas Groove Xcape goes down a bizarre (in a good way), powdery floral route thanks to the mimosa, but still retains the spices, it's very unique, very strong and very addictive. Xerjoff fans also say this one is cold and not at all sweet. I mean, yes, compared to the Xerjoff catalogue this is bone dry, but by any normal standard it's still fairly sweet, just sweet enough.

The blue bottle and the marketing arond Groove Xcape might mislead some people. This is not a blue fragrance, nor a youthful party/nightclubbing scent. Perhaps the best way to approach this fragrance, is to forget about the ad and the presentation, and to just focus on its pyramid/scent profile. It's a very spicy, very balsamic, and very comforting oriental perfume where Incense, Pepper, Cardamom and Rose are the stars of the show, with a touch of sweetness coming from Benzoin. To me at least, this fragrance evokes more images of the 1960s Haight-Ashbury hippie scene, than those of EDM festivals. It leans masculine and mature. Being a collaboration, it could be considered as a sort of bespoken creation, so yes, it's not for everyone. But if you like resinous and spicy compositions, give it a testing. It is unique, and its performance leaves nothing to be desired, yet it doesn't feel overwhelming. A love for me.

This was a blind buy on first spray and my first day with this i didn’t know what to think. Extremely unique to me I seen a video about it smelling sort of dry ice smoke machine and warm but cool smell I know weird but I totally get that. (I’m by no means skilled at knowing what’s what with scents I just know what I like lol) now after a week with it I’m falling in love with it. I don’t know if it’s because the juice in the bottle has had a bit of time to set but it smells better to me then first day or 2. It’s definitely going to shine in cooler weather I think for me . I’m definitely not disappointed in this purchase looking forward to giving it a good run. Also I personally think the bottle matches the scent. But that’s my opinion 🤷♂️