Ivory Route

If I had to, for any melodramatic reason you could think up, keep only one perfume out of my dream vanity collection and then only wear that one for the rest of my life (the horror of the thought) ... I would choose Ivory Route without question. I smelled this perfume four years ago and it was love at first sniff. Not just for me but for my partner as well (him loving the future reality of me wearing it all the good damn time). Yet there was a deeper connection going on for us. More than just "this is a masterpiece fragrance"... to both of us this perfume smelt like who I am, my personality, bottled. I think sometimes we just stumble upon that one scent that feels like an extension of ourselves. Because of this, Ivory Route will always feel like mine. Fortunately I am not limited to wearing one perfume for the rest of my life so I tend to only enjoy Ivory Route in the cooler seasons as she is a bit of a spicy lady that packs a punch for most noses. If I were to really get precious about it, I feel like Ivory Route is best paired with autumn. Its notes are kept secret. That's fun. The vibe reads oriental spicy to me, but its not too spicy nor too sweet in my opinion but the perfect balance of both. On my skin its a projection beast and lasts for 8 hours. Which is great because this is an expensive buy for the rest of ones life... I receive countless compliments when I wear her, and even though I agree that Ivory Route is completely unisex I feel like the fragrance leans more towards a feminine guile, but again I believe anyone can pull it off, any gender, any age. I don't really encourage blind buying a niche fragrance, but if you haven't already, do get your nose on a sample. Ivory Route might just be your next favourite thing. LATER EDIT: I know I talked about Ivory Route being a soul mate frag but I don't think I did their description any justice. I just went on about how much I loved the juice. So this is my opinion of its scent profile and what notes I pick up from my full bottle: When I first spray Ivory Route on my skin its a burst of pungent boozy, woody spices. It smells completely unisex. Its bitter, dirty and a tiny bit sweet. I like the opening. But I LOVE the dry down. The change begins at the 30 - 45 minute mark when the vanilla really starts to warm up and rise to the surface, at the same time the woodiness sinks down and mellows out but the spices remain the same. However they are now saturated by this velvety sweetness. Smells like a Beanilla Vanilla is used for the vanilla accord to my nose, which is a blend of Bourbon and Tahitian vanilla. During the dry down something herbal comes out to play, its detectable now the woodiness has chilled out. The final stretch is the sweetest. The boozy vanilla is really prominent 8 hours later but still contains a lot of the spice and the wood has made a comeback but still is not as in your face as that first opening spritz. Summed up: A bowl of dry aromatic spices are mixed together and are thoroughly smoked. Then a pot of Beanilla Vanilla is brought to a low simmer and the spices are poured in. Oh, and the person who is blending this devine elixir is stirring it with a wooden spoon made of Oud. That's the impression this fragrance leaves me with! Again, the notes are kept secret so this is all guess work.

Ivory Route was a total surprise for me. It so popular and highly praised on social media that I was absolutely confident that I would love it. But it smells different to me from what I imagined it would hearing others describe it. And it proves that all the hype it gets is well deserved! It’s an instant love for me! I never thought I’d find a better, natural and realistic smelling basil scent than the one in Guerlain’s Allegoria line, Mandarin Basilic. Until I first smelled Ivory Route. The basil note in the opening of Ivory Route is perfection! It’s fresh, crisp, bright, with a hint of sweetness exactly like it would be if I were to smell a handful of freshly picked basil leaves from my garden. The concentration of natural ingredients and the quality of Xerjoff products never cease to amaze me. In about half an hour, the scent transforms from the fresh green basil into a smooth, soft and creamy mix of green notes and sandalwood. It’s so refreshing and woody in this scent, but very unique smelling. I am surprised that it doesn’t have vanilla, pink pepper or cloves in the composition, feels so warm, soft spicy and comforting. After the one hour mark, the freshness of basil starts to fade and the spices take front stage, but it doesn’t smell peppery. It smells gorgeous and different than most freshies do. It’s something in the way they blended the notes that make the juice smell incredibly good. I don’t know how to describe in words, but it smells great. It’s a versatile scent that works for most of the seasons in my opinion. It’s fresh, almost aromatic, green, woody, warm spicy, semi sweet and distinctive. Cannot say that I have smelled anything similar to Ivory Route besides the basil note, in the opening! As far as gender goes, I think it’s perfectly fine for both genders and would suits to people who love fresher, smooth and balanced scents. Simply by looking at the notes on Fragrantica, it could make you think it’s a masculine scent but it doesn’t smell like the notes listed here. It smells fantastic!

Ivory Route is a fragrance I have never smelled up until a month and a half ago. I purchased a sample from a trusted source after hearing great things about it. I would finally get my nose on it and my first impression of it was "Oh! That's nice." and put it aside. Over the next few weeks I would acquire more 0.7 ml fragrance dabbers and smell several dozen fragrances from several different niche houses - Frederic Malle, Initio, Histoires De Parfum, Le Labo, Profumum, Nishane, Heely, to name a few. Among these titans, there was something about Ivory Route sitting in the back of my mind... and that's where my love for this fragrance REALLY started to blossom. I can't tell you how many times within that span of a month and a half I would dab this on my arm and my face would light up with a smile. It's like finding the perfect person, in my opinion. You just connect. No other explanation needed. Ivory Route is not a fragrance you can just look up on youtube or fragrantica and get some other person's opinion, explanation, (including my own) or even try to "blind buy" with hype which is what I see too many people doing in fragcomm. It's something that needs to be intimately experienced for yourself, one on one, with no distractions. I got to gradually grow closer and closer to Ivory Route with the sample I had. Every dab on my arm was like a conversation or some type of playful interaction. I fell in love hard. Before you knew it, I had this thing in my cart and gladly handed over my money. This is an absolutely fantastic blend of sweetness and spices with the perfect touch of an almost smoky woods. It is in the top 3 most alluring fragrances I've ever smelled and provokes passion in my opinion. In an effort to sound like less of a snob, this shit is fucking fire and you need to get your nose on it if you haven't.

Really beautiful spices blended with an amber vanilla sandalwood core. I think what really helps here is this is a great blend of spices. I cannot pick out just one, but it feels like there is chai cardamom anise and others in here, maybe some pepper but this is not an overly black pepper scent. I’m not sure I smell the allspice mentioned in the estimated notes. At the base of it all is a really nice amber vanilla that lasts a while. I am a little more sensitive to amber and that’s what I smell the most of, but I know others smell the spices and woodiness more. The wood is a sandalwood, not green at all like a cedar or fougere, but rather a warm sandalwood that blends with those spices and vanilla. Great blend, also has an underlying musk to soften it up a bit. With how much spice is in here, it’s the most “inoffensive” spice scent I’ve smelled because it blends so well with everything else. I’m personally sensitive to patchouli, so much so that it just ruins some scents for me, and I’m not getting much of it here. It probably is adding some earthiness but I cannot detect the patchouli yelling at me like it does in other scents. On skin I’m getting more of the spices, on clothing I get more of the amber and musk. So take your pick how you want to wear it. This could be worn year round because it’s not too sweet for summer, but given how warm it is, it seems a better fit for fall and winter. Lasts a long time and leaves a scent trail, but isn’t going to project through the room or across the table which I think is a good thing. This is the type of scent to draw someone in and closer. It’s comforting, and yet classy. More masculine to me but a certain woman could pull it off well.

Got this in a few days ago and had set it aside while I was testing a few other frags. Decided at 4:45am this morning to use Ivory Route after the shower. Great Googa-Mooga!! What is this? I'm a big fan of the Xerjoff DNA and this has that but it also has what seems like a touch of secret PDM/Initio DNA thrown in. The open is spicy and rich but not heavy. There's a soft almost gourmand note that comes up from the mid that sweeps this along into an ultra smooth and warm sandalwood that has an almost tobacco note despite tobacco not being listed. The warmth of the spices with the basil and patchouli at the base keep the other notes forward and present almost throughout to the drydown. It starts mysterious and ends warm and comforting. I kinda love this stuff. Fragrance - 8.5/10 Projection - 8/10 Sillage - 9/10 Longevity - 9/10 I'll say that my Xerjoff bias is showing but I don't care as this is a definite recommend. EDIT: Update - I was out at a store and a group of three young ladies were standing very close to me and were clearly following along as I moved from a retail display to another. I heard a few nice words in Hindi I'd learned from my GF and turned and asked if everything was okay. The closest one answered me by saying they all thought I smelled wonderful and wanted to know if I could tell them what I was wearing. All three of them wanted to know and if they could come just a bit closer to smell it. They were all very polite and seemed appreciative that I spelled it out on one girl's phone for her. I was absolutely pumped. This was a very cool event and this is the fragrance I'd applied 12 hours earlier at 4:45am.

Wow - and that's not all I have to say! On that initial spray patchouli comes through loud and clear but its spicy with a touch of herbal something, not in any way dirty. I really don't mind patchouli but even if you do, what follows will make it worth it! As the fragrance sits on your skin the patchouli softens, almost fading into the background, never going away completely but rather working to ground the other notes as they develop, find their place in the composition and settle in. The woody notes here are interesting, starting out very woody but gives way to a creamy sandalwood. This composition is definitely spiced, with a spice blend if you will, making it rather difficult to distinguish the individual spices but if I were to venture a guess I would say there is some cardamom, maybe. My favorite part of the fragrance is the gorgeous vanilla that starts out as supporting note however, over time it gains traction. In combination with the spices and creamy something something it blooms into the most beautiful spiced creamy vanillic woody scent on your skin. To me, this is unisex, just sweet enough to take it in a feminine direction but with very strong masculine nuances. Performance is above average with moderate sillage, lasting 7-8 hours on my skin. Xerjoff is a house that puts out a lot of great but sometimes complex fragrances that can be a bit challenging to my sniffer. Ivory route, in my opinion, is a lovely amalgamation of these qualities making it deserve all the hype it gets and I truly love love love it!

As someone else here stated: Stunning. As someone also previously, basically, mentioned: It's the inside of a Roman Catholic Church. I get it! I think this is number Five in my top favorite Xerjoff scents, but more like 11th. in my top ten favorites. It's absolute luxury, quality, and can stand the test of time, and/or be that, occasionally, excellent go-to for a change-up. I'd say you can wear this anywhere or time of season, but do think it's best suited for fall - early spring (up to Easter). I'd say: wear it to Easter Sunday mass and blend in, then start thinking about shelving it until October. I don't know if I'll purchase another bottle when this one is done, but I will certainly consider it. I have to admit something. It took me a while to connect this, but LaFayette St. no. 9 can be it's, cheaper, first or second cousin. Maybe a month or so prior, I contemplated two Lafayette's and wore them home. Once I connected them, I wore this and stopped back in to sample the Lafayett no. 9. I ultimately ended up layering the Lafayette over the Ivory Route... The Ivory Route shinned through and could be eqiivelent to trading in a porsche for a kia. Yet, I was correct. They have similarities, and my guess is: synthetic vs. pure quality with the Xerjoff. Anyway, enjoy it. 8.7/10 overall. Mediocre silleage for me. Lasts 5-6 hours, but mostly becomes a skin scent on me. Needs a mid-day re-spritz. But, absolute Quality, like all Xerjoffs; however, these ingredients just scream quite oppulance in a dull raw.

Opening is really interesting, spicy, fresh and woody and I just wanted to smell that more and more. Quite quickly it settles down and all that interesting part has disappeared and soft, powdery and a little bit herbal skin scent is left. Don’t get it wrong, what is left is beautiful. There is just a totaI chance from very strong opening to very soft drydown. I find this scent exactly how the main accords are listed and it goes in that order as well from opening to drydown which is rare. I don’t find here any booze or tobacco vibes or notes, no vanilla either. I sprayed 3 for each wrist but if you are whole day on the way prepare to have a bottle with you and re-spray a couple of times. For me poor longevity is not a problem because I like to change normally the scent 3 times during the day (home/gym/casual/evening/sleeping). This for example I wouldn’t wear at the gym but during the evening when meeting friends this would be perfect. If you like spicy notes I think this is a safe blind buy but if you don’t like I recommend to sample first. Thank you for reading, I hope my review was helpful. I would appreciate a lot if you want to follow me on IG and/or YouTube (English subtitles): @ninamariahperfumes It gives me a lot of motivation to write more. 🤗

I personally associate Ivory Route with Milky Way, an exceptionally stunning galaxy. More than 200 billion stars as well as cosmic dust within its spiral form remind me of all spices the scent carries; bound together by smooth, serene, and cocooning yet rich sandalwood, lactonic, musk, and vanilla as the gravity. There is a lot going on with spices, patchouli, stars and dust, whereas the scent performs as seamless as how the Milky Way appears from telescopic view. They both are warm and comforting but mysterious, surreal, and powerful to experience. I also feel that Xerjoff JTC’s packaging colours (translucent deep blue gradient and bright gold) and Ivory Routes are the best match and have the best harmonies as they illustrate Milky Way colours perfectly. I have never perceived Ivory Route as a ‘hyped’ fragrance. I feel this creation deserves all love and appreciation. However, I cannot categorise this as my everyday fragrance amongst my humble collection simply because it is too special... or perhaps it is the way I see Ivory Route differently. This would be my most favourite fragrance of all if I had to choose. P.S. I could be wrong, though I am sure there is eucalyptus / thyme note.

I got myself a sample, as I wanted to try it based on a recommendation from one of the perfume YouTubers. It’s actually much better than she described. It’s spicy, robust, and peppery in my opinion but dries down to a beautiful vanilla, which interestingly isn’t listed in the notes. I agree with a fellow reviewer, Dylan, just below me, who mentioned that it reminds him of other perfumers’ creations. Like other reviewers noted-it dries down to a beautiful vanilla -quite similar to Dama Bianca( in my opinion). I’m not saying it smells like Dama Bianca, but the vanilla note it’s quite similar. Dama Bianca is much more delicate, while this fragrance feels more robust, powerful, and pungent — which is exactly what I love about it. One of my favourite YouTubers, Anna, described Dama Bianca as a perfume that could be worn by someone in Bridgerton, like Daphne, and I completely agree. Ivory Route , on the other hand, would be better suited for her sister Eloise because of her rebellious nature and bold character. Yet in the dry down feels delicate underneath I’ll definitely be ordering a full bottle.

It's a more wearable version of African Leather. I'd feel comfortable wearing this to the office. It's got a good, but not beast-mode projection. Strong longevity. Mass-pleasing enough for daily use, but just interesting enough that you can be different from anyone else. A slightly masculine-leaning, spiced, earthy vanilla, if you will. I find it strange that vanilla wasn't a listed note when it's arguably the most prominent note. I don't get the Grand Soir comparisons. Grand Soir is resinous and fully ambered out to the max. This is more of a dry vanilla with dry spices. I've tried close to 20 Xerjoff fragrances at this point, and this is possibly in my top five. I feel like a lot of Xerjoff's fragrances are more of a beautiful work of art, but they don't consider when someone would use it in their daily lives. They're sometimes too abstract--even if they're beautiful fragrances. This is both beautiful and not abstract. You can wear it nearly anywhere except maybe in high-heat situations. It currently has a high rating, and I think it's well-deserved. Easily an 8 or 9 out of 10.

Unique scent, does smell like memo african leather but alot more subtle and smooth. does not smell like grandsoir. this is one that you NEED to smell bc the notes and accords or even people’s descriptions will not give you an accurate picture at all; its warm, spicy and rather enveloping like a fart. The density kind of gives me a cloying vibe sometimes idk why...for me, its not as fresh as people say it is here; it reminds me of the “texture” of the air when your inside a car with polyester/alcantara car seat upholstery and it just feels a little suffocating and cloying- its LIKE VELVET. i got a similar feel from the density here...the scent itself is sophisticated, unique and kinda mysterious. it leans more feminine to me kind of gives me rich and sophisticated 50 year old lady standing in an upscale hotel lobby with lots of velvet upholstery i dont reach for it as much bc sometimes its cloying and sometimes its not; i would only wear this in winter to avoid bejng suffocating, but the scent itself is so good if the subtle thick velvetty texture isnt an issue

Vanilla Spices! I tested on paper, on first spray I get that spicy vanilla, a touch of powdery but I think it’s the sandalwood. It’s very linear on paper and moderate projection/sillage. I tested on my skin, it’s this sexy spicy vanilla but no powdery hint. It’s projecting louder than on paper and it’s smell so smooth from that sandalwood. This would be so good on a cold breezy day. To my nose, this one is quite similar to 2 fragrances. 1. FM Musc Ravaguer - from that warm, spicy powdery, musky touch but I think Ivory Route has more of vanilla. The opening of Ivory Route is much fresher but after it dries down a bit it’s quite similar to FM. 2. Diptyque Eau duelle EDP(I don’t have EDT) - I think it’s quite similar in terms of vanilla note and powdery but Eau Duelle has more density of that musky and Amber note than Ivory. I find that Ivory Route is more complex and fresher to my nose. Overall, I love it even more when I wear it on my skin. I’m quite lucky I found it on a very good deal and this was a very good blind buy.

Gosh, love the stuff, idk why i don't wear this more often, everytime i wear it i feel like a rich MAN, mind u I'm a girl. Anyway, this is spicy, but it so well-blended, i can't put my finger on a single spicy, it's not cinnamony or peppery, one thing for sure is that the combination of the spices with patchouli does a little bit remind me of the a*men/angel line. Although i never found most of them wearable, i love this and wear it with joy. I understand the comparison between this and musc ravageur, i own both and i concur but imagine if musc ravageur had a baby with angel and the baby was adopted into the family of millionaires, this smells expensive. I am however, baffled by the comparison made between IR and Eau Duelle EDP (?) to me not at all! Overall, i don't think this is the first xerjoff that comes to mind when speaking of the brand, but very well may be, it's underrated af.

This is so festive and just in time for Christmas 🎄 I cannot and will not compare this to it's Memo counterpart as I feel like that's disrespecting Ivory Route. Ivory Route is like another fragrance I own but this is that on steroids, performance is okay but I wouldn't recommend it if your allergies are easily triggered. Safe blind buy? Absolutely not, its certainly an acquired taste and isn't all what YouTube reviewers make it out to be. Don't get me wrong, it's a lovely fragrance but not something that someone should buy without testing or if they have something similar to it already, initially I was caught off guard due to the initial masculine opening which lasts for the lifespan of the fragrance on clothing but on my skin it changed, that was due to my skin chemistry so the same can't be said about everyone. If you want something more feminine then opt for alternatives :)

Absolutely gorgeous spicy woody incense on my skin, with perhaps a touch of chai. I also detect an Amber incense resin note in here similar to the one found in Amber Mystique (one of my favorites). It's calming and brings on a sense of peaceful meditation. Ivory Route and Decas are my favorite Xerjoff fragrances out of the dozen or so I've sampled, and are full bottle worthy as far as I'm concerned. Longevity is fantastic and the scent gently projects without being intrusive or overpowering. I'd still suggest going light on the trigger though as any fragrance can become nauseating if over sprayed. Every time I smell this it's like I'm transported to a beautiful open air temple in India or Nepal, the scent of chai spices and sandalwood incense wafting through the air. It reminds me of having tea with my Grandmother growing up. A rare perfect fragrance in my opinion.

Got ahold of a 2ml dabber. Good-googly-goo, this smells damn good. It reminds me of walking into a quality cigar and tobacco shop or pool hall back in the 80s. The smell makes me feel like I would trust what someone was telling me if they wore this, leather coat kinda guy or a sultry woman (that smokes). The balsamic did catch me off guard for a moment and seemed to me to come on very strong but it blended well with the other notes and this being my first time knowingly smelling balsamic in a fragrance am glad this was my first introduction. It smells like something an older gent would wear, and most women would love. @almondluver1 I agree, it does smell boozy to me as well, very. Love the vanilla. I wouldn't suggest a blind by though, I can imagine this being too strong for some women and too feminine for some men, luckily for me, I'm secure with my $#!t.

It's fascinating how so many don't think this smells like African Leather. To me, they are pretty similar and definetly in the same scent family, but with Xerjoff creating a more creamy, sandalwoody twist on the profile, though it thoroughly retains its spiciness. Really dig this one Good performance and the creaminess makes it more tolerable for the wearer and the surroundings in versatile occasions. Edit: There is a spiciness that isn't well blended enough to be enjoyable long term for my personal taste. A certain ''stinging'' type of synthetic spiciness is what makes it hard to smell over and over for me. Not really any creamy sandalwood on my skin. Really just heavy spices, which was the reason why i even blind bought this. African Leather still retains its glory. Though i'll pass on this one. Edit 2: Sold it.

I love this fragrance. It is unique and complex, providing wafts of various scents throughout the wearing. A real pleasure to wear. Different scents in this one reveal themselves in a way that is very different from any of my other fragrances. It's truly a level above. It's hard to describe the ingredients and I believe those listed here are just a guess. Here is the verbiage from the Xerjoff website, "In keeping with the rare nature of these Xerjoff perfumes, ingredients are kept a closely guarded secret". I would describe it as a complex warm combination of sweet, slightly smoky, blended with a strong but nice peppery sting (similar to Layton Exclusif) as well as vanilla. Very sexy. It is blended so well that no one note stands out. I believe it is very versatile and can be worn just about anytime/anywhere.

Just samples to see if I want a full bottle. I'm glad I'm not the only one on here who can't seem to figure out what this smells like! I don't even see it mentioned above, but to me this smells a lot like Ani (I think?). It's beautiful and calming, but it quickly settles into vanilla cake heaven which, as other note, isn't even listed among the notes of the fragrance! Some of the fragrances people swear this reminds them of are completely off the mark to my nose (Layton? Bentley Intense?). I think that's the point: there's something so familiar about this fragrance and yet everyone is picking up something different. It's like a Rorschach Inkblot test: there is no right or wrong answer, but most will agree it smells f'ing good! Anybody else picking up Ani? Am I losing my nose/mind?