JTC 400

Four years ago, I blind-bought 400 as a more feminine-leaning Naxos; and I wasn’t disappointed. Personally, I think Naxos leans masculine and this is straight down the middle unisex — I can easily picture this on a sophisticated man. I’m going to sometimes stray from the listed notes (especially since they’re undisclosed in this Join The Club line) and share my experience with 400: The overall impression this fragrance gives me is Manuka honey, white tobacco and bubble-gummy tuberose. [You can stop reading here if you don’t need to know the excruciating details.] Lately, I’ve been wanting to understand what’s become my favorite perfume more so I took a deep dive in studying it. This is so well-blended that I really had to search to catch on to specific notes. The opening has bitter orange and mandarin. I also get honey and tobacco right away. I believe the tobacco accord includes cinnamon, vanilla, cedar, powdery violet/orris and vetiver (so they’re not prominent as individual notes). It reminds me of the tobacco that I can smell walking past the cigar bar/shop in my city. There’s a minty facet which I’ve concluded is from Methyl salicylate/Wintergreen oil. Concentrating really hard, I was surprised to find myself smelling a hint of root beer, but then reassured when I later learned that’s a characteristic of this material. It’s subtle, like a veil, that turns common honey into Manuka, rose into geranium, and ylang-ylang (combined with Smarties candy adjacent orange blossom) into tuberose. And I think this mintiness is making people believe there’s camphoraceous patchouli, but I don’t pick up on it here. Patchouli is usually persistent and still detectable in the deep dry-down but instead, I pick up on the oakmoss that’s listed in the ingredients. One spray is enough for me in work, and two if it’s a night out. Three will do if you’re the type that likes attention. More than that, and you may choke someone out.

This was not a blind buy for me, I even ordered a sample for it from the official company website, although I had already tested it on my skin prior in a local store, but even if this had been a blind buy, I wouldn't have regretted it for one single second. I have mentioned in one of my previous reviews that I have a really dry skin, no matter what I do, so I am very demanding about fragrances and choosing one is a challenge for me (actually, the only reason I turned my attention towards niche perfumery is the fact that I hoped to get the long-lasting fragrances I could not find in retail stores, even if that meant to pay more for them). 400 is, by far, the most powerful sweet-floral fragrance I have ever tried, despite being EDP and not Parfum (I have noticed that many Xerjoff fragrances belong to the "Parfum" category). The top sweetness lasts way longer than expected (probably like 20-25 minutes, which is insane) on my skin (even on my wrists, although I am washing my hands very often and they are the most prone to dehydration). The overall duration I could measure was of around 11 hours for me and the last element I could still feel at the end was a well-defined vanilla. Despite being so floral, I see it appropriate for colder days as well, because the top sweetness (not cloying at all for me, but it is also a matter of liking/disliking sweet perfumes, and I am on the sweet side) is quite enveloping and it makes me feel as if I had a cup of hot drink in my hand.

This was one of the four samples sent to me from Xerjoff when I bought a bottle of Naxos. Reading the notes, I assumed it would be similar to Naxos, but it’s not really. I loved this at first spray and I’m not into florals that much. When I sprayed the back of my hand, I realized 400 reminded me of something nostalgic from the 90’s, but I couldn’t remember, so I asked my wife what does this scent remind you of? She agreed we knew this scent and then she said I know what it is, and said this smells like the body lotion your mom used to wear from bath & body works called plumeria. Bingo that was it. If you remember that scent, that’s what I think of. Plumeria lotion/citrus/orange in the top notes drying down to tiny bits of honey, tobacco, vanilla, patchouli and woody notes. I can’t stop smelling my hand. I’m realizing that I really like sweeter scents, so that might explain my love for this. This seems to be a strong performer, but not cloying on my skin. I believe it’s definitely FBW. I don’t think this is a safe blind buy for either sex, but I really feel this is the type of unisex fragrance that will smell completely different on a females body than a mans and vice versa. Definitely test on you skin and not just paper.

This is just amazing. It's a fragrance that embodies the entire bitter orange. You can smell the wood of the tree, the orange flowers, the orange itself, the honey made out of the orange flowers and the pollen. Imagine the following: you mix bitter orange juice with honey made from neroli on the opening, and then once the orange juice dries out of the mixture, a neroli flower blooms out of it. But it's not any kind of neroli flower, it's a neroli flower that it's smoothened by the tobacco flower and the vanilla. And now, if you couldn't imagine whatever i've just described, this is a very natural very sweet honey with a white flower background. It projects heavy and lasts for a long time. It is very fitted for the spring as it smells like spring itself. It is 85% unisex, 10% more feminine, and 5% more masculine (i know it doesn't make sense). In comparison to Naxos, replace the lavender and bergamot with neroli/whiteflowers and bitter orange and you get this. 10/10 Quality 9/10 Versatility 10/10 projection 10/10 longevity 10/10 Uniqueness

If you’re curious about 400 I will give you a comp that will make you laugh...but there is some truth to it. It shares some similarities to Jordan’s Legend. Now Michael Jordan’s Legend is a super cheapy that you can buy for 15.00 at Marshall’s. There is a gaping cavern that separates the quality of these fragrances; buuuuut, they share that white floral opening with that honeyed tobacco backbone that give both fragrances a kind feminine/masculine dichotomy. 400 is far superior in every way, but if you’ve smelled Legend then your at least in the same ballpark,(just in far better seats.) An easier comparison that won’t hurt your brain is 400 as Naxos with the white florals amped up. I am a large, burly man and I enjoy florals in my fragrances to tone down my vibe...this one works perfectly. An absolute 10/10 fragrance that I will wear for life. Update: this fragrance is insanely powerful and has soooo much depth. 8 hrs in you are still getting layers of sweetness, green tobacco and those florals...amazing.