Pikovaya Dama 2018

This fragrance is just what I was looking for! I have a collection of about 40 fragrances, all niche except for 3....I have 15 Kilian's 8 Fragrance du Bois, but what I have always lacked is a high end soapy fragrance for summer. I was considering FDB Heritage and Kilian Musk Oud until I got my nose on this! Heritage is an amazing fragrance - all clean white linen, citrus and oris root without there as a fixative to make it last beyond 12 h. The problem is that it is only available in 100 mL and is very, very expensive (can't they sell it in 50 mL?) Musk Oud is great as well with very bright clean notes throughout but has a sharp green rose that is piercing and not to my taste. So I had passed on these two and given up on a clean luxurious soapy summer fragrance until I tried Pikovaya Dama. My only other Xerjoff is Symphonium (which I ADORE) but I use it in the winter and have not been to excited about the numerous other Xerjoffs I have tried until this one. It opens with a clean bergamot, aldehydes, and lemon with neroli and rose and quickly transitions into iris, nutmeg, and coriander, and eventually more creamy notes such as vanilla and sandalwood. But the overall impression is totally unique and reminds me of champagne drizzled on clean white linen. It is shockingly elegant and complex, seeming to change every 20 minutes or so, eventually landing in a white linen dry down. This is what sets it apart from Heritage...Heritage is very linear and just smells like Amouage Reflection Man with added aldehydes and citrus at the top, and oud at the bottom...side by side on my arm RM and Heritage have striking similarities, although Heritage is obviously more elegant and fresh, although does also remind me of Amouage Gold Man, which is an old man's fragrance to be sure. But Pikovaya Dama is totally unique and modern, while also being classic. It keeps changing, always clean and bright and revolving around the core of iris, and always seems youthful, but timeless, while Heritage seems more mature. With Heritage I feel I could be a crumpled old Russian Oligarch, but with Pikovaya Dama I feel youthful and sexy. It is that champagne drizzled on linen that makes one think of a tryst in a high end hotel...sexy, luxurious, classy, opulent...and I don't get where people like YouTuber TroyD say it is too opulent - it seems very wearable to me, even while Roja Oligarch - which he likes - seems too opulent for me! So after playing around with a 2 mL sample for a few hours I bought 50 mL from Harrods! Filled the hole in my collection and finally got that sexy super classy high end soapy fragrance for summer, Prada L'Homme to the power 10 at least!

This is such a complex fragrance, I already waited a couple weeks to write this, and anticipate coming back with edits as I get to know Pikovaya Dama better. Some scents are one dimensional, some are two dimensional with transitions across their lives, Pikovaya Dama is a 3D scent. It smells different based off your position in space & time relative to the wearer and when it was applied. In the opening I get waxy, soapy, bergamot upfront with a powderyness the closer you get to the application site. As it makes the first transition, the iris and rose come to the forefront, this is the most feminine stage of the perfume. I struggle with rose, Gucci Guilty smells very gradmotherly to me, however here the rose oil is very high quality and never crosses over into the "grandma territory" IMO. As Pikovaya Dama continues to dry down it moves into an opulent musky woody vanilla. I will come back to expand on the later stages as I get more wears in. I frankly don't pick up much incense, however others further away from me have commented on an incense smell which makes me wonder if it's more present in the sillage than when wrist sniffing. I've been told that I smell "incredible" & "expensive" while wearing. Conclusion: This is an incredibly elegant fragrance. While it has a *slight* feminine lean, it absolutely can be worn by both genders so long as it is paired with the right outfit and confidence. In my experience, similar to my other unisex/feminine leaning scents, women really enjoy smelling this on me, I get more female compliments on these fragrances than my uber-masculine scents (go figure /s). This is the kind of scent I would wear when dressing up. It doesn't have to be a suit, even a nice sweater and chinos would do, just no jeans and sneakers. This would be perfect when going to a wedding as a guest, or groom. Just be very careful with the sprays as this juice is POTENT and absolutely can be nauseating *if overspread*. Of the three 17/17s I have tried (this, Richwood, and Symphonium), Pikovaya Dama is easily my favorite, and the most wearable IMO. The other two are positively nuclear and frankly become sickening to me after a while despite enjoying them initially. Is it worth $700 GAWD NO. But is it worth $150-300 if you can find one on the grey market, have tried it, and can afford it? I'd say YES! For reference, I ordered my 100ml new from a discounter for $290 (after a coupon code).

One of the best things I have ever put my nose on, by far the best soapy clean fragrance I have ever smelled. This is taking a royal bubble bath at the Biltmore. Soap pearls dissolved in the silky water, the luxurious oils left on your skin. Aromas from the highest quality powders fills the air. Baby soft freshly laundered towels next to a vase of Iris flowers. Angels fanning you with wings of aldehydic bliss. It’s borderline magical, for lack of a better word. It isn’t a gourmand by any stretch, but let’s just say that if you could make a dessert out of vintage decorative soaps, well, here you go. One spray, (seriously, one spray), and all day i am cocooned in the most luxurious soapy bubble that has been lathered up into a creamy foam, powders from the Belle Epoque sweetened by the most delicate vanilla, with a touch of spicy (not smoky) incense underneath, barely a touch. Seems linear, but just takes the entire day to develop and fade into the base notes. I can still easily smell this on my skin the following day. Absolutely beautiful, a work of art. ***There are random moments in the day sometimes when I am lying in bed, or at work, or out running errands, and the imagination of this fragrance enters my subconscious sometimes it takes me several seconds to identify what the scent memory is, and I think of this accord out of nowhere, as if I briefly smelled a hint of it in the air or something and was instantly reminded of how much I adore it, as if the scent itself is cemented in my senses and when I am not even thinking about perfume at all for some reason I just start thinking about it and missing it, wishing I could experience it, take the cap off and just smell the atomizer (as I often do throughout the day). There have only been a handful of perfumes that have ever done this to me.. it is just one of those special ones that I keep wanting to go back to over and over. *** My sincerest compliments to the perfumer. I think it is a masterpiece. 10/10

Full disclosure: I’m a man and I’m in love with this fragrance. I’ve never seen this as either masculine or feminine leaning, but rather unisex straight down the middle. I thought that was important to mention. Now we got that out of the way. This is undoubtedly paying homage to the classic Chanel nr. 5 DNA. No question about that. However Nr. 5 is more like the loud teenager that sometimes seeks too much attention, and dare I say slightly outdated. Pikovaya Dama on the other hand is restrained, refined and opulent. The quality of the ingredients between the two are night and day. Nr. 5 is a lovely soap bar that you find at a random store. Smells great but you are familiar with it. Dama smells like you just payed 3000$ to enter a penthouse suite at a resort. You’re eating beluga caviar and wagyu beef from Japan. Before you’re leaving you decide to take a shower using some of their soap bars that give off an ultra clean and luxurious vibe. Nr. 5 is rich soap, Dama is wealthy soap. Yes the price is outrageous for a 100ML of this juice, clocking in at the 700$ mark. But I have tried a lot of fragrances and this is probably one of the best I have ever got my nose on. Hands down. This is the fragrance that is respectful and inoffensive, but also makes its presence known without shouting or screaming. Still very potent, long lasting and with a huge scent trail, but never obnoxious or cloying. Understated refinement in liquid form. A timeless composition. Be prepared for attention and compliments. It’s easy to like and you can literally smell how they sourced the highest quality ingredients possible to create this fragrance. I was lucky enough to get my hands on a partial for around 250$. I’m sadly not rich enough to pay retail for a bottle of this, but I cherish my partial with around 60ML left. Nothing less of a masterpiece by Xerjoff from their Stone Label range. Chris Maurice really went out of his own skin to mold this piece of art. Wauw!

For years I didn't care much about XerJoff, for several reasons. Firstly, most scents I tested were just loud and screetchy in your face and I didn't get the price tags coming with that at all. I stil to this day think that many XerJoff scents smell cheap and tacky to be honest. Secondly, they draw a specific audience at least where I live which is very young men, lacking self-confidnce and taking out loans at age 16 to just 'have' this brand no matter what the actual scents smell like. Big was my surprise when I accidentally got an original sample of 'Pikovaya Dama'. I have tested this scent about six times within the past three weeks, and I totally fell in love with it. Yes, it does smell like very expensive soap, but what it even more smells like to me is a refined way more beautiful version of Chanel No 5 extrait. It's so weird for me that in many reviews, not only on this website here, almost no one refers to the very strong similarity to the Chanel scent. It is heavy on the aldehydes, right in the beginning and they do stay strong through many hours of wearing time. They are listed here, but in other perfume forums they are not listed, funnily enough also on the XerJoff Webiste they are missing. And what people don't read, they funnily enough do not smell, so most reviewers don't even mention Aldhydes. It is the first scent of this brand decided to buy and think it is worth the high price tag. While I of course know that we live in times where 'everyone can be anything' and 'everyone can wear anything', I personally think this is a very classic, sophisticated 100% female perfume I could never imagine im my wildest dreams on a man. If you like Chanel No 5 but always thought it was too much, too cloying, too old-fashioned? Try this one instead, I'd say it's much more beautiful, especially than the current modernised versions of No 5.

I blind ordered this one after watching one of my non-sponsored, favorite, long form, perfume reviewers mention how pleasantly surprised they were with this creation. I have never owned Chanel 5, was always a Chanel 19 fan, so I was a little worried I wouldn’t like it. When I mention Chanel 5 I am referring to the strong aldehydic profile of it rather than it smelling similar to each other. As soon as it was dropped off on my porch I tore the box open and the bottle was still warm from being in the hot truck all day. I sprayed it instantly anyway and immediately thought Oh no! 😟 it smells like the oldest perfume ever created. I thought I made an expensive mistake. I ended up spraying myself 3-4 more times to experience it fully that evening at home, and that’s when it turned around. Then I sprayed it the next morning, freshly showered, and headed off to work and I smelled like the most luxurious bar of soap I’ve ever smelled in my life. I haven’t been able to pick up other notes listed because the soapy characteristic is dominant but I loved it. I felt so fresh and clean and it lasts for hours l, especially if you do 5-7 sprays including on your clothes. Now I’m afraid I’ve unlocked a new fragrance genre that I want to explore further. This is one of a kind in my collection and I’m so glad I took the chance.

✓Crystal clear ✓Fresh ✓Aquatic ✓Detergenty ✓Sophisticated cleanness If you are looking for clean detergent elegant scent this is for you, it's unisex and versatile. I have tried hundred of perfumes and if there are such category for soapy scents, this is should be in the top five. Do not get affected by comments and reviews saying it's feminine, not true at all this scent is pure unisex and a little masculine to my nose. Usually feminine soapy scents has florals and sweet notes but this one not sweet at all, although it has floral notes but it doesn't smell florals. It resemble the smell of famous ironing spray called (Merito – Spray Starch), so interesting 95% it has the same smell. This scent is perfect for the gym or for a long outdoor activities, it last for ever up to +10 hours (beast mood). Update (5/23/2019) After wearing this for few weeks I noticed that this perfume is so strong and harsh if you over sprayed it. My advice is simply do two sprays and I guarantee it will last for the whole day maybe one on you clothes and one on your chest and believe me that's enough! Overall 9/10 All The Best.

Soap for the wealthy 1%. That's what this is in a nutshell. Not just rich, I'm talking wealthy. Old money. I reviewed this 5 years ago but didn't get a bottle because it's very expensive and I had a decant that lasted me until now. I wore it a couple weeks ago, my last drops of my decant, and fell in love all over again. I reached out to some friends in the community, and found a full bottle, heavily discounted from the 757 dollar (tax included) retail price. I love classic style aldehydic fragrances, and this is neck and neck with my favorite, vintage Santa Maria Novella Melograno. Is it pricey? For sure. But I've smelled a lot of xerjoff over the years, and this is on another level in terms of quality. The incense, nutmeg and iris, gives it a different dimension from melograno and it's blended so seamlessly. Additionally, a little goes a long way for you performance freaks, so don't worry about that. If you like this genre, Pikovaya is an EXCELLENT representation, and easier to find than vintage melograno. ××××××××××××××××××××××××××× Scent 99/100 Performance 95/100 ×××××××××××××××××××××××××××

Nose Note #851 This is Chanel #5, but much better, much more modern. It takes this old school vibe and adds a touch of sweetness, a touch of iris, and a touch of something floral, whereas Chanel #5, to oversimplify, is a smell of soap that practically everyone is familiar with. This is also soap-soap-soap, but both stronger and smoother, and even more madam-like. Many reviewers name this among top 10 or top 5 from Xerjoff, and I cannot agree more. This is a very familiar scent for almost anyone - the classic "grandma" perfume, as my wife and friends stated, but I cannot fathom how people can't immediately see beyond this image of a grandma. Grandma is Chanel #5, Vanderbilt, Red Moscow, whatever, but not this... Gorgeous, luxurious, super long lasting, projecting. I found a tester for half the retail price making it $200, now this is worth it, definately. It's incomparable in price to the arabs, but I am yet to see a dupe of this. So far the dupe of other fragrances are good, but I can't imagine them being this good. 9.5/10, one of very few female scent I actually want to wear myself

Everytime I wear this I cant help but picture...at a formal event and a vivacious but ladylike friend comes in from a bracingly frigid night and you help her take off her luxe fur coat and there is that first little poof of perfume that comes out from beneath and you think to yourself, well thats a lovely scent, I will have to ask her what it is but then you get to chitchatting and forget all about it while it just sort of hovers lightly in the background making the evening slightly more pleasant. Thats this. Its there, but its so beautiful you just plain dont care what notes are in it. Dissecting it ruins the magic. (I will go so far as to say its the perfect strength, and the perfect balance of barely noticeable as individual pieceparts: powdery, floral, light musk, sharp-sweet.) Its just a classic, lovely, good time...like a perfected chypre but not quite. I can totally see a 1940s or 1950s movie star legitimately wearing this for day and evening. Has a similar sensibility to original formulations Chanel no 5, or Giorgio.

I honestly love this one, and I wasn't sure that I would initially. It was a blind buy, which you should never do, but I love the thrill, so I did. The minute I smelled it, I immediately fell in love. The comparisons to this smelling like the most luxurious soap you've ever smelled are, in my opinion, definitely onto something. It smells clean, refined, and a little on the mature side. This works perfectly for my lifestyle, but with that being said, I definitely don't think it will work for everyone. Again, this leans a little on the mature side, and in order to really shine, it would work on someone who dresses casual/business casual more often than not. While you could absolutely dress this down, this gives me white linen button down vibes. In any case, I very much agree with everyone that says that you should at the very least get your nose on it. I think this will be a love for a lot of people, so give it a shot if you're able to get a sample or stop by one of the boutiques.

I've been on a aldeyde and musk kick lately and I heard that pikovaya was a pinnacle fragrance in this genre, so I had to check the hype. I heard so many good things that I was actually concerned that I'd like it, and want to buy a bottle, so I put it off until now. This bursts open with aldehydes and then comes on like a fizzy ten thousand dollar bottle of Johnson & Johnsons baby shampoo. Mid is super rich, almost like a fantasy note of clean white honey. It's really well blended, creamy and plush. I pick up neroli, coriander, sandalwood and white musk. Slightly nutty but not overly, it lies deep beneath. Drydown is like a luxury soapy baby powder (but somehow not overly powdery smelling) for the wealthy. This lasts eternal and is one of those frags that entices you to keep smelling and take big whiffs. I will say that this is an excellently crafted fragrance and it belongs in its own class of plush opulence. This is a fragrance fit for royalty. Soap for the 1%

I have a lot of things to say. I love Pikovaya Dama, the opera. I also love No5 and other classic Chanel perfumes (and I mean, classic OG Chanel). Along with N.5, this is also reminiscent of Cuir de Russie, without the leather of course. I’m surprised they’re not higher up on the “reminds me of” section. I wonder if it has to do with No5 being a polarizing scent, which people don’t want to associate with an expensive niche perfume? Pikovaya dama starts soapy and aldehydic, but soon after a very characteristically strong Xerjoffian incense pulls through enveloping the iris bouquet at the heart of the fragrance. It’s also surrounded by spices which don’t bite but make it more lively. The clueless guy at the counter sprayed a very generous amount on my arms when I asked to try this and then cringed when I asked him to check how much it was. I went to see a movie afterwards and I could tell it was a powerhouse. This is a magical perfume. Niche aldehydic floral.

If your aim is to have as many fragrances as possible, and have as many bottles on your shelf, drawer or table as you can get, then yes - you can buy 3 different Prada's for the price of one bottle of Pikovaya Dama. But, objectively speaking, as someone who owns and really, *really* likes Prada Amber Pour Homme, Pikovaya Dama is in a different weight class. They are not interchangeable. One is a workhorse, the other is a thoroughbred. You may love each horse the same, in fact you may love the workhorse more because of how much time you spend with it, but when it's time to win a race - you know which one you're picking. Pikovaya smells better. It smells *so* much better. There is a distinct difference in its presence. Regardless of whether you think the price is too high (it is; it is too expensive, I agree) that doesn't take away from it being a significantly better smelling fragrance than others in its genre or class.

Finally smelling this fragrance. From the very moment of smelling this fragrance. You can smell how much of a luxury fragrance this is. The scent profile I can best describe as very classy, upscale, airy, sexy, and luxurious. In the air smelling this fragrance simply will make you roll your eyes in bliss. This is how good this fragrance is. I would recommend to wear this any time of day during spring, summer, fall, and I’m thinking even winter. I think it’s best for more special occasions for sure. But I’d love to wear this in cooler weather. I think it’ll shine in any temperature except for hot heat. Now is it worth the high price tag. Me personally I’d say no unless you can truly get your nose on it first and see if you think it’s worth it. But overall this is just AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL AND LUXURIOUS

For me, this is an aldehyde and citrus monster atop soft powdery florals. It seems others get more of the powdery element than I do, though It is certainly there. To my nose this has an almost Sprite-like quality between the vibrant fizzy sensation of the aldehydes combining with the bright bursts of citrus. A somewhat powdery base of iris is unmistakably there, but for me it plays second fiddle to the citrus and the aldehydes. Love this stuff! It's classy enough to dressed up but playful enough to be dressed down. It performs like a beast on my skin and smells perfectly appropriate for either sex. Scent and performance make this a must buy for me, but the price is certainly going to delay that necessity from coming to fruition.

A luxury flowery soap bar... This one is great,i like it a lott. On my skin this one is beast mode and lasts up to 15/16 hours easy. The opening is very diff and special compared to most other perfumes. most people that smell this have said that they never smelled anything like this before when it comes to the opening. The drydown is like high end luxury musky flowery soap but on my skin especially musky, absolutly adore it. Once again people who compare this to chanel are prob the same people who vote aventus on every perfume that has a pineapple note in it. Does not smell the same at all when conpared side by side. Maybe you get the same vibe from it but there is where it ends to my nose. a BIG 9/10 for me Pikovaya Dama

This fragrance is gorgeous, powerful, clean, and luxurious all at the same time. Not exactly an instant love, but I have a strong feeling that Pikovaya Dama will be one of my most wanted fragrances as the time goes, especially if I'm looking for a super classy fragrance that is suitable enough for spring, fall, and even summer with an excellent performance and versatility. It is essentially an iris fragrance with a twist of awesomeness, because of the aldehydes, slight sweetness, and more citrus. Overspraying this fragrance might make this fragrance perform too potently for you, so I suggest you to go easy on the sprays. It is awesome though. I would love to finally have a full bottle of this one in the near future.

So this definitely has the 'it' factor to it. No question about that, every lady I know loves the sample I had of this and its my next ordered fragrance after saving up for it. Its super clean and classy. Every time I smell it I imagine either sitting at an opera or standing at the Gates of Heaven. I think the opera one might be more appropriate considering it ties in with that. Smells like luxury to the next level as it should for the price but in this case I don't mind paying it for a masterpiece. Well worth it. Would I buy: Ordering it in a couple of days (edit: now have it) Recommended: Its next level Niche perfumery you should absolutely try it atleast once in this lifetime.

PDama is sensual, classy, refined, regal, plush, and super high quality. Not everyone will get it or understand the sorcery behind this magical fragrance....and that is okay. This fragrance is a stunner and is simply the queen of them all. It's like all the other fragrances are out there doing their thing, but PD is quietly sitting in her ivory tower deciding who gets to wear her next. If this fragrance is for you, she will let you know...not the other way around. I am so glad she chose me, because we will be together for a very long time. This IS a modern day MASTERPIECE! 100% my signature scent now!