XJ 1861 Zefiro

Juicy Concentrated Orange Beverage (same use in 'Naxos') + Honey + Pine Resin + lots of White Vanilin + smoky Incense + Cardamom spice + tons of synthetic Cinnamon + Tobacco + Carnation Floral + Powdery Iris + Wood + Amber + Artemisia leaf (sweet parsley leaf-like herbal vermouth smelling) + Sweet White Port (fortified wine) Same scent genre as Dior's 'Bois d'Argent', Byredo's 'Gypsy Water', Tom Ford's 'Bois Marocain'. Smells old school high-end Italian to me, something that my aunt or uncle would praise wearing from when the world was a different planet. The Pine Resin in here paired with the juicy Concentrated Orange Beverage Main note is Elemi Resin, which has a Odor profile of fresh spicy piney of a balsamic smell with a lemon facet, and it's addicting! Almost gourmand addicting. There is a dried fruit/raisin vibe mixed in with the dna, which overall gives the fragrance a outdoor fresh-gourmand scent. When i smell this, I get this vision of having a large table filled with food, on a patio in the country mountains somewhere in forested North West Italy around 10am when the crisp air is just warming up. Speaking of warm, the Amber gives it to the dna, where the Pine Resin gives it a hint of refreshing outdoor coolness. This is a very good fragrance, and wonderful dna, classic smelling, cozy sweater, content in life vibe. 2nd testing, this time on a paper blotter (as my arms are chemical burned from aggressive testing). Wow, smells different on paper, instead of pine resin im getting Orange Pekoe Black Tea - and im enjoying that note. Performance is average, doesn't project like a beast, but anyone beside you will smell you, this is quality juice. Longevity is a good 5 hours where each passing hour becomes more close to skin. Amazing packaging identical to Naxos's with the identical kick-ass coffret box packaging! This was a 'Like' at first, but a year later when Fall season came, i fell in 'Love' with this scent genre! 4/5 Woofs!

Okay so, after spending quite a while deciding to get this or naxos after alot or testing I decided on this and I'll tell you why. Zefiro is a beautiful fragrance that a lot of people say isn't versatile or may be hard to wear however, I don't agree with this. For me I get a lot aromatics and florals with amber at the base and then loads of cinnamon for the opening and then after white wine flowing around in the top. I don't get a lot of incense but I can tell it's there adding depth. That's why I think this is very versatile because it's strong enough to work for the cold weather but fresh enough for warm weather this is the perfect fragrance to go to a expensive restaurant or to enjoy by the beach in Italy. I think that if you love this enough it could easily become your signature scent as it's unique and different but not so niche people dont enjoy it. Everyone who has smelled it on me has said it was a nice comforting smell. This isn't one of those artistic fragrances that will only smell good to you it just may not be a huge compliment getting but that's okay as not every fragrance needs to be. In terms of performance for the type of fragrance this is its fantastic for me over 8 hours with very good projection. So at the end of the day is this fragrance for everyone no it isn't but I chose it over something like naxos as I think naxos is simple dont get my wrong it's simple done to an amazing quality but naxos is a glorified date night scent where as zefiro is a little something special and even though I will buy naxos in the future for the quality of I had to pick one it's zefiro.

Zefiro is to me one of the most sacred and mystic scents from their collection, its a deep, yet light liturgic incense that reppresents a huge cattedral scent, the main Incense, Resin and Cardamom are vertically integrated as one, and it comes off as a very serious churchy scents, when i say Churcy, it really is deep and serious composition that makes the incense shine with the powdery and airy notes of the resins, in the middle you can start to feel the beautiful Cinnamon wich i love, and gives the scent a even more refined note, this particular middle part goes away from the church and explores the mistique and asian side of the scent, even thought gets some inspiration from an asian combination, it always stays regal and religious and very Italian. I don't want that you think is too much religious, because this is more regal and wearable than a typical religious theme, lets say that is the way a churchy scent should be done to be more wearable than anything else. i find it very elegant and refined. This surely isn't for everyone tbh, but is something that works so well on the skin. I like Zefiro, because all the notes used are fairly difficult to manage, yet works very well, there is also a beautiful direct sillage that is coming more by the wear. it feels like is airy and when you think its gone, it comes back and hugs you and remind you of its power. The sandalwood drydown is absolutely epic, this is one of my favorite sandalwoods / incense combo ever on a scent, because it uses the same accord i found in a very expensive attar, impressive stuff.

So the opening - I expected some white grape, tartaric acidity and yes - there is some. Don’t expect ferment or anything, it’s a zesty white wine smell. Even more green and zesty than a Prosecco, imagine a grassy, gooseberry notes white wine. That’s what you get. Zesty, acidic, fresh. Not a lot of artemisia; doesn’t smell of Absinthe at all. It starts very obviously and automatically with incense, dry cinnamon, and green resinous feel with that wine accord. It is backed with that cardamom or more generally colder spices now - but the incense is the star of the show. The flowery part - it's more of a dry, slightly earthy spicy smell, not a bouquet. The sweetness/honey? It's there, but this is by any means a sweet fragrance. It just rounds it up, completes it. It's not smokey, smells of unburnt incense, and its not churchy to me - we'll get to that. It smells of an incense, clean air, spices. The cinnamon is dry and realistic, not sticky sweet like Naxos. A very pleasant, a very natural and complex composition, very well blended as it joins all the things very well and round. A lot of you are going to disagree but the way the cinnamon and spices join with the green part of the aroma - it has a Coca Cola with lots of lime feeling to it. It doesn’t smell of coke but, you know, when you think about it - you’ll get what I mean. This is a complete unisex, it's worth its' price as it's very natural and well blended, and will last you a day, while the projection is moderate. @edit nvm I bought it 🙃 lasts 24h including a shower

Zefiro doesn’t come across as an overly boozy fragrance to me at all. Instead, it opens with a dry, citrus-tinged incense, creating an effervescent aura with delicate, sparkling nuances. The initial impression leans distinctly masculine. As it develops, a resinous sweetness emerges, interwoven with beautifully lacquered woods. There's a clear nod to something ecclesiastical and old-world, yet it never veers into being overly mature or outdated. While it’s not a youthful or overtly seductive fragrance, Zefiro is undeniably captivating. It evokes a sense of grounded introspection, perfectly capturing the essence of the Eternal City to which it pays homage. In a nutshell, this fragrance offers a blend of honeyed, sticky incense that gracefully swirls around a base of well-worn, yet clean and polished woods. It strikes a delicate balance, never too sweet or overwhelmingly smoky, resulting in a seamless fusion of elements that is simply gorgeous. In terms of performance, Zefiro is fantastic. It projects strongly off my skin for the first 4 hours, but never feels overwhelming, even in moderately high heat (25-280C). I catch wafts of it all day long and on the occasions I've spritzed some a couple of hours before bed, I still smell it clearly on my wrist the following morning. It's not a fragrance profile I'd often reach for, so a full bottle is not on the cards for me. I will however thoroughly enjoy every last drop of my decant, appreciating the artistry and complexity it offers.