Signature Royale XXXL

Zaharoff offers us here the supposed final, end of the road flanker in the Signature Royale series giving us the ultimate scandalous whiff of male essence. Or something like that. I previously sampled Royale X and Royale XXX but have not sampled the OG Signature Royale. XXXL opens somewhat fresh and bright. Not lasting long, the fragrance quickly dries down to the final scent which lasts the life of the fragrance. I really couldn't pick out the majority of the notes in the large fragrance pyramid. Similar to X and XXX, there is a resemblance to my skin scent after a long day having showered in the morning, not applying any fragrance and not sweating, so still clean. Not dirty and no stink, more of a musky man scent. Nothing "scandalous" to my nose. To compare them, X is woody, XXX is fruity and XXXL is leathery. But these accords are VERY subtle - I'm not saying X is a woody fragrance, or XXXL is a leather fragrance. The accords are way too subtle to pull the scent that way. Out of the three, I like XXXL the best, followed by X and lastly XXX. Projection is very moderate and it quickly pulls back to a skin scent. Longevity, however, is very good and lasts as a skin scent for at least 10 hours if not a little longer. I might pick up a bottle of XXXL but am in no hurry to do so. And who knows, maybe 4X will be released next. If you like the concept but want something better and stronger, try Bestia Sacra by Maksim Perfume. It takes the concept to a whole other level.

Finally getting back to some sampling with Signature Royale XXXL, one of the most recent releases from Zaharoff, a drier but still quite spicy variation (to my nose) among the Royale versions to date, a spiciness that seems to have both savory and animalic leanings, cumin and pimento playing against suede, seasoned by florals and a base of woods, amber, and musk. It’s leathery, spicy, a bit savory, a bit animalic, with quirky touches like the apple and lavender in the opening, and it settles into an interesting modern expression, a more complex leather-forward fragrance than a generation ago. It is, as with the rest of the line, very reasonably priced, at $135 for 60ml in EDP concentration. It’s not my very favorite of the Royale—for me, Signature Royale X is still the standout over the Royale, XXX, and now XXXL—but I still like how it adds to the variety of this line within a line. I think at this point that I need to line up all four and smell them to compare better, but I’m working off of memory a bit. Bravo to George for another fun release in this line. 7 out of 10

One of those fragrances that benefits from clever marketing spiel. It's not selling a fragrance, it's selling bottled appeal. I bought two testers of this and didn't even finish the first. The blurb on their website talks about "natural masculine attraction in its purest form". It's provocative language but the liquid just doesn't equate to that in my opinion. It is entirely possible that this just doesn't work on my skin but I can't think I would smell this on somebody else and be wowed by it. At a push, it reminds me of something from the 80s that was at the lower end of the price spectrum. I can't say I think it "the most genuine expression of masculine attraction ever bottled".

Such a strange scent, I get a lot of metallic and diesel notes, not unlike a mechanic's workshop by the sea. It definitely has that industrial edge to it, in direct contrast to the Zaharoff DNA. Then it turns sweaty and funky, but in a way that is at times magical and at times repulsive.

This scent reminds me of passing a homeless man after a fresh florida rain during the summer.