Oud Stars

Alexandria II 2012 Parfum

Idk
11.11.2020 - 03:54 PM
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6
Pricing
10
Bottle
10
Sillage
10
Longevity
10
Scent

Actually, I don't like oud.

No, seriously - I don't like it at all. I don't want to perceive oud in my presence, and even less do I want to "smell" it (to put it mildly). Oud, tobacco, leather - the 3 big "no's" when I go in search of new scents I want to test. But well, every ingredient has its right to exist and its lovers, including this "oud" which is incomprehensible to me. Is probably like so many things a very big question of taste, which everyone has to answer for himself.

I do not have many vials in my possession. After more than 100 tested samples I have found only a few that I really liked, and again only a fraction of these few fragrances have actually found a place on my shelf. Although I have almost only "better-known" perfumes in my collection, I like them unconditionally.

I must say that I am very sensitive to individual ingredients. Everything simply has to be right for me - from the fragrances to the performance to the shelf life, and above all, the feeling that I want to have the right bottle for the sample has to be established quickly and after initial tests. I have come to know and love many fragrances, but I don't have to own them.

Well then, how do I make the jump to the actual topic?
After I caught a XerJoff sample a few months ago (it was "Naxos"), and I found the fragrance to be "good", I stopped paying attention to the brand for the time being. This was only because at that time I only ordered one fragrance per fire to test myself crosswise.

However, after I came across the name XerJoff again and again (this happened through videos of more or less well-known perfume influencers, discussions here in the ticker as well as browsing the chart list on Parfumo), it came as it had to happen - I had to find out more about Mr. or Mrs. XerJoff. Smell more of it.

My next step was the following:
I entered the letter combination "xerjoff" (all lower case) into a well-known, sometimes too much knowing, search engine, and quickly came across the brand's website. There I ordered a sample kit with 4 fragrances, which I - inspired by the chart list on Parfumo - wanted to test. The names were "Amber Star", "Star Musk", "Uden" and "Alexandria II" - knowing full well that the evil word "Oud" was one of the main ingredients of Alexandria II.

Very well, I thought to myself, what the heck - said, done; ordered as delivered. At least almost. I was very pleased that the friendly messenger rang for me the very next day with said delivery. All the more sobering then was the discovery that one of the fragrances had been delivered wrong. Instead of Alexandria II, Alexandria III was in the package. "I didn't want that," I thought to myself. I sniffed at it anyway, and the scent was surprisingly "good" - despite oud. Good, but not outstanding; by no means one of the few exquisite scents I must own. And what is it that distinguishes Alexandria II and III? Was it perhaps a sign? Is it, so to speak, no matter which of the two I would smell, since both would not convince me in the end?

Nevertheless I did the only right thing as a customer and complained about the wrong delivery, and the very next day I held my specimen of Alexandria II in my hand.
That's where it should be. I opened the cardboard slipcase, took the sample, had the back of my hand ready, operated the spray head of the atomizer, waited a few seconds, smelled the sample and...

...and there it was. I found what I was looking for. The scent that tops everything. The oud that eclipsed all previous impressions. The perfume that allowed me to breathe
I have never smelled anything comparable, something so unique, which fascinated and magically attracted me at first sight. This fragrance is unique, and everyone should at least have tested it. It was soon clear to me that I would like to own this fragrance one day. Now it is already standing here, turned at a 90 degree angle to me
That, dear reader, dear reader, is it - my scent. A thoroughly hearty, wonderful scent composition. Everything I ever wanted in perfumery. This perfume is my pinnacle. I don't know if any other perfume could ever top this one. And between you and me - I wouldn't want that
Thank you very much for your attention!
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