Top Notes 
Saffron
Bergamot
Cardamom
Mandarin orange
Heart Notes 
Hazelnut
Lavender
Myrrh
Jasmine sambac absolute
Ylang-ylang
Base Notes 
Tolu balm
Tonka bean
Benzoin
Labdanum
Patchouli
Vetiver
04/17/2025
NicheOnly
101 Reviews
NicheOnly
Helpful Review
3
Did I lose you?
"Black Moonlight | XerJoff" is the second launch from Xerjoff's Duran Duran collaboration and much like my experiences with "NeoRio | XerJoff", the fragrance pyramid doesn't really tell much of the story here as Black Moonlight brings a complex structure that would place it closer to Amouage or vintage SHL than Xerjoff.
The scent has a sweet-spicy floral open, appearing to be driven by the saffron, cardamom and lavender. From up-close, the scent has an undeniable oriental-animalic feel at first which I have written down in my notes as having similarities to the fragrances in Xerjoff's collection that are built upon Laotian oud, e.g. "Zafar | XerJoff" and "Malesia (2017) | XerJoff". Transition wise I feel like there's a lot, but also very little going on at the same time. There's a very clear smokiness in the development, implying incense which in some wafts towards the open can remind you of "Decas | XerJoff". Yet the most bizarre part is how this scent lists no incense and no oud.
The direction that "Black Moonlight | XerJoff" initially settles in is clearly more towards resinous-oriental-smoky than it is to a typical sweet-spicy fragrance. The primary notes on-skin are the ambers (labdanum-benzoin base) being contrasted by the myrrh and lavender in the heart. The scent is very much dry and I feel like the aforementioned animalic touches are being implied from the tolu balm.
However, the ultimate dry-down as well as the outdoors wearing experience are quite different. The sweetness shows more of itself and the scent becomes very familiar pretty quickly, showcasing similarities to the profiles of Initio's Side Effect and Margiela's By the Fireplace. That is to say the sweet-spicy structure shows more of itself and the scent offers up a "cozy, sitting by the campfire" vibe. Within Xerjoff's catalogue, this same vibe is only offered by Casamorati's "Casamorati - Bouquet Ideale (Eau de Parfum) | XerJoff". I personally cannot find anything here that would make it comparable to either of the Iommi collaborations.
Ultimately, I feel like there's something here and simultaneously not so much. It certainly felt like a challenging fragrance at first, a style that Xerjoff hasn't had much success with recently (looking at you, "Groove Xcape | XerJoff"). This is certainly a masculine product that is meant for fall-winter usability with the performance being above average, but nowhere near nuclear (strong on-skin longevity though). Again, the €315/50ml retail price pokes up at me and that is a complete no-go as the scent doesn't bring anything new to the scene.
The scent has a sweet-spicy floral open, appearing to be driven by the saffron, cardamom and lavender. From up-close, the scent has an undeniable oriental-animalic feel at first which I have written down in my notes as having similarities to the fragrances in Xerjoff's collection that are built upon Laotian oud, e.g. "Zafar | XerJoff" and "Malesia (2017) | XerJoff". Transition wise I feel like there's a lot, but also very little going on at the same time. There's a very clear smokiness in the development, implying incense which in some wafts towards the open can remind you of "Decas | XerJoff". Yet the most bizarre part is how this scent lists no incense and no oud.
The direction that "Black Moonlight | XerJoff" initially settles in is clearly more towards resinous-oriental-smoky than it is to a typical sweet-spicy fragrance. The primary notes on-skin are the ambers (labdanum-benzoin base) being contrasted by the myrrh and lavender in the heart. The scent is very much dry and I feel like the aforementioned animalic touches are being implied from the tolu balm.
However, the ultimate dry-down as well as the outdoors wearing experience are quite different. The sweetness shows more of itself and the scent becomes very familiar pretty quickly, showcasing similarities to the profiles of Initio's Side Effect and Margiela's By the Fireplace. That is to say the sweet-spicy structure shows more of itself and the scent offers up a "cozy, sitting by the campfire" vibe. Within Xerjoff's catalogue, this same vibe is only offered by Casamorati's "Casamorati - Bouquet Ideale (Eau de Parfum) | XerJoff". I personally cannot find anything here that would make it comparable to either of the Iommi collaborations.
Ultimately, I feel like there's something here and simultaneously not so much. It certainly felt like a challenging fragrance at first, a style that Xerjoff hasn't had much success with recently (looking at you, "Groove Xcape | XerJoff"). This is certainly a masculine product that is meant for fall-winter usability with the performance being above average, but nowhere near nuclear (strong on-skin longevity though). Again, the €315/50ml retail price pokes up at me and that is a complete no-go as the scent doesn't bring anything new to the scene.
Andres0719
NicheOnly
Myrtillajus
bouffant
3aloosh
