Oh dear... After being very impressed by some Xerjoff fragrances recently, I cautiously approached the "Join the Club" series - but what is this supposed to be...? The individual scents in this series are said to represent a typical representative of a kind of virtual club. "Fatal Charme" (yes, it is spelled with an "e" at the end, unlike here) is supposedly the trendy club in Milan, fashionable, ahead of trends, creative and elegant, glamorous and exclusive, knowledgeable and magnetic - really?? What nonsense... It continues accordingly: the notes and components are kept secret to maintain exclusivity, however, every buyer receives an ID card with which they can meet other initiated buyers of this supposedly special fragrance in the real (as opposed to the virtual) club. Incredible, who comes up with such nonsense...
Is there even a scent? I mean one that is somehow worth mentioning or even actually present, aside from all the marketing noise...? Well, what can I say...
There certainly is, and it opens up really enticingly and appealingly! Of course, I lack the exact references here, but the fragrance unmistakably opens briefly with a bright, yet restrained and elegantly orchestrated citrus accord; I recognize lemon and especially mandarin in the first 20-30 seconds. Then, subtle but still distinct white, milky floral notes join in. Not Ylang, not Jasmine, it smells more like a Calla looks ;-) The mandarin-juicy, slightly sweet accord from the opening remains present, but has now rounded into a broader floral character.
Soon, greener notes come in, like the stem and leaves of the Calla, complementing its white juicy radiance with its defining green aspects. In this heart note, we have an overall dense, excellently balanced and multi-layered, not necessarily white but bright-juicy floral component - very appealing and quite complex!
A delicate creamy-balsamic slightly sweet caramel note comes in, not vanilla or honey, but rather a slightly caramel touch. Or is it vanilla after all...? In the drydown, it almost seems so, not the flat sweet but the restrained-dark-full natural variant, but very subtle, nonetheless full and round - slightly sweetened, mossy-fern-green floral notes form, in my perception, the base, and thus the fragrance fades out.
I really dislike this disgusting marketing game with supposed exclusivity and secrecy, but I must begrudgingly acknowledge that this fragrance is really well made, in every respect, from architecture to execution to the quality of the components, there is not the slightest thing to criticize. A highly elegant, wide-awake-clear hint of floral nobility and contemporary transparency. Annoyingly good, this fragrance... ;-)
Cup.