Fierezza Xerjoff 2026

An ode to all my aspirational (and actual) Lamborghini owners: sometimes I reflect on just how much capital I've sunk into this (fragrance) hobby. For me, perfumery was always an intermediate step as I've long been inspired by creators like Shmee150 into eventually doing car-centric lifestyle content. However, cars are notoriously more costly and as a method of building an initial platform/following, fragrances felt like the right place for me: an interesting hobby with both a hipster angle (i.e. nobody else around me is this deep into it) and a moderate barrier of entry from a capital perspective.

Just like how it is in the car field, a huge part of fragrances (and beauty as a whole) is tied to marketing and the story that you, as a brand, tell your addressable market. I occasionally find myself thinking about the great "modern marketing scams" within niche perfumery, particularly in the post-COVID era as I entered the game in late 2020 to early 2021. When people ask me to point at something/somebody, my brain always goes back to a 2022 Kilian interview for Kologne Shield of Protection. You see, Kologne came out at a time when COVID wasn't eradicated to the level that it is now and Kilian obviously made the most of that by upselling you on a story about how he was on an airplane and felt exposed to the virus, about how he needed something to protect him from it. I assume you can see where this one is going.

We transition to the collection at hand: Xerjoff x Automobili Lamborghini. A union of Italian excellence. Power lived through scent. I quote: Fierezza captures the frisson of excitement of getting into the driver’s seat, grasping the steering wheel and sensing the energy that is about to be unleashed. Now, I can only speak for myself, but Fierezza is nothing short of an absolute failure in tying together the product and the marketing. [Samples purchased directly from Xerjoff.]

I've gone through the evolution a couple times, trying to understand if there's more to the scent that I might be missing. Fierezza opens aromatic, herbal & slightly green followed by aquatic nuances. The structure features A LOT of resemblance to Amouage's Lineage as many of the parts are designed in the same way. When I smell Fierezza, I get a prominent fenugreek-like note which coincides with geranium, adding a strong aromatic quality in the process. Relative to Lineage, the lack of pepper tree makes for a scent that is not as spicy, but if you browse the marketing material enough, you'll actually see Xerjoff state "Pink pepper leaves a piquant trail for fresh incense to follow" and that's a big reason why I like this comparison, because when Lineage came out alongside Search in 2023, those two scents essentially pioneered the idea of fresh incense. They were executed in a style that Amouage hadn't done before.

In certain stages, the opposition between the aromatic parts and the aquatic parts also has some sandalwood-like qualities to it. However, there's really not a whole lot else to the product. The scent doesn't evolve much as it primarily centers on an aquatic-fresh DNA, opposing the geranium and marine notes with a herbal note over the top. In my short first impressions, I wrote down a couple other names from Amouage, namely Beach Hut Man and Bracken Man. I've worn quite a bit of Beach Hut this year and the way that the ivy and/or moss is used in Beach Hut Man also bares resemblance to the herbal parts of Fierezza.

Final accords: aquatic-fresh-spicy-green

To touch on the parts surrounding the scent, the performance is average to slightly below. In the niche realm, aquatic is a genre that has numerous strong-to-nuclear performers with various takes on the DNA, from Akdeniz and 40 Knots to Ganymede Eau de Parfum and Megamare. For me, Fierezza doesn't pack much punch with longevity in the 6 hour area (rated 4/10) and the scent never getting any relevant lift (sillage rated 3/10). I've historically rated XJ bottles a 10 and won't deviate from that, even with them putting the Lamborghini badge on the plaque. Xerjoff is selling this scent at €430/100ml which I'd rate a 3/10 for value (I'd argue it should be less, given the target audience/marketing).

In a vacuum, how should one view Fierezza? Structurally, the product should resonate more with people who like Amouage's herbal-aromatic fragrances as well as modern brands who have classic-smelling product in their catalogue (e.g. Masque Milano). However, for me, the story told by the brand doesn't align with what I've experienced wearing Fierezza. It's obviously hard to tie any fragrance together with literal marketing fluff, but all of the key words used by Xerjoff (pride, dignified self-worth, commands respect) are ones I don't feel when wearing Fierezza. I can't envision sitting behind the wheel of the €600,000 Revuelto that they trotted out for the premier event, wearing a fragrance like this: for me, there's a total disconnect between those two ideas. Then again, maybe that also gives credence to the idea that I, as a collector, have reached a level where no brand can upsell me on nothing.

The second newcomer from Xerjoff presents itself in fiery red and carries the noble name "Fierezza". However, as dignified as it may seem, it is not quite so. But let's take it step by step:

Fierezza starts with an intense floral note that vaguely reminds one of Mefisto. The biggest difference, however, is the immediately perceivable wild leather note that runs like a red thread through the scent's development. A few minutes after application, the fragrance evolves into a fresh, slightly maritime direction. It evokes memories of Isola Blu Parfum or Acqua di Giò Parfum, always with this leather accord in the background. As much as I appreciate the ingenuity behind this rather unconventional combination of freshness and wild leather - in the end, my nose did not really enjoy the overall package. The beautiful, slightly spicy-aquatic hints of this fragrance are constantly overshadowed by the subtle leather note.

The longevity is similar to Perseveranza: the scent remains on the skin for 6-7 hours, after which it is no longer perceivable. However, the sillage is slightly worse; despite the leather note, the fragrance becomes more intimate after 1-2 hours.

Conclusion: Here again, I want to point out the quite nice, but rather average overall performance in relation to the price. €430 is really too much for such a scent DNA. If it were a designer in the €100-150 price range, the situation would look quite different - I would be willing to give a higher rating, even though the fragrance ultimately did not quite hit my taste. Xerjoff should have put in more effort here - especially with such a legendary collaboration!