Xerjoff
Alexandria 2 Anniversary
Alexandria 2 Anniversary by Xerjoff opens with lavender, bulgarian rose, cumin and cardamom, turns to oud, civet, amber, orris, cypriol oil or nagarmotha, wormwood, mint and clary sage, and dries down to australian sandalwood, vanilla and musk.
The Nose
Composed by Chris Maurice for Xerjoff, also behind Naxos and Erba Pura.
Oud
Dark resinous wood with depth
A dense, resinous wood that smells warm and slightly medicinal, with a leathery, animal-tinged smokiness and a sweet, almost barnyard funk underneath. It feels ancient and brooding, wrapping the skin in something thick and quietly powerful.
Powdery
Soft hush of dressed skin
A velvety, slightly dry softness of iris root, violet, and fine talc, like face powder or clean linen warmed by skin. It feels intimate, refined, and nostalgic, blurring a fragrance into a gentle, cushioned haze.
Aromatic
Crushed herbs in cool air
The green, camphorous coolness of lavender, rosemary, sage, and thyme, like herbs bruised between the fingers. It feels clean, invigorating, and a touch austere, the crisp backbone of a classic barbershop freshness.
Fresh Spicy
Cool bite of cracked pepper
The crisp, tingling lift of pink pepper, cardamom, and ginger, peppery and almost effervescent rather than warm. It adds a bright, faceted sparkle and a clean prickle that feels modern, airy, and invigorating.
Musky
Warm breath of clean skin
A soft, slightly animalic warmth that smells like clean skin and freshly dried laundry, intimate and faintly sweet. It hums quietly underneath a fragrance, lending a sensual, second-skin closeness that feels personal and lingering.
Animalic
Warm skin, musk and muscle
A raw, body-warm muskiness that reads of skin, hair, and fur, sometimes sweet and powdery, sometimes sharp and faintly feral. It feels primal and intimate, blurring the line between perfume and the person wearing it.
Lavender
Cool herbal blue from a sunlit hillside
What it is
Lavender is a woody Mediterranean shrub in the mint family, mainly Lavandula angustifolia, grown across Provence and Bulgaria. The flowering tops are cut at peak bloom and steam-distilled, the purple spikes yielding a pale essential oil; solvent extraction of the flowers gives a darker, richer absolute.
How it smells
Clean, herbal and aromatic, with a cool camphor lift over soft floral sweetness. The opening is sharp, green, almost minty; the dry-down warms into hay, faint vanilla and a powdery, slightly fruity calm. True angustifolia smells rounder and sweeter than the harsher lavandin hybrid.
In perfumery
A top-to-heart note and the backbone of the fougere family, pairing with oakmoss, coumarin and tonka in barbershop accords. It also softens citrus colognes and bright florals. It anchors the great pioneering aromatic fougeres and countless aromatic masculine scents.
Good to know
Provence lavender fields draw millions of visitors, yet much commercial oil is actually lavandin, a sterile hybrid yielding far more per hectare. A spreading bacterial disease, phytoplasma decline spread by sap-sucking planthoppers, has pushed true angustifolia plantings higher into cooler mountain altitudes.
Bulgarian Rose
The fresh dawn breath of the Rose Valley
What it is
The flower of Rosa damascena, grown chiefly around Kazanlak in central Bulgaria's Rose Valley. Petals are hand-picked at dawn, then either steam-distilled into rose otto or solvent-extracted into a deep-red absolute. Roughly three to four tonnes of blossoms yield a single kilogram of otto.
How it smells
Bright, dewy and honeyed, with a green lemony lift on top over a spicy, velvety heart. Compared with Turkish rose it reads fresher and clearer. As it settles, a faint clove-like warmth and a waxy, black-tea softness surface beneath the petals.
In perfumery
A heart note prized for transparency and natural radiance, paired with patchouli, oud, sandalwood or fruity notes like lychee. The otto can crystallise in cool weather. It anchors many of the great rose-centered compositions, lending lifelike floral depth.
Good to know
Harvest runs only three to four weeks in May, and pickers work before sunrise because midday heat evaporates the volatile oils. That tiny, weather-dependent window, plus the tonnes of petals needed per kilo, makes rose otto one of perfumery's costliest naturals.
Cumin
Hot, sweaty, animalic skin warmth
What it is
The dried seeds of Cuminum cyminum, a small annual herb in the carrot family cultivated in India, Iran, Syria and around the Mediterranean. The crescent-shaped seeds are steam-distilled into an oil rich in cuminaldehyde, the compound behind both its culinary and its intensely animalic scent.
How it smells
Pungent, warm and earthy, with a sharp green-spicy top and an unmistakable sweaty, cumin-and-skin facet that reads as deeply human. In trace amounts it adds carnal warmth; overdosed it turns frankly body-odour-like. The dry-down is dusty, nutty and oddly comforting.
In perfumery
A heart-note spice used sparingly for skin-like warmth and a daring animalic pulse, paired with rose, leather, labdanum and orange blossom. Cumin sits at the spicy heart of many oriental compositions and powers the carnal warmth of several reformulated classics.
Good to know
Cuminaldehyde so closely echoes a human sweat compound that perfumers call cumin polarising: wearers read it as either intimate or unwashed. A drop too many tips a whole composition, so it is usually dosed at fractions of a percent.
Cardamom
Green spice cracking open with citrus heat
What it is
Cardamom is the dried seed pod of Elettaria cardamomum, a tall perennial in the ginger family native to the forests of southern India and now widely farmed in Guatemala. The small green pods are hand-picked before fully ripe and dried; the cracked seeds are steam-distilled for their oil.
How it smells
Bright, green and spicy-fresh, with a cool eucalyptus-camphor lift over warm peppery sweetness. There are facets of lemon peel, pine resin and a faint smoky breadiness, like cracked pods in chai. It opens sharp and effervescent, then settles into a soft, balsamic warmth.
In perfumery
A top-to-heart spice adding sparkle and an airy, modern coolness, it bridges citrus openings and woody-amber bases without the heaviness of clove or cinnamon. It pairs with bergamot, rose, leather and oud, and is the defining spark of many a modern aromatic and woody-leather scent.
Good to know
Cardamom ranks among the world's most expensive spices, behind only saffron and vanilla, because every pod is hand-harvested at a precise unripe stage. India and Guatemala dominate supply, and the green pods rapidly lose aroma once cracked, so distillers work quickly.
Oud
Deep resinous agarwood, smoky and quietly animalic
What it is
The dark heart of oud perfumery, prized for its depth and shadow. Few notes carry this much presence in so small a dose.
How it smells
Deep resinous agarwood character. Smoky, dark and quietly animalic as it settles into the skin.
In perfumery
A commanding base note that anchors rose, spice, amber and incense. It gives a composition weight, mystery and remarkable staying power.
Good to know
Oud rewards patience. The smoke softens over the hours and a warm, leathery sweetness comes forward in the drydown.
Civet
Animal warmth that makes flowers bloom indecent
What it is
A glandular paste from the African civet, a nocturnal cat-like mammal secreting it from a perineal pouch, historically scraped out by hand and tinctured in alcohol. Modern perfumery instead uses synthetic civetone, a large-ring ketone whose macrocyclic structure was elucidated by Leopold Ruzicka in 1926.
How it smells
Raw and undiluted it is shockingly fecal, pungent and indolic, edged with skatole and sour butter. Diluted to traces it turns warm, honeyed and slightly leathery, with a tobacco hum and skin-like radiance. The shift from repellent to alluring happens entirely through dilution.
In perfumery
A base-note fixative valued for radiance and carnal warmth, lending florals a living, skin-like glow. Classic alongside jasmine and rose in animalic chypres and orientals. Trace civet shaped many vintage aldehydic florals and ambery orientals before synthetic civetone displaced the natural material.
Good to know
Traditional civet farming caged animals in cruel conditions to harvest the paste, driving a near-total switch to synthetic civetone on ethical grounds. This perfumery civet is unrelated to the Asian palm civet behind kopi luwak coffee, a separate species entirely.
Amber
A warm resinous glow built, not harvested
What it is
Amber is not one ingredient but a perfumer's accord, most often blending labdanum (a sticky resin from the Mediterranean rockrose shrub Cistus ladanifer), benzoin and vanilla, sometimes with tonka or Peru balsam. Despite the name, it has no link to fossilized tree amber, which stays odorless on skin.
How it smells
Warm, soft and balsamic, a powdery sweetness sitting over dry resin. It opens honeyed and faintly animalic from labdanum, then settles into rounded golden warmth recalling beeswax, tobacco and worn leather, threaded with a quiet smoky, incense-like undertone that lingers close to the skin.
In perfumery
A base note prized for warmth, depth and long persistence, anchoring oriental and amber compositions. It pairs naturally with vanilla, patchouli, sandalwood and spices. The sweet vanilla-amber template is a perfumery classic, while drier, resin-forward and herbal readings show its other face.
Good to know
The word once meant ambergris, the waxy intestinal secretion of sperm whales, fueling centuries of confusion among three unrelated things: fossil tree amber, whale ambergris and the resin accord. Modern amber bases are wholly plant and synthetic, leaning on molecules like Ambroxan rather than any animal source.
Orris
Powdered violet rooted in patient buried earth
What it is
Orris is the aroma material from the rhizome of iris flowers, chiefly Iris pallida grown in the hills of Tuscany. The roots are harvested, dried and aged three to six years so enzymes slowly develop irones, then ground and steam-distilled into a waxy, ivory orris butter.
How it smells
A cool, powdery violet scent with a suede-like, almost edible carrot-and-raw-flour facet. It reads dry rather than sweet, evoking face powder, soft leather and damp soil, carrying a silvery, slightly metallic shimmer that feels both floral and rooty at once.
In perfumery
A heart and base material prized for its body and a powdery lift that smooths sharp florals and woods. It pairs with violet, rose, iris leaf and ambrette. It defines a whole lineage of refined powdery-iris and aldehydic-floral compositions.
Good to know
Orris ranks among the costliest naturals in perfumery. A ton of aged rhizome yields only about two kilograms of orris butter, and high-irone grades can exceed one hundred thousand dollars per kilogram, the cost driven by years of aging before any scent develops.
Cypriol Oil or Nagarmotha
Smoky earth, leather and dark woody root
What it is
An oil steam-distilled from the dried roots and rhizomes of Cyperus scariosus, a sedge known in India as nagarmotha and grown widely in Madhya Pradesh. The tubers are cleaned, dried and distilled, yielding a thick, dark oil rich in sesquiterpenes such as cyperene and cyperone.
How it smells
Deeply woody and earthy, with smoky, leathery and peppery facets and a persistent, diffusive character. It recalls vetiver and patchouli crossed with dry tobacco and charred wood. Its rotundone content lends a black-pepper spiciness, while the base stays tenacious and resinous.
In perfumery
A base note giving smoky, woody-leather depth and a natural oud-like darkness without animal materials, paired with vetiver, patchouli, saffron, rose and incense. It also acts as a fixative and grounds many modern woody and oud-style compositions as a sustainable building block.
Good to know
Cypriol carries rotundone, the very molecule that gives black pepper and Syrah wine their peppery bite, and it registers as one of the oil's most odour-active compounds. The sedge often behaves as a stubborn weed, so harvesting its roots turns a nuisance plant into a prized natural.
Wormwood
Bitter silvery herb of absinthe and vermouth
What it is
An essential oil steam-distilled from Artemisia absinthium, a grey-green aromatic shrub of Europe and Asia with silvery, finely divided leaves. The flowering tops and leaves are distilled into a dark oil rich in thujone, from the same plant that flavours absinthe and traditional vermouth.
How it smells
Intensely herbaceous and sharply bitter, with a cold, dry green bite. The top is fresh and penetrating, almost camphoraceous and anise-tinged, with a faint blue-chamomile undertone; underneath sits a warm, woody, slightly medicinal body. Closer to crushed sage and mugwort than to anything sweet.
In perfumery
A top-to-heart note adding bitter-green sharpness, an absinthe signal and aromatic complexity. It pairs with citrus, lavender, jasmine and oakmoss in fougeres and chypres, typically dosed below one percent. It sharpens dark aromatic-fougeres and the green facets of many modern woody scents.
Good to know
Wormwood oil is high in thujone, a compound restricted in foods and historically blamed for absinthe's supposed madness, though modern science attributes that to alcohol. Its genus Artemisia honours the Greek goddess Artemis, and the plant's bitterness gave German Wermut, the root of the word vermouth.
Mint
A cold green rush that clears the head
What it is
Mint oils are steam-distilled from the leaves and flowering tops of Mentha herbs, chiefly peppermint (Mentha piperita) and spearmint (Mentha spicata), cultivated in the United States, India and Europe. The fresh or wilted herb is distilled, then peppermint oil is often partially dementholised to crystallise out excess menthol.
How it smells
Peppermint is piercing, cool and almost icy from its high menthol content, with a sharp camphor-medicinal edge. Spearmint is softer, sweeter and rounder, herbal and faintly fruity from carvone, without the cold bite. Both read green and watery before drying to a clean herbal hum.
In perfumery
A volatile top note used for freshness, coolness and a crisp herbal lift, mint flickers through fougeres, colognes and aromatic-fresh masculines. It pairs with lavender, basil, citrus and chocolate, and drives bracing minty openings in many sport-fresh blends.
Good to know
Menthol triggers the skin's cold-sensing TRPM8 receptors, so mint reads cold even when it is not, the same trick used in toothpaste and chewing gum. Most commercial menthol is now synthesised at industrial scale, notably by Takasago, rather than distilled from the plant.
Clary Sage
Herbal ambery haze with a wine-like lift
What it is
An essential oil steam-distilled from the flowering tops and leaves of Salvia sclarea, a tall biennial herb in the mint family native to the northern Mediterranean and now grown across Europe, Russia and the United States. A more tenacious concrete and absolute are also produced.
How it smells
Herbaceous and aromatic with a soft, sweet, ambery-balsamic warmth and a distinctive winey, tea-like nuance. It opens green, slightly nutty and hay-like over a clean musky undertone, then dries to a rounded warmth that feels both fresh and faintly tobacco-sweet.
In perfumery
A top-to-heart note adding aromatic freshness, wine-like roundness and a natural fixative warmth. A backbone of fougeres and lavender colognes, it pairs with lavender, bergamot, oakmoss and labdanum, lending its herbal glow to many barbershop and chypre classics.
Good to know
Clary sage yields sclareol, the natural starting material for making Ambrox, the prized synthetic ambergris molecule, so this humble herb quietly underpins much of modern amber perfumery. The name clary derives from clear-eye, reflecting its historic folk use to soothe eye irritation.
Australian Sandalwood
Drier, resinous cousin of the milky woods
What it is
Oil from Santalum spicatum, a hemiparasitic tree of Western Australia's arid wheatbelt and rangelands. The fragrant heartwood and roots are harvested, dried, chipped, then steam-distilled over several days. Yield runs around two percent oil, built on santalols, the alcohols that carry the scent.
How it smells
Woody and warm with a dry, slightly bitter, resinous topnote that distinguishes it from creamy Indian sandalwood. Beneath sits a soft milky-balsamic body, faintly spicy and ambery. It dries quiet and suede-smooth, persistent and tenacious rather than sweet or overtly milky.
In perfumery
A base note valued as a fixative that anchors and rounds compositions. It smooths sharp florals, deepens rose, amber and incense, and partners well with vetiver and patchouli. It serves as a sustainable, traceable stand-in for endangered Mysore sandalwood across modern woody fragrances.
Good to know
Sandalwood was Western Australia's biggest export earner in the 1840s, shipped to Asian incense markets long before its oil was first distilled in 1875. Unlike the threatened Indian species, S. spicatum is now plantation-grown and certified, giving it a genuinely regulated supply.
Vanilla
The warm sweet heart of comfort itself
What it is
Vanilla comes from the cured seed pods of Vanilla planifolia, a climbing orchid native to Mexico now grown mainly in Madagascar, Réunion and Tahiti. Green pods are picked unripe, then blanched, sweated in the sun and slow-dried over months until they darken and develop their aroma and vanillin.
How it smells
Sweet, warm and creamy, with a balsamic depth recalling custard, caramel and dried fruit, a faint smoky tobacco-like edge sitting underneath. It opens soft and gourmand, then dries into a powdery resinous warmth that clings close to skin and reads richer than synthetic vanillin alone.
In perfumery
A base note prized for richness and lasting warmth, vanilla rounds sharp edges and anchors oriental and gourmand compositions. It pairs naturally with tonka, amber, sandalwood and spice. Many of the most enduring oriental and tobacco fragrances build their core around it.
Good to know
Vanilla ranks among the costliest spices because each orchid flower opens for one day and must be hand-pollinated, a technique devised in 1841 by Edmond Albius, a twelve-year-old enslaved boy on Réunion. Most commercial vanilla flavor now relies on synthetic vanillin.
Musk
Clean warmth that stays close to the skin
What it is
The quiet foundation of the base, felt more than noticed. It is the note that makes a fragrance feel finished.
How it smells
A clean, skin-warm musk that softens the base and makes it linger. It reads as warm skin and soft, airy comfort.
In perfumery
Musk rounds sharp edges, binds the other notes together and carries the drydown for hours. It is the engine of longevity in a base.
Good to know
Musk sits closest to your own skin scent, so it wears a little differently on everyone. That intimacy is its charm.
Fragrance Character
A spicy-woody composition led by lavender and bulgarian rose, resting on australian sandalwood and vanilla.
Longevity
how long it stays on skin
This gauge reads the expected wear time, how many hours the fragrance keeps speaking on skin before it fades. A marker near the low end means a few fleeting hours, while a marker pushed to the far end promises a scent still present from morning into night.
Sillage
the size of its scent trail
This reads how far the fragrance reaches beyond you and the trail it leaves behind. Low sits soft against the skin, an intimate whisper noticed only up close; high climbs through moderate and strong toward enormous, filling a room and lingering in the air after you have left it.
Experimental
For the bold and curious
Unconventional, boundary-pushing scents for someone who wants to provoke a reaction and stand apart. Suited to artistic, challenging compositions: inky tar, rubber, fermented fruit, metallic or animalic facets that defy easy liking. On this wheel a glowing coin means it rewards the adventurous nose, a dim one means it plays things safe.
Office
Polished but never overpowering
Close-quarters professional settings where a scent should be noticed only by those near you. Suited to restrained, clean compositions with modest projection: tidy citrus, soft musk, pale woods that read competent and considerate. On this wheel a glowing coin means it works in shared workspaces, a dim one means it carries too far.
Evening
After dark, turned up
Dinners, drinks, and nights out when a fragrance can deepen and project with confidence. Suited to richer, warmer compositions: ambers, resins, smoky woods, or plush florals that bloom under low light. On this wheel a glowing coin means the scent comes alive after sundown, a dim one means it stays better suited to daytime.
Romantic
Close enough to be felt
Intimate moments and date nights meant to draw someone nearer. Suited to warm, sensual compositions that hum against skin: creamy florals, vanilla, soft musk, a touch of spice or amber that invites closeness. On this wheel a glowing coin means it sets an alluring mood, a dim one means it leans more practical than seductive.
Formal
Refined for the occasion that matters
Weddings, ceremonies, galas, and dressed-up affairs that call for composure and elegance. Suited to polished, structured scents with quiet authority: smooth woods, refined florals, soft leather, nothing loud or playful. On this wheel a glowing coin means it carries the right gravitas, a dim one means it feels too casual for the room.
Casual
Easy comfort for unhurried days
Everyday wear with no agenda: errands, coffee, friends, a slow weekend. Suited to soft, approachable scents that feel clean and natural, like fresh citrus, light woods, or a gentle skin warmth. On this wheel a glowing coin means the fragrance fits these laid-back moments, a dim one means it asks for more.
Day to Night
where its mood naturally falls
This slider reads the hour the fragrance was made for. A marker to the left leans luminous and bright, easy in daylight and open air; slide it right and the character turns deeper and warmer, the kind of presence that belongs to evening and candlelit rooms.
Winter
Warmth that carries through cold air
Cold air mutes and slows a fragrance, so winter rewards the dense and the warm: resins, smoke, vanilla, leather, and ambered spice that radiate heat against the chill. The bar shows how strongly this particular scent holds up and glows in cold weather.
Spring
Fresh blooms in mild, rising warmth
Mild, humid air lifts lighter compositions beautifully, so spring favors dewy florals, green stems, soft powder, and transparent citrus that feel alive rather than heavy. The bar shows how well this particular scent matches that fresh, gently warming season.
Summer
Bright and airy in real heat
Heat amplifies and projects scent hard, so summer calls for cool, crisp, breathable things: sharp citrus, salty marine air, aromatic herbs, and watery freshness that refresh instead of cloy. The bar shows how comfortably this particular scent wears in real warmth.
Fall
Spiced warmth for cooling days
As temperatures drop, richer materials read clearly without smothering, so autumn suits dry woods, warm spice, tobacco, amber, and golden fruit that feel cozy and contemplative. The bar shows how naturally this particular scent settles into crisp, cooling days.
Best Worn
Winter and fall after dark, a spicy-woody rose at home in candlelit evenings and dressed-up occasions, for those drawn to deep, resinous warmth.
Why the Alexandria 2 Anniversary Decant
A decant is the considered way to live with Alexandria 2 Anniversary across a few wears before the full bottle.
Official Notes
Lavender · Bulgarian Rose · Cumin · Cardamom · Oud · Civet · Amber · Orris · Cypriol Oil or Nagarmotha · Wormwood · Mint · Clary Sage · Australian Sandalwood · Vanilla · Musk
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The Vibe
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