Xerjoff
Alexandria II Anniversary
2024
bulgarian rose
cumin
lavender
cardamom
artemisia
clary sage
orris
mint
cypriol
civet
oud
amber
sandalwood
musk
vanilla
One of the more anticipated niche flankers this year; Alexandria II Anniversary. Frankly, I am in the minority of people that doesn’t care for Alexandria II; I have worn it and never felt that it was all that special to me, so bear that in mind. The scent profile reminded me a bit of my old signature scent; Armani Code. Unfortunately, I have not tried it in quite a while and I didn’t have it at hand for a side-by-side comparison with this 2024 Alexandria II Anniversary.
What I can say is, that from my memory, the Anniversary version is instantly a lot more daring, while keeping the aromatic lavender and powdery qualities from the original.
Alexandria II Anniversary feels heftier, spicier and those spices lean a bit green. Kind of vintage as well; (baby)powdery, with a hint of (pissy) acidity from the civet and cumin. Dry, powdery, pasty and almost medicinal smelling at times, but with a more relieving warmth and woodiness underneath it all. I find the ‘animalics’ more pronounced as others have remarked upon, but really, only for a few minutes.
The most ‘daring’ element here for me is how aromatic this is. The clary sage is amped up and very prominent. It adds a piercing, cooling aromatic breeze on top of the warmer base. I never got much rose from Alexandria II and I don’t get it much here; the aromatics are much more prominent. In general it feels sort of flat and lacking vibranc. For example: Harrods names ‘crisp green apple’ in their description, which I think may be an error, as apple is only in the notes of the original, but something like that also feels like its missing for me. With the sweetness coming through I start getting an almond-like experience as it dries, but it ultimately never becomes totally warm or cozy to me. I don’t mind the scent, but I don’t find much comfort in wearing it.
The quality seems good to outstanding; most Xerjoff’s are solid and especially their 17/17 line is excellent in this regards to me; Alexandria II Anniversary joins the ranks of their top tier compositions quality wise. It seems different enough from the original to warrant the flanker, but it not being a DNA I’m personally into, still holds up equally.