Xerjoff perfume: an Italian house with two founding dates
Xerjoff is an Italian niche house founded by Sergio Momo, but databases disagree on the year. Fragrantica says 2003 and Parfumo says 2004, so a careful writer gives the range. Fragrantica calls it an Italian luxury brand offering distinctive fragrances composed of fine ingredients in exquisite packaging.
Parfumo names early collections: XJ 17/17 launched in 2004, Shooting Stars in 2007 and Oud Stars in 2012. It also lists Casamorati 1888, named after a revived Italian perfume house, and Turin-themed releases such as Torino21, Torino22 and Torino23.
The house stands out for the way it presents its work. Bottles, boxes and collection names are treated as part of the product, which can make a Xerjoff perfume feel like a collector's object as well as something to wear. That is part of the appeal for some buyers and an extra cost for others, so decide which camp you belong to before budgeting.
These dates frame the brand but cannot predict taste. Any Xerjoff perfume is best judged from its note list first and its behaviour on skin second.
Reading Alexandria II in the Oud Stars collection
The official sheet places Alexandria II in Oud Stars, lists it as a perfume in 50 ml and 100 ml bottles and says it is inspired by ancient Arabian perfumery and by Alexandria, a city of cultures, history and trade. The house calls it an expression of timeless elegance. Parfumo dates it to 2012.
The notes the house lists
Top: apple, cinnamon, lavender and rosewood. Heart: cedarwood, lily of the valley and Bulgarian rose. Base: amber, Laotian oud, musk, sandalwood and vanilla. According to the sheet, the scent opens fruity and herbal, moves through a classic oriental heart and ends warm and woody.
What it teaches about oud
Oud never works alone here. Apple and lavender lift it at the start, rose and cedar round it out, vanilla and amber warm it. The lesson is that the word oud does not promise a uniform effect, since much of the final character comes from what surrounds it.
Finding your way through a vast Xerjoff catalogue
Fragrantica counts 197 Xerjoff fragrances, from 2007 to 2026, and names collections including Amphorae Attar Oil, Kemi, Mukhallat, Oud Stars, Shooting Stars, Vibe and XJ 1861. Listed examples include Naxos, 40 Knots, Erba Pura, Torino21 and Aubres, composed by perfumers such as Chris Maurice, Christian Carbonnel, Miroslav Petkov, Laura Santander, Marie Huguenot and Mathieu Nardin.
Parfumo adds release years: Uden in 2009, Richwood in 2010, Accento and Renaissance in 2011, 40 Knots and Alexandria II in 2012, Erba Pura and Amber Star in 2013, Naxos in 2015, Erba Gold in 2016, La Capitale in 2019 and Torino21 in 2021.
With a range this broad, a workable strategy is to pick one collection, then one family of notes, rather than browsing at random.
Using a Xerjoff discovery set well
The official store lists six options. Discovery Sets I to IV each hold, per the description, three compact 15 ml perfumes, so 45 ml in total. The Timeless Set, flagged as new, offers 60 ml, and a Personal Discovery Set lets buyers customise their picks. The page does not name the fragrances in each set, so the detailed sheet should be read before ordering.
A Xerjoff discovery set answers a simple need: exploring several creations before committing to a collector's bottle. At 15 ml per perfume, each scent can be worn for days, which gives a far more reliable impression than a counter spray.
For a first approach, think in terms of questions rather than names. Which family do you already enjoy: fruity, floral, woody or oriental? How strong a presence do you want in an office or on a warm evening? Matching those answers to the notes on each sheet narrows the choice of Xerjoff perfume faster than any ranking could.
Prices change with country and period and must be confirmed with the seller at the time of purchase.
Xerjoff authenticity: the Certilogo NFC tag
Elaborate, expensive bottles are natural targets for imitation. Counterfeits are illegal, their contents are unchecked and they can irritate skin. The house's page on Xerjoff authenticity says that since March 2025 its perfumes carry a Certilogo NFC tag.
A buyer taps the tag on the flacon with a smartphone to verify the product. The house adds that the check unlocks exclusive content and services, and that the Certilogo platform supports traceability and integrity for each bottle.
The page does not cover authorised retailers, batch codes or packaging, and refers readers to customer service for those. It also says nothing about bottles made before March 2025, so anyone buying an older item should ask the house directly.
Buying a Xerjoff bottle at a distance
When buying Xerjoff perfume online, the seller's identity matters as much as the product photo. Look for contact details, a return policy, a batch reference and a price in line with other retailers. A figure far below the market is a warning sign.
Wear-testing at home is only possible when the retailer accepts returns or sells small formats, so ask before paying whether a Xerjoff perfume can be sampled first. Careful attention to provenance adds to the pleasure of the object, especially when presentation is part of its appeal. Keep the invoice, the outer box and any certificate, because they help with later checks.
Amounts shown on official sheets, such as those for Alexandria II, apply on the day of reading and do not replace a seller's quote. An independent database such as Fragrantica or Parfumo helps cross-check announced notes and years.
Choosing by taste, not by bottle design
An ornate bottle can charm without saying much about the liquid. Counter that by testing on a blotter and then on skin, one scent per wrist, noting the opening, the heart after an hour and the base after six.
If you enjoy fruity, oriental compositions, Alexandria II is a fair benchmark against other oud perfumes from Oud Stars or from other houses. If you lean toward fresh accords, filter databases by notes before committing.
Anyone sensitive to fragrance can restrict testing to a small patch of skin and consult a health professional. Nothing ties this overview to Xerjoff commercially, and no commission is earned.