My wife surprised me with a decant of Xerjoff Naxos 1861 today for my birthday (yes she knows the risk of blind buying). I tested it by itself and decided to experiment today with my current favorite JPG Le Male Le Parfum. Just as I thought the intense sweet opening of Xerjoff pairs really well with the warmth of the vanilla and cardamom. The dry down is impeccably smooth, smoky and sophisticated not quite as intense as the opening but very noticeable. I enjoy Naxos by itself although I do think layering it is where it really takes off. I can’t wait to explore more layering combinations in the upcoming days. Have a great Friday fellas!

What to say in your intro? Share where you're from, your reason for joining, perhaps your favorite fragrance, watch or a picture of you dressed sharp! It's a small action, but a HUGE step in you getting value from this community becasue you go from being a lurker to an ACTIVE member. In fact men that introduce themselves are 10X more likely to the actions to becoming their best selves. Bonus Point - By introducing yourself you're guaranteed to level-up. Seriously, you'll get at least 5-20 likes/points (oftentimes more) which will move you to level 2 and possibly level 3. And just like that you have access to more of this community!

Curious for any pro tips out there. How did you learn to detect notes in your fragrances?

I'm not going to get into my fragrance journey here. I've touched on bits and pieces of it over the past few years on this community. I'm just going to touch on what knocked me out of neutral and back interested in finding the next perfect fragrance. It started with two things; covid and my imagination. We all had too much time on our hands when we were locked down during that early time. While others may have embraced sourdough starters and banana bread, I looked at it as the perfect time to reinvent myself. I began working out again and I decided it was a great opportunity to explore the world of fragrance and see what my next signature scent would be. I already had a picture in my mind of what I wanted to find. This should have been my first clue that, even though I live in the south where it's warm nine months out of the year, I'm a sucker for a winter fragrance. Here's what I was hunting - let me set the scene. It's night. There's a winter storm outside. The wind is whipping and the cold is trying to find its way into the room I'm in. It's a big, classic, masculine study, just like you'd find in the movies. Dark wood everywhere. Bookcases filled with classics. A roaring fireplace. And a big, plush, well worn leather chair, where you smell not only the quality leather, but the history of generations who sat there contemplating life before you were born. You can still pick up the faint scent of the cigars and pipes that were used decades before by those who were there before you. On the stand next to the chair, a favorite book and a glass of bourbon. The only light in the room came from the fireplace, a lamp back in the corner by the big executive desk and the occasional flashes of lightning in the windows. That's what I was hunting. I wanted all those smells and all that vibe in a bottle that I could spray on me. I wanted the leather and the wood and the smoke and the books and the tobacco and the bourbon and the chill from the wind and the sweat and the history and the darkness. That's what set me on my journey.

I used to think I was a connoisseur of cologne until very recently I realized I am very much a beginner. Which is great I have a whole world of discovery ahead of me. I’ve spent countless hours watching Noel Smells and Kaleidoscopescentindex and a few others I haven’t exactly bought into yet to explore and discover Designer and Niche scents. I then realized while I will be expanding my collection why not experiment with what I have. That’s where SOTD comes in. I did take to Google AI with my 5 top fragrances and see if I had any that could be great to layer. This was one of 2 options recommended. I really enjoy Le Male Le Parfum and would be lying if I said Sauvage EDT is one of my favorites however, this pairing is quite delightful. JPG is my base scent with a few spritz of Sauvage. I can’t give notes quite yet as I need to learn how to detect fragrance notes but the sharpness of Sauvage paired with the warmth of Le Male to soften that initial sharpness is really cool and certainly place me confidence I am smelling my best on this beautiful morning. Thank you for reading. Have a Feel Good Friday!