This is not my first experience with Xerjoff, but I have to admit that I haven't found one yet that has led me to complete satisfaction. Erba Pura is no exception. That said, I find this one really interesting. The top notes are: Sicilian orange, Calabrian bergamot and Sicilian lemon followed by a Mediterranean fruity accord in the mid, and a base of white musk, amber and Madagascar vanilla. The dominant accords are fruity, sweet, fresh, musky, citrus, vanilla and amber. And yes, this is VERY fruity. It opens with loud, almost tropical fruit, but as the drydown begins, the fruit becomes creamier. The musk remains subtle, but I think its presence is important because it carries the fruit through its transformation. What starts as very tropical fruit eventually reminds me of a frozen tropical cocktail. And there is an appeal to the creaminess of that. This is the point at which, if this vibe was your thing, it could become addictive. The softer it gets, the more approachable it becomes, but it never stops making its presence known from a distance. I can see this being perfect after you've decided you've had enough of the beach, take a refreshing shower and reset on the pool deck for happy hour. This doesn't ask someone to come closer. Instead, it seems to say that if they choose to, they'll find someone who is confidently fresh. I also don't think this is trying to make a man smell traditionally masculine. It's unapologetically fruity, and I think the guy wearing it has to be comfortable with that. Xerjoff describes it as a fresh, fruity fragrance inspired by the Mediterranean at golden hour, moving into the evening, and I can absolutely see that image. Performance is definitely part of the story. Projection and sillage are strong, and I'm expecting very good longevity from the way this is wearing. It's an interesting fragrance, and I can appreciate why people love it. But after trying several Xerjoffs, I'm still waiting for the one that gives me that feeling of complete satisfaction. Erba Pura isn't that one.

Bit naughty this one https://youtube.com/shorts/aFW-nyuLNH8?is=qh3mn0a_wX0qdnw9

Got a solid spray to the hand at Macys, which is plenty to get a sense for it. My first reaction: Meh. It’s just meh. The good: it’s pleasant and it actually projects fairly well, I have been catching pleasant whiffs of it for a few hours now. And the woody, powdery vanillic drydown is pleasant. And… that’s all I can really say. The bad: I can’t really say there’s anything bad about it either (although there is a sharpness at the open, probably from violet leaf, that I don’t care for). This to me is just a very pleasant, super mass appealing sweet smooth lavender floral vanilla. To my taste it’s actually very unisex, like straight down the middle. Pretty light on the cardamom & leather and so it’s light enough that I think this can be used safely in all but hot summer days. I honestly don’t see this being the next big thing for Armani - there are of tons of sweet lavender vanilla aromatic choices eg in the BIR line, Invictus Victory and 1 million and Phantom line, Bad Boy line, Gisada Gold, even Ferragamo F Black all coming to mind. I’m not saying all those smell alike or that this smells like those, more that my first impression was oh man this is kind of like things I’ve smelled so many times before and this isn’t so great that it stands out from them, at least to me anyway. Not that the SWY line was groundbreaking or anything, but when I sniff things from that line, I don’t think oh this is similar to so many other things I’ve smelled before (except of course the dozen other SWY flankers lol). I guess what I’m trying to say is the SWY line has some character that I think this release is lacking. I’m honestly a little disappointed, to me this isn’t even decant worthy to test further. But hey, this is just my opinion - go out and sample it for yourself, let me know if you think I need to give this another chance!