X for Men

House: Clive Christian

Release: 2001

Perfumer: Geza Schoen

Fragrance Notes

Top Notes: Pink pepper, Bergamot, Cardamom oil, Ginger

Heart Notes: Iris, Violet, Cinnamon

Base Notes: Tree moss, Ambergris, Styrax, Labdanum, Vetiver, Virginia cedarwood, Vanilla

Review

Cardamom flows through the entire composition as touchpoint for those looking for a clear note instead of excellently blended accords. This is quality perfume, but very expensive. The initial intense blast of pepper, bergamot, cardamom and spicy ginger is sweetened with the cinnamon, labdanum, and vanilla. The cedar and vetiver keep the base from going to a sweet musk mess.

From our wear of a 2020 decant, this opens with a delightful powdery, dry spice. There is sweetness and a hint of floral citrus in the background, but the spice, and in particular, the cardamom dominates. There is a nice animalic sour note that adds some intrigue while the vanilla and labdanum keep this from getting too dry.

We dabbed this on in one room and got a response from someone in the other, so this must have decent projection. This is lovely, but a bit too expensive to justify for everyday wear at our income level.