Xerjoff Richwood Perfume Review

Xerjoff Richwood Eau de Parfum is intended to be a “majestic patchouli-enhanced” scent embraced by “warm sandalwood from Mysore” and “scrumptious citruses and cassis” that “blooms and evokes the dark rose and patchouli.” I found Richwood wore unusually on me compared to many others (based on reading customer reviews, as it is quite a popular scent), because it had such a strong, opening of citrus blossoms that lingered for nearly three hours on me rather than a half hour or so. More generally, ignoring the longevity of the opening phase on me, Richwood is, at its core, an earthy, woody fragrance with patchouli, sandalwood, and vanillic sweetness that is heady and dense.

Richwood’s notes are listed as:

• top notes: bergamot, mandarine peel, grapefruit, cassis
• heart notes: rose absolute, geranium leaves
• base notes: patchouli, amber coumarin, cistus labdanum, vanilla, musks

The fragrance opens with sweet, juicy oranges with a hint of orange blossom that gives way to a subtle, undercurrent of bitter grapefruit at the end of an inhale. There’s a suggestion of creamy, woodiness that slowly moves to the forefront over the first 30 minutes of wear, but the citrus-dominated phase lasted an incredibly long time for me–almost three hours where it was more citrus than anything else. I’d almost argue that the citrus phase lasted better than some actual citrus fragrances do!

The strength and longevity of the citrus opening was unusual, based on reviews from others, and it wasn’t until the fourth hour where the woods had a suggestion of earthy rose tendrils and a boozier, almost jam-like richness that was sweet but not syrupy. There’s a suggestion of smokiness that hides in the background, which I think muted the jammy sweetness. The whole composition was rich heady. After seven to eight hours of wear, the dry down emerged with creamy sandalwood, spicy patchouli, and sweet, amber-vanilla.

For testing, I purchased a 2ml glass spray vial of the scent, and I used approximately half of the vial for each wear test, which was applied to the underside and topside of my wrist area on my left arm. I use an unscented moisturizer prior to applying the scent as this is also my swatching arm (aka, incredibly parched at any given moment) as I found scent did not hold well here otherwise.  It was long-lasting (over 10 hours and still detectable as a skin-scent) with moderate sillage overall.

Subjectively, the opening citrus phase is particularly long-lasting on me, and while I sometimes will wear citrus-based scents, it’s more of a mood thing–and I’m not often in that mood!–and given how pricey this one is, there are other scents I’d prefer that have a similar dry down (Chanel Coromandel comes to mind).

Available Sizes

1.7 fl. oz. for $450

Where to Buy

• Saks