This is a highly sophisticated scent, totally unlike the scores of sweet/spicy designer offerings we encounter on a daily basis. It will take a little confidence to pull off, but it's worth the effort. I've become quite addicted to it. I bought a full bottle of Electimuss Auster at around the same time, which I quite like. But it must be feeling lonely and ignored at this point. I'm a Naxos guy through and through. Be warned however. It's potent. The sillage is a tour de force.

This fragrance screams money and class! This fragrance is such a unique honey scent. It’s like nothing I’ve ever smelled before. The fragrance has this fizzy feeling to it that is super addictive. The oud gives it a slight medicinal quality but I really love the way it’s done in this fragrance. If you want a signature that is confident, opulent, sophisticated, abstract, and unique then this is the one! Underrated hidden gem!

Alexandria II from Xerjoff is

Alexandria II from Xerjoff is Masterpiece and sits in my TOP10 best fragrances I’ve ever smelled. This wasn’t love at first sniff. I got a sample in the begging of my fragrance journey and it was summer (wrong time of year and my brain was “shocked” by new notes I smelled as beginner). I had to put it aside. Then it was a winter and I started to more a more enjoy challenging fragrances and I was getting in to stage oud nuances won’t surprise me anymore (western, animalic, skunky…I knew some fragrances needs right temperature and some needs hour on skin to start developing). I pulled it out again and maaan I loved it so much I had to own full bottle asap. Trick here is you need to be careful with spraying (2 sprays is enough trust me) and fragrance needs to benefit ... MoreAlexandria II from Xerjoff is Masterpiece and sits in my TOP10 best fragrances I’ve ever smelled. This wasn’t love at first sniff. I got a sample in the begging of my fragrance journey and it was summer (wrong time of year and my brain was “shocked” by new notes I smelled as beginner). I had to put it aside. Then it was a winter and I started to more a more enjoy challenging fragrances and I was getting in to stage oud nuances won’t surprise me anymore (western, animalic, skunky…I knew some fragrances needs right temperature and some needs hour on skin to start developing). I pulled it out again and maaan I loved it so much I had to own full bottle asap. Trick here is you need to be careful with spraying (2 sprays is enough trust me) and fragrance needs to benefit from colder weather so it can open up and show all the facets and stages of this gem! To me there is nothing animalic. It starts with beautiful palisander wood coupled with lavender. After few minutes smooth rose steps in but it’s nothing “rose overpowering”. Cedar & Lili of the valley can be also spotted that move the fragrance to very dry side. Final stage and dry-down is all about “western oud” smoothen by sandalwood combination with amber. To me this is a masterpiece from the Xerjoff House and it’s very unique. Many compliments received and this screams niche. Is completely unisex! Performance & silage is 12+ hours to me. I sprayed it on hand, later took a shower and I could very clearly still smell it on hand entire day (some fragrances don’t even smell after 3 hours of spraying like Alexandria II after shower). It’s definitely super-power mode and amazing gem created by Chris Maurice!

CLEARLY REFORMULATED

As a long time user of Naxos , I'm extremely disappointed in my latest purchase. Libertine's service can't be faulted as they were once again fantastic in getting my order to me quickly and were very generous with many samples. But the Naxos they are selling is not the Naxos I've been using for the past few years. Straight away, when smelling the opening I knew something was up and the performance has gone from previously lasting me 8 hrs to now barely getting three. With my order I got a Xerjoff sample pack. The sample Naxos was the Naxos I know and love. I did a test and it lasted all day, yet the following day I used my new 100 ml purchase and got around 3 hrs and is much heavier on the lavender, and generally a much more watered down Naxos.

Chic, balance, and subtle.

I really like this perfume. It's a very clean scent; and by that I mean it's not a perfume that really sticks to your nose (which is often an unpleasant feeling). The scent notes are also pretty well balanced, with no one note overpowering the other. It is sweet, and flowery, and cool. It is not a very pronounced perfume, so you have to get in close to smell it after you apply. The packaging was pretty intricate and fancy; it would look great as a gift. But since I bought it for myself I would have preferred something more simple as I have no use for a box that can only fit this specific bottle. The reasons that I didn't give it 5 starts are: 1) The bottle is opaque. It is clear with silver leaf detail, and I thought it was going to be matte gray with the silver ... MoreI really like this perfume. It's a very clean scent; and by that I mean it's not a perfume that really sticks to your nose (which is often an unpleasant feeling). The scent notes are also pretty well balanced, with no one note overpowering the other. It is sweet, and flowery, and cool. It is not a very pronounced perfume, so you have to get in close to smell it after you apply. The packaging was pretty intricate and fancy; it would look great as a gift. But since I bought it for myself I would have preferred something more simple as I have no use for a box that can only fit this specific bottle. The reasons that I didn't give it 5 starts are: 1) The bottle is opaque. It is clear with silver leaf detail, and I thought it was going to be matte gray with the silver detail. This is a problem because of light possibly damaging the perfume. 2)I wish the scent would last longer. By the end of the work day you can smell it on my clothe, but someone standing next to me couldn't tell I was wearing it. With all that said I would still recommend it.

Ethereal, musky, animalic

I blind purchased this after reading the notes on Fragrantica which included powdery, Iris, musky, earthy, white floral and animalic.This is not a soft unassuming musky powdery perfume but has animalic oomph in it after an earthy and ozone and almost metallic opening. It quickly develops into an animalic musky powder with notes of orris and faint white florals. I don’t however smell any Iris.The bottle and box are beautifully presented while a small gold plate that is dedicated to man first walking on the moon in July 1969. While this perfume is an ode to an historic space moment in 1969, it’s certainly not a retro perfume.This perfume is contemporary, complex and complicated. But comforting at the same time.While it is mean to be unisex, I think it is more ... MoreI blind purchased this after reading the notes on Fragrantica which included powdery, Iris, musky, earthy, white floral and animalic.This is not a soft unassuming musky powdery perfume but has animalic oomph in it after an earthy and ozone and almost metallic opening. It quickly develops into an animalic musky powder with notes of orris and faint white florals. I don’t however smell any Iris.The bottle and box are beautifully presented while a small gold plate that is dedicated to man first walking on the moon in July 1969. While this perfume is an ode to an historic space moment in 1969, it’s certainly not a retro perfume.This perfume is contemporary, complex and complicated. But comforting at the same time.While it is mean to be unisex, I think it is more feminine than masculine. It’s the sort of perfume I have to be in the mood to wear and one small squirt is plenty. Longevity is at least 6-8 hours and even longer on clothing.I’d recommend you sample before buying as online reviews typically describe it as a soft unassuming white floral musk - which I found it is not.

Naxos

This scent is ambrosia. If Pure Havane is Capilano from a squeegy bottle, Naxos is the Nectar brought to Hera and Zeus' wedding feast by the nymph/bee Melissa.The honey soaks through the other elements of the heart and base, with everything being noticeably present but softened and smoothed by it. This is dense, but not heavy. The citrus and lavender that start off in the opening stay around and elevate the scent so despite its richness it feels light. This isn't the torpor of a winter honey tobacco scent, but the languid motion of a hot day.A stunning scent that lasts and projects exceptionally well. At its best in summer in my opinion, going easy on the sprayer, but works in anything except quite cold temperatures.Excellent service by Libertine. The samples ... MoreThis scent is ambrosia. If Pure Havane is Capilano from a squeegy bottle, Naxos is the Nectar brought to Hera and Zeus' wedding feast by the nymph/bee Melissa.The honey soaks through the other elements of the heart and base, with everything being noticeably present but softened and smoothed by it. This is dense, but not heavy. The citrus and lavender that start off in the opening stay around and elevate the scent so despite its richness it feels light. This isn't the torpor of a winter honey tobacco scent, but the languid motion of a hot day.A stunning scent that lasts and projects exceptionally well. At its best in summer in my opinion, going easy on the sprayer, but works in anything except quite cold temperatures.Excellent service by Libertine. The samples are very welcome.

RE FORMULATED???

I agree totally with Joshua I. Reviewed about 2 months ago. My small samples were different, more lemony and a much more stronger scent, stronger in sillage and projection and lasting power. I knew as soon as I sprayed this new full 100ml bottle this is different to my samples. Pretty soft scent but not worth the price. If our perfumes are reformulated I wish we were told. I feel samples ARE often from different batches to the full bottles purchased. 5 stars only for Libertineonline service and express post and packing.

This is phenomenal, better than 40 Knots

I wanted to wait to write a review until after I had tried the fragrance it was inspired from. Can say without a doubt that Smooth Sailing is absolutely better than 40 Knots. While I’m not a floral/powdery fan, I will put up with it for the short time before it evolves into a killer “deep blue” scent.While they both start out similarly — very light, airy, floral — they diverge slightly after the first 15-20 minutes. I find Smooth Sailing to have a much “cleaner” feel between the 30-60 minute mark. 40 Knots has something in it that I can’t quite place that is just a bit off-putting in comparison during this phase.Between 1-4 hours, Smooth Sailing just evolves continuously into a deeper and deeper blue. Maybe a strange analogy, but wearing Smooth Sailing I feel ... MoreI wanted to wait to write a review until after I had tried the fragrance it was inspired from. Can say without a doubt that Smooth Sailing is absolutely better than 40 Knots. While I’m not a floral/powdery fan, I will put up with it for the short time before it evolves into a killer “deep blue” scent.While they both start out similarly — very light, airy, floral — they diverge slightly after the first 15-20 minutes. I find Smooth Sailing to have a much “cleaner” feel between the 30-60 minute mark. 40 Knots has something in it that I can’t quite place that is just a bit off-putting in comparison during this phase.Between 1-4 hours, Smooth Sailing just evolves continuously into a deeper and deeper blue. Maybe a strange analogy, but wearing Smooth Sailing I feel like I start above the water, and am just slowly sinking into deeper and darker waters — and it’s absolutely fantastic. It becomes a skin scent on me between 6-10 hours before I lose it entirely at about 10-12 hours. However, during this time I’m constantly smelling my wrist.I will say 40 Knots does have a similar base, but it takes a long time to get to the dark blue that I really love. It stays in this weird transition between floral/powder and blue for about two hours. To my nose, there is that similar “weird” note that I can’t place that lingers in the base of it as well, but it’s not quite as strong.Overall, this is a really unique summer fragrance that I would definitely recommend. Absolutely can ignore 40 Knots with Smooth Sailing in existence because it’s better in every way.

Truely Amazing !!!!!

So this was my first niche purchase and i can’t thank ascent Cosmetics enough for their help in making my first niche purchase. The care they took in sending and overnight delivery as usual was amazing.Naxos is stunning!! The combination of lemon honey vanilla and tobacco blended to perfection seriously! As it drys down it gets better. Buying a Xerjoff is an experience! The presentation is absolutely stunning. Personally I would recommend this for a first niche buy. Worth every cent !! Will definitely be getting another bottle.