Beauty Care: Xerjoff Nio Perfume Review

Xerjoff Nio Eau de Parfum begins with an intense, peppery dose of zesty citrus that becomes more floral over time; initially, citrus-floral and then slightly tempered with the white floral of jasmine. The woods were more apparent in the drydown and melded with the soft, slightly sweet and citrus florals.

It is described as a “woody aromatic” that as “top notes of bergamot, rose pepper and nutmeg” with an “earthy heart of jasmine and green leaves” over “cedar wood, guaiac wood, and amber” base notes.

top notes: bergamot, Tunisian neroli, rose pepper, nutmeg
heart notes: jasmine, green leaves
base notes: guaiac wood, cedarwood, Haitian vetiver

Scent Development

It opened with bright, fresh, and zesty citrus–lemon peel, orange blossoms, and a peppery kick that made the composition a little sharper and less floral. Behind it all was a wall of lush, green vines with jasmine blooms waiting to be exposed. Within five minutes, Nio sweetened in its floralcy but was still full of zest, light white florals, and dense greenery.

Nutmeg made an appearance about 15 minutes into the development of Nio–slightly spicy and earthy, which paved the way for woody facets to come through at the 45-minute mark. Aromatic woods appeared and became a more noticeable part of the composition through the drydown, though the fragrance wans’t particularly long-wearing on me. I found that the drydown ended up around the four-hour mark and was a soft, citrus floral and wood blurriness with subtle floral sweetness.

Application

For testing, I used 1/3 of a 0.7ml sample vial dabbed to the underside and topside of my wrist area on my left arm. I used 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.

I purchased my sample in January 2022; fragrances are known to be reformulated over their lifetime , so be mindful of when a review was made, e.g. a review from 2010 may not reflect what the same-named perfume smells like in 2022.

Longevity

It lasted for eight hours until it was a skin-scent and about 12 hours before it was quite difficult to detect on my skin. The sillage and projection were moderate with the sillage dropping faster than the projection within two hours.