X Masculine is an iconic and undeniably fantastic scent profile in the world of niche men’s perfumery. There’s nothing else that smells quite like it, aside from the ones that have copied it. It sort of smells like fougere meets oriental, but mainly comes through as a warm spicy oriental scent. An enveloping warmth of smooth cardamom and spicy cinnamon takes centre stage, given a sort of fresh spiciness by ginger and bergamot. All of this rests on a rich, woody base of woods, florals and Vetiver. The journey of this scent is a battling dichotomy of zingy freshness, against warming spices - and it’s phenomenal. It’s very much in the same vein as Roja’s Reckless Pour Homme, or perhaps that should be vice versa, considering this came first. However, as Roja usually manages to do so, I find his iteration of this scent profile far superior as it feels smoother and more refined. However the Clive Christian has to be respected for the ingenuity of such a scent profile.