After testing it over and over again, I was recently trigger-happy, and put my hand on a nice little 3-piece set of this eau de toilette.
I must admit, I am aware that Pure XS is more of a commercial success. One of the things that made me think and review was a YouTuber, which found the fragrance to be lastingly pleasant and individual.
I personally have always been fascinated by the bottle, hach... I just like it when it clicks. ;)
The set of 3 includes a 50ml bottle *click*, a 10ml travel pocket sprayer with contents, and a golden ball keychain I got it for the battle price of the (currently cheapest) normal 50ml bottle, so I couldn't and wouldn't resist ;) Sometimes you have to reward yourself after all!
And yes, I actually feel rewarded and not punished with the package. On the one hand, I think - and I'll get straight to the heart of the matter - incense scents from designers today are quite against the current. This can be supported on principle, because it supports the diversity, or rather the individualism of the wearer.
Since it is a designer fragrance, it is nevertheless suitable for the masses and easy to wear, and who like me has often played Amouage Jubilation XXV "casual" knows what I am talking about... ;P (By the way also with incense...)
By the way, it's actually myrrh, not incense in Pure XS... but for me the difference is not so obvious, both smell like "incense", and also produce such a cooling, smoky feeling in my throat when I breathe in.
Apropops both, I'm currently having Pure XS and Alien Man by Thierry Mugler compete against each other on my forearms. With the Alien it is again smoky beech wood, but for me it also smells like incense.
For me, both fragrances also somehow make the same thing, a sweet, smoky, slightly vanilla scent, mysterious but wearable.
As the third king to live up to my title, by the way, I am enthroned "This Is Him!" by Zadig & Voltaire. (Sprayed straight onto the arm...)
Likewise a frankincense, does something very similar again. Especially in the A/B test, I was surprised that the grapefruit in the opening is much more lively and dynamic... but will that make a difference in the drydown?
* TIME HAND... N471v3's moving fast 2 hours into the future, everything is flying... *
Okay, so here in the future, was...
...Zadig a little annoying and old-fashioned, very sacred. The grapefruit produces an exhausting aftertaste in the long run, as if someone had ... well, got rid of himself in church. "D I remember now why I never really liked him in the end. I think it's well done, but more "for fans"
...alien a little exhausting. Maybe it's also because of my testing method, because I keep smelling too close to it. But somehow this combination, which contains leather and apparently also a lot of osmanthus, does not quite excite me. I mean, okay, I'm thinking about purple aliens now... :D And it's not badly done either. But I don't think I'd buy it. The association with esotericism shop is too strong for me here.
...the "pure excess"... But somehow good (: For me clearly the most wearable of the 3, and also the one I would most likely wear. I also find it the most expressive, because the DNA gives the most besides smoke. Has something youthfully masculine about it, which makes me feel well dressed.
Closing words.
I think all three smoking kings have their right to exist. The Zadig is a little bit bad boy, but therefore partly exhausting, the Alien a little bit spacy (different) but in the long run also almost too annoying. The Pure XS on the other hand remains solidly casual and usable, and is therefore the clear winner for me.
But I recommend everyone who is not averse to smoke, but is more at home in the mainstream / designer area, to try all 3, because I find the fragrance a cool twist, and in my opinion it scores with originality.