An easy to like fragrance which charms with its elegance.

Listed notes

Mandarin, neroli, grapefruit, bergamot, ylang-ylang, violet, iris, jasmine sambac, heliotrope, gardenia, sandalwood, patchouli, musk, tonka bean, vanilla, amber.

Top notes

In every perfume collection there needs to be a workhorse of a scent. The sort of fragrance you can chuck on to wear for the office but that will happily see you through into the evening as well. The sort of scent you put on for the poshest of dos, but which also suits walking the dog or having coffee with a friend. If you are anything like me then Vixere by Electimuss might be a good contender for that fragrance.

One of the things which Electimuss do exquisitely well is blending. There are never any hard corners of edges in their fragrances and this is a tradition which is most definitely evidenced in Vixere. The perfume opens with a cloud of what appears to be tart, white florals laid on a woody background but everything is super smooth and refined.

Mandarin, neroli, grapefruit and bergamot are all ingredients which can convey a certain citrus zest and here their function is to add a tempering tartness to the floral bouquet. Whilst they are recognisably there, they don’t scream out of the bottle and yell CITRUS at you, instead what is experienced is a very smooth, slightly juicy restraint of the floral notes with this added dollop of sour sophistication added in the top. The other benefit of the citrusy opening is the sense of lift and movement that it gives the perfume which positively takes flight in those opening few bars.

Heart notes

Once the citrus calms, the smorgasbord of florals really becomes evident. The gardenia and ylang-ylang are the ones which are most evident in the composition, but in reality you could be forgiven for simply describing it as a “white floral” mix. It’s playful and uplifting, reminiscent of summery days full of liveliness. The ylang-ylang gives a pollen-laden sweetness, whilst the jasmine sambac keeps things classy. The iris gives a papery touch which is really pleasing, and the heliotrope, gardenia and everything else dance over the top.

The picture that Vixere conjures from top to heart is one of abundance, warmth and joyfulness. It’s a table groaning under the weight of flowers piled high on its planks and scattered with citrus fruits. It’s a stray paper dotted here or there, and a warm friendliness which will follow us down into the base of the scent.

Base notes

The base of Vixere is where we find the home of the warmth that has been driving the scent through from the start. Vanilla, amber and tonka are embraced by creamy sandalwood and a rich patchouli. The sandalwood gives a sumptuous and luxuriously unctuous facet to the scent. You may well imagine that Vixere smells like an extremely high quality face cream during this phase and you wouldn’t be far from the mark. The composition seems to ooze and roll around you as you wear it like your own personal shawl of scent.

Smooth, sumptuously creamy and decadently floral, Vixere is a fragrance that it seems almost impossible to dislike. It is the sort of scent which would be a safe buy for someone you loved if you only knew the basics of what they were into, and it seems like wearing it could easily take you to any number of different occasions without it either seeming too formal or too stuffy. It’s a scent which rather than poking and choking the people around you, more swathes you in an aura – comforting to wear rather than aggressive.

So all in all, Vixere is the sort of fragrance that whilst it might have a fairly significant price tag, you’ll get a lot of use out of it. It isn’t the sort of scent you will never get through a full bottle of because it can only be used on very specific and special occasions, instead any and all occasions will have you reaching for this cosy yet elegant construction.

The other stuff

The perfumer for Vixere was Sofia Bardelli.

The longevity of the fragrance is really good, lasting around eight hours or more following application and that being despite the fact that it has a fairly gentle character.

The projection of the scent is moderate. It goes to around handshake distance or so, but it does leave a rather pleasing trail as you waft by wearing it.

As mentioned already, Vixere is neither too stuffy nor too informal, so it is the sort of fragrance you could easily wear every day, a signature scent, perhaps, or a workhorse, which easily justifies its place in a collection.

The brand

Electimuss are all about that conjuring of a luxurious experience – even the name means “to choose the best”. The brand demonstrates this mindset and brand proposition from the packaging right through to scent itself. The bottles are heavy, dark glass topped with substantial metal collars and caps. There are lots of lovely details too about the presentation, from the facets pressed into the base of the bottle to the embossing on the cap. If you are someone who likes the decadent end of fragrance presentation (as well as superb quality scents) then check this brand out for sure. Thankfully, Electimuss stops short of blingy though, managing to look impressive without being gaudy.

If you would like to hear more about the brand, listen to our podcast episode with Claire Sokell Thompson, Creative Director of Electimuss.

We’ve previously reviewed Mercurial Cashmere by the brand and in some respects Vixere feels like the day-time sister of Mercurial Cashmere – or at least a cousin of that scent!

Buy it

Vixere is available from the Electimuss web boutique where it is priced at £225 for 100ml of extrait strength juice. You can also buy the fragrance from Jovoy.

Header image from Unsplash. Images of the product by The Sniff.

We were kindly gifted a bottle of Vixere by the brand when we met with them at Esxence in 2022, with no strings attached. Our thanks to them.