The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Released in 2021 and composed by Maurizio Cerizza, the fragrance reads as a voyage compressed into a bottle, a perfume about the spirits of explorers. The opening pulls cold and bright, bergamot and marine notes crashing against peach, before the heart steers inland. Carrot seed and frankincense carry the weight of distant trade routes, old spices carried across the water, an unexpected pairing that lends the composition a contemplative gravity rather than the breezy simplicity of a standard aquatic. The transition into the base is where the composition earns its complexity. Patchouli, tonka, and vanilla arrive as the warmth of arrival after a long crossing, grounding the bright marine opening in something resinous and edible at once.
Carrot seed in an aquatic is an unusual choice, and it's what makes Xan Hai feel more like a port city than a beach. It adds an earthy, almost herbal spice that grounds the marine opening, preventing it from drifting into generic freshness. The carrot seed's dry, slightly bitter quality sits in stark contrast to the juicy peach and cold marine accord, creating a friction that keeps the opening engaging well past the first ten minutes. Frankincense bridges the aquatic top and the resinous base, a church-like gravity that makes the vanilla and tonka feel earned rather than sweet.
The evolution
The first 30 minutes belong to the sea. Bergamot, marine notes, and peach arrive cold and bright, almost effervescent, like stepping off a boat into morning air. The citrus sparkle hits immediately, then softens as the marine accord takes hold, carrying a saline quality that mingles with peach's soft sweetness. By the 45-minute mark, the carrot seed and frankincense arrive, and the temperature shifts. The aquatic sheen doesn't disappear; it moves underneath, a current beneath warmer, spicier water. Jasmine adds a quiet lift to the heart, a floral whisper that brightens the otherwise earthy middle phase without ever dominating. After two hours, the base takes over. Patchouli settles in, tonka bean and vanilla warm everything up, and the marine becomes a memory rather than the main event.
Cultural impact
Xan Hai carves out a distinctive space through its willingness to combine unusual materials within the aquatic genre. The carrot seed and frankincense pairing gives it a contemplative, almost meditative quality that distinguishes it from more straightforward aquatic releases. Where many aquatic fragrances rely on familiar combinations of citrus, marine accords, and light woods, this composition introduces dry, spicy, and resinous elements that shift the entire mood. The contemplative quality comes from the deliberate pacing of the composition, each phase given room to breathe before the next arrives.
