The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
In 2019, Xerjoff released Aubres exclusively through Fortnum & Mason, the London department store that has supplied the British aristocracy since 1707. The Shooting Stars collection was already established as the house's most ambitious line, so an exclusive collaboration with a pillar of British luxury felt natural. Perfumer Chris Maurice built the fragrance around a single tension: bright Mediterranean citrus against the dark, smoky resins of a perfumer's workshop. The name comes from the commune in the French Alps, a place of altitude and clarity. Fortnum & Mason's position as a curator of rare and exceptional things made it the right home for a fragrance that refuses to be forgettable.
The structure is what makes it interesting. Most aromatic fragrances start cool and end warm, but Aubres commits to the contrast in a way that's unusually sharp. The holy basil doesn't soften the lemon, it pushes back against it, creating a green, slightly spiced quality that reads almost medicinal in the opening. The Provençal lavender arrives not as a gentle transition but as a deliberate anchor, pulling the composition toward its resinous base. Smoke and incense don't merely linger in the drydown, they take over, making the top notes feel like a prologue to something with more weight. This isn't a fragrance that plays it safe at any stage.
The evolution
The opening hits fast. Lemon and bergamot arrive within seconds, bright and almost astringent, followed immediately by basil and thyme cutting through the citrus like a cold gust. Green Notes add a mineral sharpness that keeps everything tense for the first 30 to 45 minutes. The hand-off to the heart is gradual, elemi resin introduces a faint spice, and the lavender slowly warms the composition, but the herbs never fully yield. The real shift comes in the second hour. Smoke and incense emerge as a low, persistent note that overtakes the citrus, blending with patchouli for a dry, resinous base that lasts 8 to 10 hours on most skin types. It projects strongly in the first two hours, then settles close and intimate. The next morning, there's a faint trace of smoke and patchouli on warm skin, not loud, but unmistakably present.
Cultural impact
Aubres arrived as part of Xerjoff's Shooting Stars collection, a line that has consistently sourced inspiration from celestial and geographic themes. The Fortnum & Mason exclusive placement situates this fragrance within a retail tradition spanning centuries of British luxury. The 2019 launch coincided with a renewed interest in smoky, herbal compositions after years of dominated sweet and amber-forward releases. Aubres stands apart from typical citrus fragrances by grounding its Sicilian lemon and bergamot in a distinctly Mediterranean herbal framework, drawing on traditions of aromatics that predate modern perfumery.
