Blog 

Round 77 of the AlHimyan Perfume Battle pits the champion against a couture house. Xerjoff XJ 1861 Naxos arrives with twenty-two straight wins, already the longest reign in the history of the tournament. Its challenger is Yves Saint Laurent Wild Leather, a 2021 creation by perfumer Fanny Bal from the Le Vestiaire des Parfums collection, the private line YSL built around the pieces of its fashion archive.

This is honey against hide. Naxos is a warm, sweet tobacco made to please a room. Wild Leather is a spicy, smoky leather with guaiac wood and saffron, made to feel like a worn jacket. Both are unisex, both are available at AlHimyan in the UAE, and both are worth knowing. Here is how they compare on verified community data.

The tale of the tape

Xerjoff XJ 1861 Naxos: the champion

Naxos belongs to the Xerjoff 1861 collection, a tribute to the unification of Italy, and it remains one of the most loved unisex fragrances on Parfumo. It opens with lavender, bergamot, lemon and Omani frankincense. The heart brings honey, cinnamon and jasmine sambac over a soft cashmere-wood texture.

The dry-down of tobacco, tonka bean and vanilla is warm and creamy without turning sticky. It is refined rather than loud, wears long, and lingers on fabric into the next day.

Community scores (Parfumo): Scent 8.9/10 from 13,834 ratings, Longevity 8.8/10, Sillage 8.5/10, Bottle 9.1/10, Value for money 7.6/10.

Yves Saint Laurent Wild Leather: the challenger

Le Vestiaire des Parfums translates the YSL wardrobe into scent: the tuxedo, the safari jacket, the trench. Wild Leather is the house's reading of the leather jacket, and Fanny Bal built it to sit between masculine and feminine rather than on one side.

The opening is bright and peppery: black pepper, bergamot and white thyme. The heart turns aromatic and warm with lavender, saffron and geranium. The base is where the name comes from: guaiac wood, leather and patchouli, dry and a little smoky, closer to supple suede than to a heavy biker leather. It is a quieter, more tailored fragrance than its name suggests.

Community scores (Parfumo): Scent 7.8/10 from 45 ratings, Longevity 8.1/10, Sillage 7.7/10, Bottle 8.4/10, Value for money 7.0/10.

Head to head

Scent quality. Naxos scores 8.9 across 13,834 ratings. Wild Leather scores 7.8 across 45. Wild Leather is younger and far less widely worn, so its score rests on a small group, but the gap is still clear.

Performance. Naxos wins both, with 8.8 for longevity and 8.5 for sillage against 8.1 and 7.7. Wild Leather is closer here than most challengers: it holds on skin for a full working day, it simply projects less.

Value. Naxos again. Parfumo users rate its value 7.6 against 7.0, and at AlHimyan it is the less expensive bottle.

Presentation. Naxos, 9.1 against 8.4, though the clean Vestiaire flacon with its YSL cap is an elegant piece on any shelf.

The verdict

Winner: Xerjoff XJ 1861 Naxos. The champion sweeps all four categories and takes its twenty-third consecutive round, by a margin of 0.91. Wild Leather is the more tailored and wearable leather of the two styles, but on community scent score, performance and value, Naxos leads every line.

A note on method. Community figures come from Parfumo (Wild Leather fetched on 29 September 2026 and checked twice for a matching page; Naxos figures from the check made on 28 September). Fragrantica's public pages returned an access block, so no Fragrantica score is quoted and its weighting was moved to the Parfumo scent score, as in recent rounds. No figure in this article is estimated.

Which one should you buy?

Buy Naxos if you want a smooth honey-tobacco scent that almost everyone around you will enjoy, from the office to dinner.

Buy Wild Leather if you want a leather that feels tailored rather than heavy: peppery, spicy with saffron, dry and woody, and a signature few people in the room will share.

How to wear them in the UAE

Naxos is rich, so two sprays are enough: one on the neck and one on the chest or the kandura collar. It suits cooler evenings, air-conditioned majlis gatherings and the winter months from November onwards.

Wild Leather is drier and more restrained. Its pepper and thyme opening keeps it fresh on warm evenings, and its saffron and leather base sit naturally beside oud if you like to layer. Three sprays give a close, smoky trail for most of the day. Test it on skin rather than paper: the guaiac wood and leather need body warmth to open.

Frequently asked questions

What does YSL Wild Leather smell like? Black pepper, bergamot and white thyme on top, lavender, saffron and geranium in the heart, and guaiac wood, leather and patchouli in the base. It is a spicy, smoky leather.

Who created Wild Leather? Fanny Bal, for the Yves Saint Laurent Le Vestiaire des Parfums collection. It was released in 2021.

Is Wild Leather for men or women? It is unisex and was designed to balance masculine and feminine.

Which is better for the UAE heat? Wild Leather, with its peppery, aromatic opening and dry woods, is easier on warm evenings. Naxos is sweeter and shines in autumn, winter and air-conditioned rooms.

How do I order in the UAE? Both are available now at alhimyan.com. Cash on delivery is available across the UAE, delivery is fast, and returns are accepted within seven days.

Shop this round

Xerjoff XJ 1861 Naxos Unisex Eau de Parfum 100 ml

Yves Saint Laurent Wild Leather Unisex Eau de Parfum

Champion standing after Round 77: Xerjoff XJ 1861 Naxos, twenty-three straight wins. A new challenger enters next round.