Extreme Men Paul Smith 2002 Eau de Toilette

Here’s another “kind of” winner among Paul Smith range. Nothing extreme here, rather the opposite: Extreme is in fact to me a really mellow, smooth, quite unexpectedly classy and mature sort of citrus-floral-herbal fragrance with cedar, something soapy and slightly fruity, maybe a hint of orange blossoms, and something like cardamom. I also get rosemary quite clearly, bringing this a bit close to Rochas Aquaman and Lanvin Oxygene – they just both develop the herbal-aquatic Mediterranean theme, here it is just more a touch of herb among more classic woods and floral-citrus notes. Which is basically what makes Extreme slightly different from similar fragrances, as it smells basically like a “bridge” between old-school citrus-woody-floral “barbershop” aftershaves, and more modern spicy Oriental ones. Overall a really bright and pleasant scent, quite “synthetic” but I don’t mind that – the smell is incredibly fine and rich, and that is what counts for me. It is a sort of really modern, kind of youngster but really refined sort of classic “eau de cologne”, with its flowers-infused citrus and woody-spicy blend. Shortly a sort of barbershop scent for “downtown lads”, less old-school and a bit more contemporary. Nothing juvenile though, just simply crisp, versatile and lively, perfectly suitable for mature men as well. Longevity is really poor, soon leaving on skin just a faint soapy-musky drydown (still nice, just barely perceivable), but it works fine on clothes.

7/10

Some spices and some woods, there's nothing extreme indeed.

Average fragrance, boring and generic.

Projection, sillage and lasting power are weak, around two hours. Thumbs down.

Updated January 2014

Scent
The scent of this fragrance is musky citrus. The scent is not extreme as its name, but still okay. Even the until its base notes, the musky citrus scent is still hold.

Longevity
The longevity is medium.
For non 4-seasons countries, the scent is suit for daily use. The longevity scent of this fragrance is around 4-5 hours. In the night, the longevity is quite better which may reach around 6-7 hours.
For the 4-seasons countries, the longevity is around 5-6 hours.

Performance
The performance is medium too. The scent projection is regular and not so much, only at first 30 minutes.

Sillage
The sillage is quite under par, except at night. Generally, the sillage of this fragrance not so much to be mention.

Uniqueness
The scent of this fragrance is quite similar to many other fragrance, which mean that the scent is ordinary.

Bottle Design
Paul Smith Extreme bottle design is ordinary. The body is glass but the cap is plastic which give less elegancy of the fragrance. Anyway, this is the identity of Paul Smith Extreme.

Reviewing this a couple of years ago, I reached the same conclusion that most people seem to, and that is that this is a fairly generic-smelling designer fragrance. In retrospect, I wonder if I dismissed it too easily.

My bottle was gifted to me around 14 years ago, before I took a serious interest in fragrances. Even then, I was aware that there was no "wow factor" to it, but there was nothing dreadful about it either, and in the context of the time and my level of fragrance appreciation, it was nice enough.

It is, in the end, just the sort of designer fragrance one might expect from the early 2000s. There's the standard citrus opening, followed by the aromatic, spicy, woody development. There is also a herbal element to it and even something metallic, I find.

Of course, PS Extreme Men is not a blue fragrance, but I see similarities in the role it can play. Modern blue fragrances are characteristically fresh and clean smelling and often make prominent use of modern amber materials such as ambroxan. Extreme, by contrast, has a more traditional aromatic, spicy and woody structure. And yet it does have a clean vibe to it that is most definitely office-safe.

Although it's dated and will never be a classic, Extreme is not a dreadful scent. Fragrance connoisseurs will not rate it highly, but for those looking for something inexpensive and safe, it is hard to go wrong with this.

Tested: 100ml full bottle
Seasons / Occasions: All year. Casual use.
Key thoughts: No "wow factor", but not dreadful
Overall rating: 6/10
Buy again: No

A generic citrus-balsamic frag. Nothing Extreme here, only when it opens with a blast of sharp lemon. It soon turns into a summery citrus fragrance with a weak projection. I could see this worn by younger kids in high school, could maybe also be good for the gym for a clean smell. Sorry, this just isn't me. I'm glad I only have a very small bottle, will take me ages to use.