11/03/2021
Elysium
816 Reviews
Elysium
Helpful Review
3
Little Bit of This, Little Bit of That
ZARA launched Extreme Fusion in the last quarter of 2021, along with three other brothers. Extreme Fusion is pretty generic, and it's not unique, but it's different enough to stand out from other everyday generic snippets. Although generic, it smells great. While being an inexpensive cologne, it doesn't come as a direct slap with alcohol on the face. Instead, it opens sweet, fruity, tropical.
On my skin, I get the combination of citrusy pineapple in the same vibe of Eros Eau de Toilette and not a bright, fresh, juicy citrus. Here, bergamot and lemon zestiness is muted. I'm not saying it's a clone of Eros, but it's inspired by and in that fragrance style. It's not a "Creedish" pineapple vibe like in "Aventus (Eau de Parfum) | Creed", rather just a faint tropical fruity smell. Extreme Fusion is an obvious example of a fragrance that needs to be tested on the skin. In practice, pineapple comes first on blotting paper and is more present than on my skin.
Let the initial blast tone down, and slightly dusty vanilla oozes with the spicy lavender in the middle, including a touch of coffee, which is not in your face; instead, it's a kind of like a back note. The heart is an olfactory sensation that has been smelled many times before. It is rather sweet but has a superb dimension of depth because of the coffee nuance. It doesn't smell like an aroma of Italian Ristretto coffee, but it smells like a generic roasted and spicy semi-deep scent. I catch spicy nutmeg in the heart, other than touches of citrus, fruit, and floral accords. Together with the lavender, the nutmeg provides balance and the aromatic taste of the fragrance.
When Extreme Fusion approaches the dry-down, the best part appears as the fragrance loses the most artificial aspect and gains a certain refinement. Spicy amber vanilla, or even roasted tonka on a wooden bed, comes to the surface. The dry-down brings a beautiful nutmeg mixed with creamy and woody facets. At this stage, Extreme Fusion gets closer to Eros. The way they used vanilla is very similar. Now and then, I get a smidgen of roasted coffee, which makes the cologne more appealing.
Extremely versatile, with pineapple, lavender, and vanilla keynotes, it's on the synthetic side, but it's far from being obnoxious. I said it reminds me of Eros, yet the more I wear it, the more I catch the resemblance with another underrated gem, i.e., Pepe Jeans for Him. They share many notes, so it is clear why they are so close to one another. Instead, I do not get the similarity with Phantom, in Extreme Fusion there is an abundant dose of violet leaves in the heart that is not present in Phantom; they have the same vibe, but not so similar to one another. I see the cologne as a perfect scent for fall days and nights, winter, and potentially spring. Longevity is remarkable for a cheap fragrance, and sillage probably doesn't hurt people around you, so wearable in both leisure and business time. Try to test it on your next visit to a ZARA store before they discontinue it. Perhaps youthful without being silly.
I base the review on a 90ml bottle I have owned since October 2021.
-Elysium
On my skin, I get the combination of citrusy pineapple in the same vibe of Eros Eau de Toilette and not a bright, fresh, juicy citrus. Here, bergamot and lemon zestiness is muted. I'm not saying it's a clone of Eros, but it's inspired by and in that fragrance style. It's not a "Creedish" pineapple vibe like in "Aventus (Eau de Parfum) | Creed", rather just a faint tropical fruity smell. Extreme Fusion is an obvious example of a fragrance that needs to be tested on the skin. In practice, pineapple comes first on blotting paper and is more present than on my skin.
Let the initial blast tone down, and slightly dusty vanilla oozes with the spicy lavender in the middle, including a touch of coffee, which is not in your face; instead, it's a kind of like a back note. The heart is an olfactory sensation that has been smelled many times before. It is rather sweet but has a superb dimension of depth because of the coffee nuance. It doesn't smell like an aroma of Italian Ristretto coffee, but it smells like a generic roasted and spicy semi-deep scent. I catch spicy nutmeg in the heart, other than touches of citrus, fruit, and floral accords. Together with the lavender, the nutmeg provides balance and the aromatic taste of the fragrance.
When Extreme Fusion approaches the dry-down, the best part appears as the fragrance loses the most artificial aspect and gains a certain refinement. Spicy amber vanilla, or even roasted tonka on a wooden bed, comes to the surface. The dry-down brings a beautiful nutmeg mixed with creamy and woody facets. At this stage, Extreme Fusion gets closer to Eros. The way they used vanilla is very similar. Now and then, I get a smidgen of roasted coffee, which makes the cologne more appealing.
Extremely versatile, with pineapple, lavender, and vanilla keynotes, it's on the synthetic side, but it's far from being obnoxious. I said it reminds me of Eros, yet the more I wear it, the more I catch the resemblance with another underrated gem, i.e., Pepe Jeans for Him. They share many notes, so it is clear why they are so close to one another. Instead, I do not get the similarity with Phantom, in Extreme Fusion there is an abundant dose of violet leaves in the heart that is not present in Phantom; they have the same vibe, but not so similar to one another. I see the cologne as a perfect scent for fall days and nights, winter, and potentially spring. Longevity is remarkable for a cheap fragrance, and sillage probably doesn't hurt people around you, so wearable in both leisure and business time. Try to test it on your next visit to a ZARA store before they discontinue it. Perhaps youthful without being silly.
I base the review on a 90ml bottle I have owned since October 2021.
-Elysium
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