Ultimate

To start with the packaging is pure class. My 50 ml. bottle looks and feels like a chunky piece of clear crystal. The textured chrome cap snaps snugly in place giving it an overall feel of quality. All of this showcases the color of the juice. But packaging means nothing if it doesn't perform. Prominent opening notes are pink pepper with some cedar woodiness in the background. In fact pink pepper is present throughout the dry down. About 30 minutes after I applied it, I went outside to scrape ice off my windshield in -2 degree weather. Despite the cold and my thick clothing the warm citrusy notes of orange and bergamot began to emerge along with the pink pepper. Finally after 45 mins or more subtle florals joined in with buckets full of woody cedar notes and amber. If you want to stand out from the pack in a subdued but refined way this might be the frag for you. It is very different from the current wave of fresh and fruity, slightly unisex fragrances. I don't see how most young teens to 30 could pull this off. On top of that the ISO e super gives it an ethereal quality that reminds me of a Terre D'Hermes feel in this fragrance. I cannot wear Terre D'Hermes because I'm relatively anosmic to whatever is in it. But Ultimate works for me despite the iso super. It gives seemingly infinite amounts of pink pepper and cedar shavings mixed with amber that come and go for a good 6-7 hours. It is not a beast mode fragrance. But the dry peppery, woody notes are with you in a restrained but continuous supply. Final thoughts? Uniqueness: 10/10 No one will mistake you for any one else. Value: 10/10 Fantastic! 50 ml. with 100 ml shower gel for 25 dollars at a discounter Seasons: 9/10 I could imagine wearing this possibly all year round with the exception of hot Summer days. Age: Not a boys fragrance. The dry woody notes will appeal to an more adult nose/ possibly 30 and up. But definitely not an old man's fragrance. Performance: 9/10 A good 7 hours with decent projection. After that a skin scent for 4-5 more hours. Sillage: ? Hard to say in this current corona world. Versatility: 9/10 All but the most casual of settings. Would not work with shots and a t-shirt I would make this one of my top 5 frags. If the cedar wasn't as strong I might give it a higher ranking The various notes were all blended in a such a way that made the whole composition a thing of beauty.

update. So i finally get to wear this on a nice cool northeast day. This thing blew my mind as I was hoping. I'm still looking for the leather, but what i noticed after an hour or so was a wonderful vetiver-like note. It's not listed as having vetiver, so all i can think is the citrus in this blended with the other stuff just gives you that warmth. I also noticed a strong similarity to the dry down on Laligue's Hommage al'homme Voyage. Lalique's strong patch openning slowly gives way to a nice mellow vetiver. Not as prominent as the scent on Ultimate, which stays very linear in my opinion. Tut the similarity was uncanny. It's perhaps the only thing I don't like here. I don't like fragrances too similar to others in the collection. Nonetheless, Ultimate is a definite keeper and I'm glad i got it. Another big plus (compared to my other Baldessarini fragrances) is longevity. This one has a long life. Projects very well and long after initial application the skin scent is beautiful. So if you can find it, go for it. Cheers. lovely spicy kick to get your attention from the start. mellows down fairly quickly...very few minutes!! The patch is prominent from the very beginning without being overpowering. It's well rounded off by the florals in the mix. This is a very masculine fragrance that feels quite different from other Baldessarini offerings. Sadly I'm waiting and looking for the leather note...seems to have gone MIA. Great fragrance and finally available at reasonable prices if you look around. This one should make for a great cool weather scent, so enjoy. I know I intend to. Cheers!

SPICY-SLIGHTLY SWEET-AMBERY-EARTHY-SMOKEY Superb fragrance (especially for the price). Spicy-Slightly Sweet w/ pink pepper-amber-sweetness which makes it not too dry, i've read reviews which detect a "cola" accord and i do as well, has a slight syrupy-like sweetness it's faint though, the spice is more bolder than the sweetness; The opening is strong, mandarin + slight bergamot intensifies the sweetness along with a floral hint, as BU dries the florals just leave a hint of powderiness along with the leather it's detectable but not too powdery + frankincense which adds a smokiness to the spiciness & patchouli adding some earthy/darkness providing a nice solid base for the composition; The mid-dry-down is the sh*t (that's all i can say), the slight sweetness gets sort of boozy (like a cognac or other brown liquor), sweet with a spicy kick); Has enough sweetness to be 'modern' in 2021 and worn by younger noses (mid 20s+) yet has enough depth & class to be appreciate by mature noses. Geza Schoen did his thing with this 1 (hence the Clive Christian references from other reviews). Well done Baldessarini / Coty, well done; Fall, Winter, even Spring, more Evening/Night but versatile enough for Day-time wear, Formal or Casual scent; Projection/Sillage' is GOOD, aromatic can be noticed in the air in a room, provides nice scent bubble within about 10 ft for first 2 hours, then from within about 5 ft. Performance/Longevity is GOOD, on skin last about 7-8 hours, double that on fabric. * @Ed Wardian's review is spot on

I'm pretty sure this is the only Geza Schoen fragrance I have in my collection. I need to try some of the Escentric Molecule line soon. Baldessarini Ultimate is an über masculine spicy leather fragrance with some resins and patchouli. As the main notes section suggests, pink pepper is the most prominent. Pink pepper is an unusual material. Depending on how you use it in a perfume, it can be rosy, slightly powdery, spicy (like black pepper, but a bit softer), sparkly (as with citrus and petitgrain), or can add any number of other effects. Here, it comes off as very spicy, almost aggressive. And I love it so much! I think it's the combination of the pink pepper with the olibanum that gives it a manly punch. This can dry down a bit powdery, which is more prominent on clothing than on skin. Or if you spray under your shirt, it can smell a bit powdery in the mid and drydown. Even though this has some strong floral notes, it never becomes even remotely feminine to my nose. It's perfectly manly and assertive from top to base on my skin. That leather, labdanum, olibanum, patchouli, and amber synergistically form a dark, incense-y base that evokes an assured masculine confidence. I know people say it a lot, but I feel like this is so well-crafted that its quality is on par with a lot of niche fragrances that are 10 times the price. Confident, manly, assertive, and near perfect for the self assured modern man with old school sensibilities. Beautiful. Or maybe handsome is a better word. LOL. 10/10

Ultimate opens with a stunning, tasty, pink pepper along with a mandarin and bergamot one-two punch that jolts the olfactory with a palpitating rush that one feels when there is something wickedly beautiful in the making. Thankfully, it is just that... The sweeping floral heart, particularly, the dusty freesia shapes the whole accord by rounding the citric waxiness of magnolia and the pissy dryness of jasmine, into a garland of airy delight till a leathery, earthy base enters and put its full weight down. The smooth leather note, with a thin suede finish, is augmented by the resinous exchange of labdanum and amber, that gives the accord a softly refined animalic timber, balanced out with an incense, possibly masked as ISO E Super (merely an assumption), that strips the tone out of the earthy, woody green patchouli while retaining the spicy bits. All this consequential action in the base gives Ultimate its divinely masculine gravitas. Citric, floral, spicy and beautifully refreshing in a male genre overfilled with cavities. Ultimate is revelatory and a dare release for a designer house that let Geza Schoen do his thing. Sexy, manly, classy, elegant and worthy!