Bottega Veneta Pour Homme Extreme

Incredibly well done scent. Nothing revolutionary or ground breaking, just an ultra-clean, classic fougere done very well with excellent staying power, like a high quality soap, and I’m here for it. When I first got it, years back now, I was on the hunt for pine and of course this was one that came recommended but it was already difficult to find so I was happy to find a 90mL bottle on clearance during a Lord & Taylor store closing. I remember trying it for the first time and being impressed by the overall scent but it didn’t blow me away since it wasn’t the hyper-realistic pine I was looking for... I think I wanted to smell like I was in the middle of a forest in autumn and could smell the leaves on the ground and the sap oozing down tree trunks or something lol. Regardless, this relatively quickly took a seat on my shelf and collected dust only to be picked up every once in a while to take a sniff in case I wanted to wear it before throwing it back in the box. Fast forward to more recently where it’s finally made its way in to rotation a bit more and I gotta say, I’m really enjoying it. As my fellow commenters have already well stated, there’s nothing sweet going on here, this is a classic fougere done very well.. the zesty bergamot and sparkling fresh juniper berries stand proud, backed by leather, sharp pine and fir’s. The warm spiced nutmeg and pimento compliment the mid very well, while the ambery patchouli and labdanum not only add a smooth leathery touch but also provide an excellent backbone and solid base for the rest of the ingredients to bind to and help stabilize the perfume. With that said, this is a long lasting freshie with respectable silage and moderate projection for the first few hours.. in fact it’s quite strong the first hour and could very well be a bit intense for your co-workers in close quarters. With only a few sprays this scent stays on my skin all day and stays fresh, all day. Even as a skin scent, it’s still there, 12 hours later, smelling fresh and clean just as I remember it. All in all, this is a warm and spicy fresh fragrance that is fairly commanding... nothing delicate or unisex here, nothing bright, happy or playful... this is straight up classic masculine perfumery. For Him “Extreme” is a perfect name for this fragrance. Very fresh, very clean, very bold... No doubt influenced by its predecessors like Old Spice, Polo Green, Versace Dreamer, or Drakkar Noir, yet this remains modern. Aside from the fragrances I just mentioned I’m trying to think of alternatives that may be more readily available for you and what comes to mind first from what I’m familiar with is Prada Amber Pour Homme Intense... the two are very similar just Prada being a bit darker and doesn’t have the pine poking through however they are very close smelling... a few other alternatives would be Creed Viking, Roja Danger, Tom Ford Beau De Jour, and Platinum Egoist.

I enjoyed the original and looked forward to seeing what this one would be like. Well, I didn't have to wait very long to try it as I only learned of extremes existence last week. If anyone ever wanted an 'Extreme' version to do exactly what the name implies then you're in luck. I found this fragrance to be a heighting and amping up exercise which opens with a strong bitter juniper and violet accord which is stronger but just as mystical and aloof as the original version. The base has a musky leather quality and as it settles starts to give an occasional bitter slightly earthy kick of vetiver in the heart. It just seems immediately denser than the original but still overall very similar, if you're expceting something vastly different...it isn't. That's kind of a good thing because although I haven't trialled them side by side I do still have plenty of samples, I think I instantly prefer the extreme version, because the elements that have been 'turned up' make it slightly more appealing. I also got the pine and incense elements slightly more and at times this reminded of comme des garçon Zagorsk but sweetened up. Lasting power is good I can still smell it after a 8 hours. The silage is moderate, to low but from memory the originals longevity wasn't to bad either. I have to say I really like this fragrance and actually enjoy wearing it.

I can’t compare this to the original considering I’ve never smelled it, but as a stand alone fragrance, I really enjoy this. How come nobody told me how good this is! Pine, woods and leather is mostly what I get. It’s dense with an effervescent juniper and bergamot up top, some pimento and nutmeg spice coming from the heart which blends nicely into the mix, and the base is where you’ll get the leathery dry down. Like I said, it has some weight to it from the leather & labdanum, with some sweetness coming from the patchouli. It’s slightly earthy but mostly clean, somewhat soapy and completely masculine, as I couldn’t imagine a woman wearing this. Very well done fragrance, could easily be a cold weather signature fall, winter, and spring. It’s unfortunate this has been discontinued and the price has skyrocketed to an unwarranted price, in my opinion. With that said, there are some alternatives... of course these are not exact but Andy Tauer L’Air Du Desert Marocain, Memo Paris Russian Leather, John Varvatos Dark Rebel/Platinum, Tom Ford Ombre Leather, Amouage Beach Hut, Epic, etc. will put you in a similar field. Performance is good, I average around 7 hours and it smells awesome the whole way through, I love it.

I wore this today, and received an unsolicited compliment at work. It reminded me to write my review of this frag. This is a classy office-friendly fragrance. It manages to be refreshing and high-end all at once. Nice leather slightly sweetened by the juniper that doesn't have the gas/petrol note that some leather has. The pine blends well with it and isn't overpowering. Both the juniper and pine have a cooling effect. It isn't spicy at all....don't let the "extreme" moniker scare you away. Sillage is average and so is performance. It's basically what you expect from a fragrance. While I'm not saying a woman can't wear this, this is definitely in the masculine classification of fragrances. As far as quality it is a high-end designer. It's classy and slightly cool, so I wouldn't wear this to a club or anything like that. It demands respect...so a 20-something that wants to be taken seriously could wear this in a business setting. But while this isn't spicy, some Invictus/Sauvage/Eros fanboys might find this a little too far outside their comfort zone.

I was randomly given a sample of Bottega Veneta Pour Homme, tried it and fell in love with the fragrance. There was just one problem - it lasted only 1-2 hours and and had almost no projection. So I made a blind buy of the Pour Homme Extreme in hopes that it would be a stronger, longer lasting, more present version of the Pour Homme. Luckily, that is exactly what it is. To me, the smell is very, very close to the original, but just stronger and with better longevity. This is my favorite fragrance I've found so far. From opening to ending, it is pleasant, complex and just classy in every way. It's both woody and extremely light and fresh, with a perfect balance of fir, juniper and a light, sweet floral tone. Best of all, most people don't seem to even know of BG or this fragrance, so it's a great signature scent that isn't widespread or mainstream.