Straight to Heaven Extreme

Yesterday I reviewed Straight to Heaven and it was an enjoyable experience. I mentioned in the review that it would be something I would consider buying, provided Straight to Heaven Extreme is not a much better fragrance. Well today I'm gonna review STHE, the last By Kilian fragrance I have to review, and find out. Did I save the best for last? Let's get into it and find out; Scent: The opening is sweet, woody, and boozy. The primary notes I get are rum, Virginian cedar, patchouli, and dried fruits. The strongest of the notes are the rum and Virginian cedar. The rum is what hits my nose first off the opening; sweet and boozy with a barrel-aged nuance in the background. It has just a touch of the same "burn" as the rum in STH, but more mellow. Right alongside the rum is the Virginian cedar. It is identical to the Virginian cedar note from STH with the same dry, lumber-y, "pencil shaving" accord, but the increased sweetness in this opening helps to dial it back a bit so it's not as loud. This is followed by the patchouli and dried fruit. The patchouli in this is very different from the patchouli in STH. Whereas the patchouli in STH was very earthy, this patchouli leans heavily into the sweet aspects of the note. In fact, I initially thought they had added a chocolate note; but it was in fact the patchouli. Lastly, the dried fruit adds some fruity sweetness in the background just like in STH. Again, it's identical and gives me the same coconut vibes as STH. I also get a solid dose of the vanilla in the background as well, but it's situated behind the dried fruit. The dry down is still sweet, woody, and boozy. The primary notes I get are rum, Virginian cedar, patchouli, and vanilla. The strongest of the notes are still the rum and Virginian cedar. The rum is still the star of the show in the dry down with the same sweet and boozy accord from the opening, just mellowed out. The Virginian cedar still has the same dry, woody accord as well, also just more rounded and smooth. This is followed by the patchouli and vanilla. The patchouli still the same chocolatey sweet tone in the dry down, but there's a bit of earthiness behind it as well. Lastly, the vanilla has ramped up to overtake the dried fruit note, and gives the dry down a soft, creamy sweetness in the background. Performance: Initial projection in the first hour is very strong and can easily fill a room. Sillage matches that intensity with a heavy scent trail. After 3-4 hours the performance was unchanged. At the 7-8 hour mark the projection was still about 4-6 feet and the scent trail was still easily noticeable. When I checked again around the 10 hour mark the projection and sillage were unchanged from what they were at the 7-8 hour mark. The fragrance lasted at least 12 hours before becoming a skin scent. When to wear: Straight to Heaven Extreme, just like Straight to Heaven, is a fall/winter fragrance that's best suited for evening wear. It works best as a special occasion fragrance to wear for date nights, anniversaries, weddings, and the sort. For the same reasons as STH (strong, boozy rum note), this is not an office-friendly fragrance. Blind buy: Like with STH, STHE is a great smelling fragrance but not what I would consider a safe blind buy. It doesn't have a mass-appealing quality, and some people will have trouble with the booziness of the rum or the "pencil shavings" cedar note. Still, if you like these types of note this is worth a sample. Final verdict: Straight to Heaven Extreme was very obviously a direct flanker of Straight to Heaven. The intensities of some notes were changed here and there, and the patchouli was different, but other than that it was very similar. The best way I can describe the difference is that STHE is smoother and sweeter, whereas STH has a heavy focus on earthiness in the opening that STHE does not have. When it comes to performance, they are very comparable but STHE edges out STH by a thin margin. Not enough to make a choice between the two solely on performance, in my opinion. Versatility is exactly the same as STH; it's a special occasion fragrance for cold nights. Same with mass-appeal, that's not what it's made for but it will appeal to a certain type of person. To wrap this up, I think they're both excellent fragrances and will largely fill the same role making it redundant to own both. The wild card here is that STHE is discontinued, meaning it is hard to find and insanely expensive when you do find it. With that in mind, I would probably go with STH. The differences in scent profile and performance are just not enough to justify the radical increase in price. Scent: 9/10 Longevity: 9/10 Sillage: 10/10

After testing Gold Knight a few times, I had decided to go ahead and buy an unneeded bottle over the weekend. The nice SA at Saks asked if I had smelled this one yet, which I had not. She sprayed a card and I really liked it, so I decided to walk around for a bit to give it some time. About an hour later, I caught up with my wife and let her take a whiff. She lit up and said, “mmmm, what’s that?”, in the same way that I do when I smell somethin good cookin. Needless to say, I’m now the proud owner of STHE along with a few sample bottles of Gold Knight to satisfy me for awhile. It is very similar to the original, but has a deeper hue to it due to the intensified rum and vanilla, which I prefer. Don’t get me wrong, the vanilla isn’t the main attraction here as much as the rum and dried fruit, and nobody’s yelling “timber” from the cedar either. This is well balanced and quickly becoming my favorite, even after just a few days. I even get a hint of something that reminds me of a leather jacket I had in high school. STHE has great performance and sillage is moderate. I find this very pleasant and I highly recommend it. I also think this is a true unisex fragrance. Very well done.

Nice! A very good scent to me! Similar to Masque Montecristo without the harsh opening. This is the image I get from this scent... I am taking a night stroll in the middle of a hot and dry desert. I stumble across an old wooden shack constructed with charred wood. Maybe a place that bootleggers used to stash rum? Opening the charred wooden door I am stuck by the scent of rum soaked ceder casks. As my eyes adjust, I slowly scan the interior of the shack. Exploring the dirt floor and the bowls of vanilla, nutmeg and dried fruits sitting on the cedar rum casks. A hint of animals are on the fringe of the scent from the shack. As if animals took up residence here months back, but abandoned the shack after a few nights. Maybe after the bootleggers returned? This is a VERY well made fragrance with a complex mixture of scents. I get good projection and longevity on my skin. I can see this scent in either casual or business attire. Bottom line, if you like scents that are different than the mass market / designer fragrances you find in every store that sells fragrances, you should try a sample of this stuff.

STHE extreme is a smidge different to STH, but they smell the same, for the most part. The woods in this are not anywhere near as smooth -- instead of a royal, regal oak (likely softened by something synth or some fillers/boosters), it's hardly dry, harsh and a little abrasive. The patch and nutmeg are the same, I feel, and the booze elements are exactly where they need to be, but it's the woods that are different. If you've even tried Hiba (a Japanese native tree), that's the same kind of scent profile I'm talking about here -- woody, booming and massive, just a little abrasive and in need to sweetening. Other than that, it projects a lot more, and almost certainly lasts longer (just my own anecdotal 'feel'), but by and large, both STH and STHE are similar enough for someone to like BOTH, but prefer one over the other. The quality is in STH, whereas the performance is with STHE...

Straight to Heaven Extreme, why oh why did they discontinue such a beauty. The original Straight to Heaven is a firm favourite from Kilian for me, I adore it. The Extreme is, as you can probably guess, a step further into intensity and depth. It’s richer, darker and boozier which explains its popularity. The dry, slightly piney cedarwood and earthy patchouli are still the stars of the show, creating that dark, slightly green woody feel we know and love. However, here the rum and the dried fruits seem to be elevated - the patchouli seems drunken, soaked in sweet rum and it smells absolutely delicious. Overall the scent profile is rather similar to the original, so it would be redundant to own both. But if I had to choose from the two it would be this one, it’s noticeably sweeter, cosier and just a tad more edible than the original which makes it all the more sexy in my opinion.

This is the most beautiful fragrance ever!! Masterpiece! I bought this after trying STH, which i fall in love with for the first sniff, but sadly lacks strength and performance. Well, this is exactly what the name says, STH extreme.. This smells just like STH but much stronger and performs much better! If you like STH then buy this, i guarantee you will love it. The rum note is definitely amped up here, which is beautiful, it’s there all the way till the end. This fragrance is boozy, sweet and masculine at the same time. it’s linear and intense. Classy and unique. Performance is good, not a beast but I get about 5-6 hours longevity with good projection and good sillage. This is my favourite fragrance ever, and imo the best offering from the house, and the best boozy fragrance on the market. Even roja enigma can’t touch this...

I hadn't anticipated a flanker to the original By Kilian Straight to Heaven, but Extreme is a pleasant surprise, and addresses some of criticisms of the original. The original is celebrated for its purity, a clean, somewhat masucline expression of cedar, which is nice, but was a bit monotonous for my taste. The boozy additions of rum and vanilla in the Extreme flanker balance out the woodiness and give the blend more depth, variance, and frankly, strength. Extreme performs better than the original. Extreme's cost is greater, at $315 for 50ml, contra the original's current pricing of $275. Definitely a nice take on the original, and leaning toward a boozy and sweet subgenre that I'm a fan of. One I'd lean toward buying if I could find it at a discount. 8 out of 10

This smells like a MAN! 😍 A classy, confident, secure, elevated, manicured, put together, rich, sexy, sharp, capable, male specimen. Love. This smells sophisticated and expensive. The rum smells like refined, top shelf quality. It’s also not as sweet or “boozy” as one typically finds rum to be in perfumery. The patchouli doesn’t pull chocolatey, earthy, or medicinal. It smells clean and smooth. Even the cedar smells smooth. Everything is smooth! No sharp edges to this fragrance whatsoever; it’s very harmonious and intoxicating. Every note seems like it was incorporated thoughtfully and in moderation. This is expertly blended and remains masculine without being overbearing or obnoxious. Very alluring and very pleasing.

The first 2 minutes of this fragrance is pure alcohol. I mean, it literally smells like you spilled your black rum on you. After 5 minutes you get the fruits and some of the woods. The dry down is pure magic. Vanilla and musk provide this powdery base for the fruits, rum, and woods to sit on. Make no mistake, this is not a saccharine experience; saying this is sweet would not be appropriate, in my opinion. No components really radiate a sweetness to my nose. At all stages you're experiencing either the harshness of the rum, the strong cedar, or the powdery base. A must-have for collectors, the regular version would probably suffice most people.

Ironically enough, I was searching for the original STH when this one came along -- no biggie, I grabbed it anyway (I got the original STH later on), and if I'm being honest, I prefer STH over STHE. The woods in this are a little more bleached and dry -- I can smell a 'less smooth' woods profile, and it seriously rubs off on all the other elements, the booze, the patch, the fruits, and unfortunately makes this less palatable than the original. I won't go into details about the make-up and profile of the scent, it's about 90% STH, which is amazing, BTW, I just feel this one veers off in a direction I personally do not care for.

My favorite fragrance - I feel like it could be polarizing (especially with the opening it kind of smells like drying paint??? I enjoy it though bc I have glue sniffing tendencies lol) but that's why I love it. The drydown is absolutely true to its namesake. I love cedar but I feel like it can be overwhelmingly masculine, and while I get a lot of cedar from this there is a perfect degree of softness imparted from the vanilla and the other powdery notes which gives it so much character. If you want to serve daddy in a more tasteful and nuanced way this is for you.

This is one of my favorite evening scents. Everytime i spray it i enjoy the scent so much. It's mysterious and a pefect composition of notes. Not to much vanilla. It's in balance with the dried fruits, the cedar wood and the rum. It is stronger than the original STH but very similar to each other. In particular the rum and vanilla is a little amped up. Maybe my next bottle will be the original again. Because it's in the base the same scent and much easier to get at a much lower price. But i treasure the extreme version as long as i can :)

This is my perfect perfume. It is original, deep, powerful, mysterious, and subtle at the same time. Since discovering STH, I can't use anything else. I was lucky to find and buy STH Extreme a few months ago, and it is definitely the better version of the "standard" STH. I am not sure why people think STH is similar to Ursa Tiziana - it isn't. @Givemethehotsauce - I know that STH Extreme will be back in 2021 or 2022.

@ScentTower It would be worse if it were not discontinued, but reformulated to be a mere shadow of itself, as so many other fragrances have done over the years. So I say try it while it is in its full glory. Something I tell my daughter... don't cry for what you may have lost but smile for the memories of what you had. My $0.02

This is a beautiful scent. Very masculine. It smells like spilled rum on cedar wood with patchouli aroma. Sweet, but not so much. You should definetely try this before buying. It's not for everyone. The longevity is long lasting, the sillage is also great. It's straight to heaven...

A masterpiece amongst masterpieces. 250 fragrances in my collection and this might be the best. Initially, I was confused by the opening, but after a minute or so the dried fruits with a cedar base starts coming through. I dont have the words for how amazing this is.

Delicious rummy and fruity bomb I cause huge scent trails with this one at work and the number of compliments I get is endless . Ladies love it so buy it regardless of the crazy price tag Oh and it lasts all day

its Straight to Heaven...dialed to 11. An extreme done the right way...by making it extreme. i can't even begin to describe some of the awkward situations this intoxicating good scent has put me in.

I believe this is now discontinued. I can't find it mentioned on Kilian's website anymore. I tried e-mailing them but no response either. It's not available anywhere. I loved it while it lasted.

i just got my hands on this and it smells exactly like the original nothing new. i assume where the extreme comes into play is in the projection and longevity ... will report back soon :)

Straight to Heaven Extreme has win the most natural smelling fragrance in my colleciton, high end woodsy and slightly boozy rum scent, discontinued gem.

Bu koku hakkında sayfalarca yazabilirim ama bunun hiçbir önemi yok, gerçekten cennet gibi saf ve öz, hiçbirşey bunun kadar ilahi kokmuyor.

this was is boozier and less 'dried fruits' than the original. still trying to figure out if i like it or love it...

Smelled it for the first time today... TOTALLY full bottle worthy, even at the Kilian price! Will review soon.

sampled this at Saks and all i can say is WOW! what a beautiful fragrance! 10/10

Takes everything good about Straight to Heaven and dials it up. Amazing scent.

ABSOLUTE PHENOMENAL FRAGRANCE. CULT FRAGRANCE. INDESCRIBABLE.

Probably in the top 10 perfumes ever made !

Doctors office alcohol pads. Overrated

Depending on your perspective this is a success I think. Is it stronger version of the original? Well its certainly unmistakable as STH, and although I dont get disastrous performance on the original like some others do yes this does seem to be stronger. Also for it having more rum and vanilla yes id say that as well. Which as someone who likes sweet scents I think that makes this better. Although the nutmeg is not quite as strong in this one which I thought was really well done in the original. However if you didn't like the original, im not sure if this really changes anything as, it still smells fairly mature to say(which dont get me wrong straight to heaven is one of the few fragrances that although I think smells kinda out there for the normal person, i still find it is generally well liked even by a younger crowd), its not just a boozy fragrance either, boozy doesnt really do it justice as the alcohol is quite strong period, so if that bothered you in the original, well this doenst "fix" that. Anyway over all besides the missing not quite as good nutmeggy goodness of the original I think this smells better. But unless you have a disposable income or really love the original it probably is redundant.

After trying straight to heaven og, i have to say are very close! To me this is all about patchouli, rum, some dried fruits and woods. It's like an intense version of the original but still not extreme. I think that Terenzi's Ursa is the extreme of the three. A very pleasant thick scent, sweet, with high quality boozy patchouli! Performance is good but not extreme, 7-8 hours longevity and good projection for 2-3 hours. I think there is no reason for the original to exist, this should be the original and the extreme should a real extreme experience. This is great for fall and winter nights, maybe for a night out. I couldn't wear it on the office or closed envinroment. Overall, a great fragrance if you are a patchouli lover but not extreme as the name suggests. I would go with Ursa wich is way more extreme and cheaper on discounters. A like not a love :)

I'm getting a very strong feeling that this has been reformulated. I remember trying this one out when this was first released and it was quite strong with an obvious sweetness from the rum and vanilla that wasn't very present in the original version. I just got another sample in yesterday and not only is the sweetness I remember toned down significantly, but this stuff becomes a skin scent within 2 minutes of spraying it on and the longevity is around 5 hours. I don't know if this has been reformulated or if I got duped on my second sample but the first sample was directly from the By Kilian website and this one was from a very reputable seller on Facebook. Either way, this is not "extreme" in any way whatsoever and if my sample is 100% authentic, then getting the original version and saving a lot of money in the process is a much better option.

Beautiful boozy, woody fragrance. Odd performance with this one. The opening is strong. Get a lot of the rum and sweeter notes (vanilla, dried fruits) with good projection for about 30 minutes. Those sweeter notes die down and you get more cedar, patchouli. For the next few hours it's a skin scent that you get faint wafts every so often for a few hours. Gone in probably 4, 5 hours tops. With the original I got below average projection from the start and the boozy, sweetness was very muted, very short lived also. Longevity was about 2 hours. So the performance is better, but this fragrance isn't "extreme". Not a formal fragrance, but not casual. More of a date night, dressy casual fragrance. One I prefer wearing in the fall. Big compliment getter for me also.

It was helpful to see a few reviews below about the latest version being slightly off. I completely agree, and had been suspecting that for a few months myself. I remember when I first bought it in 2018, it really was “extreme” in all the best ways, the silage was huge, longevity eternal etc. The one I got in 2020 is a major disappointment to say the least. Honestly a skin scent after 20minutes. No trace of it on my shirt collars at all (2018 version lasted for days) and the vanilla is all I smell. I wonder what happened? Bummer.

Just like all Killian perfumes, this one is STRONG AF. Very rummy and incensey (without feeling you're in a church), and I really like it. This was very surprising because I usually don't do too well with strong scents, but this was so nice; I couldn't stop smelling it post-application. I have a perfume oil sample of this, so this sillage is intimate to moderate; maybe a perfume spray will have higher projection.

So in comparison to the original Straight to Heaven, the rum and vanilla are definitely more prominent in the opening of this one and the cedar is not as prominent in this one. However, once it settles down, it does become a little more woody. My advice, if you already have the original one, you'll love this one but it may not be worth the money because the two are very similar.

Better in the drydown. The opening was just a dry and sharp rum/cedar, which wasn't very appealing. Once it settles down, it opens up some and the other notes come through, most notably the dried fruits and vanilla. I don't find this to be the beast performer that's indicated in the ratings.

Beautiful patchouli bomb. An amped-up version of the original. Heavenly, except that it barely projects and turns into a skin scent quicker than a cat says meow. Has a mild, boozy overtone with an undertone made of wood and vanilla. Fruity nuances. Whatever. For $3-400, they could keep it.

This is such a sexy androgynous fragrance. Smells like a super dry sauna at a high end resort that is simultaneously so boozy and rich. You walk out and are greeted with sun ripened warm fruit. I cannot stop smelling my wrist. A rum fragrance that is so well done, I cannot get enough

it is much more masculin for sure. it has such an charismatic opening. it makes you feel special and rich. absolutely not for teenagers. just for above 30 years old. night and autumn. you can easily get the rum smell at opening.

If anyone’s curious, a Kilian rep told me this was discontinued because the rum that’s used (or rather, the process of aging it) is too cumbersome, and that it drastically missed its predicted sales goal.

This is a mature, deep woody scent. I'd say this is fitting for guys aged 30+. As a younger guy, there is nothing intoxicating that pulls me into this fragrance, but definitely sample-worthy!

Definitely looks interesting. I've tried the standard Straight to Heaven and although it was nice, I think the rum and fruity notes were too subdued by the cedar and patchouli.

Much better than the original in my opinion. I can actually smell the rum in this one! However, the woody elements still keep it from being overly sweet.

I don't understand the opening of this. I can hardly smell it. But the drydown is😍😍😍 like super masculine

Hi there is there anyone selling there bottle kilian stright to heaven extreme Am in Calgary alberta

Just got a decant recently after searching for a good price for awhile and I confess. I'm not a fan of it. Dried fruits,woods,patchouli and rum sound excellent but this is a bit of an oddball scent. It needs a bit more sweetness as I find it on the dry side.

Nice boozy fragrance, but that results being a little thin compared to other competitors offer. On my skin, performance is average at best. Given the competition, I would have made a thought if it was priced around $60/80, but it's terribly overpriced currently. Furthermore, there seem to be stability problems, as several people have underlines that Kilian's fragrance kind of go bad after just 2-3 years stored in optimal conditions. Again, good scent, but after Terenzi's Ursa (which is priced 3-4X less), this one seems a little bland to my nose. A pass for me.

Initial test of this I find I really don't like it. I'm starting to figure out I don't like Cedar!

It has nothing to do with the first version; the first version was very masculine, very gentlemanly and refined, whereas this Extreme is completely commercialized, sweeter, more fruity, the patchouli is very weak in this perfume, a huge disappointment for me. The first version was a work of art. But this second version is complete nonsense. Damn it