Hugo Woman Extreme

The boysenberry note mixed with the warm florals in this perfume is to die for! This is by far the prettiest berry “pink” smelling fragrance I’ve smelled so far, without being too sugar sweet. I mean it is sweet, but the tea note tempers it I think. Smells elegant and warm after 30 minutes when the berry backs off a bit. At one point I thought it got a bit indolic? Maybe that osmanthus note is making it sort of heady and plush in the florals heart? I’ve never sniffed real osmanthus. The jasmine is definitely present. Moderate lasting power. Just so pretty. Not as crisp and businessy as I expected. Very romantic.

It is a beautiful fresh floral fragrance that, for me, is a safe and happy fragrance to wear and is suitable for the spring/summer seasons. I can say it is on on the same line (if not identical to) as Amethyst by Lalique so it is nothing extraordinary to highlight here. هو عطر جميل و فريش و وردي و الذي، بالنسبة لي، هو خيار آمن و عطر سعيد و مناسب لمواسم الربيع / الصيف أستطيع أن أقول أنه على على نفس الخط مثل عطر أمتيست من لاليك لذلك هو ليس بعطر غير عادي لتسليط الضوء عليه كثيرا

In my 40+ perfume collection, niche and designer, this is my most complimented scent by far. I didn’t think it was that special at first, although beautiful and smelling like exclusive salon shampoo in the BEST way possible. However, esp. men go coo coo for this one! It’s a lovely, feminine everyday-type of scent

They didn ́t lie when calling it "Extreme". It opens with a blast, very fruity and almost screechy green, but bearable and interesting. Fresh and somewhat "perfumy", but not really in a bad way either, I think the opening might grow on me (edit: it did). After an hour it settles into the most beautiful flowering tea scent, a scent I have been looking for in tea fragrances, but not been able to find: Dancong oolong. Smells like an almost malty rich and honeyed blackish tea, with flowering notes of jasmine and osmanthus. The osmanthus is softening the jasmine so much, pushing it towards that Dancong scent. It smells very much like some of my favourite Dancongs, like Gui hua Xiang or a Mo Li Xiang. Not completely photorealistic, but a scent that comes quite close. For people who says this does not smell like tea, no it ́s not a regular black tea bag smell, it is in fact much better. I think this might be suitable for cold spring, but mostly autumn and winter. What a gem and a keeper this is. I like it so much that I need to get the Hugo Woman Eau de Parfum as well, and looking forward to experience their take on a plum mandarin sandalwood tea (edit: I got it, it ́s lighter but similar, more mandarine and woods with an airier dry down, just different enough and perfect for spring). The bottle is the most generic looking thing ever though, but I can get past that. They better never discontinue this. They price of this cheapie is also crazy, you get some bang for your bucks here. It ́s a must have for any gong fu cha lover.

I guess that if you bundle all berry-based sweet and fruity florals into one scent profile, you could say this is generic. If however you can recognise subtle nuances and individual notes, this one isn't generic at all to my nose! I either own or have smelt most of the perfumes this has been compared to and it doesn't smell like any of them (apart from Touch of pink tbf, but that one is a bit sickly on me!). I find it very pretty and addictive, but also rather unusual. The boysenberry is recognizable as that particular berry and no others. The combination of that mixed with the green and aromatic grass and black tea is really unusual, as is the floral peachyness of the Osmanthus. Plus it's sweet but doesn't have a vanillic tone. I do feel like the notes here are incomplete though. This is very similar to Hugo Woman and has a very 90s feeling soft sandalwood that when mixed with the jasmine has a whisper of things like Chanel Allure and Avon Casbah.... that Samsara feel, but only a touch! The Boysenberry and tea take it in a more modern direction. I always think that I don't need both Hugo Woman and this extreme version, but whenever I wear them I can't bear to part with either! This and the Hugo Woman edp both seem to have got stronger while sitting in my collection - they seemed quite light to me when I first got them, so maybe they need some development time!