Ombre Mercure Extreme

It took me awhile to get into this one as it can across initially like play-doh and plastic. It takes some time for the benzoin to warm up on your skin and the violet and iris to blossom. As strong as this is (do not over spray) this is understated and subtle as not one note screams out. The benzoin is pronounced but it is soft and rounded and the patchouli is slightly herbal and dirty but not green or bright at all. This smells like something vague, discrete and expensive smelling and it is so very unusual. I had people smell it straight from the bottle and they do not like it, but when I wear it I do get compliments. Wearing this I get the feeling like I am some kind of aristocrat or foreign diplomat attending a fancy dinner. Only downside is it can come across a little dated and stuffy. This works better in colder weather. Not really commercial as this has more of a European sensibility, but I do like this. I don't wear it all of the time but when I do indulge I feel taller, richer and more sophisticated than I actually am. This is a good one for anyone to have in their collection.

This probably isn't going to be a perfect review but OMG!!! I fell in love with Ombre Mercure at first sniff. AGAIN....I fell in love with this Extreme version. Wow...just amazing new fragrances to be introduced to the world. A fanTASTIC nose create these beauties.

Extreme smells very much like the original but lacks prominent violet. Softer. Also, little to no sandalwood. Heavier on the benzoin, still powdery. I think I actually prefer it over the original but it is currently out of my budget at $337.

This was not an instant attraction for me. In fact, I had trouble getting my head around what it was supposed to smell like or to tie my experience to the listed notes. It took around a week of wearing this every now and then until I could understand it and comment on it with some justice. And I am not sure I fully get it yet, but I am starting to appreciate and like it. It’s a unique fragrance, in a boozy, woody and sophisticated powdery kind of way. Violet leaf? I don’t know if that’s supposed to share the same scent as powdery violets, but I am not really getting that. I also am baffled by seeing extreme in the title, because this is anything but. It’s warm, and interesting, but it’s got moderate sillage and lasts about 2 hours at most. I admit I bought it blind out of curiosity, but I didn’t pay anywhere near the listed price...in fact less than half. Probably wouldn’t have bought a full bottle if I had the opportunity to try it first. I will continue to persevere and see if things develop differently due to weather, time of day, mood etc.

I think this pretty much sums up the notes listed although I wouldnt be surprised if there are more. I definitely get the cool iris note and bergamot on the opening. The benzoin and patch come to the fore at the end of the first hour as the iris and bergamot have faded quite a bit. I have to say I love it the most at the end of the first hour when it seems to be warmer, no doubt owing to the benzoin and patch. For a fragrance with the word "extreme" in the title I dont find it so but its all subjective isnt it. The longevity and sillage are moderate on me.

Heavy on violet with iris backing and very balsamic benzoin hot background. Powdery, wintery, heavy.

Okay, so I have already hunted this down, and it's in my possession, though I'm still trialling it out and hopefully I get to the stage that it's a LOVE, but at this very moment in time, "it's a so-so", to quote my former students (who also used to answer IDK, as in 'eye dee kay' to questions they could not answer)... Anyway, this scent is a little too heavy on the benzoin, for my liking. I think benzoin and iris/violet work well together, however, this is a little too resinous for my liking. Next, the iris is nice and plasticky, as I love it, though, it's kinda fused itself to the patchouli in this, and it's coming across a smidge too honey-like, maybe even a little beeswaxy. I know, it's likely JUST my nose, and how I personally am perceiving the scent and its individual components, but there's shit-all I can do -- I'm stuck with this nose, and the weird way it picks notes up, so I'm shit out of luck, there. But anyway, there's also a bit of a sticky-moistness in the scent, kinda minor, but also THERE, which is a bit of a pain in the arse. I am not against moving this scent on, I don't have any objection to doing so, it's just that I personally acquired this on the international market, on a sale page that was MONTHS (possibly YEARS) old, and I was able to negotiate the price down a LOT -- were I to sell this, I'd probs make a massive loss, myself. But, before I get to thinking about that, I'm gonna try this out a few more times and hopefully find a way to get along with it...

First of all, I'd like to thank Houstcs for this remarkable decant -Thank You! When I first sprayed this on my forearm, I had a sudden memory of my "Kuumba Made" phase in the mid-late 2000's. Amber & Sandalwood, Amber Paste, Tunisian Amber, all day every day LOL! But this evening after spraying Ombre Mercure, I left the house & noticed a shift after about 20 minutes.... Patchouli! my "fragrance frenemy"..such a history we have..to me patchouli smells beautiful - on others, & I would happily smell like a caftan wearing flower girl if only i could, but on my skin patchouli turns unfriendly, metallic, gray & grating. But - then Ombre Mercure shifted again, and when i got back home and walked up the steps, I felt the sense of a warm aura like a light, sweet cloud around me - the amber, with the violet & other notes was back. The word "aura" is not one I typically use to describe anything, but that's the word that came to me.. Now i see in the description, <<"The whole composition was created as to cover the skin of its carrier with sophisticated powdery-woody veil">> Wow! "Aura...Veil" yes! this nose-in-training got that! I will give this one some time ~:)

Holy gasoline!! The violet leaf is stronger in the extreme than Ombre Mercure. It’s it very potent straight out the atomizer. The Violet is tart, made even more so along side the bergamot. once ombre Mercure extreme settles down on the skin I get a mixture of Violet, patchouli (herbal and green) along with resinous benzoin. Extreme is way more unisex than Ombre Mercure which is pretty and easy to like. I find the opening of extreme challenging but that endears me to it more. The dry down of extreme is amazing! It becomes sweeter and more resinous like Ombre Mercure but keeps projecting where Ombre Mercure becomes a skin scent. The more I wear this, the tamer the opening becomes. Ombre Mercure and Ombre Mercure Extreme are two Violet amber masterpieces. Truly mesmerizing art.

Like warm valyrian steel cooled with a paste of powder and ice. Closer to feminine than masculine, but who cares it's magnificent. Not in your face but sophisticated and personal.