The damp, fresh and woody smell from those newly chopped trees and branches, also some tiny hints of the exhaust smell from the Chainsaw. Hence if you've experienced that afer release, and you know it could last longer and project more, don't bother. All fragrances are 100% original but will not be supplied in any retail/branded packaging and no trademarks or logos will be used. A similar example would be L'Eau D'Issey Pour Homme Intense—it is not a more intense version of its predecessor--the maison simply thought the scent is 'intense' on its individual merit.

A voluptuous dry-down of caressing sandalwood and velvety patchouli, made more addictive still with a lick of balsamic benzoin, prolongs this woody intensity. You find some fine Pine trees, Fir trees and also some Birch trees nearby and start chopping them up with both your Chainsaw and your Axe. Subsequent anointment of the Lalique revealed a very pleasant, modern, clean and almost dry flavour reminscent of my sleek Elie Saab No. It's just a shame that by the time it gets to that final state, its already lost much of its staying power.Encre Noire thankfully doesn’t have that, even when the cypress eventually fades and the vetiver comes into full effect. I don't have a very sophisticated nose, having only recently come into the fragrance world, but I do pick up a little bit of the Cyprus, Patchouli, and Incense. Note: it does not smell anything like Sauvage; I’m simply saying that for me Encre Noire A L’Extreme has similar versatility and captivating room presence to Sauvage. If Encre Noire Sport dials up the citrus and fresh spiciness of the original, A L’Extreme dials those notes way down, leaving only the tiniest hint of fresh spice when it dries down.

The first half of Encre Noire is focused on cypress which is like being dropped into the midst of a dense, dark green grove. I spent the better part of a day trying to figure out why some people say it smells like death, or it's medicinal, or just plain offensive. A l'Extreme is effectively the same scent as the OG with a few additions which serve two purposes: To create a more well-rounded, base-heavy scent, and to clash painfully with the original vetiver. On skin, it quickly rounded out in a way reminiscent of Fat Electrician in some ways, but not at all the same; there’s an almost floral quality to it (instead of Fat Electrician’s cosy vanilla fluff) over the nice woody base.The vetiver and incense combination here is bright and very pleasing, so I don't understand all the comments claiming this is a distinctly "dark and gothic" scent. Imagine being relieved when night falls because you can take off your mask and finally be your true self. The second because, well I’m quite vulnerable to the winter bleus, and reading all those reviews it pretty much sounded like this would make them even worse.

Not that I care about how a bottle looks, but I can appreciate a nice design, and this looks really classy.

Without having the original, the two flankers "Sport" and "À LÈxtreme" (ENE) have become my absolute favourite fragrances. If you're running a script or application, please register or sign in with your developer credentials here. It is very refreshing to experience something different and to get away from the usual sweet vanilla and tonka bean scents that seem to dominate mens fragrances these days. After dry-down, the bergamot and vetiver are equally present because the grassy vetiver opening softens.