Paul Smith Extreme Women (2002)
by Paul Smith

Although I wouldn't consider this my signature scent, nor would I say this scent is particularly outstanding, I do keep on coming back to it. I've owned 3 or 4 large bottles of this over the last few years and although I tire of it towards the end and usually don't want to go straight out and buy a new one, after flirts and flings with some other scents, I ultimately buy it again. Maybe you could describe it as my 'safe smell'. It's the delicious warmth that attracts me, a really comfortable and inviting smell. At first it's fairly fresh, something like a warm lawn/grass smell, then I usually get a hint of spiced orange, maybe a little mulled wine and a sprinkling of black pepper. Ultimately I'm left with a warm, clean skin smell, which is sexy without being overly so. I wouldn't use this for evenings/special ocassions as it lacks longevity and doesn't pack a 'night-out punch', but it's great in the day (maybe not in summer, when something cooler may be required) and also nice for cosy nights in.

18th November, 2009.

Nothing extreme about this perfume. It's clean, pleasant, and kind of like the olfactory version of magnolia white paint in a house. You need a bit of magnolia white in a house, but the whole thing painted in the colour would be a bit too dull without some sort of accent. This perfume is perfect background sort of scent when you need one. Floral without being too lush, musky without being too sexy, and mercifully, clean and only very slightly sweet.

This and Bulgari for Women are my default office perfumes. I get a lot of compliments on Extreme Women... and I like it. I particularly find that this perfume is one of the few perfumes that I own that I know will not be too strong for me to wear around pregnant friends and coworkers (sharpened/altered sense of smell).

13rd October, 2009.

I get perhaps mandarin and vanilla and a little spice, something that could be a nice scent if it weren't also oddly stale and bitter, like some green herb or spicy/herbal floral. Maybe the freesia? It overrides the rest of the scent and the result is very stale and flat, like fresh cut grass mixed with cream, a bad combination.

15th August, 2006.