1920 Extreme (2005)
by Bois 1920

Bergamot, Fern, Jasmine, Brazilian Tonka beans, Bourbon vanilla.

Am I smelling the right fragrance? Because the notes listed above are not what I smell at all. First off, I don't like the opening much. It is intensely bitter and tenacious. I honestly can't identify the notes, but I know it isn't fern and bergamot. There are some intense, dry herbs and a strong helping of bitter, aromatic woods.

Luckily, it doesn't take long for the scent to calm down. There are still herbs and woods present, but they are much friendlier version of their former selves. At this point I can start to detect some pepper, some masculine florals (geranium? carnation?) and some piney notes, plus some tonka starting to inch its way in.

From there, the everything basically stays in place, but becomes more mellow, aided by the the growth tonka/vanilla notes. Take note: this is NOT a vanilla fragrance. The vanilla acts solely as a smoothing agent, gently massaging the restless woods and dry herbs. It is very good.

I feel that this is oriental in nature. A little bit green with woody amber and herbs. Feels like a fuller Obsession for Men with a touch of Pino Silvestre (without pine notes) but not as heavy. Very pleasing and suitable for cool weather.

I have a funny story about this one. I actually bought this a couple of months ago. I loved the smell of it out of the bottle. Then I sprayed it on a card when I got home and it totally scared me off. I thought it was a stronger version of Davidoff's Zino.

Zino has, quite possibly one of the most masculine and perfect opening bursts of all, but he dry down is decidedly synthetic. On the card, I thought I had just a stronger version of the same and that my hopes the perfect masculine scent were dashed. I took it back for a refund.

On a whim a couple of weeks ago, I was strolling around the fragrance counter and started talking to the girl at the counter. She told me that the entire Bois 1920 line was designed to be mixed. She showed me 1920 Extreme and 1920 Classic mixed together. I was so taken that I bought them both.

I love the two mixed. But later, I decided to jump in and go for it and just wear Extreme all by itself. WOW!

It turns out that its the perfection of Zino that I was looking for afterall. The fern opening is so spectacular and decidedly masculine, it simply leaves not doubt. But its soft and at no time is it overly sweet. In the middle it stays slightly spice. Sometimes I get tobacco and pepper/pine/fern, other tims I get something just slightly powdery and animalic at the same time..almost acidic or alcoholic, but with something like fine ambergris floating in the background.

The dry down continues to amaze. Don't let the Bourban Vanilla finish scare you off. It never goes to "baby powder". It does dry slightly sweet - but the bourbon is more present than the vanilla so that the strength and character of this wonderful scent is never deminished.

Perhaps the best part of this is that it lasts all day - but it never strays too far. It doesn't knock people over, they just seem to know you are there.

My wife doesn't normally like the kind of scents I favor. But this one, while being overtly masculine, has the gentle touch of the refined gentleman. It never gets pungeant or overly musky. My wife loves this on me and I love it as well.

I look forward to experimenting with the entire Bois 1920 line - this is will be a fun experiment in quality and luxury!

I get a strong, aromatic wood / herbal accord – deep tones, even a bit aggressive. I don’t smell any fern… or bergamot for that matter, which is not unusually for me in fragrances with strong wood and herbal accords. At first the woodnotes seem resinous, but the resinousness relatively soon begins to fade, revealing a softer, less resinous accord that is quietly woody / aromatic. The notes that Bois 1920 claim don’t really fit well with what I am smelling; however, the Parfyym website identifies sandalwood and cedar in the base as well as lavender and sage in the top notes, and I think that Parfyym’s pyramid is a highly accurate portrayal of the kinds of notes I am experiencing: an aromatic sandalwood and cedar coupled with an aromatic lavender and sage. Those notes would certainly account for the full, deep, dry aromatic richness that I am both smelling and loving. These notes work together to give the impression of being resinous. Whatever they put in the mix of this fragrance… it works! The linear wood / herb accord is subtle and masculine and addictive. It eventually becomes a hugging-the-skin aromatic that discreetly hoards and extends its elegance. Bois 1920 Extreme is a keeper.

I'm right on board with the previous reviews.. this is a magnificent, complex scent. It stays dry and undoubtedly masculine on my skin. There's a lot going on in it, but it all works perfectly together. The name is a bit misleading as it insinuates that it's an extreme version of Classic which it's hardly even related to.

This is a truly beautiful fragrance and I am taken by the masterful blending of ingredients and balance of textures. I'm glad Odysseusm mentioned "gentle spice and wood" and their absence in the listed ingredients, because I, too, feel this to be a woody/spicy fragrance at its heart, and after reading the sample card I wondered how that impression was achieved without wood or spice. I can only imagine there must be more to the story than Bois 1920 is letting on because my nose is constantly grabbing on to new sensations throughout its journey with 1920 Extreme: for a moment my nose hooks onto citrus, and then... anise seed? no no, maybe geranium, bergamot and vanilla? what is that spice, and did I just get a hint of a woody amber note? The beauty of 1920 Extreme is that no note protrudes (though one senses an array of textures), there is no clamor, there is just a touch of sweetness, and it all amounts to a strangely arresting combination of soft and rugged masculinity. This is one of the most attractive fragrances I've smelled in a long time, one that I loved the the first time I experienced it, and one I continue to love and enjoy the more I wear it.