Tom Ford Extreme (2007)
by Tom Ford

A totally different scent from the original, which I hated, this is full of spices and woods and I love the smell of the truffle and leather. The longevity is fine with me. Will I purchase at this price? Probably not.

Customer: So, this is the ‘intense’ version of Tom Ford for Men?

SA: Oh, yes!

Customer: Is it EDP concentration? After all, this is the extreme version.

SA: Ermmm… no.

Customer: So, it’s still the same strength as Tom Ford for Men?!

SA: Ahem... yes, that's right...

Customer: Okay… but it does have better longevity and sillage, right?

SA: Well, the difference is quite marginal, to be honest – the emphasis here is actually in the composition of the notes and...

Customer: But isn’t it double the price?

SA: Ermmm, yes...

Customer: So, essentially, this fragrance is for mugs and people who have money to burn?

[The SA stares blankly at the customer, wishing to be somewhere else...]

[Original submission date: 25 May 2008]

I wouldn't have minded if there was indeed something extreme about this fragrance, but then again calling it "so so" might not have done their sales much good. I have had issues with Tom Ford fragrances before, and usually my irritation stems from the rather clumsy and muddled way that they compose their products. When one considers that constituent ingredients such as Haitian vetiver, rum, incense,leather and amber are present, the expectation for some exotic blend are very high indeed. The opening was rich, spicy and intoxicating, and my hopes of something edgy in the vain of Aramis Havana and Cuba by Czech & Speake were growing. Sadly, the promising start fades all too quickly in intensity and evolution. Beyond the opening half an hour the thin residue that one is left to consume is vague and much too timid. I can discern something interesting occuring on my skin, but it is a mere whisper of what it should have been. Had it been extreme, bold or indeed long lived, I would have adored this, but it ended up annoying me. This fragrance was an interesting concept but badly executed.

I don't understand everybody's issue here with longevity. I have a skin that usually swallows up scent, so I don't usually get much longevity from my fragrances. Well this Extreme lasted well up to six/seven hours on me, and I experience no problem with it being fleeting. And on a testing strip, the terribly delicious far drydown, I could still smell three days later, wafting off the strip. Actually this is somewhat unfortunate, because my absolute favorite part of this scent is actually this far drydown. Which develops on paper, two days later, which smells just heavenly. However when worn on skin it never gets a chance to develop, as the fragrance is long gone before reaching this stage.
This scent, as has been noted here before, is totally different from the Tom Ford Man. There is not even a resemblance.. It should not be seen, or expect it to be the "extreme" version of the first scent. Because it is not. See it rather as a totally different fragrance , which just happens to be named Extreme. This makes much better sense.
The opening notes of this fragrance are a very spicy accord, which is actually very remininscent (actually, almost exactly the same) as Jo Malone's Pomegranate Noir. The similarity is actually quite striking. Now whereas Pomegranate Noir continues with the same scent, with very little development or change, till it's drydown. Extreme changes and develops into a completely different, smooth accord for it's heart. This is when the scent becomes truly captivating. With the entrance of that simply delicious Italian Black Fig, Plum and Saffron accord. That this scent truly comes alive. This fruity sweetness is tempered by the violet leaves and ceder. At this point all these notes are not actually seperately perceived, as they just blend beautifully together to bring this enveloping sense of warmth and comfort.
And just when you think it can't possibly get any better ... With the drydown it certainly does. This whole wonderful scent lies on a rich bed of Amber, Rum, Vetiver, Incense and Leather. And not forgetting the truelly delicious Vanilla and Truffle, which all together create a just spectacular base to a very beautifully authored fragrance.
Not ever having encountered the Truffle note before in any other scent. I cannot actually pick it out amongst the other notes. But if it's contributing to the deliciousness of this marvelous vanilla accord. Then bring on the trufffles, and I will gladly play the "piggy".
To me this scent smells exactly how a man should smell like.
A total triumph, to my nose !

Sexy, sensual, mature. Very complex and evolving. Smooth, sugary and smoky with spicy undertones that are more cinnamon than pepper. Longevity very much above average, sillage above average. Better for night time, formal occasions. Best suited for a woman in a little black dress.

The initial top notes smell nothing like Tom Ford For Men (which to me, is a good thing, because I disliked TFFM). I can't even believe they're marketing these under the same name! Once the bracing, slightly turpentine-ish initial effect faded, a musk note appeared that took on a much more smooth, sophisticated character. My initial impression was of a few things: leather shoe store (you know like the smell of Florsheim with all of those leather shoes on display?), shoe polish, tobacco (not smoke - tobacco, there's a difference) and musk (a very dry, very textured musk...animalic in a 'fur coat' kind of way). The leather/shoe shine/tobacco/musk combo is pretty much where this scent stays for quite some time. But oh, what a place it is. Just as nice as any of Tom Ford's Private Blends that I tested. I would compare it to the 'feel' of Tobacco Vanille, Oud Wood and/or Tuscan Leather - but, this one's different enough to have its own signature accord.

The oud note popped up here and there. Oud and I have a love/hate relationship. I either love scents with it (Black Aoud by Montale) or they kind of gross me out (M7 by YSL). This scents oud is peeking out from underneath a blanket of musk. This works perfectly to keep the medicinal/burnt effervescent rubber note in check. At certain points I'd take a sniff of my arm and 'get' the oud note strongly (which had me worried - I thought it would have an M7-ish drydown), and then the very next sniff, the oud would be gone and it was just musk. Quite magical.

The drydown is when the regular Tom Ford for Men notes arrived. Lemon oil, not quite as sharp as the top notes of TFFM, and the musk mixes with the lemon so that its musky lemon oil. Then the more synthetic 'musk' basenotes arrive with a little bergamot (or some other herb) thrown in. When this scent dries down completely it's gone! This is the same thing that happens with the regular. However, by the time this happened I was sufficiently wowed by the journey to the basenotes drydown, so I didn't mind.

This scent shares a similar vibe to the Private Blend scents: Very formal (this is not the scent for casual wear), sophisticated and wonderful sillage. It almost makes me wonder if this juice was slated to be put out under the Private Blends line and Tom snagged it for his own scent? In fact, I will even go as far as saying TFFME smells like something Tom Ford himself would wear.