Lavender Extrême (2019)
by Tom Ford

It’s only lavender, of course. Maybe a bit of smoky tonka. Lavender smells good, of course. I can’t give it a negative review, but, really, go get yourself essential oil.

Lavender Extrême low point for the house of Tom Ford. Tom Ford has released scents that might qualify as more unpleasant or irritating, depending on individual tastes, but never has Tom Ford released something so blatantly cynical as this cheap-smelling, utterly boring lavender blast.

At mid-range designer prices, it wouldn't be good, but it would be innocuous. At the pricepoint it's retailing at, it's an affront.

Not the worst thing I’ve smelled but without reading other reviews before I smelled it, I told the SA that I thought it smelled like Play-Doh. So interesting to see that’s what other reviews said as well. She then said I was right and made another SA smell it and he agreed that it did smell like Play-Doh. Nothing that great and there are other much better lavenders IMO, but judge for yourself.

I admire Tom Ford's puckish sense of humor. Here we have a posh chrome-looking bottle storing a comical kindergarten memory with which conspicuous consumers can anoint themselves. The rest of us can point and laugh.

Open a fresh can of Play-Doh and inhale. You can smell like this for hours, now. Layer with Beau du Jour for the Fuzzy Pumper Barber Shop Effect. I eagerly await the next release, which I am told features Elmer's Glue and Construction Paper as top notes.

Lavender Extreme did NOT do it for me. I am a big fan of many of the Private Blend fragrances, and my love for Lost Cherry is well documented here (I love it so much I bought three bottles), but this was the most disappointing thing I've smelled in a long while. There is a very sharp lavender note upon first spray, but that fades away after 30 seconds on me (not kidding), and from there on, it's a powder bomb.

My wife hated it, I hated it. I tried it three times to see if I would eventually "get it", but no...It didn't happen, and I couldn't take it any more. It's a beast mode fragrance, sillage trail all over the house, and I could still smell it decently well after a shower, which is rare for me. The only thing redeeming about this fragrance is the bottle, easily the coolest Private Blend bottle out there, but what's inside was as lame as it comes for me.