There is something here that I can only compare to the finding balsamic vinegar in your creme brulee. This is a beautiful woody fragrance which would be great to wear on those rainy Autumn evenings, but even though cheap, it's ultimately not worth the money due to it's simply non-existent performance. It's up the alley of old classics like Terre D'Hermes, the main smell in this is Iso E Super, followed by Haitian Vetiver, Habanolide, Patchouli, Olibanum and Pepper/Cypress Combo. At first it smelt like an Indian restaurant but after third wearing my nose matured and now it’s a love for me! With the moderate, around 4-5 hours longevity on my skin, it dries down nicely with the distinctive DNA of the main perfume but with fresher patchouli tones.

I don't see this getting much use in the Summertime unless I'm camping but it's performing great in Winter and has a very comfy feel about it. It doesn't have the bit of freshness that was injected into Encre Noire Sport, however the widened array of woody notes give it some interesting depth and carry the notes from that original formula into classier, deeper territory. Initially it smells bitter yet Smokey almost like you’ve thrown a ton of leaves on a bonfire, it then becomes slightly peppery with that same leafy bonfire smell, after a couple hours it dries down to a Smokey sandalwood.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. Lalique Parfums have a unique signature that combines creativity in its bottle design with exceptional quality within its fragrances. However the closer i’d move my nose to the sprayed part the more i could detect an annoying penetrating synthetic note that’d give a slight dizziness/headache.

And it is simpler and a bit more linear, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing if you love the main accord as much as I do.

ENCRE NOIRE À L’EXTRÊME reinvents masculine sensuality with its powerful cypress and vetyver accord. Lalique Encre Noire A L'Extreme was launched in 2006, this woody fragrance opens with top notes of Elemi, Bergamot and Cypress. A voluptuous dry-down of caressing sandalwood and velvety patchouli, made more addictive still with a lick of balsamic benzoin, prolongs this woody intensity. While it has this "inky" aspect to it much like the original, it seems to be somewhat toned down by a plethora of other woody notes, a tad of bergamot and an extra kick of vetiver.

In addition, I feel the rum note, which gives a bit of lipstick smell like in Bentley for men Intense. Dense wisps of mist suddenly appear before my eyes, and rain pelts down on my pale skin as if the sky were weeping. The fragrance is taken from genuine retail products and is entirely independent of the original manufacturing brand.The new fragrance is based on two outstanding qualities of vetyver, one from Haiti, the other from Java. As the top-note there is a lot of coniferous/woody freshness, as if you just broke off a young cypress branch, masterfully complimented with a little citrusy bergamont freshness to give that extra "zing". It almost smells more like a place or an atmosphere rather than a character or a person, if that makes sense. Surely it's too intense to wear to a summer BBQ or a day at the office, but for other occasions, go ahead! However the perfumer I think put all the focus on making the scent itself perfect regardless of how it performs.