1920 Extreme – herbaceous and woody and what my heaven smells like

It’s a dull, drizzly day. Summer, that season of unbearable, sometimes unrelenting heat, has passed. This is the kind of day when I like to create my own heat by wearing 1920 Exrtreme from Italian niche line Bois 1920.

In 1920, Florentine perfumer Guido Galardi founded Bois 1920, pronounced 'BOYCE'. After a few years, the company died out. It was revived in 2005 by Enzo Galardi, Guido’s nephew, who had followed his uncle’s career path and studied perfumery.

And for me, 1920 Extreme is the perfect scent to wear on cool days.

It opens with a note of nose-tingling bergamot and bracing clary sage. The clary sage is aromatic and herbaceous, and has facets of leather and amber that give the opening a deep, sexy richness. Fragrant lavender is here, too, its antisceptic aspect boosting the herbaceous note, while staying in the background. As the top notes settle, the fragrance softens and becomes quite boozy (insert smile here). Middle notes of animalic jasmine and rose-nuanced geranium combine with the lingering clary sage to make a gorgeous floral/herbaceous heart that makes me pause to enjoy it every time I catch a whiff of it coming off my arm. It loiters a long time before relaxing onto a woody base of sandalwood and cedarwood, accented with almond faceted Tonka bean and lifted with a note of sweet, sensuous vanilla.

The drydown is balanced, smooth and potent, with a brightness that lasts through to the drydown, so while I enjoy wearing it most in cooler weather, it really can stand up to summer heat.

And while labeled ‘unisex’, I would say it falls more on the masculine side of unisex.

Sniffing 1920 Extreme brings to mind a line from ‘Aurora Leigh’ Elizabeth Barrett Browning: "Earth's crammed with heaven." My heaven may be cold but I smell like 1920 Extreme.

Check out 1920 Extreme in our Shop.