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Friday Fragrance: Balmain Extatic

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Oh, Balmain! To quote an overcooked love sonnet, let me ask myself this: Balmain, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
Of the measurements thine structured jackets
Can reach (though financially out of sight)
For the ends of being and haute couture.

balmain jacketsI really do like the strong-shouldered biker jackets that have become synonymous with Balmain. But now that I have thoroughly praised its runway offerings by brutalizing English literature, I want to move on to talk about a new fragrance that the French house has touted as basically being its “bottled essence”: introducing Extatic, the latest EDP offering from Balmain.

extatic 1Before I get in on the actual review of the product, I really have to get this rant out of the way: I have a bone to pick with the name that this scent was christened with. Extatic. This is a deliberate misspelling pretty typical in that facetious-in-a-punny-Euro-fragrance-way. I never really understood the tradition of giving scents these obtuse, over-the-top titles (lookin’ at you, Insolence and Endless Euphoria). I understand that they’re trying to sell a lifestyle more than they are a scent, which is why no perfume name can beat the simple and iconic name given to the Chanel No. 5.

extatic 2For all its frustrating nomenclature, the bottling of the product is quite beautiful. The scent itself is pretty complex, being floral but heady, sweet but leathery, syrupy but masculine. Looking at its ingredients and list of fragrance notes, it isn’t hard to see why: its top notes contain crystalline rose, nashi pear, and osmanthus, all flowering plants that grow in temperate climates. More florals are added onto its middle notes in the form of orchids, iris, and night jasmine. A quick poll at FDHQ concluded that this scent was more heady than anything — if you’re overly liberal in applying it, it’s easy to become giddy and nauseated, so spritz in moderation!

There is something about this scent that reflects the distinct glam rock-and-roll feel that Balmain has mastered over the years. This is a scent I imagine that could be detected wafting through a loud party taking place on a yacht filled with beautiful people, moored somewhere on the jagged coast of Monaco or Croatia — does this sound like your kind of party? If so, don’t forget to bring a bottle of Extatic with you before you step in the queue for champagne and canapes, daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahling.

Balmain Extatic EDP Natural Spray retails at IDR 700,000 (40 ml), IDR 970,000 (60 ml), and IDR 1,400,000 (90 ml). The Balmain Extatic Perfumed Body Lotion (150 ml) retails at IDR 400,000, and the Perfumed Shower Gel (150 ml) retails at IDR 370,000.  

 

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