Description
The new fragrance of the house called Extatic comes out in January 2014 and represents that precise luxurious yet edgy touch; it is a fragrant incarnation of Balmain style that combines boldness and elegance. “Extatic is an olfactory metaphor for the Balmain woman, a mix of attraction for a certain lightness of being combining with an exceedingly confident character”.
The initial accords include crystalline rose, nashi pear and osmanthus. Sharry Baby orchid that smells like chocolate dominates the heart, accompanied by sexy and dark iris and night jasmine. The scent ends with amarys, sandalwood and cashmere wood with a touch of Barenia leather.
The design of the bottle slightly reminiscent of a stylish silhouette with strong shoulders made with glass and metal, gold and black contrasts. The campaign was shot by Karim Sadli with model Anna Selezneva.
The fragrance is available as 40, 60 and 90 ml Eau de Parfum with additional body lotion and shower gel.
Extatic was created by Emilie (Bevierre) Coppermann and Nathalie Feisthauer.
empolejeork – :
The opening is harsh and too sweet. After 10-20 minutes it becomes clear that this scent is neither classy, nor bold..It is more flirty and intended to be sexy – strikes me as fruity and sweet more than anything, something a young girl or woman would wear, probably anyone up to say 35.
The drydown is actually much nicer than the opening, mainly sandalwood. I get zero leather and zero rose, instead something else cypress or pine along with sandalwood + musk and juicy pear mixed with orchid (?) or some sort of a flower – not rose, there`s no rose here at all in my opinion, or if there is it`s well concealed.. Develops a lot over time, so at least it is not just some cheap linear scent, it takes a few sprays to figure it out really, longevity is not bad at all, I can still smell it clearly after 3-4 hours. The bottle is quite nice, and it`s Balmain (sigh..)
Reminds me a bit of Miss Giordani from Oriflame, at least it is the same type of fragrance, even though there`s no praline or pink pepper here. Also, I had a feeling it has blackberry or something similar in there as a top note. I can totally imagine that I`d get a few compliments wearing this, and though this is totally not the type of perfume I`d be interested in, probably I would not be surprised about being asked what I was wearing..Definitely recommended if you`re a cheeky and flirty girl/woman who is young – or else if you want to feel young and flirty! And also, ONLY if you find it on sale. I wouldn`t spend much on this one, but I see the idea of getting it.
Greezli – :
Scent of a classy lady.
A beautiful, creamy, sweet fragrance for a confident, elegant and sophisticated woman. Warm and alluring. I feel like I got a confidence boost every time I spray it on. Literally makes me feel so independent, sexy and chic.
Sweet pear, fragrant orchid, soft cashmere and osmanthus. The dry down smells a little powdery.
skill489 – :
I am quite surprised that there are so many negative reviews. Extatic is a sweet scent, I like to wear it on autumn/ winter as well. It is feminine and the bottle is elegant.
aivila – :
Another one of Balmain that isn’t worth the money.
At the same time is different and basic. AT one point I smell fresh at the other point nothing, then I smell sweetness then again nothing.
In the end there is nothing special for the price in it other than bottle.
pavelletto – :
My only problem with this is the longevity, no longer than two hours, so sad, it would be perfect if only it lasted a bit longer on my skin 🙁
Dark_Eldar95 – :
Very feminine scent, I am suprised that there are so many negative reviews. Yes Extatic Eau de Parfum is sweet scent. It’s sweetness of pear with orchid and cashmere woods, but not in ordinary way. For me it’s not typical scent, it reminds me 90’s, something in my childhood.. Nice elegant bottle with lovely smell.
jck032Diobtetty – :
The smell of sweet, pear strongly here doing its job. I would say that it reminds me a little of La Vie Est Belle, but more bearable.I would choose this scent instead of lveb which is too strong and every 3rd person wears it. 40 ml flacon i bought in 2014 but i let it go as i became not a fan of it,i kept few mills thou. After a time, back to the smell clearly i discover it is still not my taste.
ddachi – :
This is the first fragrance with iris that I can wear and it´s a big thing because usually they are unbearable on me. I have bought it, it´s very feminine I think, powdery, sweet, the round gift box with the body lotion and shower cream looks gorgeous!
kast – :
Wow! This perfume is a paradox. It begins in a lovely way, very sweet, syrupy and vanilla smelling, but not in a cheap way. However, after the dry-down setlles in, it smells like something very common, not sweet and not vanilla; sort of a simple shower gel. Too bad that the notes in the begining do not last the entire time.
Аркаша – :
Extremely sweet opening, all syrup and sugar. A scent with no surprises, a cheap smell. Very short-lived. Rock bottom for me.
krays84 – :
I don’t know why but Pierre Balmain’s Extatic reminds me a lot to of L’Extase from Nina Ricci. To my nose they are almost identical, even though they share almost no similarities in their notes. I’m guessing that for me the jammy rose note is very prominent in both of them which leaves me with the same impression of a very sweet, dry and sultry scent. Quit honestly the only thing I can feel from Extatic are the iris and the rose. For some strange reason the other notes just seem lost to my nose. The difference between the two for me is that I can faintly recognise a leather note in the background of Extatic while L’Extase has a more sweetly sour feeling to it.Still I think it’s a nice, youthful and interesting enough perfume. I think I have to try it at least a few more times in order to have a more objective opinion about it.
Redik – :
I am in love! I have never tried perfumes by Balmain. Extatic is everything I want from a perfume – modern, beautifully blended and longlasting. It reminds me strongly of Jimmy Choo, but this is woodier. I don’t know what is the sweet note that is so intense, but the smell is wonderful.
aleksandrajane – :
Well I have yet to try this offering from Balmain but all I want to say is I haven’t run into a Balmain fragrance that I haven’t instantly fell in love with and from the sound of the notes in this one I think it will be yet another one that I will fall in love with can’t wait to get this little jem. X
csqq – :
When I tried this frangrance during Summer, I found it too heavy: the amyris was too overwhelming, the fruit too strong, too much of everything.. except for the wood which wasn’t there at all. I wasn’t sure about it though. Tried it these days in colder weather and I have to say that I pretty much like it! The amyris is visibly toned down but still there to give the fruit a certain quirkiness. The wood is also unveiled and makes this frangrance stand out from the other boring fruity scents on the market.
This is an elegant frangrance with an edge. On the right woman, it will definitely smell heavenly.
ivan1982 – :
I smelled this one when searching for a new scent last week. In the beginning I liked it very much with the floral opening, also my boyfriend really liked it.
Unfortunately, after a while we didn’t like it that much anymore, on my skin it created a weired chemistry.
Lovely scent though.
vpn2093 – :
Extremely syrupy opening. I get pear, syrup and sugar. It’s far too sweet for me. Some of my favourite perfumes are sweet ones, but this is just too much.
The chocolate note isn’t wonderful. I like chocolate as a note in perfumes. I think it can make for a really interesting addition. But this one smells like really cheap, nasty chocolate. You know when you were a kid at Easter and there was always some friend of your parents who obviously only remembered to bring you something at the last minute so it was one of those cheap no-name Easter Eggs because that’s all that was left on the shelf? That’s what the chocolate here smells like.
That’s about all there is to this – fruity syrup and cheap chocolate.
It could have been an amazing perfume in better hands, but as it is now, it strikes me as one that highlights the problems in today’s perfume industry: it’s been quickly and cheaply put together for mass appeal. A board of directors somewhere have sat down and said “You know how Black Orchid made a ton of cash? Let’s do chocolate and get our share of that money”. And then they’ve kept sending it back to be reformulated until it lost anything interesting about it.
It could have been great, but sadly, it’s not.
Oh, and I have no idea why it’s being called an Oriental because nothing about it remotely qualifies.
cjh214Negeltzex – :
The opening phase of Balmain Extatic on my skin, is a very sugary pear in syrup, along with some vague floral notes. This stage lasts about 3 hours before transitioning into creamy cacao and musk.
The sillage is moderate to soft, and the longevity is around 10 hours. As a fruity floral fragrance with gourmand elements, Extatic is quite pleasant despite the sugary opening. But at the same time, there are quite a few fragrances similarly constructed on the market, and Extatic does not seem to stand out among them. I’d suggest testing a few in the same genre before eventual purchase.
мурзилка – :
Got this as a gift , i find it very confusing with too many notes going in different directions .
I never wore it , but the bottle looks nice on my vanity.
vovan3246 – :
I’m surprised that so many people dislike this fragrance! I immediately recognised the notes on my first sniff in the department store although it took me longer to work out what it reminds me of – it’s La Vie Est Belle! Apparently, I’m one of those who enjoy these gourmand, sweet, praline types scents which is exactly how this plays out on me… Update: on the second wearing, I found I could pick up a lot more of the floral notes, and even a touch of fruit! I’m understanding more of the criticism now I think… This fragrance seems slightly confused!! However, my first impressions were good so I’m going to keep wearing this and try to understand it more fully. A slight concern though is that I feel a fragrance probably shouldn’t have to be studied to be understood – it should immediately intrigue or delight people with its notes… Maybe this is a miss after all (EDP purchased)
lawliet – :
Not worth to buy, you don’t get any type of notes but just smell, like hair conditioner, and not good at all. Smells like dkny my ny. Has that pink pepper dirty patchouli vibe. Mehh.
sdo482speagoessenda – :
I had waited quite some time to try Extatic, until it became available at perfume discounters. Extatic opens with promise, warm and ambery, reminiscent of the opening of Ambre Gris. But then it all starts to go wrong. A bitter rather harsh leather note enters that does not mesh well at all with the pear note and other sweetish florals. The ultimate scent, to my nose, is of a woman opening a new leather purse (not an expensive one- the leather is rather harsh) in a cheap candy store.
I was disappointed since I have always had a good opinion of the house of Balmain. They have had many “hits” but this one is a big “miss” in my opinion. Longevity and sillage are good on this one.
filincool – :
It’s like EA Untold. Not overpowering at all
xxl801speagoessenda – :
Maybe Balmain was trying to please everybody. When I first sprayed this, I was offended by the sharp bitterness – but later in the day I kept sniffing and thinking it was so yummy and sweet.
I would buy if I didn’t have to wait an hour to like the perfume. Waa.
Stick to La Vie Est Belle or god forbid, Flowerbomb
aleksei1000 – :
Recently when it comes to buying perfume I just blind buy. My only help is fragrantica. When I bough Dior Addict (2002), Rosabotanica, Dior Delice I never failed and loved them. But I have to be honest this is not what I expected from the bottle, the marketing and from the whole composition. On me it gets pretty powdery-bitterly-sweet. I can’t say now which perfume it reminds me of but it’s just not a good sign. I love Gucci Eau De Parfum II since it is one of a kind and so timeless just as Dior Addict first edition. I got the 90 ml bottle and willing to sell it or give to my niece. I am 25+ but this is something I would put on a teen girl who goes out for disco and is not keen on the quality and character of the perfume. I like chick-flirty-party perfumes like Paco Rabbane 1Million is but this isn’t even close. This is my first Balmain I ought to go with a classic probably…sad sad sad by where this perfume world is heading…no timeless perfumes just mass production and profits. I haven’t found anything like those I mentioned above since 2000’s. If anyone has any good tip I would appreciate inbox.
Uramanai1 – :
Even Balmain sold out. Cheap and tacky hipster splash.
khersonec – :
I thought I’d try this… no longevity at all.
alintik – :
It’s nice, but when I tried it, it seemed a little too sweet for me. And I am the person who loves Loverdose, La vie est belle and Jimmy choo.
Notes are really cute. I like orchid and pear notes.
Lovely, sweet perfume, quite edible scent, but probably wouldn’t buy it.
Niklc2011 – :
It’s like perfumes from 80s, only not so loud. But I hate champagne “cheap” notes, so although firstly I thought, it would be nice scent, it isn’t.
RouNa86 – :
Totally love this. It’s sweet (not too sweet) but in a creamy way, with depth and a hint of coolness. It lasts on me forever never overpowering but the sort of perfume you notice as someone walks past you.
pikins – :
Obviously the Balmain house is trying to stay relevant to today’s perfume consumer and that can only mean one thing – a fruity floral perfume. Don’t let the great bottle design fool you, this smells like a million other sweet and syrupy perfumes. One interesting thing is that it shows hints of an old school perfume before finally giving up and smelling like warm caramel and berries.
panda.kunfu2010 – :
Love it! Perfect for me. I’m truly ecstatic with extatic.
Голд – :
I don’t know which one I have tested ( I didn’t even know there was an EDT and an EDP , thanks for the information passionata20 )
Anyways, the one I have tried is just boring ordinary sweet stuff … Rather nice if it had been a celeb perfume or cheap scent from the supermarket , but COME ON ! This is BALMAIN ! The house of “Ivoire” , “Vent Vert”(speaking of the old ones, NOT the hideous recent reformulations) and “Monsieur Balmain”
Sad, very sad indeed …
Ekaterishka – :
The alternative way to achieve ECSTASY,cheaper too,lol!
Invasaibl138 – :
This was an instant buy for me when I tried it…
I have been tossed between getting la vie en belle or Si /Armani
– and this was the easiest way out.
Fruitier and fresher than lveb and not as candy sweet like Si .
The sweetnes stays but has a freshness to it that I like.
Juicy in its´ best description !
The heart goes calmer , where I find the orchid taking the lead, but choclate?
The wooden/ leather base is still helped up by some sweet notes but gets more tart in the end.
I love the fact that it opens sweet and bright and ends in the woods – a powdery wood…
Just the place to be…..for a wood lover !
So overall – a really nice scent, the minus could be that we already have had some of these type of scents on the market for a while….
But from them all I picked this and I ‘ m happy with my choice,
it’ s a sweetnes I can tolerate without the headache factor and I really enjoy the drydown !
Update…
Yesterday I found out they brought Escadas Taj Sunset back on market on peoples request – guess what , with having only one note ( sandalwood) similar the fruity opening reminded me of this. I guess that is sad for this house cause Escadas probably cheaper and Taj Sunset the most beloved flanker. I love this and will enjoy every drop. It suits me well though a little linear for beeing a perfume from this well known house. Can add I have the edp…
Danehaopujmce – :
I’m not sure if I like this or not. Two words I’d use to describe it are bitter and fruity – maybe that’s the odd combination of leather and pear?
I do think it smells quite glamorous and agree it would work well for nights out.
Rebz1984 – :
It leaves me wondering too what Extatic is all about!? First the cashmere and leather dominate, with sone pear in the background, and that combination doesn’t work well in my opinion , it creates some disharmony in the scent, which is a messy mix of everything..It disappears real fast, leaving a faint trace of woodsy floral..plus the Amyris gives it a weird edge..
I was expected a lot more than that!! Especially from Balmain..the nose behind it got carried away putting this, adding that..not impressed in the end..
It reminds me of Jimmy Choo, in the mix of woods and fruits..
If you are looking for an unusual scent, Extatic might work for you..
Faundadia – :
Sexy woody scent, like Saturday evening night at a dancing club, a bit animal and quite warm due to cashmere wood. I can’t smell much floral notes, to be honest. Only orchid is more prominent, well blended with woods.
Scent for a bold woman, I would say.
Update: I’ve tested it again, it’s deep pleasant woody with a bit of flowers.
rumz – :
As a lover of the older Balmain perfumes, I was eager to try this.
The initial spray left me perplexed as to the notes.
The only way I can describe this is a mixture of pleasant smelling notes that don’t actually smell of anything other than unidentifiable florals to me. I’m sorry to be so vague in a review, but I really couldn’t put my finger on what this actually is. I can smell fruity florals but perhaps my inexperience can’t identify the notes. The smell is nice enough, but it’s certainly not what I expected from Balmain either.
It starts off as a typical crowd pleaser, woody in a pencil shavings sort of way and slightly spicy/floral.
The secret of this perfume is in the drydown. I was not expecting this perfume to morph into anything other than nice, but meh, but OMG! What a surprise this had in store for me!
After an hour or so this perfume becomes everything that I would expect from. Balmain. Chic French sophistication, gorgeous aroma of fruit, wood and slightly spicy, but all done in a very elegant way.
The dry down is much nicer, as this morphs into a sweet, spicy, woodyness,
Longevity on me is pretty good, it’s still going strong after about 4 hours and silage is average.
My conclusion is that despite the negative reviews, this is a beautiful and typically elegant French perfume, created under the umbrella of a highly respected perfume house.
Please try and work with this perfume for the reward that you will reap from it. It’s worth the wait.
surikm1946 – :
Extatic? Oh, please…
This is irritating, synthetic smell. Powdery, cheap smell.
I won’t even bother describing it. Not worth it.
The only thing nice here is the bottle.
saturn – :
It has a strong initial blast, then quickly becomes strong flowers (like a short-lived YSL), then powdery (a faint bottega venetta), then ugly. Its shampoo with powder….. waste of money. In 30 minutes I dont know what it is ! weird perfume
петя95 – :
Initial description of notes sounds very promising – a floral chocolate plus leather. Could be very good.
Very disappointed. Tried it today. Didn’t last ten minutes on my skin. Left only the faintest trace of a vaguely floral shower gel, and then only if I buried my nose into my wrist. My friends among the sales staff had same experience. With some imagination, I could sense the chocolate floral note, but all much too faint.