Premier Figuier Extrême
L'Artisan Parfumeur (2003)

I’ve actually never tried the original Premier Figuier, but the Extreme version was one of the first perfumes I sampled when I started out in this hobby a little over 10 years ago. I love it, and keep going back and forth on whether I prefer it to Philosykos. Philosykos is woodier in the drydown, especially the EDP, while PFE has touches of coconut and fruit, and comes off a little cleaner and fresher, and better suited to summer wear.

A great fragrance from l’Artisan - supposedly one of their bestsellers, so hopefully they never discontinue it.

P.S. This review is for the older version, with the green label on the bottle. Hopefully it hasn’t changed too much.

A gauzy woody that wears cool and summery, and requires abundant spraying, the EDP designation notwithstanding. Drier, less sappy than Giacobetti's other fig – Philosykos – but also sadly with a somewhat more subdued personality. This is so discreet and ‘office friendly' many will find it timid.
The notes are fine – a fig theme that is more about the tree than the fruit, traces of something grassy and herbal (almost like purslane), coconut foam so light it shouldn't really bother those who hate the sun tan lotion associations, all wrapped at first in a dryness that cautions you not to light a match. Slowly that parched feel eases and we are in the cool shade of a fig tree, with a coy sweetness playing hide and seek at the heart.

Premier Figuier Extreme by L`Artisan Parfumeur was initially a disappointment because all I could smell was the lactonic sandalwood found in Bios Farine. The coconut-covered fig was screaming for help and the whole thing was becoming a little mushy; it just didn't lift off the skin the way I imagined it would. It is true--PFE is lacking acidity and I can't detect a fluttering floral note to save my life. I think that the problem is that after smelling the bombastic Technicolor creature known as Womanity, I expected the fig to punch me in the face and take over my soul. Unfortunately, I am not able to wear Womanity because the salty aquatic note turns into terrible cheese on my skin. So, as a fig lover, I am happy to wear PFE because it smells good and gives me a fig fix–it's just a soft, sweet oriental that wears close to the skin, not a woody aromatic that leaves a bright green trail.

This makes me wonder about where the true innovation lies. Is it with the original 1994 PF or with the 2010 creature known as Womanity? Like it or not, Womanity is a memorable experience while PF seems understated and almost meek.

3.5/5

It's immediately apparent that this one is quite different from the original Premier Figuier. It's much woodier, & I could swear there's patchouli here, or perhaps massoia bark. In fact I detect strong similarities with Hermessence Santal Massoia. It's not at all cool or green, but peppery. It quickly settles close to the skin, slowly becoming more creamy & fruity, & ever so slightly smoky, until it reaches a creamy sweet phase around ninety minutes in that I really enjoy. From here it fades to a woody base with a trace of dry coconut, barely there after eight hours.
I find this more on the masculine side than the original, & although I enjoy the drydown, the opening phase isn't what I'm looking for in a fig fragrance.

Genre: Woods

Not so much “extreme” when compared to the original Primier Figuier as sweeter and tangier, Primier Figuier Extrême aligns more closely with the fig-as-fruit style of Heeley's Figuier and Parfumerie Générale's Jardins de Kerylos than with Giacobetti's woody, sappy Philosykos. In fact, I'd rate Premier Figuier Extrême as the most unambiguously crisp, fruity, and floral of Giacobetti's fig triplets. That makes it by default my favorite of the three, for as much as I admire Philosykos, there's something overly emphatic about its milky texture that sits uncomfortably on my skin.

This is very close to a real fig leaf. The problem with real fig leaves is that they have a hint of ash reminiscent of inhaling from an ashtray - almost makes me unable to breathe for part of a second. This, combined with the sandalwood, gives this perfume an overly smokey quality to my nose that goes all the way until the end of the dry down. I'm sure many will like it, but it's just not for me.