Scent Intense (2002)
by Costume National

Hibiscus is listed in the pyramid for Scent Intense (and a few other scents), which I find puzzling, because I've never known hibiscus to have a fragrance. Perhaps it's some obscure variety I've not encountered. Anyhow, Scent Intense does begin with a floral/tea accord, as has been abundantly pointed out here. I do get some jasmine in there, I think. The base is a rich, dry and to my nose, somewhat salty amber. Red is the colour that comes to mind, for some reason. An earlier review mentions "olive tapenade", which I must admit I kind of relate to. When I first sniffed Scent Intense, I kept thinking of rich, tomatoe pasta sauce. That said, there is nothing about this fragrance that can in any way be called "gourmand".

I do find some of reviewers' observations surprising - I do not, for instance, get a hint of vanilla (thankfully) out of Scent Intense, nor would I describe it as particularly musky. I don't quite understand how one reviewer describes it as "uninteresting" yet refers to it as having "fascinating traits" in the next sentence. Most puzzling of all, those comments that Scent Intense wears close to the skin, and has poor longevity. I find quite the opposite.

I get great sillage and longevity from this. In fact, I rarely ever get comments on what I'm wearing but I found that people were sniffing the air around me asking, "oh I smell something." It's good. Slightly vanilla with a slight spice to it with amber. Definitely a unisex. I can't compare it to the normal Scent for intensity difference.

For an EDP, I expected a more interesting drydown. Instead, all I got was a very sweet and generic amber-woody whisper on my skin. Longevity and sillage could have been a lot better.

A wasted opportunity...

This review is under revision.

After all the hyperbolic praise heaped upon Scent Intense, I was expecting something controversial and exciting. I imagined a work of blazing originality, something so bold and distinctive that I'd either adore it or despise it. Guess what? It's OK in my book, but just OK, and certainly not some sort of olfactory breakthrough.

Scent Intense goes on as a very sweet, fruity amber. The berry note is very bright and clear in contrast to the rich, dark amber, and the two are almost entirely unblended. I find the resulting accord decidedly synthetic and excessively sweet.

The syrupy opening is very persistent, and it's a solid three or four hours before an exotic floral element (hibiscus, I presume,) distinguishes itself. The floral note is soon followed by some incense and a nicely rendered dry wood, but these are not suffficient to balance out the overwhelming sweetness.

The drydown is amber and woods, still quite sweet and a little bit powdery, and not at all unusual. Yes, there's some incense in Scent Intense, but I still see it as a straightforward ambery oriental, and a rather simple one at that. I'm certainly not going to throw away my Musc Ravageur for this.

Wonderful stuff. Smells a lot like Michael Kors for men.