Scent Intense (2002)
by Costume National

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...

[Original submission date: 27 May 2008]

Costume National Scent Intense

Laurent Bruyere designed Costume National Scent Intense in 2002, sadly he passed away at the age of 43 in 2008. Many will likely remember him as the co-designer with Dominique Ropion of Thierry Mugler Alien. I will choose to remember him for his line of perfumes made for Costume National of which Scent Intense is my favorite. When I was early on in my perfume discovery phase I was looking for a different kind of amber. Scent Intense was recommended because it was simple and led to a different kind of amber at the end. That advice was spot on. M. Bruyere uses as his inspiration for the entire Scent line that of hibiscus. Growing up in S. Florida we had many hibiscus growing in our yard and neighborhood. I was dubious that the very delicate sweet scent of these flowers could be captured in a scent. In Scent Intense the top is a smoky tea note with a very delicate floral character to it. The note list identifies it as "jasmine tea" but the usual intense sweetness of jasmine is tamped way down in favor of the tea. It is that supression of the sweet which allows the hibiscus note to float free in the heart of this. This is as I remember hibiscus smelling on a humid morning in my yard. Very delicate and yet unmistakably floral in nature. the tea combines beautifully with this and allows the delicacy of the hibiscus a platform to radiate from and shine. The base is a warm amber which is the appropriate soft landing for this scent. There are some woods off in the distance but the base is really all about the amber, on me. Scent Intense is another of these scented haiku which manage to do with four notes what many other scents fail to do with the kitchen sink.

Costume National's Scent Intense is a mysterious, naughty, dark, haunting, swoon-worthy and surreal brew. It's hard to verbalize but there is definitely a 'something' about this scent.

this is a really mediocre scent. and WAY too feminine for a guy to comfortably wear, in my opinion. I got the impression that this was gonna be dark and mysterious-----however all i see in this fragrance is PINK. A floral amber, which doesn't really carry any sort of guts within it---just sort of floats around with no real focus. FAIL.

Scent Intense binds with its rich tea opening and holds one captive for the whole ride. As it evolves a sweet floral accord presents but never dominates, this is not a cloying fragrance. The dry woody amber surfaces and stays to the end. It is rich and resinous but it isn't a screamer; it speaks strongly but does not need to shout. Other reviewers mention the word "dark", I get that association.
So well blended it encapsulates the wearer with an aura of sexy sophistication. That, is what makes this scent unique in my mind and an immediate placing in my top five.
The longevity and sillage are good, what a find!

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.