L'Eau d'Issey pour Homme Intense (2007)
by Issey Miyake

Just great! I can't stop smelling it again and again. It is so original and different... And much more for man than original one.

12nd September, 2011.

Having just reviewed the original, I'm now exploring its even stranger flanker. The opening is very nice: a just slightly sweetened cedarwood, like Azzaro Visit or Gucci Rush but without any of their harshness. I suspect the sweetness comes from violet, which I don't normally like but I can deal with such a small amount for now. The middle becomes sweeter still (though still not much compared to most of the competition) and presents more dried leaves and twigs than cedar; here the two scents have diverged enough in the ratios of their notes to be in different categories altogether. One problem here, though, is that what little astringence there is is more of a nose-burn than in the original. The vague purple aura of violets annoys me more in the base, even though it still contributes very little sweetness. Sniffing back at the original, I'm disappointed that the Intense lacks that specific type of sharpness which I liked so much, though I can respect the dirt and wood that it adds in its place. I'm giving it a neutral thumb because I'm not quite sure on what terms to evaluate it. Definitely more outdoorsy and less mechanical than the original.

5th September, 2011.

L'eau D'Issey Intense, is intense only in the first 10 or 20 minutes, where there is an explosion of fruity aromas mixed with some delicate floral notes. After this time, the scent is close to the skin. It is much like the original version, but here, the smell of Frankincense provides a darker, why not, more masculine smell, unlike its predecessor that in my view, was completely unisex.

Anyway, L'eau D'Issey Intense is a good choice for someone who liked the original but felt it needed a deeper tone in the formula.

21st August, 2011.

A shadowy, bit dark, amber, incensey l'Eau d'issey with the prickly edge of cardamom and less flowers in composition. The starting is spicy and off putting, different from the beginning of its predecessor cause the pungent temperament of spices starts rising immediately from the back, making less airy and cloudy the fragrance. The base is that kind of the smooth heavy chypre. The outcome is an hybrid, a sort of moody, spicy and woody aquatic with a metallic starting trait, an incensed dusty soul and with a smoother base (grey amber and benzoin).

3rd February, 2011. (Last Edited: 13rd July, 2011.)

The scent seeks to be "warm and noble." Not really.
Has an interesting spicy-incense opening which is quite different from the Pour Homme (regular).
Then from time to time there is an vague and odd perfumey-plasticine note.
A bit aquatic and fresh, in the tiresome way that so many CB I Hate Perfumes have -- a metallic, shallow note.

13rd December, 2010. (Last Edited: 4th March, 2011.)

Another GREAT gentleman's cologne from Issey!!!

26th August, 2010.