Note Pyramid
Intenso
Set beside the citrus and sunshine that made the house famous, Dolce and Gabbana Intenso Eau de Parfum is the odd one out, and easily the most serious masculine fragrance it has released.
The opening is aromatic and slightly bracing. Lavender and basil arrive together, one clean and camphorous, the other green and peppery, with geranium adding a crushed leaf sharpness that has a faint rosiness behind it. Marigold is the unexpected choice, bitter and herbal with a honeyed thickness, and it is what tells you early that this is not going to be a conventional barbershop fragrance.
The middle is where it earns its name. Tobacco comes forward as dried leaf rather than smoke, dark and slightly sweet, and hay is laid in alongside it with the dusty, sun dried warmth of a barn in late summer. Clary sage ties them together, nutty and herbal and a little savoury. This section is thick and genuinely unusual for a designer release.
Underneath, sandalwood and cypress give it structure, the sandalwood creamy and the cypress dry and resinous, almost green. Musk softens the edges, amber lends a warm dusty glow, and labdanum deepens everything with a sticky, leathery sweetness. The trail is heavy and comfortable rather than sharp.
It dates from 2014 and remains one of the better value propositions in the designer aisle, because very little else at the price smells like this. Cold weather suits it, as does the evening, and it is aimed at men. Dolce and Gabbana is the Italian house founded in 1985 by Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, who continue to direct it, while its fragrance, makeup and skincare have been licensed exclusively worldwide to Shiseido since October 2016 and run out of Paris.
Please note: images are a guide only. Packaging and bottle design may occasionally differ from those shown due to manufacturer updates or promotions.
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