Jungle pour Homme
Kenzo (1998)

This fragrance is based on a combination of nutmeg, cardamom, and wood notes with a touch of citrus to give it a fresh feel. It's not overpowering or heavy, making it a great option for those who prefer more subtle woody scents. If you're interested in more wood-focused fragrances, Azzaro Visit might be a better option, although I don't find the two scents very similar. While this fragrance isn't particularly groundbreaking or unique, it offers a simple yet pleasant blend of woods and spices. However, the only downside is its poor performance.

This Sonata for Three Woods is a strange beast. It opens with a fizzy and very sweet Atlas Cedar (which I think smells of urinal Cake); this is modulated through the amber-like tones of Gaiac wood, and then you have the ordinary dry woodiness of Cedar.

This may not sound like much, but it's one of the weirdest woody scents you could ever smell.

At the start it's bizarre, and just too sweet. But - as time goes on - it gets more ordinary, and salubrious ... 'til you want to know every detail - every texture of what it's got to say: he's a real Silver-tongued Charmer - as an Ozzie friend once put it.

With a scent like toilet bowl and toffee, Jungle Homme is a man you don't meet every day.

From December, 2014:

Does somebody in this jungle have dysentery?

The opening to this is horrible. It really kind of stands out as a disaster among the many fragrances I've tried. A brief flash of lime and cedar turn into a sour, sweaty mash-up of B.O., rotten fruit, and fetid chaos. At first it was mildly revolting--an unpleasant smell of body odor which sometimes occurs when cumin, carraway, or in this case, ambrette seeds are used. I don't like that, but it's tolerable. You see it in Declaration, Rose 31, Carbon, etc. However, it's like the lime note suddenly decayed before my eyes a la time lapse photography and went from fresh, to sour, to overripe, and finally to something completely rotten and putrid. Blending with the ambrette seeds, this made for an awful stench.

Anyway, that all happens in about 5 minutes. The one thing that really impresses me about this, in spite of its questionable opening, is that the ambiance of the fragrance actually reflects a jungle's climate quite realistically. It's humid, almost sweltering, and exudes a damp, dank heat. So I have to give credit to Olivier Cresp for accomplishing this. It's kind of impressive. How many fragrances usually nail their environment dead-on like that? Not a lot.

As it settles in, the lime drifts pretty far to the background and Jungle becomes more of a wood and nutmeg fragrance. It's nice. The woods are soft, creamy, and warm, keeping in tune with the jungle theme. It's that cedar/sandalwood/vetiver blend which sort of smells like all of them and none of them at the same time--an accord that you can pick apart into each component if you wish, but is probably easier left as is--a pleasant "woody" base that does its job well. The nutmeg is spicy and a little sweaty. It's not overpowering. It compliments the woods well, and gives them a spicy character.

At last, everything rests in a soft cushion of benzoin, with its mellow vibration creating a relaxing, tranquil aura. Benzoin has that slightly sweet vanillic smell and it works harmoniously with the woods and nutmeg described earlier.

What a strange fragrance! I started off kind of hating it, and by now I kind of love it. In fact, I'm sort of looking forward to experiencing its awful opening again. Sometimes when you know such a bizarre opening is short-lived, and that what follows is pleasant and good and interesting, it doesn't bother you as much. Harsh openings sometimes even make for the best openings over time.

So would I wear this on a first date? Probably not. But once it settles in Jungle smells good and doesn't really have anything offensive about it. However, it remains interesting. I think you could wear this any time of year, in a casual situation or when you feel like wearing something for yourself. It's too strange to be a formal frag and it's too cool to wear to work. Longevity is excellent, and projection is moderate. If you've ever smelled Burberry London or Pal Zileri's Sartoriale, Jungle's dry down has characteristics of each.

So in the end, Jungle has won me over. I'm still skeptical about its first 5 minutes, but I'll be damned if this fragrance doesn't have character. Cresp nailed the jungle's atmosphere and the fragrance became more and more appealing with each new development.

Thumbs up and a Tarzan scream for this unique offering by Kenzo.

This is a surprisingly nice fragrance from Kenzo. Although considering the price perhaps it should be.
It starts off as a tutti fruitti hit of lime. Rather feminine and off putting but this rapidly settles into a more smoky spicy yet paradoxically fresh aroma with the lime nestling coyly in its arms winking at you.
I am note sure what it is but there is something lacking. Either a lack of harmony or an innate cheapness of ingredients. It lacks class.
As it is inoffensive its a safe any time scent for the teens and twenties yet considering the price it is unlikely they are the target market.

Good try Kenzo.

Fragrance: 3/5
Projection: 4/5
Longevity: 4/5

Kenzo Jungle opens with a powerful sweet lime and cedarwood combination with nuances of nutmeg and other spices following through as the lime calms down alongside the cedarwood. I have a keen like for this scent due to its understated and relaxed personality.
Despite, its calm nature, the cool-airy nutmeg and followed by the cinnamon give it a wild edge; something that turns this otherwise simple scent into something mysterious. It is not a dark fragrance, and it does not need to be to be mysterious, instead, I believe the mystery lies in the perfect balance between the sweet and airy lime and lemon top notes and the heart; the Myristica Fragrans note, supported by the masculinity of the woody base.

I have given the projection of this fragrance 5 stars only because I do not in the slightest care about anyone else smelling me. I wear this fragrance purely because of the way it makes me feel and that is the way I desire for it to be.
I am satisfied with the longevity too because I am simply addicted to the invigorating top notes of this fragrance.

Iconic pretty exotic musky blend of mellow/tropical fruits, citrus, mild woods, "aromatics", luxuriant spices and balsams. A wild "Amazonian" sweetly musky semi-oriental. I get for a while a vague mohito's initial "fizzy" effect. Vibrant, vivid jump on the "caribbean "jungle's" microcosm. I detect a vague "candied" burnt sugar/ripe fruits-association conjuring me slightly the typical Cacharel Eden's wild-tropical twist. I get as well a vague Feminite du Bois/Fille en Aiguilles's "Lutenesque" spark from the impenetrable forest. Jungle is anyway lighter and more "sultry". Erotic. Excellent for a reggaeton dance in smoky club of L'Havana or for a rave beach summer party of the southern lands. Visceral but decidedly chic/glamour all at once (possessing an urban-chic character ofter opposite to a chaotic "sexy sultriness"). Finally I get a spicy sort of "starry-chic" (almost anisic/minty) candied cool synth undertone. I quite enjoy this kind of visceral juices guys.