Reviews of L'Eau d'Issey pour Homme Intense by Issey Miyake

I have read the scent profile, but I am getting a predominantly green, sharp, (lovely) bitter barbershop fragrance. I don't get any "citrus blast", though the citrus contributes by lightening the herbal accord. If I had blind guessed, I would have suspected some wormwood (artemesia) or even ginseng - that type of herbal bite. This primary profile continues with impressive duration (though just more-than-moderate projection), with the incense and amber notes increasing at around the 90 minute mark, smoothing and warming this into something really beautiful and with a nice complexity. I think you need to be over 30 to pull this off, and it is not a compliment-puller, though it is office safe. The scent says that you know who you are, you aren't reliant on other people's opinions. It would work formal, casual or rugged, so it is very versatile. Really nice.

The incense here really slaps. I dig it. A perfect rainy day fragrance. Perks you up but puts you in a contemplative mood.

Short of the peppery citrus blast of the original, this doesn’t remind me of the OG.. This reminds me of a modernized - and somewhat dialed down - Ted Lapidus Pour Homme. With incense!

And that’s a very good thing indeed.

The opening is a citrus blast, with mandarin, tangerine, orange and bergamot combining in citrus glory. A bit of yuzu is peaking rim through now and then, but is lacks the gorgeously refreshing brightness of the original L'Eau d'Issey.

The drydown adds florals - Lotus and whiffs of oleander - as well as gentle spices - cardamom and nutmeg, which are restrained though, and a spiced-up saffron that is being infused some sweetness due to a smidgeon of cinnamon.

An ambery bright incense heralds the onset of the base; whose main impression is constituted of notes of old paper, dusty books in an old library, and papyrus, with another set of notes being added towards the end - mainly a surprisingly soft benzoin, with is given more depth by just a pinch of a saltiness that is the hallmark of a synthetic ambergris-equivalent.

I get moderate sillage, good projection and six hours of longevity on my skin.

A bright and summery scent, but this flanker is less vibrant and overall more generic than the original. Still, a pleasant and inoffensive creation for warmer days. 2.75/5

this is definetely a scent for the c o l d seasons - it has almost nothing in common with the original and quite unique l'Eau d'Issey Pour Homme, which in my opinion is a perfect summer night scent

this one lives from green cedar needles and wood, green tangerine, saffron, a hint of tobacco and musk - I quite like it for the cold and grey weather during fall

.green spicy warmth.

Bold turbocharged retake of the original L'Eau d'Issey pour Homme. This Intense version doesn't come across as dark per se; rather a richer, deeper formulation with the following notes in the triangle:

Top - tangerine, yuzu, bergamot, orange
Heart - nutmeg, blue lotus, cinnamon, saffron, cardamom
Base - amber, papyrus, benzoin, incense, grey ambergris

As can be imagined, the introductory spray is a citrus face smack! The yuzu comes across as starchy-thick. Heart notes contain a similar formula of ingredients as with the original, along with fancy lotus (can't detect it because I don't know what it smells like) and cardamom for a mentholated touch.

This flanker may not be for everyone; it has a thick feel that is unlike the airy, aromatic fresh quality of the original.

Peppery, fresh and clean but too much bitterness, not enough sweet-citrus for me to enjoy in the beginning. Maybe I'm just wishing it was more like the non-intense version, which I do like very much.

Feels like a dressed up version of the original, as if Intense was what you wear to formal events. More green and bitter, less citrusy sweet.

The drydown is very nice. Sweeter but still plenty of clean freshness. This does smell more like the original. Also, better longevity than the original. Does not project as well as the original, low projection throughout on my skin.

All I can say is this fragrance is right up my alley and just the way I like my fragrances, bold and outstanding.To my nose this is definitely a jacked-up version of the original but with an undertone of a familiar note from Armani Code.

This is some strong stuff. Nothing like the original to me. Starts to get into 80's powerhouse territory for me. Almost too intense for the first hour, however the drydown is very nice. Not a work cologne to me, this would be a Sunday afternoon chillin by yourself scent... Probably not full bottle worthy.

What the hell is this? Did we really need an *Intense* version of something that it was already exhausting in the first place?

No, we didn't.

Screechy, sharp, sticky and intrusive woody-citrus with a incensey facet. As powerful as plutonium and just as bad.

EW!

Starts off with a mix of spice (pepper and cardamom) and hints of oak, tobacco and talcum powder. Dries down with more musk and vanilla, but with spicy undertones. After a couple of hours, the spice wears down with the musk/vanilla remaining, with the woodiness returning.

Solid projection, longevity (12+ hours) and sillage, without being overpowering. It's a mature scent; definitely for men 30+. It smells 'corporate' (for want of a better word), and it also smells like quality. Good for the office, as well as Friday after-work drinks. Could be worn all year round, but probably slightly more suitable for autumn/winter.

Overall, it's a little more complex that I expected. I like it.

This fragrance makes me think of two things: the first thought is of an alpha male, like, say, a boss. I mean any kind of a bossy, dominant male. The second thought that comes to my mind when smelling L'eau D'Issey Intense is business negotiations, so that makes another business-linked thought, which cannot be a coincidence. It so happens that IM LDI is a strong, straight out masculine woody oriental that, luckily, has little in common with his headache-inducing older brother L'Eau D'Issey.
After the initial spray I detect citrus and nutmeg, but quickly incense starts to play first fiddle and takes over the business. And I mean business, because this fragrance does its job perfectly. In a room among other fragrances it may take on even beasts like 1 Million, since it can be quite powerful with more than 3 sprays (although closer to the skin than 1 Million), and it last for ages (I can still smell it on my shirt 3 days after appyling 4 sprays on my body). What's more interesting about this fragrance is that while being woody and a tad cloying, instead of warmth associated with the ingredients, this concotion seems kind of official and cold in a corporate sort of way. Anyway - thumbs up for this one! It's a wonderful juice.

While people say it's very similar to the original I'm not agree with them and to my nose it's something different with only a few similarities.
The opening of this fragrance is smoky incense note with very light woodsy notes in the background. the famous floral notes of Issey Miyake house is there and noticeable sweetness following the other notes.
The floral notes exist and this is the part that people may compare it to the original, but because of other notes the floral notes smell different than the original. at least to my nose!
In the mid the incense settles down and you can smell stronger woodsy notes mixed with floral notes and more sweetness.
In the base you have light floral and woodsy notes and the smell changes to a soapy scent.
Projection and longevity is good but it's not great.
Good juice which is pleasant and quality but there is nothing really unique or exciting about it.

A whole different version of the original (not a bad thing at all). I guess the reason why it was named Issey Miyake Intense was for marketing purposes. A much darker version and you really have to smell hard to get any traces of the original. Not as citrusy and green as the original. More woods and a dose of incense make this one a more mature version of the original. 8/10

The waters of IsseyI have been slightly confused by this fragrance. Within my age bracket, I have received quite a few compliments. However, milfs practically rain compliments upon me while I wear this one AKA it has the La Nuit de L'homme effect. This is to older women what Abercrombie is to teeners. A more serious approach would say that this is an incense bomb. Top notes are just smoke and incense. On the dry down, it retains that and more of a "birch" or woody scent and light incense. It is very synthetic, but that doesnt matter. No one comes up to you to tell you that you smell synthetic anyways. Projection is good and the silage trail is excellent. It does not "oppress" everyone around you, which is a conservative effect I would want from a fragrance. Lasts about 6 hours on my skin which is decent, but nothing amazing. Basically, if you don't like what you smell after the first 30 seconds, you will probably not like this fragrance's dry down. It just becomes a woodier version of the same thing. The rating I am giving it reflects the amount of compliments alone. The rest of the scent is okay, but just how women seem to "get off" and go out of their way to say "hey, what is that?" is second to the likes of Pure Malt.Pros: Compliment getter, great bang for buckCons: Comes off as sterile, linear dry-down"

Wet Ashes Odd without being weird. It's wearable in the most conservative sense, yet isn't expected. Powdery yet bitter. Dirty in a non-animalic way – by way of actual dirt, not mammalian fluids. Stoic and emotionless. If this were a color I'd say it's fluorescent brown, an impossible, contradictory color. It's smokey while at the same time having a cold buzz about it. Something like a fever if a fever could be pleasant. It's ashes and embers still warm from last night's campfire, lifting vapors through a cold foggy morning. It's Twain's joke about San Francisco summers being the coldest winters he'd ever experienced. It's sunglasses and a wool sweater. Petrified wood. Janus. Good summer fragrance for those who prefer winter fragrance. It lasts all day and changes very little, very slowly, backwards. I think architects would like this.Pros: Longevity WearabilityCons: Emotionless"

Smokier, darker version of the original. The first hour feels too harsh and dirty, but thankfully it develops into something more balanced and enjoyable. The basenotes turn out to be very nice indeed. This is no teenage fragrance. It will suit the more mature lads in my opinion because of the smokey, darker vibe. Very good projection and longevity.

Almost a thumbs up, if it wasn't that bitter, harsh first hour.

Great scent, should have better sillage and duration. Anyway makes me feel good!

I think my skin must have totaled this one. There is a monstrous and looming cilantro note that pervades every phase of the scent, like an obnoxious youth in the olfactory equivalent of 'photo-bombing.' There is a light, powdery lemon and chocolate smell underneath, kind of like a softer Hanae Mori, and some light woods, but this just isn't working out for me.

I had high hopes for this one - it smells great, but it has no longevity, and within no more than 2 hours in turns into a skin scent. So definitely for those get close evenings - otherwise save your money and look elsewhere.

For me, the recipe for this flanker is as follows: original Issey infused with a dark, smokey incense base, with dry herbal, woodsy mid notes. But there is no boring cedar here. The devil in this is the astringent-like high floral top note that can scream like a banshee. I shelved this fragrance for a couple of years. This weekend, I was spring cleaning and took this out to revisit. I was pleasantly surprised. This is a dirty, herbal fragrance for a weekend. Do not use at the office. And it lasts for ages. I can detect it the morning after on my clothing. In a nutshell, it is a citrusy fragrance that is quickly overpowered by a tart, floral mid, which is then very well anchored with charred herbs and smoke as the base. I am digging this now. Intense, indeed.

This scent just keeps projecting and project esp in hot weathers.

This is for you if l'eau d'issey turns too sour on you

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.

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.