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oooooh so I got this on eBay for less than £20 in the week of it's release. It feels almost, warehouse rave, punk style launch, like you get the tickets and then ring up for a location in a field near Milton Keynes or something? Some people weren't even sure if these were a legit, real launch from Guy Laroche, like someone just mocked up a new fragrance to sell on eBay. haha Imagine that. But no....it's here it's real, and it's a real.....disappointment. Naaaah only kidding, it's pretty good all things considered. My memories of Drakkar Noir are pretty faded but not enough to completely forget them and this Intense definitively has a feel of the Drakkar noir to it. Hold your horses though Houdini!!! This is Drakkar INTENSE, a flanker to the original Drakkar (yes that's a thing) and NOT the wildly more popular and iconic at this point, Noir version. Yeah well I've never tried the original Drakkar and neither has any other human being I've ever encountered. Is it still in production? I've never even seen one, have you? Anyway this has a pleasant sort of green opening, there's a herbal quality to it and it smells familiar and sort of soapy linalool, lavender soap on a smorgasbord of earthy & wet, ranging to warmer and sweeter leather. It's actually quite a reminder of a Lynx from the 90's (I want to say Alaska?) I think that perhaps will mislead you into thinking this is nicer than it is. I think it's nicer than 80% of new releases these days but it's still not great. It feels cheap, because it was/is cheap. There's reward in the drydown though, reasonable depth and a liberal application meant that it lasted well and transitioned to soft, masculine tones on my skin and clothes.
Spray it then leave it for a year and it will perform excellently. This is a real bargain, providing a modern twist on the familiar barbershop masculine. The opening may seem a bit harsh, but it develops into a really lovely perfume, with natural smelling lavender, plus all the notes listed above, but also a semi-soupy tonka-ish base. The sugary soup doesn't dominate and is made less crass by the spices and herbs. I don't wear it often as I don't tend towards this type of scent but when I do I'm always surprised again by how good it is.