My brother is a very impulsive person. He can be annoying at times, but we still love him all the same. One such show of his impulsiveness happened when he called me in the middle of the night to tell me he had found a great perfume. He was on a business trip in Milan, Italy, where he came across a newly released fragrance by Prada called the “L’Homme Intense.” Disregarding the difference in our time zones, he had called me up to tell me he had parcelled a bottle of the fragrance to me.
The Italian fashion house Prada was founded way back in 1913 by brothers Mario Prada and Martino Prada. What had started as a leather goods shop in Milan, Italy, has become one of the most renowned fashion houses across the world. Still headquartered in Milan, the house of Prada has long since expanded the range of products it sells to its international customer base. Prada now offers travel accessories, perfumes, ready-to-wear apparel, jewellery, leather handbags, shoes etc.
The L’Homme Intense for Men was released in 2017 as a flanker of the original L’Homme fragrance, released a year prior. The brilliant mind of the Givaudan perfumer, Daniela (Roche) Andrier, was behind the creation of both these perfumes. This particular Eau de Parfum came in three different sizes – namely 50 ml, 100 ml and 150 ml. I decided to get a 100 ml bottle for myself.
The perfume got delivered to me within 8 business days, which pleased me. I quickly paid the delivery man and got back to my room to test out this fragrance, which my brother kept hyping up.
Once I opened the outer cardboard box and got rid of the confetti placed inside to keep the perfume safe, I briskly took the actual perfume box out. It was a rectangular cuboid that was black and silver. The top and bottom of the box were silver, while the middle was black. A silver font read out, “L’Homme – Prada Milan,” on the top part of the black background at the front. Below that, the brand logo was printed in the same silver colour. Near the bottom of the black background, a small, silver box was printed upon which the word “Intense” was printed in black font. The words, “Eau de Parfum – Vaporisateur Spray – 100 ml 3.4 fl. oz.” were engraved on the silver part at the bottom of the front side. The bottom of the box contained the ingredient list, serial number, QR code, bar code, and other information I ignored. The sides of the box were engraved with the perfume name, brand name and brand logo.
Opening the box, I slipped the bottle out of its confinement. The bottle was made of opaque black glass. It was irregularly shaped. From the front, it looked to be a standard rectangular bottle. However, the back was rounded to seem like a dome. The front side had the brand name and logo printed in silver. The bottom of the bottle had a black sticker containing information about the perfume in silver text. The cap was silver in colour and clicked into place securely. It had the brand name engraved on its top side.
Andrier had used a very small selection of six ingredients to formulate this Eau de Parfum. The top note was made purely from iris. The middle notes included patchouli and amber. Wrapping up the base notes were leather, sandalwood and tonka beans.
I could instantly identify the earthy and powdery notes of the iris coming out to play when I first sprayed it on. As it settled and drifted around in the air, I started to detect the woody and dark patchouli mixed with the warm and resinous amber. It was somewhat difficult for me to pick out the scents of the two middle notes separately at first due to how well-blended they were. The rich aroma of leather was enchanting to smell as it swirled around the milky soft, and oriental woody notes of the sandalwood and the sweet tonka beans. Altogether, the perfume did live up to its name of being an intense version of the original one. Since I had tried out the original version of L’Homme before, I could tell that this version is a little bit sweeter than the previous version. The sweetness, however, did not make the fragrance smell any less delightful for me.
However, it could be a little overpowering or headache-inducing for people who have a low tolerance for strong scents.
When I wore the fragrance out the next day, I received a myriad of compliments about it. I was a little shocked and overwhelmed by how much attention a simple perfume was getting me. A lot of people described the fragrance to be “pleasant,” “leathery,” “earthy, “incredible”, and “captivating.” Another surprising factor about this formula is longevity. The Eau de Parfum lasts a very long time on my skin and clothes. I can spritz it on in the morning and come back home in the evenings without having to reapply the fragrance. Speaking of returning home, the silage of the intense version also happens to be stronger than the original one. Even hours after being sprayed on, the scent continues to linger in the air. Personally, I have also found the fragrance to feel powdery on my skin which I love instead of the sticky feeling some perfumes tend to give upon coming in contact with the skin.
Overall, the fragrance was an absolute win for me, and I heartily thanked my brother for sending me the bottle. The scent is better worn during the winter and fall and possibly in the spring too. If you are looking for a summer fragrance, I would suggest trying something else out that is citrusy and would help block out sweat odour. The fragrance also happens to be suitable for all occasions, so I never have to rethink my choice when I spray it on for any event I am going to.
Conclusion
Here are my preferred ratings for this exceptional Eau de Parfum:
Fragrance 9/10
Bottle 7.5/10
Longevity 9/10
Silage 8.5/10
Overall 8.5/10
Here is a quick summary of my review of the L’Homme Intense for Men (2017) by Prada to cut a long story short.
The Pros are:
- It is from a world-famous fashion house.
- It has an attention-grabbing and enchanting scent.
- It has remarkable longevity.
- The smell is not overpowering or headache-inducing.
- The silage is impressive.
The Cons are:
- The glass bottle is not travel-friendly.
- The scent is on the sweeter end, which might be cloying and overpowering for people with a low tolerance for strong smells.