• Men's Grooming

Fragrance Of The Week: Jimmy Choo Man Intense

We know what you’re thinking. Why the hell is a designer brand best known for crystal-embellished stilettos releasing a scent for men? Right?

Well, because that’s how designer fashion works these days. Well, that and the fact that – despite the prevalence of Jimmy Choo’s red carpet bling for women – the brand also does a good trade in men’s footwear, particularly statement-making stuff like tasselled slippers and crocodile embossed leather sneakers. So Man Intense, the flanker to 2014’s original Jimmy Choo Man, isn’t way out of left field.

In fact, as fragrances from luxury fashion brands go, Man Intense is one of the scant few that seems to reinforce what its namesake brand stands for as a whole: tinted windows, flickering flashbulbs, A-list parties, general opulence. All sounds terribly glamorous, doesn’t it?

And Man Intense is – in its thick, syrupy, fougère-y sweetness – by all accounts glamorous. But it’s not, as the brand says it is, particularly “masculine”. Or at least it’s not masculine in the same way as a deep, woody, leathery cologne is: it opens with a generous powder puff of lavender, not the bracing rush of bergamot or the hair-stripping clout of rum.

Which, if seducing the fairer sex is your top priority, maybe isn’t a bad thing. Man Intense is in many ways a women’s fragrance with a bit of huskiness to it: lavender, tonka bean and patchouli spiked with artemisia’s herbiness and the punch of black pepper. Overall its scent is smooth, sweet and intoxicating – the intoxicating part registering as a bewitchingly pleasant waft, or a stifling fug, depending on personal preference.

If you’re in your late teens or twenties, and looking for something that reads more glam rock frontman than old-school gentleman, Man Intense might just be for you.

Just spritz moderately. (And be prepared for some flak from your mates.)

Available exclusively at The Perfume Shop.

Fragrance Facts

Bottle: Inspired by an antique hip flask, with on-brand embossed crocodile detailing.

Head notes: lavender, melon, mandarin orange;

Heart notes: artemisia, black pepper, geranium;

Base notes: lavender, tonka bean and patchouli.

Best for: Making a Marc Bolan-esque statement.

Cillian O'Connor

Cillian O’Connor is a freelance writer, editor and consultant, best known for his ability to sort the wheat from the chaff in the world’s of men’s style, grooming, lifestyle and design. Once named the No. 1 Blogger by Vogue, Cillian also contributes to The Sunday Times, The Business of Fashion and Metro.