Cardamom
Tonka bean
Lemon
Pink pepper
Sandalwood
Vanilla
Vetiver
Green mandarin orange
Iris
08/31/2015
ColinM
516 Reviews
ColinM
Helpful Review
13
Mid-class gem!
It took me quite a while to make up my mind about Zegna Intenso. I own it and wear it quite happily from times to times, but any time I tried to approach it more thoroughly from a “reviewer” point of view, I always felt something was missing in my, say, perception of it. Like when you enjoy something, but any part and aspect of it seem dull and negligible, and you are unable to get a global, comprehensive idea of it. And yet you reach for it and enjoy it even if you can’t really explain why. Zegna Intenso does precisely that effect to me. At first I was ready to dismiss it as a boring mainstream scent, but each time its discreetly enjoyable presence on skin was telling me it would have been a mistake. Now I think I got why. The main key of this scent is that it smells so nicely and perfectly generic and discreet, it serves more as a sort of ideal silent and distinguished servant than a “statement” accessory. Any time you wear it, it’s ready to do and “tell” you exactly what you want it to, to suit your mood, your style, the situation you’re in. It can smell formal and dark, or lively and “young”; sometimes it feels simple and warm, sometimes elusively exotic, sometimes dusty and vibrant like a club downtown. A perfect Zelig in a bottle (Woody Allen’s Zelig, I mean). And I think this is due to Daniela Andrier’s ability to bring out the best off the concept of “safe and generic” – something soothing and comforting designed to make you want to wear it just for the pure sake of it, and then forget about it. Zegna Intenso brings that to an unexpectedly high level.
Coming to the smell itself, many compare Zegna Intenso to Armani Code but I don’t really see the similarity. I mean, of course that is the family, but there’s quite some differences. And anyway, frankly Zegna Intenso smells way superior than that for me to any extent. Tonka and musky iris notes provide a dusty, sophisticated and crisp Oriental frame (a yuppie concept of “Oriental”, obviously – it’s a designer after all...) which is perfectly harmonized with generic - and yet, perfectly nice - clean woods and some nondescript sort of fresh-tart head accord that gives Zegna Intenso a quite enjoyable sort of mildly aromatic fresh twist – fresh enough to keep it more vivid and sophisticated than many similar, and often kind of heavy or cheap Oriental tonka-centered designer fragrances. Diamondflame’s review on Basenotes is really spot on about this interesting “chiaroscuro” effect due to bright head notes versus the general Oriental spicy-smooth “darkness” of the other notes. This whole harmony makes Zegna Intenso smell way more refined and comforting than it seems. Now imagine all this in the hands of an extremely talented nose with an eagle eye for subtle – and again, positively “generic” - refinement as Daniela Andrier, and here’s Zegna Intenso. A true little piece of smoothness and respectability in a bottle. I know many scents already play this “comfort” role (e.g. many classic clean “eaux de cologne”), but well, each does it its way and so does Zegna Intenso. A bit like Bottega Veneta pour Homme by the same nose, it brings that traditional concept of “smelling nice and quality just for the intimate sake of it” to a more contemporary level. You can find discounted bottles of this everywhere, grab it if you stumble upon one.
7,5/10
Coming to the smell itself, many compare Zegna Intenso to Armani Code but I don’t really see the similarity. I mean, of course that is the family, but there’s quite some differences. And anyway, frankly Zegna Intenso smells way superior than that for me to any extent. Tonka and musky iris notes provide a dusty, sophisticated and crisp Oriental frame (a yuppie concept of “Oriental”, obviously – it’s a designer after all...) which is perfectly harmonized with generic - and yet, perfectly nice - clean woods and some nondescript sort of fresh-tart head accord that gives Zegna Intenso a quite enjoyable sort of mildly aromatic fresh twist – fresh enough to keep it more vivid and sophisticated than many similar, and often kind of heavy or cheap Oriental tonka-centered designer fragrances. Diamondflame’s review on Basenotes is really spot on about this interesting “chiaroscuro” effect due to bright head notes versus the general Oriental spicy-smooth “darkness” of the other notes. This whole harmony makes Zegna Intenso smell way more refined and comforting than it seems. Now imagine all this in the hands of an extremely talented nose with an eagle eye for subtle – and again, positively “generic” - refinement as Daniela Andrier, and here’s Zegna Intenso. A true little piece of smoothness and respectability in a bottle. I know many scents already play this “comfort” role (e.g. many classic clean “eaux de cologne”), but well, each does it its way and so does Zegna Intenso. A bit like Bottega Veneta pour Homme by the same nose, it brings that traditional concept of “smelling nice and quality just for the intimate sake of it” to a more contemporary level. You can find discounted bottles of this everywhere, grab it if you stumble upon one.
7,5/10
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