Jungle Le Tigre Kenzo 1997

My beautiful tiger! Also one that has almost disappeared from the scene, in nature and also from German perfumeries.
As a cat lover, I owe it to my wannabe tigers to discuss this cat scent. Sorry, tiger.
Every feline creature is deeply convinced that it is actually a big tiger and behaves accordingly. (Fortunately, the scent that tomcats sometimes emit has nothing to do with this fragrance.)
The big kitty wants to be cuddled and first presents itself with a fruity-floral, already intense note. I can detect kumquats. There is supposed to be a type of Indian vetch, often used in garlands for festivities: Divina. But I cannot confirm or deny this with my not entirely complete botanical knowledge of East Asian plants, although I do recognize a similarity to the scent vetch commonly found here. Even now, cinnamon is already present, like a very light breeze, far less massive than in Jungle Elephant, its sibling.
But one cannot deny a certain presence to the little tiger right from the start. Cats usually show you very quickly that they are there and want to be duly acknowledged. Unless, of course, they feel offended and punish their humans with indifference, which can only be remedied by the most intensive lobbying, if they are gracious enough. Cats are true masters at this.
But that doesn't happen here. I am quickly wrapped up in its charm. The fruit-scent mixture vibrates towards creaminess - with a hint of thorns, wonderful. Osmanthus bothers me in some fragrances, but not in this one. This fruit-flower base, miles away from the now often common synthetic fruit pudding substitute disasters, glides almost imperceptibly into the woody, becoming even softer, yet remains insistent. Amber caresses and darkens it.
When cats weave around your legs and wrap their tails around you, they demand love at the highest level of urgency. And so it is with this fragrance.
Very offensive cuddling, loud purring, but no roaring! All with the elegance of feline majesties who know how to charm their servants.
The tiger is a cunning mix of fruits, flowers, spices, and woods and does not hide in the jungle; it waits in the open terrain for its prey. I first bought it around 1999 and later acquired it again at a good opportunity. Here, apparently, neither good ingredients nor the launch were skimped on; great advertising poster, and the little box from which you had to free both tiger and elephant was amusing and well-made.
Also here, the well-known attention to detail, as with many Kenzos.
The fact that the fragrance did not become as big a hit as "Flower" is probably due to the angularity that exists despite the harmony. The jungles do not hit the mass taste; they are too special and quirky for that. Tiger is possibly a tad more palatable than Elephant, but really only a tad.
I still need to tackle the other "travel fragrances," Madagascar and Bali.
I have not tamed the tiger, but it has tamed me, just like a cat would.