Otto Kern Intense Otto Kern 2023

The opening smells of cookies, a mixture of speculoos and lemon sand cake. It is individual and interesting, but takes some getting used to at first, almost too much. After a few minutes, fresh, somewhat pungent flowers come in, with a hint of rose. A hint of herbs accompanies it. The smell of cake is still there, but not as present as at the beginning. It smells high-quality, but completely different to the off-the-peg fragrances. Brave, Otto! You wouldn't expect something like this from a drugstore and it's really powerful too! After 10-20 minutes, everything becomes rounder and rounder and the vanilla becomes a little stronger. For the first time, you can also smell freshly sliced apple. Pleasant smell, I'm definitely in the mood for cake now. And even if the whole thing is quite masculine, you have to get into it as a man first. In the meantime, it smells more like cake with fresh apple pieces on it and a bouquet of flowers next to it. I don't really smell any wood, more like nuts or almonds. It becomes creamy and slightly balsamic, and a strong, concentrated sweetness is becoming more and more apparent. Meanwhile also quite interesting for women.
After 30 minutes, it definitely becomes more linear and stays that way for quite a long time. It becomes more discreet, calmer, more pleasant and rounder. This strong sweetness fades and light woody and meadow notes can be perceived for the first time, also a little powder and it no longer smells so strongly of cake. I wouldn't recommend it for summer, but rather for fall and very suitable for Christmas.
It's not super complex, but it doesn't try to be mass-market and what it does here, it does well, to a high standard and without missteps. I respect that more than when you throw the 450 millionth cheap freshie on the market. It simply smells pleasant and delicious. For a drugstore fragrance, they dared to do something here. Hats off.
For me, however, it would probably only really be something for Christmas or for the Christmas market, and even then I would definitely reach for something else, but that's just my taste. H/S is good and the scent is radiant. P/L is top. The fragrance is great for what it wants to be. So if you fancy smelling like a creamy, powdery, floral lemon and apple bag, go for it!