Welcome to Fragrance Friday, where each week we’ll be keeping you abreast of the newest and most iconic releases in the dynamic world of men’s fragrances. Born out of the desire to showcase one of the most overlooked, yet versatile, elements of any discerning man’s style this weekly column will help you finesse your own signature scent.
Last week we were all about looking back to the exceptionally worked profile of CoSTUME NATIONAL HOMME Parfum, with its sparkling zest on the top and light amber finish. Now our spotlight turns to tailoring legends Brioni, who have been at the top of their game since 1945. Synonymous with high-end tuxedos, witnessing the brand turn their attention to perfume is a rare but very welcome occasion, thanks to a fairly new partnership with Lalique Group who helped launch Brioni Eau de Parfum in 2019.
That was the first collaboration between these two immaculate brands, and clearly, it was successful and well-received enough to warrant a sequel. That brings us to this week’s office favourite, the Brioni Eau de Parfum Intense, dialing in much of what made the original such an instant hit with its high-quality body of pink peppercorn, cedarwood, tonka bean, and violet.
A recipe using very few ingredients, but maximised for a rounding performance. That’s exactly what Robertet Master Perfumer Michel Almairac aimed for with the original, and for the Intense version he has clearly doubled down on the minimalism. It’s a tight, precise, and perfectly tailored fragrance, with Almairac working closely with Karine Vinchon-Spehner to work up what I think is going to be a timeless classic for many years to come.
It’s fascinating, really. Vinchon-Spehner turned in some incredible work already this year with Amouage Boundless, which we featured on Fragrance Friday a few weeks ago, and her immense work with the famed Omani house was obviously flecked with inspiration from Almairac’s legendary work on Gucci pour Homme. Now they have gotten to work together to bring Brioni to life in a bottle of seductive Eau de Parfum.
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Marketing material for Brioni Eau de Parfum Intense references the body’s blend of “nonchalant Roman chic and peerless Italian know-how,” reiterating the perfume’s positioning as one of exceptional masculine elegance. Of course, Brioni’s legacy in creating formal menswear comes into play here, aligning with the house’s prestigious evening wear line with top-tier sustainable ingredients encased in a slick and simple, eco-friendly glass bottle.
Plenty of sequels featured fined and left-field takes on the original’s bill, but Brioni Eau de Parfum Intense turns a new leaf entirely and favours a Woody Aromatic body, still keeping those lovely notes of cooling pink peppercorn at the top but moving away to a vastly different mid-showing with crisp green apple, patchouli, and some saffron buried deep in there. It’s heady, seductive, and charming – much like Brioni’s tuxedos.
I particularly love with Italian citrus and Calabrian bergamot at the top, which rushes at you and opens the fragrance in an unexpected way. It’s a powerful opening, punching hard before melting into those softer notes and then drying down to a heavy showing of wood with sikly ambroxan, oud, and smooth vanilla. It’s hard to pin that exactly where this fragrance starts to really pick up, but the perfect harmony between the middle and base notes is a definite highlight, with the cool freshness of pink peppercorn emerging as the main star of the show and the bridge which holds it all together.
Top Notes: Italian citrus oils, Calabrian bergamot, mandarin, pink peppercorn.
Middle Notes: Patchouli, saffron, green apple.
Base Notes: Oud, vanilla, Ambroxan.
Brioni Eau de Parfum Intense is now available in Australia at $195 for a 100ml bottle.
