# CoSTUME NATIONAL — Scent Intense

> Scent Intense is Laurent Bruyere's darker sister to Scent: green tea, hibiscus, jasmine, leather, ambergris, sandalwood, patchouli, and vanilla turned into an unusual tea-floral amber.

## Essence
Scent Intense is Laurent Bruyere's darker sister to Scent: green tea, hibiscus, jasmine, leather, ambergris, sandalwood, patchouli, and vanilla turned into an unusual tea-floral amber.
## Scent Profile
Bergamot and green tea open the scent, with cardamom adding quiet spice. The first hour can feel medicinal, astringent, or hibiscus-tea-like. Jasmine and hibiscus make the heart floral but not pretty in a conventional bouquet sense. The base brings leather, ambergris, sandalwood, patchouli, and a trace of vanilla, creating a cloudy amber-leather drydown with a nocturnal, slightly synthetic character.
## Performance
Expect moderate projection and good longevity, often six to ten hours. Some wearers find it quieter than the name implies, but it usually persists well.
## Wearing Context
This is mainly fall, winter, and cooler shoulder-season wear. It is unisex, cerebral, and evening-leaning, better for galleries, bars, and dressed-up quiet settings than invisible office use.
## Comparisons & DNA
It shares DNA with Costume National Scent, but is darker, more leathery, and more ambered. Costume National 21 is another house relative through the artificial-amber character, while green-tea and cool-amber references sit further away.
## Reception
Reception is positive but polarized. Loyalists treat it as a cult gem and a key Bruyere work. Critics struggle with the medicinal opening, restrained projection, or the fact that it is neither a cozy amber nor a conventional floral.
## Versions & Reformulation
The standard Scent Intense has been one core composition since 2002, though long-running ingredient shifts are plausible. It sits within the broader Scent family and has parfum-strength relatives and special editions.
## Acquisition Notes
It remains findable through European retailers, discounters, and decant services, with US availability less consistent. No special counterfeit issue is documented, but samples are wise because the opening is the make-or-break.
## Notable Facts & Lore
- Laurent Bruyere died in 2008 at age 43, giving the Scent compositions retrospective emotional weight.
- The house's punk-rock and minimalist design language fits the fragrance's dense, cool, unconventional feel.