Never has a scent intrigued me as much as Scent Intense by Costume National. I had only heard of the design house fleetingly and certainly didn’t know that they made a perfume. I don’t even know what compelled me to pick up the fairly nondescript black bottle, take a sniff, and then spray some on myself.
This is a scent unlike any other.
First things first: it’s unisex, and not unisex in a Calvin Klein kind of way where all you smell is a cologne. It’s unisex in the way that it’s mostly made for men and women who don’t mind smelling like men. I found it in the women’s scent department.
Basenotes says that the base of this scent is Amber but I smell so much more than that in this. I smell a very distinct woodiness in the dry down and it’s very powdery. At the end of the day, this scent is very smoky and dry. It’s comforting and even in the heat of the summer, it has the ability to transport one out of the city and into a place where wood fires are burning a dark and mysterious fire.
If you’re looking for something different, you should check this scent out. It’s a fairly linear scent and lasts a long time on the skin. Strong and unusual, it’s not for those who like to blend in.
Available online: $165 for 100ml.
