HERMES
BARENIA INTENSE
2025
PERFUMER
Christine Nagel
butterfly lily
oakwood
leather
patchouli
‘Perfumer Christine Nagel has created a new interpretation of the Hermès chypre perfume: Barénia eau de parfum intense. The captivating intensity and sensuality of this new expression infuse the fragrance with a femininity steeped in mystery. True to the elegance of a classic chypre perfume, Barénia eau de parfum intense amplifies the softness of butterfly lily and the depth of oakwood. Leathery notes evoke Barénia leather, harmoniously underlining the intensity of a patchouli absolute and creating a unique and captivating signature.’ – Hermes
I feel like Barenia Intense is the typical, expected ‘intense flanker’; true to its word. It’s a bit heavier, a bit darker, but ultimately, very similar. Not bad, but it doesn’t ‘fix’ the gripes that I had with Barenia. If you like Barenia already, this should work fine for you, especially as a bit more of an Autumn/Winter take.
The biggest difference is in the opening, where the original was brighter and more youthful. Overall, Intense feels largely the same, but it’s a bit richer, fuller and I think more mature leaning.
The opening still is very fruity to me, but it’s a bit more like a red fruits-red wine vibe, which has that mature edge to it. It still feels… unnatural; it feels like contemporary, abstract molecules rather than a true to life depiction of anything. Most of the rest of the wear has a ‘designer-patchouli’ or at least modern patchouli vibe. Not an overly searthy, lifelike patchouli. It’s more like a patchouli hairspray to my nose, with the same tartness that permiated the original.
And that tart hairspray aesthetic is what ‘ruins’ Barenia for me. I was hoping the Intense had gotten rid of it after the opening, but it’s still there. It’s a matter of taste of course; it makes it feel dry and modern in a sense that doesn’t fit with the image of Hermes in my head.
That being said, it’s a similar styling to H24 EDT for the men’s line, which I was a lot more positive about and I feel like H24 EDP was a bigger change. With H24, I set my expectations low, knowing it would never live up to Terre D’Hermes, which is one of my all-time favorites. With Barenia, I started with a different expectation; I was hoping for a traditional chypre that would capture the older days. Hermes keeps referring to it as a ‘classic chypre’, also with Barenia Intense…and that’s just not at all what this is in my opinion. The EDP is like a pop art sketch of what an older Hermes chypre would smell like and this Intense at best paints in some details here and there. It feels like a product of its time; not timeless, as you would hope for the main women’s Hermes DNA.
