NICOLAI
NEW YORK INTENSE
2014
PERFUMER
Patricia de Nicolai
chamomile
Bergamot
citron
black pepper
artemisia
Oakmoss
Lavender
thyme
Cinnamon
Clove
Civet
Petitgrain
Castoreum
Vanilla
Incense
Styrax
musk
New York Intense is a very popular release and for me, it lives up to the hyped up expectation.
New York Intense combines citrus, lavender, thyme, spices and oakmoss with animalic notes like civet and castoreum. Creating a fresh aromatic scent, taking cues from fougères and chypres, with a bit of an edge, but the animalics aren’t challenging or prominent throughout the entire wear.
They give the fragrance an almost leathery backdrop at first. It’s very masculine and it has a lot of depth, considering how bright it stays. I think the citrus is being helped tremendously by the herbal touches to achieve that. After a couple of minutes, the spices (mainly clove for me) settle down and you get this smooth, soapy scent.
I’ve heard people describe scents as ‘luxurious soaps’ often, but this is the closest that I’ve ever come. It’s a vetiver-like soapiness to me, although I don’t think vetiver is listed as a note. I know that the brand is French and that the fragrance is called New York, but this takes me back to the countryside of Tuscany just as much as the Acqua Di Parma’s that I’ve tried. Be warned though, in my testing, the sharpness and sourish animalics rear their heads in the later drydown again, although most noticeably close to the skin.
For me this is a nice balance of styles. It’s not as traditional and lavender heavy as most fougeres, nor as green as some chypres, and more complex than many bright and citrus-heavy fragrances. I probably would not have liked this in my teens, but now that I’m 30+, I can appreciate this a lot, yet I bet I’ll like it even more in 10-20 years.
The performance is above average, excellent when compared to citrus fragrances. Perfect for Spring, wearable in high heat and dense enough to withstand Autumn and maybe even Winter weather without a problem. Excellent and it comes at very affordable prices.