Cleaner than a clean thing’s cleanest bits, Fougere Intense by SP Parfums packs a sparkly, zesty green punch and lives up to its name with aplomb.

Listed notes

Bergamot, lime, patchouli, lavender, tonka, woody moss accord, civet, amber, skin musks, jasmine.

Top notes

If you are going to call something Fougere Intense then you really have to pack it full to the brim with punchy fougere-iness and this bright and fulsome scent by Sven Pritzkoleit certainly has that in spades. It starts with a fizzy explosion of sour greenery offset by the beautiful warmth of the civet. The lavender, bergamot and lime jump up and knock their heads together, initially stealing the attention, as the civet and skin musks purr away underneath. The sour brightness is what takes you breath away, whilst the undertones of warmth stroke and soothe.

The overall impression of the scent as it opens is that it is bright, soapy and clean. It conjures up moustachioed gentlemen stripped to the waist, washing in cold water on a bright spring morning as their Edwardian military uniform hangs over a chair nearby and their valet prepares the moustache wax.

Heart notes

Fougere Intense feels relatively linear, meaning that it doesn’t change massively from the opening to the dry down, but the movement there is adds to the fullness of the scent. Predictably, the citrusy notes step back as the fragrance settles, but the lavender really lingers and even steps into focus a little more once the fragrance has fully opened up.

Throughout this scent the sparkly, soapy vibe remains. It is the scent of cleanliness but intensified until you feel as if the soapiness could scrub your very thoughts clean. Definitely the sort of scent that lovers of the shaving foam, barbershop, soapy scents will like.

Under that soapy cleanness though the civet and skin musks give the fragrance a real sexy warm body feel. In a way this is not only about smelling the scent of cleanliness, but it is the story of smelling that on someone else’s body. And that adds this frisson of excitement to the whole composition.

Base notes

The punchiness of Fougere Intense really comes into its own in the base of the scent which keeps going for ages after application. Even several hours into a wear it continues with it’s significant bright energy and is never languid or lethargic. At times you might even call this fragrance “buzzy” because of the way it feels when you inhale it – seeming to hit high up in the sinuses – and bringing with it a POW of energy. There is nothing meek or mild about this scent, it does what it does with merry abandon and is completely unapologetic about that fact.

The mossy greenery is most noticeable in the base of the fragrance and with faint whispers of sweetness it hints at dark green and shady moments in the depths of the forest, whilst the rest of the scent’s ingredients are still running around with the energetic verve of children hopped up on sugar.

Fougere Intense is definitely a scent you will enjoy if you want to smell barbershop clean, if you like fougere fragrances, or if you just want to smell a little bit like a sparkling dandy.

The other stuff

Fougere Intense has very good longevity, lasting at least 10 hours on skin, maybe even longer. The projection of the scent is also very good, going to further than handshake distance.

This fragrance feels as if it would wear wonderfully on warm summer days when you want a burst of cleanliness and extra energy. The warmth will also really make the civet sing without it becoming skanky or challenging in the slightest.

The brand

SP Parfums are relatively new to us here at The Sniff, although we have also reviewed the beautiful Sandal and Peony. The brand are based in Germany. Sven Pritzkoleit initially went into the family’s pharmacy business before teaching himself perfumery as a sideline. He’s now one of the high-quality artisans who operate just a little outside the mainstream of perfumery, but who put out such amazingly high quality scents that they win a respected place for their work.

Fougere Intense is the latest release from SP Parfums.

SP Parfums do not use natural animal ingredients in this fragrance as noted on their website. We have added them to our list of companies who provide statements about their animal-derived ingredients etc.

Buy it

Fougere Intense is available on the SP Parfums web boutique where it is priced at €129 for 30ml of EdP.

We were very kindly provided with a sample of this fragrance by Sven Pritzkoleit and we thank him for his kindness.

Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash