Intensity

This fragrance has to be one of the sexiest of all time. Simply put, I would deem Intensity as Kenneth Cole’s take on Spicebomb by Victor & Rolf; don’t hear me wrong, I’m not saying these are twins, but rather in the same family. Cousins probably. The coffee is what sets it apart. It’s a tiny nuance that helps take this fragrance into a more esteemed category than Spicebomb. It’s maturity allows Intensity to appeal to a much more refined palate; A professional who can also have a little fun. The initial blast is an enveloping and rich Pink Pepper, Coffee and Tobacco, that is an olfactory Overload in the best way. It leads you along an intriguing spice trail, with the balmy saffron, clean leather and woods to meet you at the end. It doesn’t project like a beast, but it announces itself just right. There is no void of substance and quality here. You get WELL over what you pay for. It’s sexy, playful, masculine with a sweet touch and just so damn near perfection. 6 hours of longevity average with modest projection in the first hour. It works for all hours of a cold day, and nighttime on a warmer day. It’s develops with a level of class without losing it’s easy going vibe in the initial spray. It just works, and it stands proudly on my fragrance shelf as one of my favorites. Go pick it up before it sells out, this is a must have. 8/10 Edit: As a small side note; if anyone has purchased Ben Sherman’s “Icon” from discounters, save your money and buy this. Very similar fragrance but the quality and longevity of Intensity beats Icon by a long shot.

This is my first Kenneth Cole purchase and I am glad I started with this one Intensity. It is a lovely scent right at the first spray but it loses it’s potency very quickly. I know it is a scent to be layered with another from the KC collection. Since I don’t have those, I layered mine with Elie Saab Le Parfum and I loved it. Sillage is mild unless you overspray to get a bit more projection. Becomes a skin scent quickly but did last over 4 - 5 hours, so not bad. The scent is so good. Intense it is not which is a shame, but lovely scent it surely is. If the sillage and potency can be worked on, I will definitely buy it again. Update: I have worn this perfume a few more times and even sprayed it on my daughter to see how it performs on others and it is now a LOVE from me. It is lasting longer than when I first bought it. It does captivate the senses when you smell it so do get it if you can. It is also giving me some Kelly Caleche Eau de Parfum by Hermes vibes so I will wear them together and see if that gives it a deeper and longer lasting effect.

This is intended to be layered with Kenneth Cole for Him. KC for him has mineral notes, sea salt, citrus, amber, woods. It's fairly basic, but it is clean and bright. The mineral notes and citrus give it a clean masculine smell. Layering Intensity over KC for Him turns it into a warm and inviting fragrance. The freshness of KC for Him is immediately toned down when Intensity is layered upon it, as the cardamom warms up on your skin and along with pink pepper gives a sweet spicy smell to the opening. Not sure about the leather here, maybe its faint to me. The Coffee and tonka are the stars here for me, as well as the woody base and the tobacco within. I can detect some saffron, as the Intensity on its own does have a spicy smell to it. But the sweet coffee and tonka dominate when combined with KC for him. Intensity is very warm, spicy, and inviting. It is not super candy sweet, but more of a smooth sweetness. It smells mature and alluring. I am surprised more people don't know/care about this.

Ok, this is a leather/tobacco/warm spicy, type fragrance, if you like TM Pure Malt you will also like this. They are not identical but similar, no booze in Intensity. I really like this and I think you could wear this almost all year, but maybe in the evenings in the summer. It is moderate on performance but longevity is decent, but for the price it is really fine. As it drys down I get more tobacco, Amber and coffee but that is also good. I would say it is a boarder line gourmand fragrance. Blind buy?.....Hell Yeah! (Hidden Gem alert) some people use the term generic when describing a cologne so, someday I need someone to tell me what generic smells like. In my opinion this cologne will set you apart it’s really not similar to anything out there, it goes down a similar path as Pure malt and possibly Burberry London but lacks cinnamon which for me is OK, not a real huge fan of cinnamon. But Kenneth Cole intensity is a little closer to Terry Mugler pure malt.

Amber and woody fragrances work so well with my body, skin, and personality. So of course, I love this fragrance. It is sweet, but it's not sickly sweet. Thank God. Personally, I do not layer it with anything, but you can layer it with another fragrance. You can definitely smell the coffee, tonka bean, leather notes. It's a dark, fall-winter fragrance. I love it! You should buy it. BUT DO NOT let my review influence your buy. Assess it yourself and have your own thoughts, rather than strictly going off someone else's thoughts and opinions. If you can, I suggest getting a sample first...or looking up the notes to ensure you will like it. Read reviews before buying a fragrance, but take them with a grain of salt. Everyone has their own opinion regarding smells. IF you do buy it, enjoy it :-)