Kokain Red Intense Reloaded

I bought this blind together with the Gold version, partly because there were no reviews on Fragrantica & I thought it would be novel to get the first review in, but I procrastinated a bit too long getting my nose around to it, & now Mistress Eva below has beaten me to it! At least I got the first Fragram image in I guess? =P Over several wears over the past several weeks, the words I kept coming back to were a somewhat "medicinal musky herbal liquorice juice", almost fresh leathery suede, but not quite as citrusy as the Gold version. They definitely have the same DNA though, but unfortunately I don't have the original or any other versions of Kokain (or cocaine) to compare with. Recently I picked up Moustache by Rochas, finally succumbing to all the hype, & I'd almost say that this Kokain Red Intense Reloaded could almost pass off as a Rochas Moustache Intense or Elixir. This red chilli pepper, mandarin orange, sandalwood, amyris, musk & tonka bean combo drawing parallels to Moustache's pink pepper, mandarin orange, benzoin, vanilla & patchouli; with the rose really being the dominant difference that pulls the latter a softer unique scent. Kokain Red Intense is definitely the harder hitter, sharper, stronger, with better sillage. It's one of my recent buys that my wife smells & audibly swoons over (along with Carlisle, Naxos, Eau des Baux, & Altamir). I'd say Red Intense Reloaded is probably better suited to a slightly more mature wearer with the woody musk, wheras the Gold version might suit someone younger because that one is slightly fresher due to the amber citrus top.

My second time wearing this fragrance has resulted in me revising my initial opinion. I gave it a solid “like” whereas now it teeters on “love” for me now. The first time I wore it, the chili seemed more dominant, which isn’t the most agreeable note on my skin. However this time, I get a much more full-bodied, multi-dimensional scent that is really quite appealing. The most prominent notes to my nose are pimento and frankincense, followed closely by amyris, a lightish guaiac wood, and white musk. The mandarin and sandalwood are very subtle, while the tonka is undetectable. This is a nice blend of fragrant, but not-too-heavy woods; piquant pimento; and resins.