Madame Rochas Intense

What a magnificent fragrance! I am utterly delighted to own this gem. I wear Madame Rochas probably more than any other scent because it is so easy to wear, but sometimes wish it had a little more projection. I enjoy when I get wisps of fragrance around me. Apparently, someone at Rochas thought the same to come up with this intense version. I'm not good with notes but this is still Madame Rochas to me, just clearer, stronger, much richer, and more powdery. I find the bottle fascinating too. It is a heavy gold metal lattice and there is nothing feminine about it at all. It seems to be reflective of the masculine dry down (the sandalwood is as smooth as fine polished wood), which I am crazy about. What a unique and interesting fragrance. Truly wonderful! This is a beautiful fragrance for nighttime wear. Just want to give everyone a head's up on the sprayer on these bottles. I have to pump mine like a water spray bottle to get the fragrance out. It comes out in little puffs of mist. It could be that there is something wrong with my sprayer, which wouldn't be a surprise considering how old this bottle is. But, if you are having the same issue too than maybe that was the intention behind the pump action.

This is a lovely take on Madame Rochas...I wouldn't really call it intense, just a little heavier on some notes.I get more Honeysuckle, Jasmine & Iris with a quite heady lime thrown in. Very wearable, long lasting & classy, remember when that's how beautiful perfumes were? Vintage with style.

Fragrance Review For Madame Rochas Intense Rochas Top Notes Aldehydes Lemon Bergamot Orange Honeysuckle Middle Notes Rose Jasmine Iris Tuberose Base Notes Cedar Sandalwood Musk Incense This fragrance is a nocturnal and darker, sexier Oriental version of the original Madame Rochas which to me was a day time lady like aldehyde floral. This is also an aldehydic floral but with an emphasis on the big base notes of Oriental character: a fragrant sandalwood and cedar wood, woodsy woodsy woodsy, and a warm incense and animalic note of musk. It smells expensive, decadent, sinful, and devil-may-care. This is a fragrance for Mae West or Lupe Velez, sexualized women who didn't conform to society's expectations of women. She has many lovers and will never marry or have kids but she looks good while she breaks the rules. She has a short life so she lives it to the fullest. The first whiff was aldehydes, unmistakable old time aldehydes. They are quite strong and being from 1960, they are sure to be dubbed as an old lady aldehyde floral scent. I suppose it can be called that, but if you smell beyond the associations with age (the age of the fragrance itself and the age group it might cater to) it's a beautiful, bad ass fragrance. I think of French or Italian fashion models from the 50's and 60's or exotic looking American models (Dovima comes to mind) in black evening gowns with black leather gloves, long cigars sticks on their hands disappearing behind doors in expensive hotels, seeking sexual thrills and escapism. This perfume puts me in quite the mood! The aldehydes have worn off and the gloves are off. The dress is still on and it's got a floral print on it. The flowers are honeysuckle rose, sweet and inviting, perhaps too sweet, almost like actual honey and roses put together. Then there is an aroma of iris and night blooming jasmine, which dominate the heart with their extremities. The iris can be deep, powdery but not too much because this is not a powder but a deeper and more exotic Oriental scent. The dry down is musky, leathery, black, smoky, spicy, incensed, and woodsy. Like so many fragrances of it's era, the dry down stage lasts longer than the top and heart stage, and tends to feel more like a man's cologne. What was up with so many women's perfumes from Bandit to Bal a Versailles, that clearly smell like a man's cologne? I suppose the women of this time were far more confident and assertive than the women of 2016, who are in desperate need of a return to true feminism. Why not start with a perfume like this one? Madame Rochas Intense is like Madame Rochas with a speakerphone, amplified and clearer, as opposed to louder. This is not a heavy and grandiose scent at all, but it is more clear and transparent, like you can literally see the notes. The women that wore this fragrance must have been women of amazing stature and strong personality. One thinks of Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis. Madame Rochas Intense is a cologne, elegant, tasteful, and like a fine vintage wine, the fragrance only gets better and more rich with time. A beautiful woman is beautiful at any age and a beautiful fragrance is beautiful after many years have passed. This is one of such fragrances. Luxurious, sexy and worn with haute couture, evening gowns, and to events where a woman must be noticed and photographed, or talked about. There is a touch of Hollywood's Golden Age to this fragrance. Elizabeth Taylor would have worn it. It is such a beautiful and timeless fragrance. It's too bad that it seems to be underrated or thought of as a "junior" Madame Rochas. It is definitely as mature and as complex. This may also be one of the first flankers. This perfume can be worn today because it has a dry down of wood and musk similar to some dry downs we can still experience in today's fragrances, despite the old fashioned intro of aldehydes. Stunner! I have rediscovered my love of fragrance.