Carven l’Eau Intense – So Fresh, So Clean (Francis Kurkdjian & Jerome Di Marino, 2016)

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Scentrack:
Madonna - Holiday

Source: Escentual
Nowadays Carven fragrances are not overly popular, but I have bought l’Eau Intense because of good comments about it. Personally, it was not what I have expected, but still l’Eau Intense is a solid release. It was composed by famous Francis Kurkdjian and Jerome Di Marino, and this composition has Kurkdjian’s signature all over it. The bottle made by Thierry De Baschmakoff is simply gorgeous.
Carven l’Eau Intense is a summer brother of Mr. Burberry, also composed the same year by Francis Kurkdjian. The opening of l’Eau Intense is much brighter and sunnier compared to Burberry, but from mid notes to drydown they are more and more similar. Like Mr. Burberry meets some aspects of Fleur de Male. Carven opens with strong and fresh mint note, accompanied by a hefty dose of bright grapefruit which I personally like, ginger and something like bright aldehydes. Somewhere beneath all those fresh layers I can detect some dirty white flowers, like orange or lemon flowers. As the composition evolves, the lavender becomes stronger and some woody aspects are more pronounced. It reminds me of powdered detergent, but in a good way. The birch leaf, also known from Mr. Burberry, gives some dirty touch to the otherwise extremely clean composition. The base is usual for this kind of fragrances, unidentified woods, with some pale amber aspects and a touch of Iso E Super. Carven is an ideal companion for hot spring and summer days. A true holiday scent.
It seems like Francis Kurkdjian recycled some of his 2016 ideas. The only downfalls are spotty performance on my skin and the synthetic vibe around this composition. Apart from these issues, l’Eau Intense is a simple, attractive and polite. Like a perfect combination of blue jeans and white T-shirt. I could imagine Burberry team launching something very similar called Mr. Burberry Yellow or Mr. Burberry Sunhine.

Longevity / Projection
Spotty (4-8 hours) / Average

Suggested wearing
Spring and summer / Both day and night

Alternatives
Burberry Mr. Burberry EdT and EdP – more focused on herbal and we aspects
JPG Fleur de Male – strong neroli cologne
MFK APOM pour Homme – upgraded orange flower with amber base
Amouage Reflection Man - niche take on fresh neroli/cedar combo

Pros
Very clean and easy to wear
Refreshing
Reasonably priced
Nice bottle

Cons
Too simple for some
Strong synthetic vibe
Spotty performance
Not overly original

Rating
6.5 / 10

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