Hermès – Terre d’Hermès EDP Intense – Fiery Flanker

Something is brewing in the designer world. Terre d’Hermès EdP Intense marks yet another flanker in the successful “Terre” series and yet another perfume to feature coffee. Dolce & Gabbana successfully incorporated coffee into their Devotion Pour Homme fragrance Dolce & Gabbana – Devotion Pour Homme – Aromatic Coffee earlier this year. How successful is it in this fragrance? Let’s take a look.

It’s undoubtedly a chaotic opening. The coffee and licorice notes combine to create a roasted, fiery effect, very much in keeping with the marketing materials and images. Warm, sensual, and molten are some of the adjectives used to describe the fragrances. I’d agree. There’s a fantasy note of molten lava/stone in the base. And there’s a marked volatility to the fragrance, accentuated by the spicy pepper note. The brown colour of the bottle edging is precisely the colour I see when I wear the scent. 

The coffee isn’t sweet, and the licorice never makes me think of a gourmand perfume. I pick up more licorice than coffee. But there’s something about this accord that doesn’t quite harmonise with my skin. After an hour, it’s pretty much gone, and the remainder of the scent dries down to something akin to the original Terre d’Hermès.

As I alluded to, Hermès mentions fantasy notes such as lava and stone in the base. It’s fancy marketing speak. Indeed, after the top notes dissipate and the lava cools, the unmistakable cedary, flinty base of the original fragrance emerges. Ultimately, it’s a successful flanker that remains true to the original, and I like most of the fragrance, so it gets a thumbs up. But each time I wore it, my favourite part was the final part, in other words, the original Terre. 

There hasn’t been an enormous number of flankers in the “Terre” family. Most have been successful, though. The exception is the vetiver flanker from a couple of years ago, which seemed like a waste of time. The original had enough vetiver to satisfy vetiver enthusiasts. Terre d’Hermès EdP Intense fares much better than that one. But I won’t be rushing out to buy it. It’s no Godfather Part II. The original still beats any of the sequels. Indeed, I’d still rather apply the Eau Tres Fraiche or Eau Givree flanker over Intense any day of the week. Intense lasts for 8 hours before fading.

Have you sampled this flanker? What’s your favourite version of Terre?

Note: All images are my own, except for the first bottle image (Hermès). Sample procured in-store.