Our take
What does Olympéa Intense smell like?
A year after Olympéa, Paco Rabanne followed with the Intense version at the end of 2016. The IFF trio stayed the same: Loc Dong, Anne Flipo and Dominique Ropion. Loc Dong has said the salt idea came from his childhood in Vietnam, where salt is harvested by evaporating seawater. This version keeps the concept and darkens it. The opening pairs orange blossom with white pepper and grapefruit blossom, more peppery than fruity. The heart concentrates the line's signature. Salted vanilla takes over, set on a dry cedar that stops it from turning syrupy. The base then thickens with white amber, an ambergris note and musk. It smells like warm skin after the beach, sweet and mineral. Next to Olympéa, whose water jasmine kept an aquatic freshness, the Intense is denser and softer. The orange blossom makes it more feminine too.
When to wear it
Best in winter and for evenings, on well-moisturised skin. One or two sprays at most.
It belongs to the Oriental / Amber family. Olympéa Intense is one of 35 creations by Paco Rabanne in our encyclopedia.