Strong perfumes

What strong means in a perfume

Strong is our own editorial label for perfumes with a lot of presence. We read the notes, the weight of the base and the concentration, and file a perfume as strong when it is dense, resinous, spicy, smoky or sweet enough to announce itself. Oud, leather, tobacco, incense, vanilla, amber and saffron are the materials most often behind it, usually in a rich concentration such as an extrait or parfum.

Strong is not the same as good, and not the same as loud. A dense perfume can stay close to the skin, and a light one can carry far in warm air. What a strong perfume offers is depth: more layers between the opening and the base, and more to notice along the way. It also asks for restraint.

How to choose and wear a strong perfume

Start with fewer sprays than you expect to need, perhaps one or two, and place them where the warmth of the skin can open the perfume, such as the chest or the wrists. Strong perfumes suit cool weather, evenings and open spaces better than small offices. Choose by the family you enjoy: boozy and sweet, smoky and resinous, or spicy and leathery. For the practical side, our guide to applying perfume and making it last is a good companion.

From the collection

Strong perfumes from the houses on our brands page:

Lorenzo Pazzaglia Van Py Rhum opens with four vanillas, tonka bean and rhum, adds island vanilla, white flowers, caramel and patchouli, and ends on agarwood, Indonesian patchouli, barricaded rhum and black vanilla pod.

Les Eaux Primordiales Oud Supermassive puts mandarin, bergamot and cardamom over peach, osmanthus and passion fruit, with tobacco, oud, leather and olibanum in the base.

Stéphane Humbert Lucas Mortal Skin pairs blackberry, saffron and cardamom with sandalwood, opoponax and iris, over labdanum, musk and ambergris.

Tiziana Terenzi Gold Rose Oudh opens with bergamot, fir, ember and sand, puts rose, patchouli and black pepper in the heart and rests on oudh, amber, sandalwood, musk and honey.

BORNTOSTANDOUT Drunk Saffron begins with plum and brandy, has saffron, leather and coffee in the heart and ends on Indonesian patchouli, vanilla and musk.

Fragrance Du Bois Oud Bleu Intense starts with cardamom, nutmeg and mandarin, moves to frankincense, cistus, myrrh essence and amber, and rests on opoponax and myrrh resinoids, styrax, benzoin and vintage oud.

Zoologist Tyrannosaurus Rex opens with bergamot, black pepper, fir, laurel leaf, neroli and nutmeg, has champaca, geranium, jasmine, osmanthus, rose and ylang ylang in the heart, and ends on resins, cade, cedar, frankincense, leather, patchouli, sandalwood and vanilla.