Anne Flipo and Dominique Ropion’s 2013 woody-oriental reworking of L’Homme, later renamed L’Homme L’Intense.
At a glance
L’Homme Parfum Intense is a Yves Saint Laurent flanker launched in 2013 and composed by Anne Flipo and Dominique Ropion. It turns the fresh 2006 L’Homme into a warmer woody-oriental fragrance: citrus and pepper over orange blossom, violet leaf and davana, on a base of cedar, suede and benzoin.
It was later renamed L’Homme L’Intense and has since left the range.
Creation and context
Fragrantica’s launch report, published in July 2013, announced the fragrance for the end of August that year in 60 ml and 100 ml sizes. Fragrantica and Parfumo both date it to 2013 and both credit Anne Flipo and Dominique Ropion, two of the three perfumers behind the original L’Homme.
The brief ran against the lighter variant that had come before it. Fragrantica describes it as a warmer, more intense alternative to the 2006 original, built from “a blend of citruses, spices, woody and floral notes.” The brand’s own copy called it “a provocative blend of woody notes wrapped in a sensual suede accord.” The bottle kept the family’s shape, with a hexagonal stopper in silver metal and an amber-coloured juice that signalled the change of mood. Two years earlier, L’Homme Cologne Gingembre had taken the line in the opposite, fresher direction.
Its name was later changed. Parfumo now lists the same fragrance as L’Homme L’Intense, and Fragrantica notes that it was rebranded under that name before it was withdrawn.
The composition
Yves Saint Laurent has not published the formula. Fragrantica and Parfumo agree on most of the structure; where they differ, both versions are given.
The violet leaf is the thread back to the original L’Homme; almost everything around it has changed. Orange blossom and davana replace the green basil heart, and the soft tonka base gives way to suede, leather and benzoin, a resinous material with a warm, vanilla-like sweetness. Fragrantica’s description traces the arc: citrus and pepper at the opening, a floral heart, and an amber-forward drydown with woody and leather accords.
Why it matters
Parfum Intense matters less as a fragrance than as a turning point in the family. After La Nuit de L’Homme (2009), it was the second attempt to give L’Homme a darker, evening register, and the first to push the structure toward leather and resins rather than spice. The same perfumers returned to the family in 2016 with L’Homme Ultime, credited by Fragrantica and Parfumo to Flipo, Ropion and Juliette Karagueuzoglou.
It is also a clear example of how a best-seller’s name can outlive any one formula. The L’Homme name stayed on the counter while the fragrances behind it changed; Parfum Intense was renamed and then withdrawn, and Fragrantica reports that the family’s richer slot is now held by the L’Homme Eau de Parfum.
For anyone learning to read flankers, it is a useful exercise. Smell it beside the 2006 original and the shared violet leaf is easy to find. Everything else shows how far a house can move a name while keeping its bottle shape and a single signature note, and how a flanker can end up as a different fragrance under a familiar label.
Reformulation and editions
The fragrance was sold in 60 ml and 100 ml bottles. It was later sold as L’Homme L’Intense, and under that name it was eventually discontinued. According to Fragrantica, it was eventually replaced by the L’Homme Eau de Parfum, which Fragrantica dates to 2022. Yves Saint Laurent’s current L’Homme range lists the eau de toilette, the Eau de Parfum and Le Parfum, and no Intense. The brand has not published any reformulation history for either name.
If you are buying second-hand, look for either name: Parfumo files L’Homme Parfum Intense and L’Homme L’Intense as one fragrance, and Fragrantica describes the second as a rebrand of the first. Both were made in 60 ml and 100 ml sizes.
Wearing it today
Expect a bright citrus-and-pepper start that quickly turns soft and floral, then settles into a warm, slightly sweet suede and resin base. It suits cooler weather and evenings better than the original L’Homme.
Two or three sprays are enough. Because it is discontinued, compare prices carefully; the current L’Homme Eau de Parfum is the easier alternative if you want a warmer version of the family.