Burberry
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The blackberry strikes immediately with tart berry brightness, almost peppery in its snap, whilst the synthetic accord gives it a distinctly contemporary, slightly plasticky shimmer that prevents it from smelling like an actual fruit jam. The first five minutes are genuinely compelling—sharp, fruity, and undeniably present on the skin.
By the first hour, jasmine emerges with creamy, almost peachy undertones, and the benzoin begins its work beneath, softening the blackberry's initial tartness into something more rounded and confectionery. The fragrance settles into a fruity-floral sweetness that's neither aggressively fruity nor aggressively floral, but rather a balanced interplay where both accords coexist without hierarchy.
After four hours, what remains is primarily the benzoin's warm, slightly powdery backbone with ghostly wisps of the jasmine's creaminess still clinging to skin. The blackberry fades almost entirely, leaving behind a gourmand, balsamic sweetness that's reminiscent of amber without actually being amber—tender, intimate, and requiring one to lean in closely to detect.
Burberry Her Intense arrives as a fruit-forward composition that immediately establishes itself through blackberry's tart-sweet personality, though the fragrance's true sophistication emerges in how Francis Kurkdjian anchors this fruity exuberance with jasmine and benzoin. The blackberry opens with genuine juiciness rather than syrupy artificiality, whilst the jasmine—rendered with a creamy, almost indolic richness—prevents the composition from veering into simple berry compote territory. Instead, what develops is a peculiar tension: the fruity accord remains prominent and genuinely appealing, yet the floral heart refuses to fade into the background, creating a push-pull dynamic that keeps the fragrance interesting rather than linear.
The 52% gourmand accord manifests not as caramel or vanilla sweetness, but rather as the natural sugariness that emerges when ripe blackberries meet creamy jasmine blooms. The synthetic accord (64%) lends an almost candied quality to the fruit-floral marriage, preventing the composition from feeling entirely natural whilst simultaneously giving it a distinctive, recognisable character.
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3.9/5 (83)