Barénia Eau de Parfum Intense was released in August 2025, a year after the first feminine chypre from Hermès. Christine Nagel reprises the Barénia palette — butterfly lily, miracle berry, oakwood, patchouli absolute — and writes into it leathery notes that point back to the saddlery leather the line is named for.
Two signed reviews place the Intense above the first Barénia: one sees a correction in it, the other a more elegant reprise.
Olfastory’s review
Igor Masyukov, Fragrantica, September 2025
The reviewer held the first Barénia to be a failed attempt: leather too sweet, a wilted rose, heavy musks that kept the contrast from playing. He says he came to the Intense with no particular expectation.
He finds a leather less sweet and slightly smoked, a bright rose lit by a citrus opening, peppery tones and a smokiness of guaiac wood. His verdict: “a genuine correction of a past mistake.”
Thomas Dunckley, Making Scents Make Sense, September 2025
The writer says he loathed the 2024 Barénia, which he judged noisy and unrefined for a house of that standing. He tried the Intense expecting little of it, in a London department store.
He recognizes the territory of the first Barénia, handled with more elegance and beauty, the intense version amplifying the sensual aspects around butterfly lily and oakwood. To his surprise, he finds it very successful.