4711 Original Intense

4711 Original Intense keeps the architecture of the original eau de Cologne, with citrus at the top and aromatic herbs at its center, and adds a woody, musky base. The house sums up the whole in three words: citrus, aromatic and fresh.

Top

Bergamot, lemon and petitgrain open the composition. The house presents them as an immediate reminder of the original’s signature, for which 4711 also lists lemon and bergamot at the top, along with orange, and petitgrain in the base.

Heart

Lavender, sage, jasmine and neroli form the heart, which the house describes as a balance between freshness and warmth. The original’s rosemary drops off the list; sage, another aromatic herb, appears on it, and jasmine brings a floral touch the original does not announce.

Base

Cedar, sandalwood and musk make up a base the original eau de Cologne does not have: its base notes are limited to neroli and petitgrain. Mäurer & Wirtz expects these woods and this musk to provide the depth promised by the move to eau de parfum.

What the label declares

The ingredient list names several essential oils: bitter orange, bergamot and lemon peels, lavender, eucalyptus, Virginia cedar and jasmine. It also includes santalol, the main odorous constituent of sandalwood, and Tetramethyl Acetyloctahydronaphthalenes, the woody molecule perfumers call Iso E Super.

Ingredients are declared in decreasing order: water only comes fifth, after alcohol, fragrance, limonene and linalool. The list declares a violet colorant, Ext. Violet 2, and a photostabilizer, Diethylhexyl Syringylidenemalonate, which protects the formula from light.

What remains outside

The house names neither the perfumer nor the origin of its materials. Rosemary and orange, which 4711 counts among the seven main ingredients of the original eau de Cologne, are not among the notes of Original Intense, even though the label mentions a bitter orange peel oil.