Play Intense
Givenchy (2008)

It's probably just me but isn't this a version of Pi? If you can buy it at current Pi prices or less, try it. Otherwise...

As @FSOCI3TY said below, this fragrance was rehabilitated by its discontinuation. It’s perfectly pleasant, and the tonka and coffee is lovely. I will say it’s rather weak, at least on my skin, and doesn’t scream for attention. This is a great casual wear fragrance.

Vaguely cherry-like in the opening, but settles into a tonka forward, spiced coffee fragrance. The tonka provides a nice creamy backbone to the coffee, giving it an almost latte-like smell.

I’m going to say this now. $100 a bottle. Not a penny more. It isn’t worth it. If you find one floating around for $100 or less, go for it. It’s a pretty safe buy at that price. Anything else is ridiculous. This fragrance isn’t going to pass into legend, and is never going to be remembered as a forgotten classic, or one of the greatest men’s fragrances of all time. It will be remembered as a perfectly pleasant designer fragrance that was very ‘of its time’.

If we’re judging it by its original retail price, it’s an 8/10. By the current collector pricing? No more than a 5/10.

This fragrance is one of those that you come to appreciate only after it has been discontinued. When it was still available, I wasn't blown away by it. It was just a soft tonka bean scent with a bit of coffee and patchouli mixed in. Pleasant and mass-appealing, but not particularly unique or remarkable. I appreciated that it wasn't sickly sweet or obnoxious, but I never got around to buying a full bottle.

I think many people passed on this fragrance because of its price and opted for Rochas Man instead. Looking back, I regret buying Rochas Man because I actually prefer the smell of this one. It's a shame to see it discontinued, but it's not worth paying the inflated prices that it commands now. If you're looking for a fragrance with a realistic coffee note, just move on and find something else.

Kind of reminds me of L'Instant de Guerlain pour Homme Edt mashed into some cocoa scented Play-Doh. Fun, but only in tiny doses. Becomes overbearing quickly. Just a tiny spay does it.

The basic premise of this fragrance is pretty easy to figure out, it's a "playful" sweet youthful masculine scent made for clubbing and parties, but that in and of itself isn't a big deal. The huge problem for me personally, is this really should have been Givenchy Play (2008), but since they decided to launch a thin, deliberately underpowered version of this scent then give you the "real" one as Givenchy Play Intense (2008) with a simultaneous (but more expensive) launch, it comes across like a shameless money grab. When you further factor in the warp speed nature of 2000's Givenchy masculine market releases and flankers, plus the willy-nilly way in which they arbitrarily make some limited, others duty-free only, still others discontinued in short order, and it all adds up to being frustratingly exploitative of trend. Play was horrible, and Play Intense is only made slightly better (becoming tolerable) by actually having an okay base under the rest of the scent.

Emile Coppermann and Lucas Sieuzac speed dial the first Givenchy Play with minimal tweaks and a decent base, which could end the review here, but I'll go through the motions for those not familiar with the standard Play. The opening is a melange of sweet green citruses and pepper, but the rounder pink pepper replaces the original's black pepper. Ethyl maltol sugary notes float into a heart of hedione and geranium, with an added boozy note also not in the original which adds a bit more interest for my nose. Rounded sweet tonka and denatured "fruitchouli" style patchouli are reprised from the original Play, but are both much bolder and more noticeable. The vetiver here is nutty but the heavier dose of sweetened tonka and patchouli buries it, with the woody-amber tones reduced in this version in favor of that tonka. Givenchy Play Intense wears long enough for an evening, but still not really longer than the original, but it does have better projection. Honestly, you can do better, as this DNA found it's way into later scents. Best use is fall through spring at night.

For as plainly average and insipid as this is, at least it's wearable, which is why I don't hate Play Intense, but having to realize that this intense iteration is really the standard one while the standard one is just sub-par garbage is insulting to my intelligence as a potential buyer. Otherwise I can forgive the period "iPod packaging" that many designers were using to attract millennial consumers of the time (right before the economic crash destroyed their hopes of ever having a permanent career or owning anything). I'd call this a good cheap gift for a teen but Givenchy axed it in 2018 and now prices are ridiculous because the usual suspects hyped this up as the next lost masterpiece of the unicorn kind. Anyone believing that nonsense is kidding themselves when Calvin Klein still regularly releases fruity tonka patchouli mishmash like this in various flanker forms and Paco Rabanne 1 Million (2008) is still readily available (and infinitely better). Your best bet is to leave Givenchy Play Intense on pause. Neutral

I call this frag Donut Shop. I've had it for awhile. I liked it. I didn't like it. It sat on the shelf for a year. I liked it again. I didn't like it. It sat on the shelf again. I'm on the fence now, but I wear it here and there.
REVIEW: It's a club scent. A sweetie. A little more mature though because it is soooo syrupy. It seems slightly boozy, but because of the aged donut shop thing going on. Put a donut shop in an oak cask and age it for 12 years = Givenchy Play Intense.