Idylle

I haven't tested any of these kind for a while so it is a good reminder today how these scents smell too, I mean, feminine and classic type, also Guerlain itself. Of course I wouldn't wear it when going out but enjoying one "secretly" at home is almost like a treat :) It has mostly rose in it but something also turns it to a bit yellow direction, whatever it is. White flowers? In my experience it's not / not really that but I am not a professional nose either. Lily of the valley is my nr. 1 smell in the nature to smell once a year but I only read about it as a note in Idylle here in the FR page's list of notes: there's none of that in this scent, at least to my nose (or my tester has lost something). I definitely can smell it in some others like Yves Rocher Muguet En Fleurs and Byredo Inflorescence, my two best LOTV scents which present this amazing princess of flowers (that is, the highest rank) from two different perspectives. I also see peony as a note but it's not here and I know how peony smells, there is a small bush of them blossoming at the moment in front of my house, and this too belongs to the top 5 of all flower scents. Almost forgot: at least from my original plastic tester the very first opening smelt like plastic :) But that disappeared in a minute and took the sweet rosy tone afterwards. One more thing, more general. The previous commenter mentions baby wipes. I have seen this comparison many times in reviews along with other such like bug spray or toilet freshener or dish washing liquids. I don't really understand these comparisons because they are mostly done for a negative association and they give the impression that the smell is bad -- but bad because of what? That's the puzzling part to me. Is it bad because 1. the mentioned everyday commodity has a similar smell and that thing is cheap and that same cheapness is presented in the perfume? Or, 2. even if the everyday's commodity smells good, it's just the similarity that makes it bad? So the producer of those common things has made a wrong choice and has used a scent that is too good for that thing? So the everyday things should not have any of scents at all, and if they have, the worse they are the better scents they have used because then people connect the real perfumes with those good scents in the everyday stuff? I don't really understand what's going on here. I can totally imagine that many cheap perfumes share the same cheap base with those cheap everyday things and both can be not pleasant scents (they smell like petty attempts to smell good or smell like a certain flower) -- in this case the comparison works, I understand it. But if the everyday thing smells good then why is this taken as a bad thing when the same good smell is present in a perfume? I would rather like it then, no matter the source and I would refer to the similarity in a good sense. Anyway, I doubt Guerlain can be really accused in using cheap stuff that's been used anywhere else -- unless that "anywhere else" thing is also made by Guerlain or any other designer company and typically costs more too. I barely use anything that smells strong in my household (except perhaps air fresheners that are supposed to have smell) and prefer all those things and chemicals not be strongly scented so I haven't acquired those negative connections. It's just my opinion and experience, I wonder if Fragrantica has ever written about this problem.

I am so crazy about Idylle I almost don’t know where to begin. I’ve tried and rejected so many rose perfumes - Bvlgari Rose Essentielle, L’Artisan Parfumer Drole de Rose, SJP Lovely, Stella McCartney Stella etc - because some element of each was not the rose I wanted it to be. I still feel sad remembering the disappointment of the lovely rose fragrances from Les Parfums de Rosine: La Rose, Rose d’Ete, Roseberry, Ecume de Rose - gorgeous, gorgeous perfumes that would have been my idea of heaven, except that on me they had very little sillage or staying power to speak of. They may be beautiful fragrances, but when all you can smell after an hour is a faint trace, the fact is you are going to be disappointed. I was feeling like I was never going to find a rose fragrance I could make my signature .... and then I tried Idylle. I almost wasn't sure at first - I couldn't quite believe what my nose was telling me. Surely there had to be a flaw somewhere? But no, there isn't. I tested it at my nearest Guerlain counter for several days, and was so impressed I bought the biggest EDP. I'm in love with Idylle. For me it starts out with a burst of sweetly soft and romantic florals - jasmine, freesia, lilac, lily of the valley - a very sweet, clean, happy opening. But after that initial floral burst, it quickly loses the girlish sweetness and settles down (in about a half hour) to a luxurious but subdued, warm musky rose that stays true and strong on me for the next 7-8 hours, with very satisfying sillage that keeps on surprising me with the occasional whiff of its lovely understated rosy chypre heart. I couldn't ask more of a perfume than that. Guerlain’s official description refers to "the scent of cashmere on the skin," and that is exactly how it feels to me. Elegant, warm and luxurious, but quite understated. A truly beautiful fragrance I will be in love with for a long time to come!

Last year I made a successful blind buy with Idylle Love Blossom, so I also wanted to get to know the original Idylle. I was a bit sceptical, as I'm neither a big fan of lily of the valley, nor of fragrances that are similar to Narciso Rodriguez For Her (EDP/EDT). In my opinion this is quite atypical for Guerlain, no Guerlinade here. But it's beautifully blended, just like most of their other releases. I guess they're the only house that can make a scent like this work for me! Idylle is indeed similar to the NR For Her line. It uses the same kinds of musk and patchouli. But the notes around them are different. This has a nectar-like, warm and honeyed floral accord that feels very springy, as if it had golden pollen floating around it. I don't smell a lot of lily of the valley, more rose and lilac, but I think the clean dewiness of LOTV might balance out the musk. In the opening, the litchi and raspberry add a lovely juicy freshness that only lasts for a short while. My problem with the NR For Her line is that the musks turn kind of dirty and very overwhelming to my nose after a while. It never happens with Idylle. The scent always keeps the fresh floral notes besides the musk, so it stays clean and polished all through the drydown. The overall feeling I get here is romantic, but also put-together. It makes me think of a strong-willed woman who likes to wear flowy floral dresses, soft pink blush and long wavy hair. As I already have Love Blossom, I don't need this, they are very closely related. In direct comparison, Love Blossom is a little less musky and more focused on the beautiful honeyed lilac. I have only tested this from the bee bottle, no idea if it smells different in other versions.

Wow. I have no idea how I hadn't encountered this fragrance before, especially in my hunt for a fresh green rose-led floral following the loss of Lancôme's Miracle So Magic, which I loved. I'm also a big fan of other Guerlain scents, especially the Mon Guerlain range (the Florale flanker being among my very favourites). My introduction to Idylle was smelling it on a neighbour and immediately asking her what she was wearing. She very kindly gifted me a bottle, and it is gorgeous! I was afraid I might repeat my experience of D&G Light Blue, which smells intoxicating on others but like a Glade air freshener on me. Luckily, Idylle works well with my chemistry, and it smells really sophisticated. The rose note is the strongest initial hit for me, and it's definitely a youthful, sweet rose, balanced by the green and other sweet notes. I'm not a fan of prominent patchouli notes (it's even too strong in SJP's Lovely for me); the patchouli note here is subtle and blends in beautifully with the fresh green notes. I'm curious to see if the litchi note emerges more in the development, as it is one of the most prominent notes I picked up when I first interrogated my neighbour about her fragrance. My continued obsession with Miracle So Magic is somewhat satisfied with Idylle's lily-of-the-valley and rose top notes, as well as the musk. Idylle also reminds me just a little of Joy by Dior, but without the mysterious, headache-inducing note that made me ultimately decide against purchasing that one. When this bottle of Idylle runs out, I'll likely buy it again. It's a safe blind buy for a person of any age who likes a green, rosy floral.

If gold had a scent, it would smell like Idylle.. That's how I describe it whenever people ask me what Idylle smells like - PURE GOLD, like its bottle! Another masterpiece by Thierry Wasser! Oh, this perfume is so underestimated and I don't even know why. Only a few people actually know this gem by Guerlain, and it causes usually a hate-it or love-it reaction... I particularly love it, for many reasons... 1. It's one of the rare perfumes that you can wear both in warm and cold days. Very versatile because it's floral but at the same time the strong patchouli and musk base notes (I can find a little bit of amber in it, too) make a very warm dry-down. 2. It's so feminine, and chic, and it can be worn both by younger and older women. Like I said, it's very versatile, and it is really noble to my nose... 3. Jasmine here is GORGEOUSLY placed in the middle notes... Together with Bulgari Jasmin Noir this is a perfume that shows how beautiful a Jasmine note can be... What I find beautiful about this perfume is that, to me, Jasmine is the center of everything... the Rose and other floral notes, together with the musk and patchouli notes work as a 'frame' to enhance the beauty of the Jasmine, which, to me, is the star of this perfume. If you want something different, unique, ethereal and strong at the same time, give this piece of gem a try... Idylle, like the name very well describes it, is completely dreamy and poetic, something only a goddess would wear. IT SMELLS LIKE GOLD!