Idylle Eau de toilette

This is just so pretty and dainty. It is a precious spring-like scent. I really love it. I am new to fragrance and very new to Guerlain, so I don’t know if this is different than older formulations in longevity (I’m sure it is), but that is a problem here. I think I get maaaaaybe 2 hours tops on my skin, but until the next day on clothing which is good. But it changes a lot on clothing. Not for the worse, thankfully. It’s just muskier and less precious and dainty. On my skin, this as I said is a very pretty, dewy, springtime in a bottle scent. On the dry down, only on my clothes, the musk comes out, but it’s a very delicate, clean musk The opening on both skin and clothes is all Lily of the Valley and Peony, very dewy and floral sweet. It must be due to the musk that comes in the dry down on clothing that people notice the similarities to Narcisco Rodrigues for Her. I personally have never smelled that fragrance (but intend to!) but my signature, SJP’s Lovely, gets compared to that all of the time. On a recent occasion I went to wear a cardigan that I had worn the day before while wearing Idylle. When I put on the cardigan I thought to myself “Why does this smell like Lovely? I didn’t wear it yesterday.” But I connected the dots here on Fragrantica. So if anything, since Idylle is so similar to my signature scent, at least on the dry down, I really have reason to enjoy it even more.

This is very beautiful and classy, not just because of the Guerlain name. Not loud like any roses perfume that are sharper, nor pretentious. It is well balanced and the chypre gives it just enough oomph to make it modern and the same time classic ( I know, weird right?...). It is different from any other perfume it is being compared to (SJP's Lovely is more flowery, NR's For Her edt is sharper (read:strong) and Tocca's Collette is fruitier). I tried both EDP and EDT and they smell almost the same except that the EDP lasts longer and little bit tangy because of Litchi and depends on your body chemistry it will give off this chypre sour smell in the dry down, which is not offensive (in fact it is interesting) but quite common in some mainstream perfume e.g. CHLOE Chloe EDP and LANCOME Miracle(not the flankers). So if you want to try something different from among the recent flankers or the usual gourmands that is flooding the shelves (I know even a house like GUERLAIN has to go with the flow to be competitive), this is a very good choice. It's been around awhile but you will still smell unique.

This EDT is sublime. One of the most beautiful, delicate, sweet, feminine floral ever smelled. The quality of flowers in this scent is excellent. I can sniff mostly rose, peony lily-of-the-valley and jasmine. Wonderful. I definitely LOVE it! I get lots of compliments when I wear this, it's one of my top 3 favorites. Compared to the EDP, this EDT is sweeter (I can detect a touch of honey in it), more flowery and less musky. I love them both. From Guerlain site, this is the composition (slightly different from the one above): "Idylle opens with a shower of flowers, a fresh and joyful bouquet composed of lily of the valley, peony, freesia, white lilac and orange blossom. The heart reveals jasmine paired with a blend of Bulgarian roses. In the base, the chypre accord of patchouli and white musk is enlaced with delicate ylang-ylang notes". If you love Diorissimo, you must try this. It's also similar to Valentino by Valentino, 1978. Congratulations, Mr Wasser, for this adorable scent.

I own the EDT, the EDP and Sublime, and I love them all. I prefer to wear the EDT in the summer, the EDP in cooler weather or evenings, and Sublime is an anytime fragrance. I have owned the EDT for quite a while and have never really 'timed' the longevity, just assumed that as an EDT it obviously wasn't going to stay around long......How wrong was I? Yesterday I wore the EDT from 7am until 10pm, and could still faintly smell it before climbing into bed. 15 hours for an EDT is amazing! Previously I could never choose my favourite Idylle from the 3 I have, but these past few weeks I have fallen head-over-heals with the EDT, it's fresh flowers, and it makes me feel cheerful whenever I spray it. Strangely enough, I have 100ml of Sublime, 100ml of the EDP and only HALF a 35ml bottle of the EDT, THAT is about to change! I need a full 100ml of this as I can see me wearing a lot of this this year.

This fragrance has been wrongly maligned by the perfume community at large. I myself ignored it for years after reading several unenthusiastic reviews that referred to it as basic, boring and unbefitting the house of Guerlain. This is just lovely. Honeyed flowers (on my skin, mostly lily-of-the-valley and lilac), warm and fluffy musk and I swear I get sandlewood. It feels warm and casual and urban and sophisticated at the same time. It’s a fragrance that isn’t trying too hard because it’s comfortable in its own skin. Effortlessly beautiful. The comparisons to Narciso Rodriguez for her are overstated. The similarities are fleeting. I was worried that having both would be redundant, but rest assured they are entirely distinct compositions that share a bit of the same DNA.