L’Homme Idéal Eau de Parfum

Ownership status: Full bottle Release year: 2016 How I tested it: Multiple wears As a perfumer, my favorite style/genre of fragrances is what I call “barbertrope”: a classic barbershop vibe with a sweet, creamy heliotropin twist. Some examples are PDM Pegasus, Amouage Reflection Man, and Creed Delphinus, and all three of these fragrances happen to be some of my favorites of all time, along with Guerlain L’Homme Ideal EDP. Heliotropin, a sweet, powdery, and floral almond-like aromachemical, is the star, giving a creamy almond-floral scent that’s soft yet sophisticated, though some people think it’s a bit too powdery or childish. As the name suggests, heliotropin does smell a bit like heliotrope, but it lacks the spiciness and isn't as powdery or cherry-like. No matter what anyone else thinks of it, it will always be my favorite perfume material. Barbertrope scents usually downplay the aromatics like lavender or rosemary and let spices lift the heliotropin, keeping it from smelling like a lifeless cloud. Sandalwood pairs perfectly with it, and some coumarin (natural compound that gives tonka bean its scent) or bicyclononalactone (similar to coumarin) amps the sweet creaminess. In a sweet and cozy scent like this, you wouldn’t expect to see notes like lavender, rosemary, or thyme, but now you know why they’re there and how they work. L’Homme Ideal EDP takes this barbertrope DNA to the next level: it’s richer, sweeter, and more vanillic than most, with almond, tonka, and vanilla leading the way. The cherry is dark and rum-like, not the medicinal, cough-syrupy cherry you sometimes get in benzaldehyde-heavy fragrances, and definitely not like Cherry Coke. As much as I love almond notes, I hate benzaldehyde, which is naturally found in bitter almonds and adds a sticky, medicinal, and sharp cherry+almond note, like in Tom Ford’s Lost Cherry. To many people, it smells harsh and aggressive, or as some of you amateurs like to call it, “synthetic.” The cherry here has almost none of that harsh sticky benzaldehyde smell and instead is much darker and juicier. I love that the accord here is built, not just slapped together from a single chemical. This is the type of scent that you can’t ignore when you smell it in the air. Out of all the fragrances I have, it gets the most compliments in the least amount of time. People notice it immediately. It’s approachable, sweet, and creamy, and distinctive enough to stand out in a crowd, and on my skin, it’s stronger than most people say it is. With this scent profile and noticeable-but-not-overwhelming projection, I think this is the most perfect date night fragrance a man can ever wear. I’ll never stop recommending this fragrance to anyone just starting to build their collection. Rating: 9.7/10

You know me when it comes to perfumes, I usually write a small essay trying to cover every single aspect of it the way I would like to know if I read it from a fragrantican. Why am I saying this? Because in the past I've said that male perfumes started to be very boring and linear. You either like one or not, so simple. What happens here? The BEST male perfume ever smelled. I mean it even beats Chanel's classics, should I say YSL's La nuit de l'homme too? Yes, why not? It's sexy, it's bold, it's masculine, well blended, complex, as 'sweet' as a gentelman should be, sporty and dressy at the same time, you want me to tell more? I can't yet call it unique but this perfume can be easily not only a signature scent, but also a great gift. No men in the world will dislike it, don't ask me about women. It's a seducer. Don't worry about cherry or almond note, it's more of a combination that brings a dry marascino liquor effect. This is it's uniqueness if we could say. Vanilla and tonka bean are so light, as much as needed for a male perfume to warm it and empower the 'cherry' note. In general, it belongs to spicy/aromatic family, I can smell almost all of it's notes listed above but spices are rocking hard. In a few words, spices, incense, green herbs, the right sweet (not gourmandise at all) touch, sandalwood, maybe leather is missing or it's very soft. OK, nobody is perfect so the only minus? It can't be versatile! I know we can wear what we like, there are no genders in perfumes or right ages but this is a 30+ one, winter-fall. Maybe summer will make it kind of generic or overwelming. Hope you enjoyed reading.

This is the first fragrance that has truly blown me away. Wow. The whole way through it's very hard to put words to because it's so well blended and just forms into this anomalous whole. I feel like behind each main player are several others in supporting roles, giving depth and nuance but escaping my direct notice. The opening I get a dark, tart cherry and whiskey, maybe a little lavender and incense? It really is so well blended that I srtuggle. At this point I'm not sure what to think of it. Certainly not a love just yet. I read a review describing it as similar to cherry coke, and I can't un-notice that similarity now. 10 minutes later I'm greeted by a bit of powdery sandalwood and vanilla, along with a little bit of almond. A short while after this, something clicks and... OH MY. I'm lovestruck. I lost all analytical thought and stopped searching for notes, just sitting in awe and appreciation of the moment. Fantastic. The vanilla and sandalwood really balance everything and create this incredibly detailed and complex aroma that seems to dance and shimmer. From here on it sort of alternates back and forth between the tart cherry-whiskey-incense 'cherry coke' and the absolute heart stopper with vanilla, sandalwood and almond. Each time the shift happens it gets a little closer to a balanced mix of the two halves. (Rose snuck in at some point, too - when did that happen?). My head is trying to tell me I might be short on appropriate occasions to wear it, but my heart says I should never stop wearing it, appropriateness be damned - you don't try to find time to schedule love.

No idea why it took me this long to leave a review on the FIRST fragrance I’d ever bought with my own dough but oh boy... close to 40 designer, clone and niche perfumes later and this fragrance still slaps meat especially at its price point. Guerlain is definitely my favourite house as they rarely ever miss and this masterpiece which honestly smells niche level for almost a decade now. Scent: Sweet cherry and almonds that dries down into this light leather smell with a tinge powdery. I’ve dreaded typing a review for this because honestly I have no idea how to describe the smell it’s just so rich and complex which is crazy to me because it’s only a designer. I have niche perfumes that don’t even smell as sophisticated or well blended as this. BANGING. Performance: Fairly good I would say. Got the job done as my signature scent, lasted long enough through school days and part-time work shifts with people being able to smell (and compliment) me occasionally. Not beast mode but it definitely isn’t weak and it gets the job done. Versatility: 18 year old me rocked this as a signature. With my infinite wisdom and fragrance knowledge I probably wouldn’t be wearing this in the tropical heat daytime but it definitely slaps as a special occasion scent. Still usable in the day but maybe just limit how much you spray. Scent: 10/10 Performance: 7/10 Versatility: 6/10 Personal Score: 8.5/10 I can’t stress how good L’Homme Ideal EDP smells even if performance and versatility might not be anything spectacular, the scent itself really is. Signature scent worthy ON EVERYTHING I LOVE.

Almond? Say less. This isn’t usually the style of almond I go for, though. I usually prefer softer, airier, and more powdery almond scents; the kind you find in Pegasus, High Frequency, or Hypnotic Poison. But this one takes a bit of a different approach, and honestly, it still completely works. Guerlain L’Homme Ideal Eau de Parfum blends creamy almond and bright cherry, thanks to that dose of benzaldehyde, with darker undertones of leather, spices, and incense. It opens with a tart cherry note that’s lifted by very subtle aromatic herbs, and the almond steps in soon after. The spices follow closely behind, adding a bit of sharpness and depth. Normally, that kind of intensity isn’t my thing, but here, it all comes together beautifully. As it dries down, the vanilla and leather combo takes over, and the result is incredibly addictive. This fragrance is sexy, charismatic, and surprisingly unique. It smells unbelievably beautiful in the air, and it stands out in a crowd and earns compliments because it grabs attention in the right way. It doesn’t smell like your typical “guy in cologne” scent. It'll make people curious but won't annoy anyone. Perfect date night material. Signature-worthy. Projection is noticeable but not loud or obnoxious. It has just the right presence for dates or close encounters. Longevity is solid too, lasting a good 10 to 11 hours before fading into a skin scent. Scent (on skin): 8/10 Scent (sillage): 10/10 Projection: 6.5/10 Longevity: 8/10 Value: 8/10 Originality: 7.5/10 Mass appeal: 8/10 Versatility: 6.5/10