Tonka Imperiale

Tonka Imperiale Guerlain I really want to love this one, like really. I tried it 3 times already trying to find the aspect I like. I really prefers the way Guerlain use tonka. It is blends with Vanilla so well, mildly smoke. It is guerlain’s signature. But it pulls too creamy/nutty, too aromatic and too tobaccolike more than I can use. It is really masculine. Tonka Imperiale is that fragrance for best interpretation of high quality tonka. Not overly sweet, I just sad that this is not pulling in the way I prefers. Maybe, if my teste grow overtime but it is really too masculine to use everywhere I want to go.. For anyone who prefers to buy or bidding with the bullets. Please go ahead, My local Guerlain counter in Thailand had officially confirmed that this will be on "while stock last basis', it is like 6-7 bottles in 200 ml. left. In legacy of "Thierry Wasser", this represent his most strong DNA for the fragrance. both Guerlainade and Personal style, which beautifully transfers guerlain L'homme IDEAL. The modern Icon, this is his body of work. I wish, I wish I could buy. but I don't like the idea buying fragrance just for display. I prefers to spray the art over all my body and enjoy it as the way perfumer's intension. I don’t think Fève Délicieuse can hold the candle to Tonka Imperiale which go Amber-Fougere way and tonka was too interrupting by caramel and other support note. (Chocolate?) I don’t get the powdery tonka as good as this. The cloest one that I like for Tonka usage similar to this way is World According to Arthur Penhaligon's. But it's still so far-far away. Not mon-Guerlain for me ===== Edit 1 on March 11, 2024 I am lucky to land on 75ml. version of Tonka Imperiale. I got it around USD170 (60ml.) left. so I can appreciate this work from time to time. I can't commit 200ml. bottle as of now. I know I will be barely use. This is just ideal size to me. ===== Comparison (Book shape bottle 75ml. (formula 13656) vs 200ml.) This is so wried, this doesn't smell like anything I can remember.. from bigger bottle. This book shape bottle smell more like Cherry with soft powder almond at the base. It is somehow remind me of new "Feve Gourmand" being Cherry/Chocolate lay on powdery vanilla / almond gourmand. This 75ml. bottle smell beautiful and not at all Masculine, the Tobacco is not as strong as the bigger bottle one which almost reach "Vetiver Tonka" by Hermessense level. The Rosemary here is prominent in both but then it is softer quite fast and connect with velvety almondy vanilla powder at the base. it is not go as aromatic as the new version. The 200 ml glass falcon, as I mention above.. it is very masculine. This is somehow land perfectly in unisex level being Cherry-like scent that linger. Stay present very long time cohesively stay with other element. Newer one, just show this aspect too little then it walk to smoky almondy gerualin vanilla kind of way. I really enjoy this version more. Is this one also face unfaithfully reformulation when it changes to glass falcon as well?!?

I just spent the last few weeks testing an original 2010 gold box batch; 2019 purple leather box (black cap) batch and the supposed “super potent” 17751 batch of the last bottles (the rectangular bottles) of Tonka Imperiale. ——————————-——— While the most recent batches (17751) do have strong presence in the opening, the bitter almond and Tonka was more like the dense black cherry cola feel from Tonka Sarrapia Extrait. It doesn’t smell as balanced with the herbs and incense/tobacco. I found after 30 minutes it sat closer to my skin and didn’t last nearly as long as the older formulas*** (6 hours of low projection 12/13 hours longevity) _____________________________ The gold box (batch 04796M) had the most balanced feel - the almond, herbs and incense being felt from start to finish. This batch has a strong gourmand feel, almond cream anglaise with earl grey tea comes to mind. This one seems to grow. It starts a bit quiet but leaps off the skin like an aura as it warms giving very strong projection for 10 hours (longer on clothes) a get a total of 18 hours before I have a hard time smelling it on my skin. ______________________________ The purple box (batch code 13656) Had a slight alcohol scent when first spraying but quickly dissipated- this formula was the most herbal: the rosemary, pine and bergamot being felt more than the almond and Tonka but hours later melted into the bitter almond, incense and a creamy tonka with nutty, leathery nuances. The base had the same creme anglaise gourmand feel as the gold box batch. Surprisingly, the 2019 batch was the longest lasting on me; going 20 hours on my skin (projecting well for 8/9 hours) ———————————————- Note:I did test the latest/last batch from a 3ml sample (thank you Maggie!!) So perhaps if I sprayed from a bottle I would get more fragrance on skin, but I was sort of let down by the “super potent” batch. It was as if they took the last of Tonka Imperiale and mixed it with Tonka Sarrapia. I hope that helps anyone who cares -Kimberly Rose **** I haven’t tested other 50/100/200ml rectangular bottle formulas. There are at least 6 different batch codes for TI though that doesn’t necessarily mean the scent was tweaked. Many of the nuance differences can come down to the aging process.

I’m actually surprised at how many people did not comment about the green opening of this fragrance. Tonka Imperiale, to my nose, almost exclusively smells strongly of rosemary in the opening. I almost didn’t like it, being that I’m not a fan of any kind of green note, but as it dries down, it becomes heavenly. It becomes the scent I was expecting. I’ll try to describe this as accurately as I can as it appears to me and my nose. The opening is strong, almost green due to the rosemary. That’s almost exclusively all I could smell once I sprayed it. I almost didn’t like it. I set it down and came back to it in about 20 minutes. Not to check to see if it had changed, but because I started smelling something creamy. I checked my wrist and arm and it was me! I smelt creamy, and sweet. But not your typical average “pastry” kind of sweet. This was a seductive, sensual kind of sweet. It’s dark and mysterious. It’s inviting. It beckons to whomever smells it. You’ll want to keep smelling it. It’s alluring. It’s exactly what I wanted. I can’t even stop smelling myself enough to write this review. I smell, for lack of a better phrase: delectable, classy, and expensive. The tonka, almond and vanilla are the notes peaking through in this dry down. You definitely pick up on the insense too mixed with the a bit of the tobacco. I believe that is what’s giving this fragrance it’s inviting characteristic. I’m not getting much on the projection and sillage, but I’m just at home. I’ll come back and update on that once I wear this fragrance out. This was a blind buy for me and I do not regret a single thing. If you are like me, and you just adore seductive, sensual, sweet scents, you need to try this one. Edit: The longevity is incredible. I got about 8-9 hours on this and probably would’ve gotten longer had I not gone to the gym and sweat some of it off. The projection was moderate for me, and was slowing becoming more of a skin scent as the day went on. It wasn’t sitting too close to the skin. If I moved, you could smell it. It still left a trail wherever I walked. Enough for people to get a whiff and ask me what I was wearing. Definitely a brilliant fragrance, very well executed.

Best tonka scent ever created? To me it is!! This is a masterpiece of perfumery, a legendary fragrance from an amazing house!! This opens resinous, herbal and green form the pine tree,rosemary, maybe amber, a bit dark from the incense and the tobacco but under that there is the gourmand part of the fragrance with creamy tonka almond and some jasmine. It's so well blended and not so easy to detect the notes, the quality is at the highest level. As it goes to the drydown this becomes more like a dough and this is the only similarity that this shares with Dior's Feve Delicieuse (to me they are completely different). I find it so unique and complex that doesn't remind me of any other fragrance! Performance is the only drawback, it doen't perform as i wish and the bubble sprayer is not that easy to use. I get about 5-6 hours longevity with moderate to soft projection. The smell is so divine and breathtaking that i would love to fill the room, to be able for everyone to smell me but this fragrance isn't that. It's more like a personal scent that has to be discovered. It's very versatile and easy to wear and to like, because of it's bad performance i will try it even on summer nights that it could project a bit more. It leans masculine because of the darker notes (tobacco, incense) but still quite unisex. Overall, this is one of the most divine smells i encountered in my fragrance journey! This is a masterpiece and in my opinion the clear winner in the tough "best tonka" battle. The performance leaves a lot to be desired but the smell makes up for it! A must try for everyone who loves the art of perfumery!

I wish I’ve met Tonka Imperiale earlier in my journey. Why? Because I’ve encountered fragrances alike but noisy, example is Tobacco Vanille. Now I also understand why Guerlain labels the L’arte et la Matiere line as intense but disappoints most people declaring its weakness in projection and horrible pricing. Well, I could agree but no. Guerlain’s (L’arte) fragrances are indeed intense because when you smell them and introspection comes, then one can confirm the coalescence of the notes rather than how other brands put them off: a promising top notes register but a weak and disappointing base. I seem to digress. Tonka Imperiale opens herbal or perhaps medicated and I believe that comes from rosemary and incense. If you had the chance to experience the edp of Shalimar then you’d know how this offers incense as an aftertaste rather than an all-encompassing ingredient. The transient tops notes give way to the tobacco and that vintage vanilla and amber pairing. It’s reminiscent of my Must and Dune but those are heavily-brocaded iterations. This on the other hand is quite restrained, giving you that overly sweet scratch at the back of your throat if you press your nose against skin sprayed with it. My critical mom approves of this along with Rose Barbare commenting as expensively-made. Specifically, this one translates in sillage as creamy, sweet and I agree with one reviewer: a quiet but intense scent. As the drydown comes, the creamier it gets and gives hints of the rosemary at the top. It’s beautiful and puts me at peace.

On one of the last cool mild nights of the season here in Florida I was wondering what fragrance to wear. I had an important business dinner with visiting associates. I went to my Guerlain shrine and pulled this gorgeous baby out of its stunning box. The warmth, the sensuality, the raw energy is what seemed fitting. I have to admit I put this on as I was getting ready. The cloud made me feel calmed. It made me feel feminine. Not like a girly lady but a mature woman ready to take on the world. Upon first spritz Tonka Imperiale is intoxicating. The Tonka and the Tobacco are prominent on my skin. The Almond adds a gorgeous Powdery nutty essence too. The Bergamot is not too strong but it is noticeable as well. I am in the highest of Heavens. As it wears the Jasmine starts to poke out from beneath the strong opening. I also detect the Rosemary. Then as it develops I start to pick out Incense and Cedar. The Pine is not very noticeable on my skin. At least not to me. The dry down is close lying but I can still smell this divine juice in my bubble. I have a strange addiction to Tonka Imperiale. The truth is usually when I wear it I try not to dissect it but just enjoy the olfactory ride. It is well worth it. I will always own a bottle of this Earthy well formulated masterpiece of a fragrance. Modern art it is! Thank you and much love to its genius creator Thierry Wasser. From me it gets a 10/10 there is not a doubt!

First of all, I like that most (if not all) of Guerlain fragrances contain more natural ingredients than others. I am a huge fan of this House and I have been buying from them for years. I have many bottles and all have in common two things – unique (identifiable) DNA and good longevity. Even cheaper perfumes from this house stay on you for a while. In case of Tonka Imeriale, I was sold to the fact that not many perfumes have tonka bean as their chief note. I love it although I think it is definitely not for a younger crowd. It smells mature, for a woman in her forties or fifties with a large, expensive leather bag. It gives this vibe for sure. It is very strong so spray carefully. Definitely not for a hot summer day at the beach. Good for a sunny, but cool autumn day with lots of red and yellow leaves around. I like the option of having your name engraved on the bottle and the way you can customise the cap. The price tag is a bit too high but given that the House uses so many more natural ingredients than others, I can excuse it. Definitely a statement. If you find it to be too much, try a good, more affordable alternative – Velvet Tonka by BDK. Very similar and also great longevity.

A Crispy French Almond cake blended with tonka and a hint of vanilla. This is one of the few fragrances where I instantly grabbed a bottle after initial spray. Tonka Imperiale is a beautifully well-blended, simple, yet complex fragrance that dances on the edge of being overbearingly sweet or too spicy. I cannot classify TI as being a 100% gourmand nor can I classify it as being 100% warm spicy, and that's why I love it. The almond and tonka are key players in this fragrance and you will get hit by a mix of both at initial spray, probably a bit spicy to the point of making you sneeze. Then almost instantly, the vanilla blends in to add a touch of sweetness and will settle this way for the entirety of the fragrance. This might sound like a simply fragrance, it might be, but i don't think I have a smelled a fragrance that is similar to this one, or as equally well-blended/well-crafted. If you like hearing the notes tonka, almond and vanilla, you should give this a sniff. A small sample will give you enough entertainment but will also have you thirsty for more. I don't think I will run out of a bottle of Tonka Imperiale, ever. This is a timeless fragrance and a true piece of art. 9/10

So, this is the best smelling fragrance I have ever smelled for fall and winter. I have about 180 fragrances, mostly niche and indie but also lots of designers. I've always come back to this and I've never been able to put my nose on anything that smells better than this for the fall and winter. To me, this is a very herbal and woody tonka liquer type scent. This is absolutely not a gourmand fragrance in my opinion. Yes, the vanilla and tonka provide sweetness - but the rosemary, cedar and pine in the base are absolutely balancing aspects. The contrast of the medicinal piney and herbal notes with the sweet dark tonka makes for a totally unique, almost soapy sweet green syrupy tonka. Truly magnificent, and one of those scents that created a scent impression that you will never forget. I've heard people say this leans feminine, but to me it's unisex leaning masculine. This masterpiece manages to be clean, sharp and woody/herbal and syrupy dark smooth sweet at the same time. You've got to smell it. And yes, it does smell like 360 dollars, if that's even possible.

Stunning caramelized tobacco balanced by white florals. I am scratching my head in disbelief that Guerlain discontinued Tonka Imperiale. This is the most beautiful use of tobacco AND tonka in modern perfumery. I've heard from several sources that Tonka Imperiale was discontinued to make way for the Les Extraits Line. While gorgeous in their own right, I find the 50ml extraits to be too impractical for true fragrance enthusiasts that just want to experience a beautiful well blended, daily wearer. I would love to say "try X instead of Tonka Imperiale" but that would be dishonest. Blends like this cannot be duped. Guerlain just needs to give this the same treatment as Gourmand Coquin and re-introduce it under a different name. Please if you are a fan, continue to make noise - that is the only reason we got Feve Gourmande back. Also - I was fortunate enough to find a 200ml bottle in France at retail... There are still some bottles floating around at retail so don't lose hope with finding a bottle without an insane markup if you are wanting this in your collection!

A tribute to Guerlain sensuality. Talking about Tonka Imperiale is like talking about a beautifully crafted song, where every note is thought over and rethought and harmonized in an artistic way, giving birth to the most beautiful melody. Tonka here, with its almond tones, combines with the most beautiful vanilla in perfumery, Guerlain vanilla. To avoid being just a gourmand scent, Thierry Wasser introduces notes of rosemary and tobacco, creating contrast and elegance. There's also an incense-infused and sensual side; of course, Tonka has always been used by Guerlain to stimulate sensuality, and I think Tonka Imperiale is a tribute to sensuality. I was very sad about Tonka Imperiale's demise, but I hope it returns. In March 2025, at a Guerlain event, I met and spoke with Guerlain's Art Director and creator of the L'art & Matière line. I asked her if it was possible for Tonka Imperiale to return, and she said yes, it is. So we can only hope that one day Tonka Imperiale will return to us.

When i first tried this perfume, i don’t know how but i thought it smelt exactly like feve delicieuse with a very little difference. So for me Feve was the winner as it offers better performance and better value for money. Then I tried Tonka Imperiale again at the airport and OMG how beautiful, classy, lady like is this one. This time when I smelt it, it was totally different than Feve delicieuse. The later being more spicy, sour, medicinal like and much more powdery. While Tonka Imperiale is very buttery smooth Tonka with Tobacco. The tonka keeps it powdery and smooth and the tobacco gives it more edge. Then the Jasmine note kicks in giving the tobacco a lil bit floral sweetness, which makes the perfume at this point totally addictive, then comes the cedarwood to compliment the whole symphony and adds to the tobacco and the tonka. I think Tonka Imperiale is now one of my favorites and the quality that Guerlain offers is totally worth every penny! This line is just art at its finest!

This fragrance is so delicious!! I received a sample of this due to Demi Rawling on YouTube. This scent is so smooth, sensual and absolutely delicious. I'm not the type that likes to smell like food or when fragrances smell like sugar. But this is the PERFECT BALANCE; all the notes blend together perfectly. I have to agree with Demi Rawlings description of it. To my nose it is a buttery Tonka Bean with some incense and cedar. To me i don't smell the almond (which i like, i'm not a big almond in fragrances fan). There is the tiniest hint of tobacco where it is almost undetectable. It is mostly a buttery Tonka Bean. My only complaint about this is the sillage, it sits way too close to the skin. It has great longevity; i can smell it on myself all day long, but no one else can smell it unless they are very close to me. I like my fragrances to be pretty beast mode. I want it to project and i want other people to smell me. Scent: 9/10 Longevity: 9/10 Sillage: 5/10

Review from a sample. Upon first spray, I'm taken back to when I owned Feve Delicieuse. I adored that, so I was hoping for something big and strong ... and I didn't get that, which I suppose isn't a bad thing by any stretch. It sits very close to the skin and I don't really get any projection unless the breeze is pushing it up to my nose. Upon dry down, its much more tobacco heavy and the tonka is softened out. Very lovely. I said to the person who I purchased the sample set from that I think it may be the spray mechanism; the way it disperses the perfume, in a fine mist rather than a spritz with more direction. I remember the bottles themselves are much better for the fragrances as a whole. Overall I think its a lovely scent I just think that if you have a store that sells them that has testers, use them for this one but also see if you can get a sample to test at home because the intimate nature I'm getting at the moment is rather lovely.

'L'Art et la Matiere'Tonka Imperiale Eau de Parfum Guerlain truly makes some of the very best fragrances around. Simply sublime. A gorgeous medley of tonka bean, almond, tobacco and incense. The first spray is bergamot with a faint herbal aspect. The almond is so warm, faintly bitter, soothing, balsamic, powdery. On my skin the almond is prominent with soft incense. The tonka bean is heavy, full-bodied and gorgeous. I can still sense the bergamot from the beginning, it is noticeable yet subtle. Tobacco is my favorite note, here it is a gorgeous, heavy and dry tobacco. The rosemary is faint yet noticeable. After a time on my skin, the tobacco is softer, it supports the tonka bean. Longevity on my skin is about 6 hours and it is a skin scent after a few hours of wearing. Tonka Imperiale is very elegant, appealing, effortlessly sultry, versatile for both men and women to wear. When my decant runs out, I will purchase a bottle of this beauty!

I smell this and my nose screams with joy in the deepest and most viscerally elated way possible. It is 24kt gold, fine silverware, Limoges porcelain, the highest of high end bourbons, and all things luxurious in a bottle. It is THE ultimate and definitive sybaritic gourmand of all fragrances. Both the king and the queen. Yes, the sillage leaves something to be desired, but even this foible is not enough to knock it from the precipice of the highest. It is sweet, warm, sexy, and nearly edible in its decadent nature. The tonka, almond, and tobacco here form an inimitable holy trinity of notes. It is beyond amazing. If you have yet to try this, try it. It may be the scent to end all others for you. Hardly an ominous notion in the face of this scent, really. I'm smelling it as I type this and I can honestly say that smelling anything other than this with my last breath of life would be a travesty. Scent: 11/10 Longevity: 6/10 Sillage: 5/10

Tonka Impériale is my go-to tonka bean fragrance. To my nose, it also has prominent accents of honey, gingerbread, almond and tobacco (as referenced on the Guerlain website), with an amber-heavy base of benzoin and vanilla. During the scent journey, I detect numerous facets to the fragrance: there is a caramel-like creamy and buttery texture; it also has a marzipan-like quality with tonka bean giving it a baked cherry pie vibe; some green touches from the aromatic rosemary and pine, the smoky incense and the woody cedar harmonize the fragrance and prevent it from going full-on gourmand. I would categorize it as a unisex fragrance with decent performance on my skin. It is a staple in my fall and winter rotation. Tonka Impériale beautifully captures the essence of Guerlinade and is a must-try for tonka bean and Guerlain aficionados.

One word: opulent. This is for almond/marzipan lovers. Tobacco Vanille was my favorite for years but Tonka Imperiale is now my HG gourmand. I thought L’occitane’s almond shower oil and hand creams were my hg candied almond scent but nope — those are a marzipan that’s more flowery, slightly green. Tonka Imperiale has none of that. And I love it more than Tonka Sarrapia (sp?) which I bought. Imperiale is thick, heavy, velvety, and sweet with no soapy/too-powdery scent of Feve. And I’m so glad I bought some before the discontinuation. I’ve got a 200 and 100 ml bottle stored in a temp-controlled room with Parafilm wrapped around the nozzle of the 200 ml that I’ve been using, unwrapping only to refill my atomizer. I MUST MAKE IT LAST 😤

Intoxicating boozy elegant beautiful Tonka, what a masterpiece. In 2013 I was discovering guerlain L’Art et la Matière line with the old bottles and once the salesman sprayed this I was like I’m in a dream and I was too young for things like this it was one of my first things to bring me inside fragrances world, I bought it because I love it so much and I know what is guerlain mean, I was visiting guerlain Paris boutique yearly with my mom since I was 5 years old. I have the new bottle and they are the same but the new one is a bit stronger and the older one have a little bit powdery feel to it compared to the new one. They are the same but I got these feelings sometimes not always. Beautiful and the best tonka fragrance easily.

To be honest, I can't afford to buy it. I tried it in a store, and oh my God, it was love at first sniff. The scent is warm, rich, and very welcoming. Thierry Wasser, the perfumer, is exceptional at working with almond and tonka bean notes, which are present in many of his creations including the L'Homme Ideal collection. However, the way these notes blend together in this fragrance is perfection. The bitter almond in this one is super sexy. The fragrance is not too sweet, nor floral. It's a refined fragrance, and all notes are so well blended that separating them is difficult. I also get a touch of gourmand feeling from it. I love it but subtract some scores because of a high price. 9/10