Ideal One

I had vouchers to spare and wanted to get By the Fireplace, but got this instead on a whim (it was a very intriguing scent in the store). I am not a fragrance reviewer by any means. I live in a climate where its summer all year long with maybe a few monsoon months, so I don't 'get' the concept behind seasonal scents. But in any case, the box art for this fragrance somehow makes sense. It definitely feels like some cosmic dance and all the notes just align and give each other the right amount of space or overlap and layer themselves perfectly. From the first spritz it opens as something fresh enveloped in something amber-y and lightly herb-y? And as it dries down the herbs get smokier and the amber becomes more lavender and suddenly there's vanilla and wood and it all comes together so well. I really really don't know how they concocted this to have everything hit just right for me. It can easily last up to 10+ hours on me, and the sillage at that point becomes very woody and somehow the herbs are back (still a really really good smell). Yeah this definitely lives up to its name (for me)

i was a little scared to smell this just purely looking at the reviews but i actually think this is a really sexy fragrance :) i get where someone might say it smells a bit metallic or like a garage (lmao) but it's a lot more woody than that in my opinion. if i smelled this on a man you would actually have to physically rip me off of him. this is so sophisticated and manly and the perrrfect amount of maturity. as someone who really hates lavender too i don't get much of that from this scent, mostly just a woody musky blend that pleasantly surprised me! love this, but i do agree this is not a safe blind buy. way too much hate in the reviews for this, i think that it may have to do with the name being a bit misleading. i had this 1.5 ml sample sitting around for a while and if i had tried to spray it before seeing the notes and scanning through the reviews i'm honestly not sure how much i would've liked it. a few hours after putting this on the vanilla reallllllyyy starts to come out. great fragrance.

IDEAL ONE – The Perfect One @maisonmargielafragrances This fragrance has a strong, distinctive scent with clear leathery and medicinal notes, balanced by a soft smoky touch. The opening reminds me of Gucci Guilty Absolute, then it shifts into a more medicinal vibe with a layer of luxurious vanilla. As it dries down, it reveals elegant woody tones with rubbery and resinous sides almost like the subtle scent of a car garage. The scent doesn’t really match the listed notes there’s an unmentioned leather and rubber accord that divides opinions. Some find it bold, elegant, and intriguing, while others think it feels too synthetic or heavy. Despite the mixed views, everyone agrees it’s a fascinating and unique fragrance one that truly stands out. A scent with its own charm perfectly living up to its name.

Smelled this in a store a few weeks ago and knew it would be a full buy. Smoky balsamic smoothness. Leathery and sweet. Its a fragrance I associate with wealthy women in expensive department stores. Theres more of a vanilla here than I expect but its in the background of the fragrance. Might be a top 10 fragrance for me. Soft herbal leather with a sweet smokiness to it. Vanilla base. The leather and wood is the most present. Guaiac wood is key. Pray they dont discontinue it like they did whispers in the library. All my favourite perfumes are getting binned.

I really like this! Was a bit afraid since I blind bought it and so many talk about gasoline notes in their reviews. Although I do like the smell of gasoline 😅 I don't get gasoline from this, just something warm and spicy with the lavender in the background. It is in the same neighborhood as liquid brun although I haven't compared them side to side yet. I find this truly unisex and will be wearing mine in days when the weather isn't too hot. Will update when I compare it to liquid brun but so far I'm happy 😁

Wow, how amazing this fragrance is. It has such a cosmic and truly beautiful genius scent, unlike anything familiar. That smoky, therapeutic aroma blends musky notes with majestic lavender and a deeply dignified character, giving it a dark, almost sinister aura. The fragrance feels intriguing and unusual, with a medicinal vanilla taste—fragile, dry, sweet, and bitter at once. Its performance is moderate, but this fragrance is truly a new icon and will undoubtedly become a signature in their collection.

my going-out fragrance of the year; you gotta like smoky with this one but personally i love it. i see people describing it as bbq or gasoline like and i can see it but i guess i find these scents addictive. its polarizing at first but then you can't get enough. i've gotten a lot of compliments on this one, impact is definitely there. I love it on me (female) but on my boyfriend is is SO sexy, the woody notes are super powerful on him

Absolutely adore this. It smells like the scent I always get from mixing tom ford mhyrre mystre with jazz club or my luca by tsu lang yor. So so so yummy & sultry & organic. Interesting to me that everyone is talking about it smelling super artificial, maybe just different reactions on skin. Genuinely so delicious & woody - dont smell the lavender at all. Honestly i'm so obsessed so it surprises me how much people hate it.

This is an absolutely gorgeous fragrance. I think the poor ratings stem from the fact that the fragrance doesn't really tie into the name, like the other MM Replica ones do. It's deep, complex, powerful. Tons of character to it. Smells powerful from the get go and then dries down to a mix of Ombre Leather and a middle Eastern spicy, resinous vibe. Overall, a lovely fragrance. Not blind buy safe, though.

This goes through gucci guilty absolute, pauses at loewe 7 anonimo in a balsamic sense and then dries down into a fragrance that I associate with wealthy women, I think ive only ever smelled this particular woody smell on wealthy women in department stores in London. Will be a full buy

Amazing fragrance, but the bottle leaked during a flight. I didn’t want to find out the hard way. 😅 Even taping the sprayer didn’t help. I really hope Maison Margiela improves this.

I’m usually not keen on orange blossom and lavender but this is something else, wow.

Testing Ideal One from a 1.5 Maison Margiela official sample. I don’t know if for everyone the ideal perfume would be something super smoky, bitter, oudy, intense resinous, spicy and dark, because the opening of Ideal One is that and nothing else! Personally I doubt this scent would be a mass appealing one and many people would prefer it over something less smoky. But this aside, as the guaiac wood, styrax and elemi gets tamed by an almost equal amount of vanilla, orange blossom, lavender and musk, the scent gets way more balanced and more likeable. It’s something that I could enjoy, but only after the first half an hour and not enough to spend my money on it... For me personally, this scent is a bit too far from my ideal one and I am happy to pas on it. I like smoky and woody, but not at this extent! By the Fireplace is for me the maximum of smoke I can enjoy in a fragrance, that for me, as a woman, still feels perfumey but slightly edgy. Maybe Ideal One is ideal scent for some men, because this is masculine to the core. And cold weather appropriate only!

I asked for a sample of this at Nordstrom and the lady helping me said "ew". I get it. This is not going to work for most people, but I like it. If you like it, just find someone else that like this, especially because this is such a musky fragrance and this is kind of what I imagine raw-love-skin should smell like (Oh just realized Ideal One is the title. Maybe I'm influenced). If that sounds disgusting, smell "Night by Akro" because THAT is disgusting, and that is what they modeled that fragrance after (dirty hot sweaty sex). This is like what Akro Night should have been. But anyways this IS REALLY GOOD

Very nostalgic, almost like your grandmas house or a vintage store, which is a unique scent profile I’ve realised I really like. If you like Volutes by Diptyque, you’ll enjoy this. leather with a hint of lavender and a spicy sweet vanilla that’s reminiscent of Eau delle (which doesn’t suit me but I like it on others.) very tempted to get a full bottle though but I can’t tell you where I’d wear it! The citrus is there but very much an undercurrent. A winter / autumn signature, just wish it had more versatility. This lasts really well too.

In REPLICA’s view, the ideal man must smell like he’s been working in a car shop all day - the smell of solvents, oil and leather emanating from his skin. He comes home after being a grease monkey all day and bathes himself before attempting to mask the workshop scent with a spritz of fougère cologne. He sighs. The smell of cars and solvents is a part of him now, and he has learned to embrace it.

More musky and more woody Althair. A cross of woody and gourmand fragrance. I appreciate it and i like it, but i wouldn't wear it. It smells very french, if that makes any sense

I have a bottle I would like to swap or sell. Message me if interested 😁 UPDATE: claimed!

Smells exactly the same as tom ford eau d’ombre leather

Edt but strong Margiela powerhouse Period

Well, I've worn way worse than this and they had a much higher rating, maybe this is a bit overhated because of the hit/miss ratio of the house? Or maybe because the leather accord should have been the main focus of the note listing, and not described as "skin"? Even though I'm not the biggest fan of leather or oud, and I'm picky with my lavenders and vanillas, I didn't find this challenging in any way. Its vibe is somewhere between Eau D'Ombre Leather and Babycat, and also the orange blossom and vanilla will remind you of Althair for three seconds. Performs very well, projects close but lasts more than 8 hours. I wouldn't skip testing this, since it's so divisive maybe it will be the "ideal one" for you. It's a huge "plain ok" to me.

a dirty car mechanic wearing By the Fireplace and a latex-clad domme wearing Libre Intense, slow-dancing inside an auto repair garage that reeks of rubber, gasoline, motor oil, and newspaper ink. the guiac wood, elemi, and vanilla are constant while the florals fade in and out. the smoky, woodsy drydown is somewhat analogous to BtF, but more dark and mysterious; less warm, sweet, and cozy. the promised “erotic skin fusion accord” or whatever is absent to my nose. i don’t get anything human or animalic, or remotely carnal, hence the slow-dancing. nothing particularly raunchy happened in this garage, and the only filth my nose can pick up is strictly industrial.

Wearing this a bit more I see how it is kinda strange. The orange in the opening is very herbal and dry. The musks overpower the oud in the dry down and it gets a little weird. It lasts forever and took multiple washes to get it off my skin and the smell got annoying after a while. Would have been a love if it had stronger smoother woods or a leather note. I can’t say iv smelt anything like it. Theres nothing I can compare it to. I do see how it’s similar to althair in a very distant darker kinda way. If I go to say it’s more masculine i notice the orange blossom and if I go to say it’s feminine I start to notice the heavier greasier oud.

I wanted to sample this because people described it as a harsh medicinal gasoline hug, which sounds absolutely great to me. I guess I was disappointed because this is a 'brown' scent when expected more of a 'grey' / 'black' scent. It is very leathery and smokey and oud-woody, and I second an earlier reviewer who characterized it "sweaty clothes the day after a campfire". I would be very interested to see comparing this one on one to 'By the Fireplace' by the same house, they share quite some similarity I suspect. Not what I was looking for, but nevertheless I appreciate the bold and daring statement.

The opening smells very herby like thyme or oregano or something. Dry down goes to a deep Smokey musc. There’s something kinda greasy about it but it doesn’t smell like a garage or tire ect. Smells really lovely on clothes and paper but on my skin the musc is a little too much. Lighter on the musc and more on the orange and orange blossom this would have been really beautiful rather than polarising. Still I think this would be really sexy on woman, especially when the deep dry done comes along.

Light (not too perceptible) scent of something leathery almost synthetic, but dense (not too easily dispersed), making the overall feeling towards this leans towards suffocation. Could be that this has not been macerated yet as it’s relatively new. Will probably try this again after several months. Yes, I can see how it’s band-aid like.

i really wanted to like this one but it smells like sweaty clothes the day after a campfire to me. The notes make it look gorgeous but I didn't pick up on most of them because they were overpowered by the smoky smell. I think the notes and overall marketining is very misleading as they don't mention how smoky it is.

Oily waxy woody sexy. Such a great but strange fragrance. Projection is mild but lasts a while on the skin. I don’t get any of the dirty skin aspects tho. Wish they had smaller sizes

This smells like a motorcycle dealership I can't tell if I like it but I can't stop smelling it

Eveyones so dramatic. Smells like a more musky and powdery althair

Things deserve to be considered on their own merit, not just the marketing, but I harp on the marketing because it's bizarre and in conflict with the actual experience. Every part of the description feels at odds with the scent. If I contextualize it through the lens of 'skin fusion accord' and 'carnal and sensual journey' and that space theme for the picture, then I'll be frank, it's terrible. If I strip all that away and just review it on its own, I would think it's a play on 50s Americana: vinyl records, pomade, rubber tires, but fun. It doesn't really smell wearable to me, though I don't think it's outright terrible or a scrubber. It's creative and complex and leans very masculine, if you put stock in that axis. I do think this has an audience for a more adventurous person who likes a themed fragrance and can handle the rubber accord (how is it NOT a rubber accord? I refuse to believe they weren't aiming for it, it's spot on) but I also think a lot of people are going to be confused about why their philosophical space-age 'skin fusion' perfume smells like a dance number from Grease, and the 'modern technological edge' appears to be the newfangled automobile. I do think it's kind of funny that I thought it was gonna be a 'skin scent' and then had a Goodyear tire thrown at my head. I put my sample of Flying over it and that was fun! It was like I was on the Hindenburg!

I do not like this. I love strange fragrances, but this is too much for me. When I initially sprayed this on my skin, I didn't hate it, but it was bizarre. It's a bit like oil in a mechanic's garage...like gasoline too. Listen, I'm the type of person who LOVES the smell of gasoline, but I have realized that I don't want my body to smell like gasoline. It also has a "dirty" skin smell...like going 4 days without showering & then smelling your naughty bits lmao. Someone mentioned an "erotic skin fusion accord" which I'm assuming is what I was smelling. It's overall an unpleasant experience. My disdain for this was solidified when I woke up, put my sweatshirt on, and then experienced tremendous anxiety (which is my norm, but still) because I was smelling gasoline in my apt but then I realized it was my sweatshirt from when I wore this fragrance. I'm grateful I only got a sample of this vs. a full bottle. 1/10.

I can say with all my heart that is not a safe blind buy. Definitely not the “ideal one “ for me. I love celestial whispers , I could eat in it, but this one is a totally diferent universe . I can’t get pass the first notes . Is strong leathery ,machine oil, slight gasoline ... unique but suffocating and nauseating for me . Test it first ! Don’t blind buy , even if you like leather .

The opening smelled pretty good until you leave it for 30 seconds to dry down, then it smells like a mix of synthetic leather, medicine and grease, some vanilla and lavender slightly comes through but not enough to remotely save it. It doesn't smell vile but its one of those things where you are undoubtably better off not wearing it at all. I would give it a 3/10

I really dont understand this fragrance, but for me its smells like some kind of cheap, expired makeup with a chemical lavender scent. The smell is very powdery and I dont feel any wood there at all. Probably one of the worst Maison Margiela fragnance i've had so far. Too artificial and chemical to me, 4/10.

It's strong and harsh, I wouldn't call it "Ideal one" unless the ideal one is an old church or a priest. The smoky leather is heavy and could almost pass for tobacco, but it still gives off mostly "old church wood" vibes. A hard pass.

This smells like a mechanic on the job who just used heaps of hair pomade and is smoking a cigarette, ew...

its like a cleaner minimalistic guiac wood TF's smoky cherry type profile.

absolutely awful. to my nose it smells like it smells like engine oil, dirty bandages and a musty garage. and it's potent. very potent. i made the mistake of spraying the sample on my sweater and i had to wash it twice before the scent was gone. at least it's a very unique smell, i guess

Vile. Smells like burning tires and gasoline. Dirty, sweaty, old leather couch set on fire at a gas station. Plastic and chemicals. Unwearable and honestly should count as assault when worn in public.

So awful I had to leave a review. Like dirty cigarette stained furniture. I love lavender but all I could smell was cigarettes

The listed notes and accords don't forcast the actual smell of this fragrance. I mean, would accords of Woody, Musky, White Floral, and Powdery lead you to believe it would smell like a rubber tire store? There certainly is an unlisted Leather accord, but Also unlisted Rubber accord. Its funny reading the reviews below, but the same descriptors keep showing up. it's like a "Goodyear tire thrown at my head". Its like "working in a car shop all day - the smell of solvents, oil and leather." It smells like "oil in a mechanic's garage." And especially, it smells like "50s Americana: vinyl records, pomade, rubber tires". One thing is certain, it does not evoke the intimacy of a perfect match, as the brand says it's designed to do. So in that way, the perfumer failed. As an unsolicited suggestion from an unqualified FragHead, I would have recommended that he start with the profile of Tom Ford Ombre Leather, which is a far better scent, and use that as the base on which to craft his variation.

I tried this today and from the description it was not at all what I expected, but I was very pleasantly surprised. It’s starts off somewhat fresh with a burst of citrusy top notes followed by an heart of orange blossom and a hint of lavender. But it’s in the dry down that it becomes super interesting. A beautiful rich smoky, base of oud woods, styrax and musks. Unisex but leans a little masculine. Good value for the quality and art of this fragrance. I will definitely be buying a full bottle.

got a tester of this at Nordstrom and I love it. I agree with the person who said it reminds them of a vintage store, but I would say a vintage store from the future or maybe some alternate universe. it's creamy and metallic (in a similar way to pegasus by PDM), woodsy with a hint of leather and some fruit/floral and vanilla to sweeten it. it's more of a skin scent, but it has pretty decent performance. it smells like the sweatshirt your boyfriend lets you borrow.

I just raved about how Celestial Whispers is a most delightful incense fragrance, ...and now I'm going to say something very similar about its compatriot, Ideal One, ...except Ideal One is a more complicated proposition, being a musky, woody resinous melange (elemi, "oud", benzoin and/or storax, nagarmotha, etc), with a freshly aromatic core (good ol' lavender). So exhilarating, ...like taking a high-NRG spin class in the nave of a Gothic cathedral.

This fragrance is GORGEOUS. It's. Definitely not at all what I was expecting and at first I thought it was a bit funky. But as I continued wearing it I find the smell completely intoxicating. It's almost emotional in the way this one comes off. Like a warm hug from someone you care about. It's very heavy on the woods and lavender. The floral kinda come and go. But seriously this is SPECTACULAR. .. BUT do not blind buy!!! Try it first if you can

Not at ALL a "skin scent" in terms of a Glossier or a Escentric Molecules...I can understand the idea of this representing sweaty skin but I really get more of a dirty / oily / smoky vibe from it. It reminds me of Bvlgari Black's rubbery accord, but it doesn't have the beautiful green and vanilla notes to balance it. I don't hate this, but I suspect I won't love it without several wearings in different weather.

This is so interesting, probably because it's not at all what I expected based on the description on the bottle: "Skin musk and lavender". Ummm... not sure where those notes are but essentially all I'm smelling is a super strong leather, with the hint of something green or herbal in the background. I like it, but I don't think I'd want to wear it as a perfume. A car scent, maybe.

dropping by to leave a second review -- this has become my signature fragrance. it's so interesting to see the divisive ratings, it goes to show how different our senses of smell can be. to me this is a clean woody+lavender musk. super easy reach and I really can't find anything negative to say. but clearly it's not a safe blind buy so definitely sample first.

I swear looking at the notes after smelling this feels unreal. It smells NOTHING like some of the stuff listed, strait gasoline engine oil - I imagine a man whos been working all day in a grease factory to wear this you know? I found it quite offensive to the nose - just overly masculine for the point of being masculine