Eau de Cologne Impériale (1853)
by Guerlain

Impériale is the soprano voice in Guerlain’s eau de Cologne chorus. Its charmingly tart lime top note sets a high olfactory pitch, and the rest of its traditional citrus and herb arrangement keeps well to the right end of the keyboard. Impériale’s lime-centered citrus accord is far sharper and brighter than Eau de Guerlain’s lemon and verbena, bears few of the floral embellishments that distinguish Eau de Fleurs de Cédrat, and eschews the warmth of Eau de Cologne du Coq’s lavender and animalic musk. Doing without these weightier components lets Impériale soar unencumbered, but also deprives it of endurance and complexity. The voice is clear and luminous, but its range is narrow and its song is brief. It is the simplest of the Guerlain eaux and as befits its age, the most traditional in style and content. However, I also think that it’s the least individual in character, and hence the last of the collection I’d be tempted to acquire.

The scent may be 'short lived' but the effect lasts the day. This is antidote to
the olfactory insults of our chemical polluted world. I get a good 30 minutes of maturing scents and then a very faint lingering smell. Women tell me I 'smell nice' hours after the bees reflect the sunrise.

Guerlain Eau de Imperiale is probably my favorite of the classic Guerlain eaus not including Eau de Guerlain of course and its prodigious caraway note. The opening is fresh citrus, lime to be precise, and then lime blossoms backed up by the lightest of cedars and the mere essence of tonka and verbena to create an aristocratic ambiance. Imperiale is well, imperial. It is short lived and has poor sillage, but that's what it was meant to be. Having worn this for a couple of days I can certainly say that I smell indolic flowers and an animalic musky tonka in the base albeit extremely light and close to the skin. This is what aristocratic Napoleonic dreams are made of (Napoleon III mind you as Napoleon I was dead before Imperiale debuted in 1853)! It's affordable, so spritz some on with reckless abandon of course!

A very light and watery citrus fragrance, short lasting and dull. I was completely disappointed, there is nothing left after the opening. The Spanish eau de cologne for babies Nenuco is so far much better and sold in 1-liter bottles.

A beautiful, realistic citrus opening, but quite short-lived. A touch of lavender, cedar and tonka underneath. A must try classic Eau de Cologne. I personally prefer Guerlain’s Eau de Cologne du Coq, as providing a little more complexity and longevity. But there is nothing wrong with this 1853 classic!

A lovely citrus/green smell. Very fresh! Unfortunately, this only lasted 20 minutes on me. It is an eau de cologne, so you can't expect it to last long. As such, it still gets high marks from me. Great for scent-free work places...hehe