L'Instant de Guerlain pour Homme (2004)
by Guerlain

Do I detect a slight hint of a leather/velvet vanilla? Well, it's good. Mostly a very smooth sandalwood and green citrus.

According to Guerlain, the inspiration for L'Instant de Guerlain pour Homme was a chocolate pastilla combined with a Mediterranean drink. And it's true that this is a 'foody' scent, heavy on chocolate note and, yes perhaps, an exotic lemony-sweet long drink. Especially in the EdP-version the chocolate is so dense that it has notes of liquorice. L'Instant de Guerlain pour Homme is definitely a Guerlain - their signature gourmand-oriental style (quite daring for their fragrances for men) is evident, even though this is their first pour Homme not made by Jean-Paul Guerlain. It's well a well constructed, fascinating scent, not unlike the fabulous Héritage from 1992, but heavier, less refined, more in-your-face and, therefore, perhaps also less interesting - even tiring? - in the long run.

Guerlain puts this creation in a new olfactory family called “Luminous Woody”. Without reading that description, I felt the effect: if it could be seen it would glow in the dark. Florescent sandalwood! At points, it takes on a gourmand character and feels edible. I suspect the cocoa notes contribute to that effect. If I were to put in a family I would say it is an oriental-gourmand hybrid. I get decent longevity and I enjoy the scent. It is unlike anything else I have tried and feels familiar and foreign – it is hard to put in words. I don’t see myself wearing it with frequency, but I do commend it. Stated notes: citrus and star anise crystals, peppery elemi from the Philippines,Jasmine petals from India, Mysore sandalwood, Lapsang tea, bitter cocoa beans, hibiscus seeds, patchouli flowers from Indonesia

The EdT is fresh and light, opens with citrus/grapefruit and anise and a discreet note of cocoa and slowly evolves to a pleasant vanilla drydown with a bitter note
Very different of all the man fragrances created in the last years
Surely one of the most appreciable

The EdP (eau extreme) shares the same notes as the EdT but the citrus opening is briefer, the heart and the drydown are at the same time very bitter and sweet
a masterpiece

This was the yummiest thing on my boyfriend, and even though I was wearing the glorious Estee Lauder Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia, I felt quite upstaged by how fabulous he smelled! Perhaps a touch too sweet for him, was his opinion, and mine too: I want to wear it! Love the elegant bottle too.

By far the best Guerlain, this is a highly elegant and sophisticated fragrance. One of the richest and most complex scents, this multi-faced fragrance never ceases to amaze me. Sweet and woody at the same time, it's perfect for a gentleman's signature. A great modern symbol of the legendary House of Guerlain.