Review by mimi gardenia
Okay , my first thoughts were not poetic. They were " B****dy h*ll !! " and not because I dislike this so much or that I was shocked but because I had forgotten that when Guerlain do something well and * right* ,their competition goes to dust. Tonka Imperiale is a delight to the senses. This is an almond vanilla scent of the most superb , grown up and sophisticated kind with an edge of light incense and tobacco ! Round ,sweet, decadent. Straight away , you can tell it's Guerlain because the glorious Guerlinade accord is in there - hazy ,lazy ,unique and rich .Overlaid is a purr of tonka bean ,almond , vanilla, sweet hay , a touch of honey ( nothing raw and animalic , no sir ! ) .It is balsamic. The rosemary is there but I could hardly describe it as such - it just gives it that little lift , a touch of freshness or everything would fall down into a pot of sweetness and haze. The dry down leads to a focus on the tobacco - vanilla - incense ,on my skin .It doesn't shout but sits there in the base and gives much depth. I must add the incense touch is really fabulous . Is there powder ? No wouldn't say so even though there is a texture of powder to the whole thing ,velvety might be a better word. The newer Guerlain releases if I could describe them in one word - it would be 'plush' . Everything is balanced ,nothing is out of place and it is a sensual perfume of the most hedonistic kind . Romantic as well. I can imagine lying around on silk sheets , lots of pilows being fed grapes from a cornucopia of fruit and drinking wine .... okay I am getting carried away now ! The pedigree is there with this scent and there is seamlessness. I love Tonka Imperiale. Very well done. I am concerned about how restrictions on heliotrope will affect this scent and others too !
