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Guerlain Idylle. Help!

post #1 of 19
11/19/09 at 7:42pm
Thread Starter 
I bought Guerlain Idylle at Izzy's Perfume and Beauty Shoppe and am utterly puzzled. The perfume is not like any other Guerlain I ever had. The scent of eau de parfum isn't strong at all and not very lasting as far as I can tell. I am not sure if I got a fake or this is the way the perfume is. Does anybody have any words of wisdom for paranoid me? I have studied the bottle right and left and it seems to be very well made. I never had any experience with this vendor, but they looked legit online. Does anybody know anything good or bad about them?

I do like the fragrance and would love to use it, but I am just not sure if it's a weak scent or what. Any ideas, hunches or words of reassurance will help me sleep tight.
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post #2 of 19
11/19/09 at 8:21pm
Welcome to Basenotes cremebrulee!
I see this is your first post.


I am not familiar with this vendor, but Idylle is weak (compared to other Guerlains) and is not like any of the most famous Guerlains. It is probably closer to the EdT called Guerlinade, which was a limited edition and is now discontinued.

There is a thread about Idylle here:
http://community.basenotes.net/showthread.php?t=235599
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post #3 of 19
11/19/09 at 8:28pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you for the welcome! I studied all the threads about Idylle religiously. Everybody seems to be so knowledgeable about perfume over here that I had to seek some extra reassurance that I am not going crazy.:-)
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post #4 of 19
11/19/09 at 8:50pm
Welcome Cremebrulee.

I will have to echo what Arwen has already stated, Idylle is not the typical "classic" Guerlain. It is not a bad scent, actually nice, but it lacks that wonderful longevity and sillage that classic Guerlain scents are known for. Not to mention it is a completely different type of a creation than the classics.
I am not sure that you received a fake, you may just not be used to what the "new" Guerlain is now offering.
Wishing you many happy postings and interactions here on BN.
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post #5 of 19
11/19/09 at 11:49pm
I have tested it a couple times, and also tried it on a filter paper (thanks to arwen_elf!). I noticed that with this fragrance, I get olfactory fatigue very quickly. Then later, I smell wafts from a distance, but can barely smell it up close. It actually lasts all day on me with a couple of generous sprays.
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post #6 of 19
11/20/09 at 2:12am
I can echo what has been said about Idylle- it is an unusual perfume- rose chypre it is ( though I did not think so at first ) . I have had the same experience as Asha - the wafts I get of this after spraying and it has settled a while, is better than up close sniffing on my wrist. It's kind of ethereal in nature IMHO and is definitely a new direction for Guerlain .
It took some time for me to actually love it but I do now.

And...welcome Cremebrulee !
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post #7 of 19
11/20/09 at 4:02am
It's not a strong perfume at all, like others I find that it dissapears completely after a few hours but I get wafts of it every now and then.
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post #8 of 19
11/20/09 at 10:15am
Update--I put on a sweater that I wore while wearing Idylle (a few days ago). The sweater smelled so strong, I had to change, lol.
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post #9 of 19
11/20/09 at 5:48pm
Thread Starter 
Paranoia all gone! Thank you girls and guys (hard to tell who's which though:-)! I have to say that yes, I would feel the scent at odd times, like when I would get warm or when the wind blows, all of a sudden you can smell it. But there would be no detectable scent otherwise. Utmost interesting formulation! Hey, at least I can sleep tight and not feel duped. I don't mind experiencing a different kind of Guerlain.
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post #10 of 19
11/21/09 at 2:09am
It's a very skin scent in the nouveau "modern pink chypre" school.

For some reason, it also makes me think Idylle is what happens "If the perfumer who made Dior's J'adore tried to make it more like Narciso-Rodriguez-for-Her-EDT" or oppositely described, "What if NRfH EDT is more white-flowery."
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post #11 of 19
11/24/09 at 5:31am
I think you got the genuine Idylle. It is indeed not as strong or "special" as other Guerlains, but It is still beautifully composed.
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post #12 of 19
11/24/09 at 12:18pm
I had a bit of extra time to kill this morning,so I went to one of the department stores.It seems Idylle is now available in Norway too..I have to say I've been a bit sceptical about it,but sniffed from the bottle it seemed quite nice.Reminded me of a rosey Narciso Rodriguez FH.Will have to skintest it too,though....
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post #13 of 19
11/25/09 at 2:20am
Its a musk-based scent IMO, and many people are anosmic to synthetic musks, so that could be the reason some find it short-lived or light. Like Asha I find it very persistent, but nice.
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post #14 of 19
11/25/09 at 4:07am
I finally tested Idylle yesterday while shopping with my daughter. I found it very meh, safe and middle of the road and was underwhelmed. My daughter (21 and a lover of L'Artisan, Jo Malone, and MPG among others) was not so meh and went so far as to wrinkle her nose and said it smelled like sour flowers.

I guess Guerlain has to appeal to the mass market buyer but even then I expected more
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post #15 of 19
11/25/09 at 11:41am
On me (perhaps my nose is masculine? ) it last a very long time, and I think it's quite "Guerlain", Nahema up top, Chant d'Arômes down below, and as sensuous and saturated as could be expected...
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post #16 of 19
11/25/09 at 1:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. G View Post

On me (perhaps my nose is masculine? ) it last a very long time, and I think it's quite "Guerlain", Nahema up top, Chant d'Arômes down below, and as sensuous and saturated as could be expected...

Wow, now that sounds lovely. Perhaps I need to re sniff....
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post #17 of 19
11/25/09 at 1:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. G View Post

On me (perhaps my nose is masculine? ) it last a very long time, and I think it's quite "Guerlain", Nahema up top, Chant d'Arômes down below, and as sensuous and saturated as could be expected...

I see the similarities between Nahema and Idylle, Mr G. do you find that Chamade and Nahema share similar drydowns or is that just my stoopid nose?
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post #18 of 19
11/25/09 at 2:13pm
Oh yes, Chamade and Nahema are very closely related, both with lots of citrus, rich flower notes and sandalwood bases, with Chamade as the greener (galbanum), Nehema as the more oriental (benzoin).

Quote:
Originally Posted by libertine View Post

I see the similarities between Nahema and Idylle, Mr G. do you find that Chamade and Nahema share similar drydowns or is that just my stoopid nose?
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post #19 of 19
11/25/09 at 2:52pm
I also found this particular Guerlain to be too weakened for me, and not the necessary guerlinade trademark in the drydown. It wasn't like any Guerlain I have ever sniffed and I found it not to my liking.
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