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Guerlain: Tonka Impériale

post #1 of 53
12/10/09 at 2:16am
Thread Starter 
Tonka Impériale will be the next fragrance launched in the L'Art et la Matière line
it seems to be delightful and a true Guerlain Ã* l'ancienne
has anyone smelled it ?
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post #2 of 53
12/10/09 at 2:28am
Sounds amazing. I loved the vanilla in Guerlain's SDV.

Will this be marketed towards men or women?
Is it available to purchase online?
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post #3 of 53
12/10/09 at 7:19am
Thread Starter 
[URL="http://olfactorum.blogspot.com/2009/12/tonka-imperiale-guerlain-2009-fleuron.html"]

sorry the link is in french ...

this new exclusive Tonka Impériale sounds really promising
it's supposed to be marketed in February 2010 but I guess it will available for Christmas as some people have already smelled it here in Paris
fragrances of L'Art et la Matière are rather marketed towards women, but some are suitable for men
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post #4 of 53
12/10/09 at 8:19am
Sounds lovely! It ought to be "very Guerlain" with the indispensable guerlinade ingredient playing a leading role. Also sounds nice with amber, vanilla, rose, orange blossom and rosemary. Sounds like a more gourmand (amber) and floral (rose, orange blossom) version of Jicky...?

And I love the name too, of course
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post #5 of 53
12/10/09 at 8:24am
As usual, with every new Guerlain exclusive release, I'm drooling.
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post #6 of 53
12/10/09 at 8:30am
Me too. The reviewer says that "if Guerlain is an empire, then Tonka Impériale is one of its recent most beautiful adornments", walking on familiar ground, pleasing for an old-school Guerlain follower...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruggles View Post

As usual, with every new Guerlain exclusive release, I'm drooling.
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post #7 of 53
12/10/09 at 5:13pm
Of course I will smell it first before commenting, but a tonka prominent scent does not sound exciting to me at all.
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post #8 of 53
12/10/09 at 5:50pm
Sounds exciting though no Guerlain scents after Eau de Guerlain have impressed me much
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post #9 of 53
12/11/09 at 12:23am
Sounds great!
I should find out some Imperial in tonka absolute before its launch!!!

Also the new exclusive perfume L`Abeille (Bee) will be launched soon - but for 15 000 euro!!!
Mr. G - I feel you...
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post #10 of 53
12/11/09 at 3:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by moon_fish View Post

Sounds great!
I should find out some Imperial in tonka absolute before its launch!!!

Also the new exclusive perfume L`Abeille (Bee) will be launched soon - but for 15 000 euro!!!
Mr. G - I feel you...

I haven't heard about L'
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post #11 of 53
12/11/09 at 4:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by moon_fish View Post

Also the new exclusive perfume L`Abeille (Bee) will be launched soon - but for 15 000 euro!!!

At those prices, I'll stick to SueBee Honey.

But I'm excited about this Tonka scent, no doubt.
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post #12 of 53
12/11/09 at 5:33am
If it isn't as timid as the other offerings from this line, count me in as one of the anxiously interested.
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post #13 of 53
12/11/09 at 6:07am
There is not much info about it yet - what the SAs can say is only this:

- It will be very limited
- The price will be 8000 Euros
- It will be sold from July/August 2010
- The bottle will be in Baccarat crystal, shaped like a bee, hence the name, by a designer at Place Vendôme
- It's not confirmed if the fragrance itself will be called "L'Abeille"
- It will be a floral that smells very "sumptuous"

Quote:
Originally Posted by scent View Post

I haven't heard about L'
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post #14 of 53
12/11/09 at 6:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. G View Post

There is not much info about it yet - what the SAs can say is only this:

- It will be very limited
- The price will be 8000 Euros
- It will be sold from July/August 2010
- The bottle will be in Baccarat crystal, shaped like a bee, hence the name, by a designer at Place Vendôme
- It's not confirmed if the fragrance itself will be called "L'Abeille"
- It will be a floral that smells very "sumptuous"

The big question is will you be saving up your pennies for this one?
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post #15 of 53
12/11/09 at 6:51am
Hehe - nope It's simply too much for poor lil me...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Trebor View Post

The big question is will you be saving up your pennies for this one?
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post #16 of 53
12/11/09 at 11:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. G View Post

Hehe - nope It's simply too much for poor lil me...

I can only imagine what the sample decants will cost.
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post #17 of 53
12/11/09 at 11:25am
Seriously, whats with all the tonka in every new Guerlain....?!?!?!?!

Sorry...wrong thread
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post #18 of 53
12/11/09 at 2:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by germanomio View Post

[URL="http://olfactorum.blogspot.com/2009/12/tonka-imperiale-guerlain-2009-fleuron.html"]

sorry the link is in french ...

this new exclusive Tonka Impériale sounds really promising
it's supposed to be marketed in February 2010 but I guess it will available for Christmas as some people have already smelled it here in Paris
fragrances of L'Art et la Matière are rather marketed towards women, but some are suitable for men


So how did they get a chance to smell it..? I was at the Champs-Élysées store only yesterday and they said they didn't have any to sniff yet...
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post #19 of 53
1/1/10 at 11:24am
Anyone else smelled this one?
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post #20 of 53
1/1/10 at 11:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. G View Post

There is not much info about it yet - what the SAs can say is only this:

- It will be very limited
- The price will be 8000 Euros
- It will be sold from July/August 2010
- The bottle will be in Baccarat crystal, shaped like a bee, hence the name, by a designer at Place Vendôme
- It's not confirmed if the fragrance itself will be called "L'Abeille"
- It will be a floral that smells very "sumptuous"

There may be some confusion here; two different perfumes have been mentioned in this thread. The information quoted above is for the one we're assuming might be called L'Abeille; the Tonka Impériale is in L'Art et la Matière series, which runs about $230 US.

Availability (presumably in France): fin Janvier début Février 2010
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post #21 of 53
1/1/10 at 1:32pm
Tonka is such a Guerlain signature note. I'm curious to sniff how this would turn out.
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post #22 of 53
1/11/10 at 1:09pm
The review of this on the Grain de Musc blog sounds promising:

'...In a word, this is a Guerlain in the grand tradition of the patisserie, its cloyingness kept in check by the sheer feeling of quality: no empty calories here, just I-could-lick-my-arm-raw sensuousness. A gourmand for people who, like me, don’t like to smear themselves with olfactory dessert, and much subtler than, say, its boozy-sweet big sister Spiritueuse Double Vanille, namely because Tonka bean is a little less common as a dessert note… It’s also got considerable radiance and tenacity, so if you try it out on skin, don’t plan for other tests: a couple of spritzes will swallow up any other perfumes, and probably quite a few credit cards. ...'

Link to the full review here: http://graindemusc.blogspot.com/2009...al-balsam.html
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post #23 of 53
1/11/10 at 2:43pm
Wow! That review is making me want to try this stuff like crazy!
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post #24 of 53
1/11/10 at 3:00pm
oops.
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post #25 of 53
1/11/10 at 3:01pm
I doubt I'll like it, but AFA gourmands go, I've found that tonka(coumarin) is the only general-sweetener I respect. i used to think it was all the same, but each has their unique flavor......Benzoin, ylang-ylang, vanilla, all smell too feminine for me to wear. Honey is middle-ground, but I haven't found a lutens for me yet. The two gourmands I've found bottle-worthy (Eau Des Baux & the deceptively named TFTV) both get the majority of their sweetness from Coumarin/Tonka. Perhaps it's just all those teenage years splitting open black-n-milds and sweetened Phillies/Dutchmasters that made this impression (tobacco is VERY often flavored with coumarin)

So I'll be more eager to test this than I was Havana Vanille. did I see neroli/rosemary listed? maybe this really is "Imperiale"
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post #26 of 53
1/31/10 at 1:28pm
Another TI teaser to keep the drool dripping: Fashion Tribes.
Tonka Imperiale will be launched at Bergdorf Goodman New York in February 2010, and available at Guerlain Boutiques in March.
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post #27 of 53
1/31/10 at 2:02pm
This is available at Bergdorfs now actually, called a few days ago. It's $230.
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post #28 of 53
1/31/10 at 2:09pm
Cannot wait to sample this. I'm salivating over it in fact.
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post #29 of 53
1/31/10 at 2:12pm
It is sad in a way, because I was excited about the new Tonka scent, that there is such pricing disparity with Guerlain under LVMH. In a bygone era, a new Guerlain, same quality as L'Art et la Matière line, was sold at prices all could enjoy.
Now it seems LVMH have created 2 Guerlain, one priced somewhat reasonably selling "ok" fragrances, then another selling wonderful scents (in-league with the classics we all love) at a very expensive price-point.
I am sorry, I think $230 is an exorbitant amount to spend on an average sized bottle of scent.
It truly sounds delicious, but I will enjoy it vicariously.
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post #30 of 53
2/1/10 at 12:42am
Thread Starter 
Tonka Impériale is now available in Paris
No doubt it's a true Guerlain : between "grande tradition" and modernity
It has many facets , so many facets that I can't tell you my exact feeling: it's rich and sweet, it evokes the commonalities of Jicky, Shalimar and l'Heure Bleue; with a touch of Spiritueuse double vanille
I've only tried it on a paper strip but it surely gives all its best on the skin
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post #31 of 53
2/1/10 at 5:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brielle87 View Post

It is sad in a way, because I was excited about the new Tonka scent, that there is such pricing disparity with Guerlain under LVMH. In a bygone era, a new Guerlain, same quality as L'Art et la Matière line, was sold at prices all could enjoy.
Now it seems LVMH have created 2 Guerlain, one priced somewhat reasonably selling "ok" fragrances, then another selling wonderful scents (in-league with the classics we all love) at a very expensive price-point.
I am sorry, I think $230 is an exorbitant amount to spend on an average sized bottle of scent.
It truly sounds delicious, but I will enjoy it vicariously.

Brielle you are dead on, Guerlain says it worst:
"For lovers of beauty and rarity, for aesthetes on a quest for perfection, these exclusive collections represent the quintessence of Guerlain. They are created by mysterious
alchemists, artists in fragrance, who compose their formula like a work of art, guided by
emotion alone." (In regards to the LArt et La Matière line)

This should be their goal for all releases!
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post #32 of 53
2/1/10 at 7:08am
Thread Starter 
sure it's expensive and a marketing strategy (expensiveness, exclusiveness, luxurious)

but all perfumers have increased their prices ... Guerlain is therefore not so expensive

and you can decide to buy one bottle of Guerlain 's excellence and exclusive instead of 2 bottles of another perfumer's average juice
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post #33 of 53
2/1/10 at 7:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by germanomio View Post

sure it's expensive and a marketing strategy (expensiveness, exclusiveness, luxurious)

but all perfumers have increased their prices ... Guerlain is therefore not so expensive

and you can decide to buy one bottle of Guerlain 's excellence and exclusive instead of 2 bottles of another perfumer's average juice

Right, that was the point. We individually decide whether the cost a perfume is worth the price, so that is another thread.

Has anyone smelled Tonka Imperiale?

Some marketing information:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Guerlain Press

With Tonka Impériale, Thierry Wasser has created the seventh fragrance in LArt et la
Matière collection, a woody oriental composed around one of Guerlain's star ingredients,
the tonka bean.

It has to be said that this precious seed, originating in the forests of Venezuela, is particularly
dear to the House. From Jicky to Shalimar via Habit Rouge, it is one of the cult components
of the Guerlinade. What, then, could be more natural than to celebrate the tonka bean with
a tailor-made composition, but one that would avoid the excesses of almonds? Not an easy
task since, if ever an ingredient was difficult to master, this is the one.

Tonka Impériale is well-named indeed: a subtle blend of balmy scents, rich in contrasting
facets, with accents of honey, gingerbread, almond, hay and tobacco. An astonishing
construction that blows hot and cold between the freshness of rosemary, the aromatic,
uplifting top note, and the sweet, pervasive fullness of tonka bean. Highly concentrated,
beautifully balanced, it gives the fragrance a rare and memorable personality. Alluring and
surprising, the tonka bean reveals all its power to arrest. An irresistible attraction, love at
first sight.

And something for your eyes:
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post #34 of 53
2/1/10 at 7:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by germanomio View Post

sure it's expensive and a marketing strategy (expensiveness, exclusiveness, luxurious)

but all perfumers have increased their prices ... Guerlain is therefore not so expensive

and you can decide to buy one bottle of Guerlain 's excellence and exclusive instead of 2 bottles of another perfumer's average juice

I agree. When you consider the price of an average niche scent, this line is actually priced about in the center.
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post #35 of 53
2/4/10 at 8:49pm
I wore Tonka Imperiale today.

The tonka smells like almonds and honey, then I get a bit of orange and the rosemary towards the end. It is very long lasting. It is not super sweet, or edible. I enjoyed it very much.
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post #36 of 53
2/10/10 at 9:05am
Got my sample of Tonka Impériale from the Guerlain house today. First impression is that it's very very pretty. Sweeter than Vol de Nuit, but with a dusky melancholy that is quite Guerlain. I begin to believe that Wasser was well-chosen. The drydown reminds me of Cuir Beluga which is a bit boring, actually. Still, one of the prettiest of the Art & Matiere scents which I in general don't have the strongest passion for... I could eventually see myself getting this together with Bois d'Armenie some day...
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post #37 of 53
2/11/10 at 11:29am
Day two: I like this. Not as "white" as Cuir Beluga. More character. I think it will delight both men (its herbal-woody accord) and women (the velvety balsam of tonka bean). Tonka Impériale is maybe "the most Guerlain" of this "modern niche" line: It has the emblematic reminiscence of Jicky, just modernized as more pleasingly straight-out gourmand.
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post #38 of 53
2/11/10 at 12:25pm
Thanks for the news, Mr. G. This is sounding very good to me.
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post #39 of 53
2/11/10 at 12:56pm
Sounds like it's a winner...
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post #40 of 53
2/11/10 at 2:39pm
I can't wait to try this one, thanks for the summation Mr. Guerlain.
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post #41 of 53
2/11/10 at 3:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruggles View Post

I can't wait to try this one

ditto!
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post #42 of 53
2/21/10 at 6:53pm
I tried this today, it certainly is to tonka what Spiritueuse Double Vanille is to vanilla. It goes through all the slight variations of tonka: praline/cherry/almond, but it doesn't really add up to much of a formula. Hmmm.
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post #43 of 53
2/21/10 at 7:04pm
I guess I just don't get Tonka Imperiale. It just doesn't seem up to the Guerlain name to me. Nothing about this frag does anything for my nose. It's not nasty or anything negative. It's just not any thing more than your average designer frag.
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post #44 of 53
2/21/10 at 11:29pm
Been wearing it for some days now, and I think I agree that, like Ruggles said, it's not too much of a *real* formula. Then again, none of the Art+Matiere are, which is why I have never fallen for them, they are all too "niche" and "arty" and one-dimensional to really thrill me, I don't find the "Guerlain smile" in any of them, they are too "polished". Tonka Impériale is as pleasant as the tonka bean itself, but it's not *wow* like Spiritueuse Double Vanille was. Still, in Tonka Impériale I find the "Guerlain smile" a bit more than in the first six Art+Maitiere, it's a bit more candid and vibrant after all.

PS: It seems that Guerlain is aware that this line is quite one-dimensional. When I was in Paris, a SA told me that "Spiritueuse Double Vanille is good to layer with other Guerlains" (although strictly speaking, SDV is not in that line). Somehow, I don't like that trend chez Guerlain...
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post #45 of 53
2/22/10 at 12:34am
Just my two cents on this one, from my initial impressions and review:
Initially, there is a blast of something that smells a bit like rum or brandy, but this is ephemeral. Soon the scent begins to show off its title component, tonka bean. When this appears, it seems a bit muddied at first, but that, too, soon resolves, and a clear honey note emerges alongside the tonka. Then, in rapid succession, vanilla, tobacco, and amber. Strangely, the real signature of this waits for the end, which is a while in coming: with all the others setting the stage, a spicy-woody rosemary steals in, and makes this creation truly beautiful. There is a definite unity of style among the L'Art et la Matière series, and this one fits right in, somewhere between Angélique Noire and Bois d'Arménie.
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post #46 of 53
2/22/10 at 3:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JaimeB View Post

...somewhere between Angélique Noire and Bois d'Arménie.

Somehow, it reminds me mostly of Cuir Beluga. The base of Tonka Impériale to my nose has the same dryish, modern-leatherish feel, a bit "milky" like Cuir Beluga, like one of those shining new Italian white leather designer chairs, but sweetened by some nougat. Yeah, nougat is what I get from Tonka Impériale. White leather rubbed with nougat, and maybe softened with some Amaretto

Edit: There's also a big portion of face powder in it. The powder comes after the "white leather". It's quite powdery, actually. It makes it much Guerlain-like...

Today I wear it on one arm, Jicky vintage EdT on the other, and it strikes me that the former is, like, 100 times more sweet than old Jicky was. Jicky can feel sweet alone, but next to the Tonka, it's smells like being outdoors hanging laundry up for drying
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post #47 of 53
2/22/10 at 5:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. G View Post

Been wearing it for some days now, and I think I agree that, like Ruggles said, it's not too much of a *real* formula. Then again, none of the Art+Matiere are, which is why I have never fallen for them, they are all too "niche" and "arty" and one-dimensional to really thrill me, I don't find the "Guerlain smile" in any of them, they are too "polished". Tonka Impériale is as pleasant as the tonka bean itself, but it's not *wow* like Spiritueuse Double Vanille was. Still, in Tonka Impériale I find the "Guerlain smile" a bit more than in the first six Art+Maitiere, it's a bit more candid and vibrant after all.

PS: It seems that Guerlain is aware that this line is quite one-dimensional. When I was in Paris, a SA told me that "Spiritueuse Double Vanille is good to layer with other Guerlains" (although strictly speaking, SDV is not in that line). Somehow, I don't like that trend chez Guerlain...

I agree with everything you said above.
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post #48 of 53
2/22/10 at 6:39am
Wonderful descriptions, fellas. I feel as though I've almost smelled it through your words.
Will enjoy meeting TI whenever it crosses my path, but will not fear its impacting my budget.
Thanks for your input, my dears.
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post #49 of 53
2/22/10 at 6:46am
I can barely contain my excitement. My sample better get here soon. I'm not the biggest fan of old Guerlains, maybe that's why I really enjoy the whole L'Art et la Matière line, they're sort of different spins on a niche gourmand, highlighting a different note in each one. I love Bois d'Armenie, and am on a big almond kick right now, so it's sounding better and better all the time.
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post #50 of 53
3/1/10 at 4:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. G View Post

Somehow, it reminds me mostly of Cuir Beluga. The base of Tonka Impériale to my nose has the same dryish, modern-leatherish feel, a bit "milky" like Cuir Beluga, like one of those shining new Italian white leather designer chairs, but sweetened by some nougat. Yeah, nougat is what I get from Tonka Impériale. White leather rubbed with nougat, and maybe softened with some Amaretto

Edit: There's also a big portion of face powder in it. The powder comes after the "white leather". It's quite powdery, actually. It makes it much Guerlain-like...

Man, I had the exact same experience. I couldn't agree more with your description Mr. G - vanilla, nougat, amaretto, powdered leather - what a mix! I spent a little time in the Guerlain shop here in Montreal, and I was lucky enough to sniff some real tonka beans they had on hidden away with their sampler of Tonka Imperial. TK really is a fantastic rendition of tonka beans, and enjoyable to boot.
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post #51 of 53
3/1/10 at 6:42pm
I like the tonka in this. But thats about it. Its all basenotes...an ocean of spineless heavy notes rubbing against each other with no longitude. Layer it with one of the Guerlain Eaux's to create more structure and a better frag.
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post #52 of 53
3/1/10 at 7:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by zztopp View Post

I like the tonka in this. But thats about it. Its all basenotes...an ocean of spineless heavy notes rubbing against each other with no longitude. Layer it with one of the Guerlain Eaux's to create more structure and a better frag.

Yes, but what a base - it never degrades into a banal synthetic miasma like so many other high end fragrances seem to do. Is it really a finished fragrance? Like you, I'm not so convinced.
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post #53 of 53
3/1/10 at 8:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruggles View Post

Yes, but what a base - it never degrades into a banal synthetic miasma like so many other high end fragrances seem to do. Is it really a finished fragrance? Like you, I'm not so convinced.

I'm really looking forward to trying Tonka Imperiale, but after reading that it's all basenotes, it worries me. The only l'art et la matiere i had was angelique noire. it had beautiful herbal and bittersweet topnotes that unfortunately lasted for a couple of minutes tops, then forms into what it supposed to be the heart and base. it is very, very linear and that it what annoys me really and why i had to sell it recently. the whole l'art et la matiere line is really well made imho, but unfortunate because they are so simple and linear (with the exception of maybe Cuir Beluga which goes through a couple of bases). I do hope tonka imperiale will break that mold though.
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