L'Homme Idéal Cologne (2015)
by Guerlain

I'm very late in discovering the entire Ideal line. Call me a snob, but I haven't engaged with Guerlain's new scents since Heritage. I'm old school - Vetiver, Habit Rouge and Heritage. A friend was shocked that I had never tied Ideal, and send me generous samples of Cologne and the EDP.

I had 'bottle sniffed' them both in duty free and turned my nose up at them. Now I regret that. I've been wearing the Cologne for three days straight, and just can't get enough of it. I love a great classic cologne, this adds the almond note that is just wonderful. Since its a bit too warm still for the EDP, I spritz it on my handkerchief and have been sniffing all day. I can't wait for the temperature drop. Is it in league with the classics? Probably not. Is it much better than most new designer fragrances? yes.

This stuff is great! If you like Dior Homme Cologne and Chanel Allure Homme Edition Blanche, chances are very good that you will like Guerlain L'Homme Ideal Cologne. I pick up Grapefruit, Almond, Neroli, Vetiver, and Musk. For me, the projection is moderate and the longevity is good. I sprayed on 4 sprays in the morning and I can still smell this the next morning when I get in the shower. I was sad to hear this was discontinued, and I'm considering picking up another bottle while I still can at a reasonable price.

After having exhausted a bottle of this fragrance just today, I cannot but feel a sense of relief. No longer do I have to put in the taxing effort of trying to like this fragrance. Not that it's a BAD fragrance, mind you - it's perfectly serviceable, simple, sweet, and generally pleasant. But I can't help but feel let down, especially considering the fat hype train for this juice. I am a huge Guerlain fan, and a huge fan of the L'Homme Ideal line, but sadly this is second to last in my reckoning, right above the dreadful Sport. I've been trying to convince myself that I enjoy this fragrance ever since I got it in August. I live in Taiwan, so it's damn hot. I thought that this would be perfect for the scorching days of the Taiwanese summer and autumn. But I was sorely mistaken - this fragrance was utterly obliterated what felt like mere moments after stepping out of the door into the humidity-soaked Formosan air. I have never gotten even decent performance out of this fragrance, despite overspraying in an office environment. In terms of scent profile, it is, as I previously mentioned, pleasing, but in no way surprising or unique. Creamy citrus has been done many times before, most notably by Chanel with their Edition Blanche and most masterfully by Xerjoff with Uden. Surprisingly both are leaps and bounds above the Guerlain in terms of performance and overall scent character in my estimation. The almond does add some...flair, I suppose, of some kind, but its voice is not all THAT recognizable in the choir. This is not a fragrance with much (or any) evolution. Nor can one detect different notes in the composition beyond citruses, light almond, and maybe a smidgen of musk. Vetiver is listed, as is neroli, and these are tragically nowhere to be found. The overall scent character, on first spray, reminded me of a Haribo lemon gummy bear. I love Haribo gummy bears (really gummies of any variety), but I was expecting something a lot more. "Fizzy frozen lemonade" this is not.

So it is with great satisfaction that I appraise my empty 50ml (quite nice) bottle of Guerlain L'Homme Ideal Cologne, and bid it a long overdue farewell.

If you're interested in a summer Guerlain, go with Vetiver/Vetiver Extreme, Homme L'Eau Boisee, or even L'Homme Ideal Cool, which I think is a lot better than Cologne, if not earth shattering.

4/10

I was initially a bit hesitant about this fragrance, but it’s really grown on me. The opening is stunning with juicy grapefruit and bright peppercorn being the stars.

The white musk and almond, however, do go from creamy to kind of powdery, almost soapy... not a nice, old world luxury soapiness like with Guerlain Vetiver, but quite a sweet, synthetic soapiness.

Having said that, this soapy quality seems more a skin scent than something that projects unflatteringly - this has proven to be a spring/summer compliment monster that I’ve paid almost nothing for.

Currently an insane bargain now that it is discontinued.

From June 2015:

Just to clarify and set it straight for anyone who may be wondering--this smells nothing like Dior Homme Cologne, which is a fairly simple and crisp grapefruit scent, probably most similar to the original Dior Homme Sport from 2008.

Guerlain's L'Homme Ideal Colognel is true to its concept, and comes across as a lighter, fresher, warm-weather version of the original. The almond and tonka notes are still there, easily detected, but they've been infused with a breezy, airy quality and paired with relaxed citrus notes, most notably orange and a soft, floral neroli. If you're a fan of the original, this is a good alternative for the summer, as it never wears heavily but still boasts above-average longevity. Projection is solid as well, though you can easily go 3 or 4 sprays without overdoing it. L'Homme Ideal Cologne tends to amplify in strength quite a bit between the one and two hour mark.

Overall, I find this to be well done in the sense that it has a smooth, gentle construction that brings its different elements together without any clumsy or awkward missteps. It's set to the right density and leaves a soft, calming sillage in its wake. This one's obviously meant to be a crowd pleaser or at the very least, easy to wear, and to that end it's quite successful. However, if you don't like the way the original smells, chances are you'll dislike the flanker as well.

Certainly sniff out L'Homme Ideal Cologne if the idea of a summer alternative to the original is something you think you'd like--I doubt you'll be disappointed. I agree with those suggesting that this is, in fact, better than the original. Thumbs up.