L’Homme Idéal L’Intense by Guerlain

I own a vast collection of fragrances and always search for the ‘perfect’ one until I get tired of it. This opens with a citrus note, even if not declared, featuring an almond and cardamom touch that adds a spicy kick from the chilli. It’s herbal and fresh, striking the nose immediately before evolving into something sweet. I’ve received countless compliments both upon spraying and as it dries down. It feels like a niche scent, particularly at the start, with that herbal, spiced patchouli note that I adore. It stands apart from today’s commercial offerings. In my opinion, it’s excellent; it won’t appeal to everyone but will delight many, especially those who know their way around this world.

Liked it very much. At first, it didn’t last at all, but after leaving it in its box for a month, the performance was incredible when I put it back on. I sprayed it ten times, expecting it wouldn’t last as well as before, and it was a beast, projecting quite a bit. At the 30-minute mark, I arrived at a meeting and was asked if I smelled of perfume; they confirmed it was detectable from two metres away. It lasted around seven hours that day. Very happy with the fragrance and that it has mellowed, as I love the scent, which is very different from everything else.

I love the evolution of this fragrance: from its initial spicy but non-irritating opening, well-balanced with cardamom and almond; to its mystical dry-down featuring sandalwood and smoke, yet modern thanks to the vanilla. Unlike L’Homme Idéal, the almond is present but not the star. The sophistication and uniqueness of this scent reinforce my love for Guerlain perfumes.

Acidic, vinegary opening—I suspect it’s my perception of ambroxan. Dries down to an incredibly rich spiced scent. A complex, unisex aroma that I detect as tobacco, cardamom, vanilla, and woody, with a hint of sweet aquatic notes. But… DOES NO ONE COMMENT ON HOW EXTREMELY SIMILAR IT IS TO HALFETI AND MR SAM FROM PENHALIGONS? It feels almost as if Egoiste by Chanel and Halfeti by Penhaligon’s were layered together, though closer to the latter. At a fraction of the price (and complexity, sillage, and longevity…). A very worth considering alternative.

It has that scent profile I simply don’t connect with. A fresh, almost metallic vanilla, with smoked spices and the line’s almond note. One of the least appealing to me. In my opinion, entirely dispensable.

It’s a niche fragrance, sophisticated and full of personality, nothing like designer scents. I love its opening and how it evolves; that blend of almond and cardamom makes it versatile, ideal for any season except extreme heat. It smells distinct and isn’t intrusive. The only drawback is the performance: my 2023 batch doesn’t last or project well. On skin it lasts three hours in the cold and up to six on clothes, but it only projects for half an hour. I’ll let it macerate and hope it improves.

What a beautiful fragrance, what a pity I received the bottle I like least. Apart from that, the scent is a perfect 10 out of 10.

Truly magnificent perfume. At first I only liked it, but the more I wear it, the more I adore it. It is long-lasting, sophisticated, and makes you stand out because few wear almond, smoky, and spicy fragrances that work so well. A great creation by Guerlain, perfect for cold weather or rainy days. I have the clear bottle version, but compared it with the black one and barely noticed any difference in scent or longevity.

Today I went to buy a Valentino and tried this on my skin, although I already had plans for what I was going to do. I stayed in the shop for 20 minutes, and when I went to pay for the Valentino, I told the assistant to wait so I could pick this up too. It seems to me to be a perfume with its own soul, excellent and unlike anything else. 100% recommended. Edit: I managed to get a batch from almost six years ago, the black bottle. I don’t know if the new transparent version is still as good.

@JuanMa2412, which bottle are you using, the matte black or the transparent one? The latter was said to have dropped significantly in performance, but I’ve heard the original black on testers and it did project strongly. Anyway, if what you say is true, it’s a pity. I’m a huge fan of Guerlain, but it’s true that, apart from some fragrances, they tend to reformulate reducing performance even if not the price. Best regards.

I used to love this perfume. And while I hate nostalgia for being conservative and often frustrating, what some fragrance houses do to certain products is unforgivable—it makes you never want to buy from them again. Alongside the EDT, this L’Homme Ideal L’Intense seemed to me the best of the long L’Homme Ideal saga from Guerlain, a historic house with a solid reputation for the finest French perfumery. Unfortunately, in 2023, this L’Intense feels like just another mediocre offering among the hundreds flooding the current designer fragrance market. It’s an impersonal, boring, tiring, conservative, repetitive scent, and on top of that, expensive. The bottle is no longer the cool, different black one it used to be, and the aroma? It’s neither as intense, nor as dark, nor, logically, as long-lasting. Now let me explain the shoddy performance. Guerlain’s privileged brains want to change their image and compete to the death with other posh French brands in the top tier of designer perfumery. Tremble, Givenchy, Dior, and Chanel. OK, wait a minute—no more darkness, no more challenging or quirky scents; all square bottles in clear glass and grey boxes, very minimal and simple. I first encountered this L’Homme Ideal L’Intense about four years ago because I gifted it to my father for Christmas. He liked the brand because he had spent years using the Heritage. There should still be half a bottle left; I’ll keep it. Today, summer 2023, if you go to a Spanish perfumery, mind you, the standard ones like Druni or Primor (or even El Corte Inglés), there will be a tester, and very likely it will be the old one, the little black bottle. And even if you go looking for the old version, they’ll trick you (unfortunately, the young staff generally have no bloody idea of anything, nothing, I repeat). You’ll spend 80 quid thinking you’ve snagged a discontinued gem, a fetish fragrance for kings, and BAM!—the bloody new reformulation. Let me tell you, they’ve softened it; you could call it reformulated. You won’t smell the leather or the smokiness of the other anymore, and here comes the cheap wanker: this one won’t last 8 hours, not for a joke, a maximum of 5 hours, and off you go like a little bird. Full stop. Death and the ditch. The solution is to go in like the typical geeky/burnt-tip bloke from the batches who occasionally appears in all perfumeries (they call them that everywhere and keep them all under lock and key) and look, like a watchmaker over a Rolex or a CSIC scientist at a germ under a microscope, at the bottoms of the boxes to try and spot, a tiny bit, the bloody batch number, ant-sized, on the product. Something almost impossible to recognise, catch, or see with the putrid shine of the plastic seals, and then, phone in hand, go to Check Fresh to verify the perfume’s batch. In short: absolute rubbish, like Burgos Cathedral. I’d either get the old one on eBay (mind you, from trusted, serious private sellers with real photos of the unsealed perfume—there’s a lot of bloody scammers and professional thieves online who hang a photo stolen from Google and slip it past you; better yet, with the real bottle in view) or I wouldn’t buy it at all; I’d go for another fragrance or another from the line. The “charm” of this fragrance was the classic sweet almond game of the saga with dark notes (chili, leather, smoke) that set it apart, giving it a niche touch, very original, very masculine, mature, elegant, though less versatile than the EDT and EDP or the Extreme, which to me, with so much sweet cherry, smells like depilatory wax. If you now go and take away and reduce what it had good, you kill it. Besides, it’s an expensive fragrance; 100 ml never go below 80 quid. With that or a bit more, 10, 20 euros more, you get niches with balls and mind-blowing aromas. That’s what’s out there in this disgusting world we breathe in, which only lives and moves for money. Cheers, brother.

The scent of this fragrance is difficult for me to describe. When I first smelled it, I perceived a smell of pepper, cardamom, and shortly after drying, smoky leather. When you read these notes, it’s hard to think it could result in a good combination (at least for me), but it does, leaving a good and very curious aroma. It’s noticeable that in this proposal Guerlain decided to distance itself from designer perfumery. Sincerely, it’s not my favourite within the line, but I must admit it’s the most original.

L’Homme Ideal L’Intense was my introduction to Guerlain, already about five years ago. It was a house I didn’t know; they offered it to me with the premise that it was an exclusive perfume and I wouldn’t know anyone else using it because Guerlain isn’t very well known compared to other designer brands that bombard us on TV. I decided to try it, and I was hooked. What smell was that? Spicy, smoky… what a strange combination, such a natural and exquisite aroma 😱 I still remember that moment and how this perfume blew my mind, that heap of new sensations before this wonderful gem. Did I take it straight away after smelling it? No and yes: no because I left and said I’d put it on my wrist to see how it evolved, and then, ten minutes after leaving the perfumery, I went back for it 😂 It’s one of my favourite perfumes and offers me everything I ask for in a fragrance: quality in its notes, exclusivity, elegance, longevity, and sillage (though slightly scarce sometimes). Guerlain is, as I always say, another world. There are designer perfumes, niche perfumes, and Guerlain. It’s a category in itself. Along with L’Homme Ideal EDP, my favourites from the line.

Between the EDT and this version, I chose the Intense to last longer: about seven hours compared to the four of the EDT. To me, it smells like chili at first, something I don’t like and don’t understand what it’s for. After ten minutes, the chili disappears and the creamy almond, leather, rose, and vanilla come through. It’s a perfume for fresh mornings, not so much for dates. Don’t be fooled by the bottle; it’s perfect for a walk in the park. It’s a gem that surprises without displeasing. Scent: 7/10, Longevity: 7/10, Presentation: 9/10, Quality: 10/10, Versatility in cold weather: 10/10.

Very elegant, ideal for 90% of romantic dinners, but difficult to use in other situations.