L'Art & La Matière

Tonka Impériale Guerlain 2010

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Ranked 46 in Unisex Perfume

8.5 / 10 1240 Ratings

A popular perfume by Guerlain for women and men, released in 2010. The scent is sweet-gourmand. It is still in production.
Pronunciation

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Main accords

Sweet

Gourmand

Spicy

Woody

Powdery

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Almond

Rosemary

Bergamot

Heart Notes

Tonka bean

Tobacco

Jasmine

Base Notes

Cedarwood

Frankincense

Stone pine wood

Perfumer

Thierry Wasser

Ratings

Scent

8.51240 Ratings

Longevity

7.91045 Ratings

Sillage

7.21037 Ratings

Bottle

8.6968 Ratings

Value for money

6.5406 Ratings

Submitted by Ripieno, last update on 24.04.2024.

Interesting Facts

The fragrance is part of the "L'Art & La Matière" collection.

Reviews

22 in-depth fragrance descriptions

06/04/2020

8
Sillage 8
Longevity 9
Scent

Palonera
42 Reviews

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Palonera

Top Review 62

La Danse Bacchanale

The other day under 'm almond tree
a cashmere dream floats down finely spun, quiet,

magical and light as a feather,
calibrated for sunlight,
sends me on a journey
Year by year it goes back,
lighter becomes the time luggage,
my worries disappear,

to hardly a handful of years',
no more silver thread in hair,
i'm standing on the morning of my life
In grandma's kitchen it's warm,
even warmer on grandpa's arm:
"Well, are you awake, my darling?
I know the stove cracked and you woke up from that But now we're having almond biscuits!"

A blink of an eye, a moment -
i'm sixteen now. First happiness,
the belly full of butterflies -

"Heliotrope" on the skin,
you smell strange and yet familiar
like all the new things,

that you teach me this year,
the exciting and wonderful
shaped me for my life.

You awakened my sensuality
and taught me tenderness,
the taking and the giving.

Sweetened tobacco, soft smoke,
the dancer's decorated belly -
La Danse Bacchanale.

The dream passed, and with it the feast.
On my skin a last rest
"Tonka Impériale".

08/08/2021

7
Sillage 8
Longevity 9
Scent

Paris91
53 Reviews

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Paris91

Top Review 31

Tonka Impériale vs. Fève Délicieuse

Incentive

Fève Délicieuse has been in my possession for a while now. However, I've always found Guerlain's L'Art et la Matière interesting. Especially when Cuir Beluga joined my collection and Spiritueuse Double Vanille came under my nose, I was hooked.

Tonka Impériale I wanted to have then also absolutely, read however often that he Fève Délicieuse would be so extremely similar. Unfortunately, I then never had the opportunity in Corona times to test somewhere. So thing checked off... But so really he has not let me go of course, so's not with me :D

For those who don't feel like reading to the end: For ME, are TI and FD despite sticking out tonka bean no fragrance twins. So who -like me at first- has concerns that they could smell the same: No, they don't! For that, I didn't even have to spray FD on myself for comparison during the first test of TI. What I did, however, for accurate analysis.

Tonka Impériale

TI comes directly with a sweet marzipan note, but becomes spicier after a few minutes by the rosemary. Directly rausriechen I can not, however. Is me also right so. The sweetness of the beginning then withdraws after a few minutes. The light marzipan note remains on my skin until the end. Tobacco I do not smell out directly.

To all those who are afraid of tobacco notes: Tobacco as a fragrance note does not always have to smell like cigarettes / cigarillo -as in Amouage's Sunshine Woman- (sorry but I found that too much...) Sometimes tobacco just supports the spice or even makes it a little sensual as here with incense. TI doesn't go through a great evolution on my skin. To me, Tonka Impériale doesn't smell Christmasy despite the sweetness and woody notes. However, definitely a scent for the colder days compared to FD, which can be worn in slightly warmer temperatures. As for the longevity and sillage, I must say that for the price, it did disappoint me a bit. The shelf life is about 6-7 hours and the fragrance does not have an extremely good sillage either. After about 1-2 hours I have to hold my wrist to my nose to smell it better. I have the same problem with Cuir Beluga. The holds however still worse at me ;(
Unisex? Definitely. 50:50!

Fève Délicieuse

Already when spraying on the wrist I notice the difference. FD starts balsamic powdery. The balsamic has what of a nice spicy body oil. It stays that way for a while until a slight lipstick note emerges and the scent becomes slightly sweet-chocolatey (but only very subtly). Gourmand sweet? On my skin, no. If I had to describe it, it would be more spicy-powdery with a hint of sweetness. As far as longevity goes, this one is way ahead. It lasts the whole working day on my skin. I find the sillage to be pleasant. Not too extreme, but also not too weak. Find for the price you should also expect a certain presence. Is indeed a ladies fragrance but could also be worn well by men. If I had to determine now, I would say but rather feminine.

@!Conclusion*

Tonka Impériale and Fève Délicieuse are for me two beautiful fragrances that go in a similar direction, but do not smell the same. Who is considering a purchase of both, but I would still advise to test both, not to mention that blind purchases in the price segment can already hurt a lot if they do not like.

This was not meant to be a professional analysis, because I'm not an expert on that.
This review should simply be helpful for people who, like me, are interested in both fragrances and would like to know in advance which because rather fit or whether it's maybe both :)

05/12/2021

9
Bottle 8
Sillage 8
Longevity 10
Scent

Jasminroedig
51 Reviews

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Jasminroedig

Top Review 36

The Last of the 4 Musketeers

You know when you sniff a fragrance for the first time and your head fills with thoughts of disappointment? All the opinions and descriptions that appealed to you so much, made you request the fragrance, you can't understand. I felt the same way about Tonka Imperiale, in addition to Angelique Noire. Unlike Cuir Beluga and Spiritueuse Double Vanille, this one challenged my nose a bit. This nutty-warm-smoky character was like a milestone I reached in my journey through the fragrance world through Tonka. Even the second test triggered next to nothing in me. From 5ml became 4ml, from 4 became 3... and then - without warning

it was love.
There's this heartwarming tobacco that has a presence to knock down. There's also an almond note that rounds out the scent in a full and rich way, without giving the scent too much of a marzipan character.
And not to forget -tonka bean, which I was not even in the culinary arts a term. It suddenly wandered into every biscuit, shortbread and porridge.
Everywhere in my household it appeared, be it body lotion or perfume. Regrettably, at this point of enlightenment, there was only 2ml left in the atomizer. Can you imagine how that feels?
There you test a fragrance with enormous prominence and popularity over and over again and find no access to it. And then you fall in love... like back in school, the one boy who went to the parallel class. For years you knew nothing of his existence, his charisma to others, his charming ways. You simply didn't notice him. And then one day you happen to be standing in the same group in the playground. And then you feel it, this feeling of intimate connection. You feel comfortable in his presence and want him to surround you wherever you go. You want all the people to notice that you are no longer strangers to each other, but that you know each other and are in harmony with each other. You want to be seen with him and share with him your most beautiful moments in life...oh how beautiful those thoughts suppressed by realism were...

I feel the same way about Tonka Imperiale.
I want everyone to know that I smell like this perfume. I want to feel the scent on my clothes and on my skin.... yes I would go so far as to say I would marry the scent ;) If only that were possible. Anyway, I want to wear it, for better or for worse, until death do us part.

So I am pleased to announce that it is Tonka Imperiale the last of my 4 Musketeers.
They all share the collection, so of course the wonderful house of Guerlain, and yet they are so unique, with their own individual strengths

08/08/2019

5
Pricing 9
Bottle 7
Sillage 8
Longevity 9
Scent

Eyris
7 Reviews

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Eyris

Top Review 19

In the arms of Tonka

I have been emotionally connected to the smell of the Tonka bean since I acquired my first Tonka fragrance at the Perfume Academy in Bremen. Although it was a very heavy, smoky oriental perfume and did not suit my usual taste at all, it soon began to have a soothing, comforting effect on me. Not the normal feeling of well-being that comes over you when you perceive a familiar scent, but an almost "psychoactive" way to calm me down.
It got so much into my head that I preferred to put on the perfume for myself alone in the evening or even only when I went to bed to let myself drift in the smell. I was well aware that the perfume contained tonka bean, but which ingredient I could attribute this effect to, I did not really know.

That changed when I decided yesterday to test a tonka bean fragrance in my trusted perfumery. Tomorrow is my final anatomy exam and I am the personified stress, so I hoped for distraction and a half hour fragrance holiday. That's how Tonka Imperiale fell into my hands. Already on the first breath it was clear - it is the tonka bean! The Tonka, my comforter, sleep guard and soothing spirit. Quite unlike my first Tonka perfume, this one is filled with sweetness and a bright, friendly perfume, framed by a spicy, woody note that ears me.
This perfume is my encourager, an encouraging word and a gentle embrace.

P.S.: Generally recommended for anyone who wants to smell good when failing a test ;)

12/02/2020

10
Bottle 7
Sillage 9
Longevity 10
Scent

Pauline6
9 Reviews

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Pauline6

Top Review 22

Finest fragrance I've ever smelled

I have only been working with scents for a short time, but today I had to experience on my own body what scents can do to people.
When I smelled him for the first time this afternoon, I felt as if my life had suddenly become more beautiful.
I have also sniffed a few other fragrances from L'Art et La Matiere, but from the first moment, I was enchanted by the Tonka Imperial.

In the first moment, something never before smelled so strongly in perfumes, which then turned out to be rosemary. Since I have an incredible weakness for this spice, it's no wonder that the note had this effect on me.
Afterwards, the warmth came directly through the almond, which probably reminds everyone so much of Christmas. Although I see the connection only minimally. For me it almost smells like honey. This "honey scent" changes a little bit with time, but basically remains the same all the time (by the way, I think that what smells like honey to me is actually jasmine). The more time goes by, the woody the scent becomes and the more the incense comes to the fore, which only makes it more attractive to me.
The fragrance is still excellent (7 hours), even if the sillage is not very big.
This is a fragrance that I could wear all my life and eventually will. So seductive and yet gentle and elegant at the same time. If one fragrance can give you self-confidence, then this one will.
For me it is the perfect fragrance for the evening, or for going out for dinner. You do attract attention, but you would never look as if you were trying to impress with the scent.
I found it very feminine at first, but after a few hours I have to say that I can imagine the fragrance also very well on men.

I couldn't leave the shop without buying Tonka Impériale. He seduced me and now, probably for the first time in my life, I'm addicted to something. I don't want to miss him anymore, if it wasn't love at first sight, then I don't know either.

If the scent were a song, I'd put him in touch directly with Dolly Parton's Jolene

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