L'Homme Idéal Guerlain 2014 Eau de Toilette

L'Homme Idéal (Eau de Toilette) by Guerlain

Bottle Design Thierry de Baschmakoff

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L'Homme Idéal (Eau de Toilette) (Guerlain)

7.2 / 10633 Ratings

L'Homme Idéal (Eau de Toilette) is a perfume by Guerlain for men and was released in 2014. The scent is sweet-gourmand. It is being marketed by LVMH. Pronunciation

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Perfumer

Thierry Wasser

Fragrance Notes

Top Notes	Citrus fruits Rosemary Orange blossom
Heart Notes	Almond Tonka bean
Base Notes	Leather Indian vetiver Cedar

Ratings

Scent

7.2633 Ratings

Longevity

6.9471 Ratings

Sillage

6.5489 Ratings

Bottle

8.1501 Ratings

Value for money

7.267 Ratings

Submitted by Apicius, last update on 18.01.2022.

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Reviews

09/27/2021

7.5
Scent 7
Longevity 6
Sillage 8
Bottle 8
Pricing

Smora
155 Reviews

Smora

Helpful Review 5

Sweet Fall (Thierry Wasser, 2014)

Scentrack: The Robert Glasper Trio – So Beautiful

L’Homme Ideal immediately starts with a pronounced almond note paired with Tonka bean, the hallmark of the line. A pale citrus note is present at the opening, reminding me of some orange peel dessert. The almond-Tonka bean combo gives the impression of marzipan or sweet Italian liquor amaretto. I have been very fond of benzaldehyde smell of almonds since my art classes in elementary school and glue we used in our creations. The rosemary note of Mediterranean is the key during the opening phase - it gives the balance and juxtaposition toward the other gourmand notes. During the middle phase of the fragrance, amaretto and Tonka bean with some tobacco nuances are even more pronounced, while the other notes gradually fade. Base notes of cedar and vetiver are well-hidden and revealed after Tonka lets them out. While being a gourmand, L’Homme Ideal is surprisingly easy to wear even in business occasions, and that is achieved by meticulous balancing.
L’Homme Ideal is sweet, but not overly sweet. Classy, yet romantic. Almost linear yet complicated enough. Not ideal, but ideal for fall.

09/18/2021

8
Scent 8
Longevity 7
Sillage 8
Bottle 8
Pricing

Scena2010

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Scena2010

Maybe a little underestimated.

In my small collection I am actually quite taken by my first Guerlain at all... After I knew in our small Douglas already not quite what could be interesting, came the nice consultant the idea with this fragrance.... 2 times tested, then bought... yes I like it...at the beginning a push of freshness in the form of orange and the zietrische, later comes a little the leather smell delicately in the background, while mainly the smooth smell of tonka bean and almonds holds over the day... yes the sillage is decent,and the longevity normal,but on balance this fragrance is perhaps a little underrated.... and ultimately comes out but every perfume depending on skin type differently...

05/08/2021

6.5
Scent 7
Longevity 7
Sillage

Kurai
125 Reviews

Kurai

Helpful Review 3

Dad's on TikTok

L'Homme Idéal is a perfume line that I avoided from the very beginning. I mean.. almond? tonka? gourmandish? That's for nowadays kids who mix energy drinks, ride hoverboards and do TikTok dances, right?

But still, it is Guerlain. Obviously, the house has an impressive legacy. And they proved me wrong before. I always hated vanilla-heavy perfumes and yet I adore Shalimar. Mint? Awful! And Guerlain Homme EDP is one of my favorites.

So.. could it be that Guerlain convinces with this one and make one cross the tonka barrier? Last week, Douglas decided to push me into the gourmand pool by choosing this EDT as one of the samples to come with my order. Fine, I'll try it! Thanks a lot, Douglas!

Today is the day. Awkward as a dad trying to bust a TikTok move for the first time. Watch me do the robot!

As anticipated, the scent starts sweet and fruity. Not sticky sweet, though. Bit of a cherry vibe. Somewhat boozy as well, interesting! The tonka is rather dominant right from the start, though. I don't get a clear leather accord, but I guess the cherry vibe I'm getting is actually the almond/leather together. Light dry woody in the base. For a short while, around the 3 hour mark, I get a clear smoked almonds and vetiver combination, which is classy and more mature.

Although the scent has a certain freshness, it tends towards the warmer side of the spectrum. In that sense, it feels like it's in the same universe as JPG Le Male EDP and Versace Eros. Admittedly, L'Homme Idéal feels closer to those two than to any of Guerlain's golden oldies.

So is it worthy of the Guerlain label? I'd say yes it is. It's a modern trendy scent done well. The quality seems fine. It is properly balanced and develops smoothly. Performance is spot on. Price is decent. A lot of boxed ticked. Yet, if it didn't have the Guerlain label, I personally would never have considered it.

In conclusion, a positive experience and better than I expected upfront. Still it feels like I'm the one out of place. After all, dads should stay far away from TikTok and hoverboards. Anyway, I gave it a try knowing that this isn't really my thing and can't say I completely regretted it. I didn't break a leg or anything.

09/18/2020

7.5
Scent 7
Longevity 8
Sillage 10
Bottle

MisterJ

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MisterJ

Beloved enemy

No, I couldn't do it anymore. It just didn't work out between us, although all the conditions and the first meeting were unforgettable. It was many months ago, it was chilly, I was alone and was looking for something new, something that hadn't gone up my nose yet, a fresh experience. At the turquoise D, I tried it, didn't know what to think of it at first and took a scent strip with me through the city. Even on the far away Saturn I still smelled of him and there it happened. A twist. Besides the sweetness I smelled something fresh and fruity. Sweet, fresh, gourmand - splendid. I was in love.

But then came the thunderstorm. My head buzzed and resisted the ideal man. It stung and hammered. I parted
But I had never forgotten him. This fresh twist... i never forgot it
Recently I saw an offer I couldn't refuse. I took it. To rekindle that initial love. The lid opened. The first spray. The old feeling. The twist. The fruitiness amidst the sweetness. But inside me, a cry began. My body said no again. My nose was overwrought. But what the ideal man didn't know was that I was going for a love triangle. In the back of the room was Mr Mugler, straight up. from Havana. He looked at me and said, "You already know me and there's no place in our lives for the ideal man." He was right. And I said, with my head throbbing... goodbye... until we meet again, maybe someday, somewhere maybe

3 Replies

08/05/2020

8
Scent 8
Longevity 7
Sillage

Stulle

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Stulle

Top Review 30

Men's tonka bean

First of all it should be noted that I am not so good with very sweet scents. I like to smell them, but most of them turn into syrup on my skin or clothes. That's why I had reservations about testing L'Homme Ideal at all - based on some comments I expected some really bad stuff. However, to my great surprise, this EdT does not turn out to be so sweet in my tests at all.

It begins fresh, minimally citric, and is accompanied by a slight orange blossom - usually one of my nerve candidates - thankfully in a restrained dosage. Aha, so that's how unobtrusive you can do it.

Halfway swiftly Tonkabohne takes over the direction, in addition I perceive a very self-confident heliotropic-almond note. The astonishing thing for me is that this combination does NOT become overly sweet; the expected sticky turgidity is intercepted in time by dry notes, which I think I can identify as vetiver and some iso-E super cedar.

In the further course, the two base notes mentioned keep the fragrance consistently upright & clean and do not allow it to become an overly sugary broth. I somehow think of two strict lifeguards at the edge of the pool, who send the loudly bawling and annoying screaming necks into the paddling pool and/or immediately back into the changing room. Or something like that.

Even after hours, I still feel the above-mentioned structure (T-bean/cedar/vetiver) and believe that Guerlain's trick is exactly that: to create a tonka bean fragrance for men that doesn't become a grumpy gourmand, but retains a certain dignity.

I find the Sillage quite good, but not as overpowering as some other gourmand fragrances (e.g. the Mugler brand). That in turn makes LHI very socially acceptable. The shelf life is also good and the fragrance can be perceived from morning to early evening. The feedback from the environment is quite positive; however, if I need more volume and attention, I can resort to something else.

My personal insight:
the expectation of a gourmet due to the usual suspicious scents (here especially Tonka) can lead one astray. Breaking away from prejudice and waiting for the fragrance to develop is broadening. It's also nice to know that you can do much more with tonka beans than just sweet stuff
Even though the series of the ideal man has a stupid name (but we know: no story, no glory), it has obviously established itself. I think it's really good overall, and it often suits my taste; for me, it's a successful addition to the classic Guerlain fragrances, not the decline of the brand.

In the case of LHI I am in any case pleased about a valuable, but not overly demanding mainstream fragrance, which almost always fits and which I would like to wear not only exclusively during lonely walks in the woods.
NO TIME? READ THE HERE:

- fresh & minimal flowering prelude
- lots of tonka bean, some heliotrope & almond
- Vetiver & cedar limit the sweetness
- A tonka bean fragrance with calculated sweetness for men who like it smooth, but not loud & sticky.

15 Replies

04/06/2020

9.5
Scent 7
Longevity 8
Sillage 8
Bottle

Nedim96

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Nedim96

Very helpful Review 8

An enrichment

Summer evening 1965, I am sitting on the veranda of my range, children still playing heartwarmingly in the remaining golden rays of light. In front of me a vanilla coffee on an old, worn wooden table and in my left hand a nobly processed tobacco pipe. The crickets sing their songs from everywhere, surrounded by the fiery red curtain of the sky, in the centre of which the golden-orange sun is setting...

These are my first impressions that I have before me when I smell the perfume I don't understand why a perfume like that is only a 7.0. The first time I smelled it, I fell in love with it right away.

08/15/2019

10
Scent 8
Longevity 7
Sillage 8
Bottle

Spiff
8 Reviews

Spiff

Amazing and Versatile

From the moment I smelled this at the store, I was mesmerized by this scent. To me this is an extremely classy scent with beautiful almond and leather notes.

I also tried the EdP but found that to be too busy for my liking, and although I understand why many people favour the EdP, I much prefer the EdT.

I'm not very good with notes, so I'll just say that anyone thinking about an Homme Ideal should give the EdT a try.

Performance is more than adequate. I've only worn this once but I found projection and sillage are average or better. Longevity seems to be at least 6-8h. I'll update this after wearing it more.

Despite being more suited for fall/winter, I feel that this can be a good fragrance for colder spring days as well as cooler summer nights. Paraphrasing Carlitos01, avoid hell and the arctic.

This can be found discounted online.

04/11/2019

5.5
Scent 4
Longevity 6
Sillage 7
Bottle

Coemgen

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Coemgen

The warming companion for autumn - quiet, average and unfortunately somewhat boring

L'Homme Idéal (Eau de Toilette) was given to me as a sample by a well-known drugstore chain. Already with the first small attempt it had not torn me straight from the stool. Now I tried again...

The most striking sign of this perfume, in my opinion, is the orange. She's giving this perfume its shape. The subtleties come through the rosemary and the almond. Overall an acceptable blend that leaves a warm feeling behind. That's also the big advantage of this perfume: the warming feeling that I still feel even after a few hours. As a little bonus the leather comes out a bit more after 1 hour and gives the scent more depth. More of that would have suited the perfume well.
But apart from that, this fragrance lacks a special feature. He doesn't do anything wrong and doesn't risk anything and therefore seems average and a bit boring. The feeling I had at the first try didn't come up at the second one either.
I found the Sillage acceptable and the durability better than expected. It lasts a few hours without getting noticeably weaker and only loses its power gradually without changing much I have never seen the bottle in real, but in the pictures it looks fine. That sounds hard now, but the average appearance of the bottle, matches the average fragrance.

Conclusion: If you are looking for a perfume for autumn or for a nice dinner that does nothing wrong and leaves a warming feeling behind, you are in good hands here. If there was something special, he should look around for something else.

Small addition on my part: I am rather the southern young sporty type, my grandfather came from Greece and I am an enthusiastic strength athlete. For me this scent is too calm and "noble". It's probably the core of a gourmand (please correct me if I'm wrong here), but I'd rather recommend this perfume to an older man.

3 Replies

01/13/2019

9
Scent 7.5
Longevity 5
Sillage 10
Bottle

Apicius
220 Reviews

Apicius

Helpful Review 2

Incredibly young

If I was asked what I smell most in Guerlain's main gents' cologne L'homme Idéal, I would say I smell the lots of work that Thierry Wasser must have put into during its development.

Maybe once in a decade, Guerlain releases a new gent's cologne which is to become the basis of their revenues. After its successful introduction, flankers usually follow over the years, extending the range of the original style to further directions of smell. Unlike the freedom one may find in niche perfumery, a fragrance like L'homme Idéal must be spot on. Missing the spirit of time or the audience's taste would be a disaster.

With this in mind, I admire the courage to go for a sweetish oriental as a follow up of the warm and woody Guerlain Homme. Like its predecessor, L'homme Idéal is all about base notes. But as it is the case with many excellent Guerlain perfumes, you fail if you try to describe the fragrance along the published scent notes. All I can say is that a typical Guerlain tonka gets transferred by dark and warm, maybe also slightly herbal notes into a very unique sweetish accord. Denominations like almond accord or Amaretto can roughly describe its style but should not be taken too literally.

L'homme Idéal does not create a fragrance sensation that points to an outer experience. No dark forests, green meadows, salty sea air or the like will appear in the imagination. Instead, L'homme Idéal points back to the personality and, of course, the body of the wearer itself. With modest warmth it is aiming to enhance physical presence and attraction. I being that way, L'homme Idéal is exactly in line with its predecessor. Perfumes like these are stylish in a way that a perfectly fitting suit can be regarded as stylish: slightly underlining the appearance of the wearer without giving too much statement of its own.

A whole group of mainstream perfumes nowadays try to achieve this effect by dimming down the strength of the fragrance to be more an aura rather then a scent. I appreciate this approach but with L'homme Idéal, this kind of smell reduction was not necessary. In a way, L'homme Idéal is both expressive and understated. Incorporating such contradicting aspects into one perfume is brilliant.

I perceive L'homme Idéal as an incredibly young fragrance. Expressive, sweetish orientals are generally the taste of teenage boys. At a certain age, one can eat a whole bag of candies without the slightest hint of nausea. In full awareness of this context, the industry has launched numerous very affordable sweetish, strong colognes aimed at the young audience. Just mention this to school teachers, and see how they will roll their eyes!

With its sweetness, L'homme Idéal docks onto fragrance and taste experiences we may remember from teenage years. But the whole topic is dealt with on another, much more mature and refined level. L'homme Idéal can be a kind of accelerator that provides access to the world of adult perfumery for the young. A young man used to affordable orientals may want to buy L'homme Idéal along with his first suit, and wear both at the wedding of his mate.

I think it is worth considering if a perfume that is to attract the young in return also emanates juvenile attraction in the perception of the old.

Be that as it may - men who long outgrew teenage smelling and eating habits can still use L'homme Idéal and regard themselves as age-properly dressed. Maybe it is time to leave the vetivers, the chypres and all the other beautiful oldster frags behind...

I very much like Thierry Wasser's and Guerlain's approach. Although driven by commercial interests, he is doing the same as we try to do with our perfume reviews: arousing interest in perfume beginners for high quality perfumes.

1 Replies

07/12/2018

7.5
Scent 6
Longevity 7
Sillage 8
Bottle

Sebastian80

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Sebastian80

Danube wave in the bottle

As a child I was allowed to wish myself my birthday cake every year. It's been the same every year: Donauwelle, a sheet cake with sour cherries, butter cream and thick chocolate icing.
I don't want to claim that Guerlain's ideal man smells like birthday cake, the quite present cherry note in the lovely coat just reminds me somehow of the old days. Although I can also perceive a slightly bitter almond, I unfortunately (or rather luckily) do not associate the aroma of Amaretto with this fragrance at all. It may be that I lack the necessary competence here, but I find the Italian almond liqueur to be slightly stinging and cake-sweet
The complete composition of Guerlain seems harmonious to me. Not too sweet, not too loud, but warm and fruity.
Little intrusive and balanced, but also a little arbitrary. Directly one will probably not notice with L´homme ideally rather, for it it is suitable by its gentle character for office and everyday life.
Ideal for going out for dinner during the day, in the evening or simply as a good feel-good scent, also for children's birthday parties :)

3 Replies

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