Tonka Impériale Guerlain 2010

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Top 5 in Unisex Perfume

8.7 / 10 758 Ratings

Tonka Impériale is a popular perfume by Guerlain for women and men and was released in 2010. The scent is gourmand-sweet. The longevity is above-average. It is still available to purchase. Pronunciation

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Perfumer

Thierry Wasser

Fragrance Notes

Top Notes	Bergamot, Almond, Rosemary
Heart Notes	Jasmine, Tonka bean, Tobacco
Base Notes	Frankincense, Cedarwood, Stone pine wood

Ratings

Scent

8.7 | 758 Ratings

Longevity

8.2 | 593 Ratings

Sillage

7.2 | 590 Ratings

Bottle

8.7 | 561 Ratings

Value for money

6.8 | 40 Ratings

Submitted by Ripieno, last update on 04.03.2021.

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Reviews

01/26/2021

ScentedFawn
15 Reviews

ScentedFawn

The scent of an Angel

I think this is a perfume that has captured tonka bean in the purest way possible.

I get a spicy-smoky vanilla and also some heliotrope quality, like a vanillic powder cloud. The almond is not that obvious for me, maybe it adds some nuttiness but I get more of the incense part than the almond. I also get something boozy, but that might be the tonka absolute (which derives from soaking the tonka bean into alcohol, rum usually). Somewhere at the background I also get the pine, in the most soothing and not "green" way possible.

I get something extraordinary, elegant and pure, its like the essence of a dream, unreal and floating. Could be the scent of an angel I think.

Only downside: its sillage. Its more of a skin scent although I think that if it had more presence it would lose some of the above mentioned characteristics that make it what it is. My first thought was, why spend so much money if this wont get noticed also its not something bizarre smelling and unprecedented as in the use of notes. But what is unprecedented and unique is the way it's made. It proves that simple is better.

An exceptionally well made fragrance!

01/11/2021

9.5
Scent 8
Longevity 6
Sillage 10
Bottle

4ajbukoshka

Translated Show original

4ajbukoshka

"I would say to the moment: stay, you are so beautiful!"

Now it has nevertheless actually still carried away me to a comment, this Christmas cookie scent!

Do you know when you have baked and still have the smell of dough on your hair the next day? (Tonka Impériale says hello.)
Pretty uncool, of course, if you have fried fish shortly before your date - and the other is a vegetarian with a passion.
But back to the beginning...

I've tested Tonka Impériale several times now, for the first time in 2017 on paper and searching for "my" fragrance, which, as it turned out within a split second, was supposed to be Cuir Béluga.
At first, it smelled kind of stale to me, almost omahaft. The purple, noble-looking test paper with the golden letters I nevertheless took home on principle - simply because it looked so beautiful.
Later arrived at home I found him then no longer bad, no, he smelled really delicious and pleasant, cuddly, Christmasy, but not toouuu kitschy-sweet, no, somehow adult, smoky, wicked.
And so Tonka Impériale fell into oblivion for years.
Only when a good friend asked me for advice about a perfume for his girlfriend (I should go with him to "my" perfumery and help him test, after all, I'm a woman and know roughly what the girlfriend likes), Tonka Impériale came back to my mind, because said friend finds my Cuir Béluga pretty in the bottle and good on me, but it smells too sweet and too "soft-washed" for her personally (that's what she said).
So then came the lockdown and if there's one thing I don't like, it's spending oodles of money on blind buys based on pretty bottles.
So a solution was needed!
In our case, it was to canvass the circle of acquaintances and ask for their favorites - to exclude those if there are multiple names among them (yep, we really put some thought and effort into it), but also to possibly get hold of bottlings and sample bottles through that.
No sooner said than done.
So we could exclude for example Si, furthermore La Vie Est Belle and some more.
Well... About various portals, including here, I then got a few more samples and bottlings. But this one would probably have been enough.
After we had tested Tonka Impériale on paper, clothes and on me and my good friend, it was clear: she gets to try. Better safe than sorry.
To get a perfume as a gift for a special birthday that you don't like - and from your own partner at that - would have been kind of sad. Now all that was left was to arrange everything inconspicuously. So while said friend was with me, helping me with a few odds and ends for the upcoming move, I left the strips of test paper (labeled with initials of the fragrances) on my desk.
And she, curious as she is, fell into the trap. So I sprayed Tonka Impériale on her and her boyfriend and I were eager to see her reaction. Later, when she messaged me on WhatsApp asking what perfume it was, I rubbed my fingers like Mister Burns and innocently wrote back that I didn't know. And that she would have to try it again sometime soon.
She was a little disappointed, but as a good friend, at least she didn't show me that she would hold it against me, and since she knows even less about perfume than I do, she couldn't describe how or what the thing smelled like.
So I was off the hook, and her delight was all the greater when she recently received Tonka Impériale as a birthday present.
Her first reaction was probably a slightly contorted face (I wasn't there, her boyfriend reported), because she knew Cuir Béluga and probably thought that would be the contents of the beautiful-looking bottle - unfortunately without a "pfft-pfft-thing" (pump atomizer, you know).
But she would have loved after the first Aufsprüher probably bathed in it.
I do not, but delicious is the already!

But now to the headline:
"Stay, you're so beautiful!" - also I would wish for Tonka Impériale a little more sillage and durability.
The former is after about an hour virtually no longer present and you have to bite the wrist felt or hold the nose very close to still have something of this fragrance. Looks both stupid.
The durability unfortunately also leaves something to be desired, BUT.... sometime after I wrote my statement, I was showering. And after the shower and still the next day, the base note sticks to my wrist, plus I imagine I can still perceive the clay note in it. A small consolation patch so.
Because otherwise Tonka Impériale is gone as quickly as a perceived beautiful moment - or the delicious cookie dough, from which you supposedly get a stomach ache, if you eat it so (I can not confirm this to this day).
I find it a bit too spicy and smoky to bite into, but I've heard that there are people who eat pine cones, chestnuts and such
- so: waaaruuum not actually?

2 Replies

12/14/2020

8
Scent 6
Longevity 6
Sillage 8
Bottle

Nttn

Translated Show original

Nttn

Marzipan Tonka

Turns out very marzipan on my skin. I like it. A nice pleasing fragrance. There's a slight saltiness in it that makes it smell a little like Play Dough, but only slightly. Very cool strangeness through it and interesting. Could bear more of it in my opinion and a little more smokiness and I would buy it. So it is not yet a buy candidate because I would like it louder. But he is really beautiful and noble. I would find it even more beautiful in a man because it's more unexpected than in a woman.

2 Replies

12/02/2020

10
Scent 9
Longevity 7
Sillage 10
Bottle

Pauline6

Translated Show original

Pauline6

Very helpful Review 15

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

7 Replies

10/27/2020

9
Scent 6
Longevity 6
Sillage 10
Bottle

Nadinepoet

Translated Show original

Nadinepoet

private, intimate tonka bean

With a 5ml bottling I finally had the chance to test this fragrance. I can fully agree with this - it smells like Christmas. But not this kitschy kind of Christmas - but elegant, sweet, spicy, real. Also, as some others mention, I perceive a slight cinnamon note. I would classify Angelique Noir as a private, intimate scent, because after about 2 hours you only perceive it very close. I have never had a pictorial idea when smelling a scent - here I have one: I look out of a slightly icy window of a wooden hut, outside there is snow and it is snowing. It's already dark, the fireplace is on and I have a cuddly blanket around my shoulders, enjoy a fine hot chocolate with cinnamon, cardamom and smell a subtle biscuit spice. A fragrance to feel good, as it evokes winterly cosiness in me!

1 Replies

10/20/2020

8.5
Scent 7
Longevity 8
Sillage 8
Bottle

Fenice

Translated Show original

Fenice

Is it Christmas already?

.... That's my thought over and over again when I take out Tonka Imperiale to sniff it, even though I'm sure I'll look like a full nest every time I do so :D

Preface

Actually I could save it but NO WAY! Some time ago I got Tonka Imperiale together with Spiritueuse Double Vanilla and Cuir Beluga as bottling. Yes, yes, I have already mentioned this twice (see Cuir Beluga and SDV) but I like to repeat myself, muhaha :D so... Where was I now? Sniffing? Oh hell yes!

Scent

Every time I spray it on, I sniff Christmas! You know those wafer things they serve at Christmas? That's what I keep thinking about because that's what Tonka Imperiale smells like on my skin! I really don't know why, but Tonka Imperiale knows very well that I like Christmas and that's why it reminds me of it with pure intention? Away with you, you evil Tonka Imperiale, you must not read my thoughts! :D Haaaalt Stop, now I'm writing! >br />
Right after I spray it on, I smell holy... no, wait, we just did that I smell almond, rosemary, a touch of cinnamon (where does cinnamon come from, wtf?) tonka bean and very faint incense. Later the rosemary gets weaker, but the almond and the spicy one stays and slowly something woody comes through but whether it's cedar or pine I can't say, I'm not trained enough in this area. I do not sniff bergamot, jasmine and tobacco

Sillage & durability

Unfortunately I can't say much about the sillage and durability. The durability is on the skin some hours (as with SDV and Cuir Beluga).

Flacon

Just like the others of the series (they are all the same) I think they are pretty nice, although there are certainly more beautiful ones, but they are still nice to look at
Final words! Final words! Since Tonka Imperiale smells Christmassy, I think the fragrance from October - end of December fits perfectly. After that and before that, but best of all in the BEFORE Christmas and Christmas season
I can recommend the fragrance with a clear conscience, even if there are stronger ones for the price. Guerlain has done a good job here!

So... Now I'll leave again, because I can't think of anything else :D

I hope my description was not quite ready for trash :D adios

3 Replies

10/18/2020

Sevoplay

Translated Show original

Sevoplay

Less helpful Review 4

Tonka Imperial

I got the scent from my Perfumery of Trust. I unpacked the perfume the same day that evening and sprayed it on my shirt. Two hours later, after a nice dinner and two wine glasses, I still smelled the perfume and 3 people complimented me. I find the shelf life passes after about 3 hours and you only smell something on the shirt. The Sillage lasts about 1.5 hours. A little pity but a really pleasant and relaxed scent. Rather for in the evening to the way go

10/14/2020

10
Scent 7
Longevity 7
Sillage

Jas0N

Translated Show original

Jas0N

Top Review 19

Art, magic and a bit of perfection

I hear Paris is a beautiful city. I have never been there and the current conditions make a trip almost impossible. Well, I suppose a chance will come along.

My younger sister has already moved on. She has experienced Paris to its fullest - culinary, cultural and historical.
Of course, my sister knows about my modest hobby perfume and on my advice, she did not miss the opportunity to explore THE perfume city par excellence.
My luck in this case: She gave me two samples, one of them the above mentioned scent.

And what can I say? I don't know what to say. This is mastery, art, magic, and true perfection. I have seldom smelled such a great aroma of clay cadavers so impossibly well balanced. The valence and harmony that characterizes the fragrance is sublime and, in my opinion, is second to none. Of course, the fragrance does not have many facets, cannot come up with an unbelievable scent development, but just this simple conception reflects the face of this work of art. And just this circumstance, to conjure up such a great scent from such a simple basic idea, borders on perfection for me.
Tonka bean, almond, and incense are there from the first second and accompany you until the end. With an I'll call it solid shelf life. In the beginning it seemed a little weak on my chest, but here a sensory overload of my nose could have been the cause. In the last test, the durability was good to solid and the sillage more than adequate. I myself have been able to perceive him well again and again.

What remains is to say that we have an extraordinary fragrance, whose unusual strength is its lack of complexity, which makes it perfect for me. I don't write it often, but this is art, magic and a piece of perfection

5 Replies

06/04/2020

9
Scent 8
Longevity 8
Sillage

Palonera

Translated Show original

Palonera

Top Review 48

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".

30 Replies

08/08/2019

9
Scent 8
Longevity 7
Sillage 9
Bottle 5
Pricing

Eyris

Translated Show original

Eyris

Top Review 20

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 ;)

9 Replies

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