Guerlain L'Homme Ideal EDP - This One Surprised Me [Reviewed]

L’Homme Ideal EDP is a men’s cologne release from the iconic brand Guerlain. It’s a masculine cherry almond scent – a unique combination that surprised me the first time I smelled it. Afterwards I went out and bought a bottle – and I’ve worn it many times since then. Therefore, I’m going to briefly explain why I think it’s worth adding to your collection as well!

Table of Contents

How Does Guerlain L’Homme Ideal EDP Smell?

There are quite a few notes that I can smell in this complex cologne. These include cherry, almond, bergamot, spices, vanilla, tonka bean, leather, incense, and sandalwood.

When first sprayed on skin, I can immediately pick up a prominent cherry note. It smells like a handful of vibrant, authentic cherries. Accompanying it is a nutty almond accord. This cherry almond combination is unexpectedly satisfying – it’s quite unique yet also appealing. It has a bit of a ‘cherry cola’ type aroma to it, just without the effervescence.

guerlain l'homme ideal edp cherries — Cherries are a prominent part of this scent

Alongside these two notes in the opening are bergamot and vanilla. The bergamot is much needed – it provides subtle freshness, adding some balance to the dense scent profile. There’s also vanilla, which injects its usual touch of sweetness.

Also present to my nose are several spices. I can’t pick out any specifically since they’re quite unassuming. Imagine walking through an airy spice bazaar where you get consistent yet modest whiffs of spice. They aren’t ‘in your face’ and add further balance to the existing composition.

Niche Quality hiding in a Designer bottle by French Perfumer Thierry Wasser
Fiona Pervan

As the scent dries down, the spices begin to fade. The tonka bean and sandalwood emerge to form a sweet, creamy pairing with the vanilla in the background.

Also appearing in the dry down are incense and leather. The incense is mild and smells like mellow piped tobacco. Furthermore, the leather adds a distinct masculine backbone and is well blended amongst the other notes.

Leather in the dry down provides a masculine edge

In summary, Guerlain L’Homme Ideal EDP opens as a sweet syrupy cherry aroma, with accommodating almond and spices. It then dries down to a subdued version of the opening but with added leather, incense, and tonka bean. This fragrance leans masculine, but only slightly.

It’s rich, dense, and thick. But somehow, the expansive scent profile just seems to work. Bringing such an array of notes together to form an appealing combination reminds me of another men’s cologne, YSL Tuxedo.

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Performance is Moderate

From my testing Guerlain L’Homme Ideal EDP performance is moderate. It sustains projection out from the skin for the first 2 hours. Then it lasts 7 hours more as an intimate scent bubble and skin scent.

Trust me, this isn’t a scent you want to project massively anyway. Since it’s syrupy and dense, the current performance fits the profile well, and restrains it from becoming too overbearing.

It Has Underrated Versatility

L’Homme Ideal EDP is an intriguing one.

It doesn’t have the type of scent profile you’d expect to be versatile. I mean, it contains cherry and leather after all.

However, I’ve been increasingly pleased with just how versatile it can be.

This is wearable across all seasons and in just about any casual occasion you could think of. It works perfectly if you’re planning a coffee meet up or running errands.

Catching up for coffee is a perfect time to wear this fragrance

I would heed caution about wearing this in hot weather though, as it will get cloying despite its modest performance. Additionally, there are much better scents to wear in formal situations – I made a list for that.