L’homme Ideal Extreme by Guerlain

L’Homme Ideal is a wildly popular line from Guerlain. Ideal Extreme is a scent that has really gotten talked about as one of the greats of recent history and as being a must have for anyone’s collection. For me, the Ideal line has been one that I enjoy, but it’s not something I absolutely have to keep around. Does Ideal Extreme change that? How does it smell? Does it last longe? Is it worth a buy?

What does L’Homme Ideal Extreme Smell Like?

Notes include: plum, almond, tobacco, heliotrope, leather, cinnamon, bergamot, pink pepper, patchouli, cedar

Click here to try: Ideal Extreme from Selfridges

My Full Wear Review

Outside of Ideal L’Intense, I actually get a lot of the leather note with Extreme. Even, early on in the wear.

But, Extreme doesn’t start off things as a pure leather, by any means. Pink pepper spice, sweet plum with a touch of citrus, a cinnamon kick, and the almond note that comes standard in the Ideal lineup.

The spice sort of just sits in the background once you past about five minutes, it’s not a massive factor on my skin, at least.

The plum isn’t particularly juicy, it’s tartness is subdued by the surrounding ingredients making it sweeter as you move along. Yet, early on that tart quality definitely has a bit of an upper hand when compared to the sweetness.

Ideal Extreme comes across as having a dried fruitiness versus something juicy. So, at this stage this Guerlain cologne is a nutty leather livened up by cinnamon/pepper/plum.

The next phase is when the tobacco note, comes into play. The spice and plum will recede, giving lots of ground up to the tobacco, leather, and almond notes. Those notes do hang around, but they’re not front and center.

Heliotrope is the floral note in this one. Not massive, gets somewhat obscured by that almond note, but you do get some sweetness/powdery touches out of that note. There’s also some patchouli, just not much at all for me.

Basically, the end is a general sweetness of plum, the tobacco becomes stronger than the leather, and then the almond note at a much diminished state.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

With a name like Extreme, you might expect a complete sillage beast. It’s not. Certainly above average, has a strong opening, but pretty moderate on the whole. It’s about what I get with the Eau de Parfum version.

I’ve seen some people say that Extreme lasts all day on skin. For me, I get in the 8-9 hour range. That’s still really good and meets the standard of what most folks will need on a regular basis. Yet, it’s not entirely elite, in that sense.

The last few hours, it’s a skin scent. Still, no issues with performance to worry about.

Seasonally, this is autumn and winter all the way. I really wouldn’t want to wear this in the heat, it’s decent in moderate temperatures, but lovely when it is actually cold outside.

Ideal Extreme gives you plenty of versatility within that time frame, however. You can wear it to the office in the daytime and to the bar at night. It’s got enough class to be professional, but it isn’t stuffy or boring.

Plus, it’s pretty mass appealing. The sweetness, tobacco, leather, and almond are all accords that most people are going to enjoy smelling.

Overall Impressions of Ideal Extreme

Overall, do I like Ideal Extreme? Yes, I think it’s a very very good fragrance. It’s not my personal favorite, but there’s nothing that below average here. I still think that I like Ideal EDP a tiny bit more. Also, I personally was into the old Ideal Cologne, but that’s disappeared.

The opening with the fruitiness, the cinnamon and pink pepper spice is really great. It doesn’t let me down, further on in the wear, staying pleasant throughout. With Ideal L’Intense, that dry down doesn’t match my enthusiasm for the start. So, I’m glad that this one holds up.

The almond, leather, and tobacco trio are easy to enjoy. Nothing too harsh here, you get a nice performance, and it’s a scent that will draw complements.

If you’re in the US, you will have to track this one down. Either off of eBay or at a place like Selfridges in the UK, which I’ve linked to.

But, even with some international shipping costs, the price is still low enough to make it worth getting a hold of, if it sounds interesting.

Best Men's Colognes

Best Men’s Colognes started back in 2013, as a way to share my learning experiences with different fragrances, as I dove head first into the hobby. Since then, I have written hundreds of reviews and other pages about perfumes and colognes.