guerlain ideal

L’Homme Ideal EDP vs L’Intense by Guerlain

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Continuing with some comparison posts here today, I thought that I’d do another one with two fragrances from the L’Homme Ideal line by Guerlain. One of which, L’Intense I tried for the first time over a month ago, when I blind bought a bottle that was on sale.

EDP, is one that I’m coming back to testing, after some time off. Which of these colognes smells better? Which lasts longer? Which is the better buy?

Tale of the Tape: L’Homme Ideal L’Intense vs. EDP

Ideal EDP

Notes include: cherry, almond, lavender, vanilla, incense, rose, rosemary, leather, tonka bean, and more

Click here to try: L’Homme Ideal EDP at Selfridges (ships from UK)

L’Homme Ideal L’Intense

Notes include: tonka bean, chili pepper, almond, cardamom, vanilla, leather, and more

Click here to try: L’homme Ideal L’intense By Guerlain FOR MEN 3.4 oz Eau De Parfum Spray, black

Read my full review: L’Intense

Opening

Ideal EDP opens with its natural cherry and almond blend. The opening features a slight spiciness, but it is overall a very smooth and refined opening act. Leather, vanilla, and other warmer hints are coming through from the base.

L’Intense is actually very similar to how Ideal EDP opens, but with some variation. L’Intense has a warm and fresh profile, with leather letting itself be known from the start.

With that, you get spice from both cardamom and chili pepper, which is the main distinction from EDP. Though, there is also a sweetness here like its competitor, from the cardamom note and what I think is the unlisted cherry note (just toned way down).

Also, just a general smokiness, like incense from hints of sandalwood and almond.

Which is better? Obviously, it’s a pretty close call since there is so much overlap between them. But, I think that I prefer EDP’s smoothness more so than the spicy and smoky L’Intense.

Edge: EDP

Projection

Both of these fragrances are moderate with their sillage. I’d say each is above average early on, but then devolve into more of skin scents after a few hours.

I think that L’Intense actually might fall off a bit quicker, but hits a higher high in terms of how far its projects. There’s no real distinction in this category, in my experience.

Edge: Push

Longevity

Ideal L’Intense can go for up to 8 hours, on my skin. However, it’s usually around 7 and for the back half its at that weaker sillage level.

It’s got some pretty good performance, but nothing spectacular. Right about what you’d expect from this type of cologne. 

Ideal EDP is a longer lasting fragrance, with an 8-9.5 hour range of performance. It too, is a weaker skin scent for a good portion of the wear.

Nonetheless, it has the better longevity of the two. Not a massive gap, but noticeable.

Edge: EDP

Versatility

Both of these fragrances are built for the autumn and winter months. I think that they both have a good deal of versatility, as to what occasions that can be worn. Both are better for the nightlife, but are light enough to not be problems in the daytime, and are relatively office safe.

I do think that L’Intense has a bit more depth, refinement, and maturity than the sweeter EDP. L’Intense can be more appropriate for a man in his 30s, when he doesn’t want to go with a cherry/vanilla/almond focused EDP.

Not a huge distinction, but L’Intense takes this category.

Edge: L’Intense

 

Overall Scent

Overall, I really like both of these fragrances, but I don’t love either. I know the Ideal line has its fans that adore these scents, but for me they’re more of an occasional delight.

With L’Intense, I really wasn’t impressed with it the first few times I wore it. But, I’ve come to appreciate it more so. Early wears were particularly smoky, though, it now smells cleaner to my nose. 

My favorite part is actually the opening, with the chili and almond notes. That’s the high point and even then, I don’t enjoy it as much as EDP.

I think L’Intense is a solid cologne to have around, has strong points, and is easier to acquire here in the US (than EDP).  The dry down is fine, pretty standard, but isn’t as enjoyable to me as the first hour.

I’ve been wearing this Guerlain, but it isn’t something I need to have a bottle of.

With EDP, it’s just a better scent. I think it might be my second favorite now behind the discontinued Cologne, in the Ideal lineup. I’ve begun to appreciate it more than Extreme, which I’m wavering on, with my opinion of it.

I love the cherry, the leather smoothness, and the warm sweetness that the fragrance has…without venturing into ‘candy aroma’ territory. To me, Ideal EDP isn’t way better than L’Intense, but it does feel like its a cut above.

Winner: Ideal EDP

Guerlain L’Homme Ideal EDT vs. EDP

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Guerlain Ideal has become a very popular line for the French brand over the past near decade. I’ve like aspects of all the releases that I’ve come across and think that they are definitely worthwhile colognes to try. Albeit, I do personally feel they’re a bit overrated.

Nonetheless, two of the more sought out options are L’Homme Ideal EDT and the eau de parfum. In this post, I want to compare them head to head, before declaring an ultimate winner in the contest.

Tale of the Tape: L’Homme Ideal EDT vs. EDP

Ideal EDT

Notes include: grapefruit, bergamot, orange, almond, musk, pink pepper, musk, neroli

Click here to try: Guerlain L’Homme Ideal Cologne EDT Spray for Men, 3.3 Ounce

Read my review: Ideal EDT

Ideal EDP

Notes include: cherry, almond, lavender, vanilla, incense, rose, rosemary, leather, tonka bean, and more

Click here to try: L’Homme Ideal EDP at Selfridges (ships from UK)

Read my full review: Ideal EDP

Opening

The original Ideal EDT opens up with its blend of almond and woody spice coming through. It’s nutty and has its fresh citrus notes coming through along with the smoothness of the leather.

Nutty with a citrus and leathery finish.

Meanwhile, Ideal EDP goes with a natural cherry and almond blend. The opening features some spiciness, but it is overall smooth just like the EDT. Leather, vanilla, and other warmer hints are coming through from the base.

The opening is very much like Ideal L’Intense, just with the spices/smokiness toned way down and a much sweeter scent in comparison.

Which is better? For me, it is actually pretty close. I like the way EDT starts and kind of prefer it to EDP, even though I enjoy the cherry note.

Edge: EDT

Projection

Sillage wise, both of these fragrances hit the moderate band on my skin. You might think the higher eau de parfum concentration might give it a higher boost, but that hasn’t ever seemed to be the case.

Wearing them, I don’t particularly notice a difference with how well they project, or when I happen to spray each on clothing. No clear winner here.

Edge: Push

Longevity

Both of these have pretty nice longevity, even if they are the best projecting fragrances out there. With L’Homme Ideal EDT, I can get 4-6.5 hours from it depending on the day.

EDP is a bit better, in this regard. I will usually get 8 hours and it can last on my skin for up to 9.5, under the right conditions.

EDP actually takes this category fairly easily. Ideal EDT, just doesn’t have that level of perfomance.

Edge: EDP

Versatility

Seasonally, these two colognes pretty much hit opposite ends. With Ideal EDT, it is a complete spring and summertime wear. It’s an awesome warmer weather wear.

EDP is all about the autumn and winter. On a crisp winter evening, it is fantastic.

Neither really serves as an all-around one size fits all fragrance. EDT does strike me as a bit more casual and better suited for the daytime. EDP feels like it could venture better into more formal situations, light enough for office wear, and can be a nighttime gem.

Edge: EDP

Overall Scent

Overall, I enjoy wearing both of these scents. There actually isn’t a wide gap at all between them, in my experience and which I’d prefer to wear.

I love the citrus and almond blend of the original EDT. It fits so well in the summer months and while not a complete beast, it has good enough performance. The dry down is fresh and pleasant.

But, I think that the EDP is a touch ahead of the EDT. The cherry not up top, with the leather refinement, and subtle depth of the overall composition brings more to the table than the EDT. You get improved performance and some more versatile wearing options.

Again, not a massive win, but a win nonetheless. I actually think I prefer the discontinued Ideal Cologne to both of them.

One more factor that I’d like to mention is the availability in the US. Ideal EDP isn’t sold here anymore, outside of places like eBay. As such, you’ll probably have to order from the UK. That means, you might be paying $30+ for shipping costs.

Is Ideal EDP, worth that amount? Ehhh, maybe not. Unless you really want a bottle, I would just consider buying the much more affordable EDT. EDP is the better fragrance, but can be a pain to acquire.

Winner: Ideal EDP

L’Homme Ideal EDT by Guerlain

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Looking through my haul of fragrance samples, I noticed that I had two scents with the L’Homme Ideal moniker. They had two separate colored sprayers and information cards but I really didn’t know if there was a difference.

It turns out that L’Homme Ideal (the subject of this review) has a flanker fragrance called L’Homme Ideal Cologne…yes, they just added the word cologne to it.

Anyways, I grabbed the original, and decided to wear it around for purposes of this review. I’m going to cover all of the usual stuff in this post, how it smells, performs, when it should be worn, etc. Please continue reading below for my full take.

What Does L’Homme Ideal Smell Like?

Notes include: almond, citrus, leather, tonka bean, bitter orange, orange blossom, vetiver, and cedar

Click here to try: Guerlain L’Homme Ideal EDT Spray for Men, 1.6 Ounce

My Full Wear Review

The opening of L’Homme Ideal is a fresh blast of almond and woody spice. Lurking in the background is a sweetness that is quite nice and flanked by the leather note. I love the nuttiness of the opening act and how it also gets paired with a blend of citrus notes.

The citrus is fresh and reminds me somewhat of the Cologne version of Ideal, but this one still stays in more of a nutty/leathery mode, in totality.

The overall sweetness never strays into the ‘girly perfume’ territory as it sits atop the leather, vetiver, and cedar notes. This gives L’Homme Ideal an excellent platform to start from.

One thing that I really enjoy about this gourmand fragrance, is the inclusion of the citrus notes. They are never overpowering or brought out as the main attraction in this cologne, but they do provide an energy, and a change of pace from the rest of the composition.

The citrus isn’t huge throughout, but this blend does hang around, giving Ideal the slightest clean boost throughout its time on my skin.

Of course, there is the smooth warmth of the tonka bean, which is one of my personal favorites. The almond is the main star in this fragrance and during the dry down period, it kind of reminds me of Man in Black by Blvgari, as it has a warm spiciness that is sort of like an alcoholic drink.

I get a smooth and creamy blend during the final stages, that is peppered with some rosemary herbal spice. Leather, tonka bean, and almond with a fresh base of cedar and cool vetiver. When L’Homme Ideal is performing well, it is a fantastic smelling cologne.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, it’s pretty moderate. It’s not an absolute monster in this regard but it does the job pretty well. Longevity, is decent most of the time.

I’ve worn it a few times and I’ll get 4 good hours out of it and the 6-7 the next time. It’s not great, but it’s passable.

I’ve been wearing this here in June, after the official start of summer, but it’s not really built for the hot days outside. It’s fine at night when it cools off a bit, but L’Homme Ideal would excel during the colder months of the year, like a lot of fragrances seem to do.

I would try to wear this during autumn through early spring, preferably. Again, in the evening hours of the summer, it holds up pretty well on my skin. Though, I try to stay indoors, for optimal sillage and longevity.

It does have a good versatility, as it’s subtle enough to wear at work yet still quite sexy and attractive to wear on a date. The more that I went through the sample, the more it grew on me, and the more complements I received.

I think the first few hours is going to be when you’ll actually get complemented on Ideal. After that, it might have turned too light for many people to notice, outside of those who are close by.

Overall Impression of Guerlain L’Homme Ideal

Overall, I think L’Homme Ideal EDT is great. It is one of my favorites from the batch of around 40 or so samples that I recently got. The longevity could be better but aside from that, it smells fantastic, and is very well put together.

I do feel like, I already have a million options in the Fall/Winter space, like Man in Black or Armani Code Profumo. So, I’m not sure if I’ll pick up a full bottle at some point, but it is worth looking into.

Update: Coming back to this fragrance and working my way through the rest of the sample, I can say, that I truly enjoyed wearing this fragrance. The scent itself, is super attractive and great to wear. The performance could be better, and if it was an elite performer, it’d probably make my list of best colognes.