Eau de Cologne Impériale by Guerlain

Eau de Cologne Impériale 1853

Chemikus
11/27/2023 - 03:49 PM
23
Top Review
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7
Pricing
10
Bottle
7
Sillage
3
Longevity
10
Scent

Comparison of the 3 Eaus

I gradually bought the Cologne Imperiale, then the Eau de Coq and finally the Eau de Guerlain. I like the scent in general and out of interest in the 3 different, yet so similar cologne interpretations, I had to own them.

The Eau Imperiale has the shortest lasting power (you should always spray the spray head very close to your clothes, which improves the longevity somewhat) and consequently the strongest emission into the room for the short period of time. For me, the scent opens clear and edgy, very fresh and lemony. If you smell carefully, you can detect a light, cool caraway note, which comes from the terpene carvone, a natural fragrance found in tangerine peel, caraway and mint. Fortunately, there is no cooling menthol, the typical odorant of peppermint. In the background, you can smell the petitgrain, and the orange is accompanied (especially in the drydown) by so little of a fine neroli that there is no 4711 impression at all. The fragrance evaporates completely at the end. Guerlain therefore recommends it as a layered fragrance, as it does not affect the progression of the main fragrance. A dry Dior Homme Intense, for example, is freshened up so much that you get the impression of smelling a descendant of the Dior Homme Original.
The Eau de Coq, on the other hand, is like the perfection of 4711. In the Eau de Coq, the neroli note is incredibly elegant and free of "disruptive factors" (although the cheap 4711 is already very good!). The essential oils in Coq must be of the very highest quality; here, too, the fragrance evaporates almost completely at the end, the neroli inevitably remains as the last trace in the clothing and even then still smells good and fresh. Compared to Eau Imperiale, the orange with its blossom, the neroli oil, has moved into the Eau de Coq as an equal partner alongside the lemon bergamot freshness. In the more floral drydown of Coq, I do not perceive any indolic notes. If real jasmine has been used, then it is a specially prepared, indole-free essence of it. I also do not perceive the "detour into the animalic", I assume this is the interpretation of neroli alongside lavender.
In Eau de Guerlain, more fragrance notes have been integrated, which conjures up a new dimension of round freshness in the opening and an elegantly extended middle (artificial jasmine aromas, hedione, moss). The longevity is thus the longest of the three, the volatile Hedion can still be smelled on tissues the next day. The fragrance was released 8 years after Dior's Eau Sauvage and represents a slight feminization with increased elegance of Dior's model.
All the fragrances included in the text are a 10/10 for me, as they perfectly realize the concept in their own way with ingredients that are still predominantly natural today. This supreme art with simultaneous mass production is very amazing.
4 Comments
UnterholzUnterholz 9 months ago
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Exciting commi, also with the references to the 2 competitors. At least 1 cologne actually belongs in every well-kept collection...
ChemikusChemikus 9 months ago
Thank you. As a fan of natural essential oil fragrances, I had also bought the Cologne du parfumeur (T.Wasser) and the Eau de fleurs de Cedrat :-) However, there is not so much to say about them. In C.d.parfumeur you get a cologne that has been further developed from Imperiale and is very musky. It lasts much longer and is really very pleasant, very fresh in the drydown and without synthetic vibes. Fleurs de Cedrat smells less like flowers and more like lemon peel oil. Actually, it only smells like lemon to me, and that somehow seems too simple - who wants to smell like pure lemon? It is deceptively similar to the cheaper Jeanne en provence "Vervaine Cedrat". So plus point for Jeanne en provence. Incidentally, their "Neroli Intense" is relatively synthetic in the drydown, so it's better to stick with the true neroli cologne, the Guerlain Eau de Coq.
InBlossom4meInBlossom4me 10 months ago
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Wonderful review!
Thank you very much!
SaleredSalered 1 year ago
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Very helpful. A pleasure to read.