Guerlain Homme Guerlain 2009 Eau de Parfum

And suddenly Guerlain Homme is trending again! That's great to see, because this is a true gem. I gladly add my two cents.

Guerlain Homme has a sharp and distinctive citrus-mint opening. Often rum is mentioned as well - hence the mojito reference - but I don't perceive any. Calling this a 'mojito scent' wouldn't do justice to the sophisticated development that takes place beyond the opening notes. The sharp citrus fades out, but the mint persistently gives off a crisp green freshness.

In the base, there is patchouli and vetiver mainly. I guess the patchouli here is a bit of a one-dimensional dusty note without the usual complexity and the vetiver seems to be from the 'common Guerlain masculines' bottle. Nevertheless this dusty patchouli and woody vetiver feel comfortable, gentlemanly and not at all low-grade. The whole is elevated by subtle peppery and floral elements. This composition delivers a smart and understated elegance of well above its price tag.

Performance-wise.. Sure, at the local tonka-blasting competition, also known as ‘the club’, this isn’t a winner. And in terms of number of people around you getting nauseous or the number of 'chicks magnetized' - whatever that means - , this won’t score very high. Of course, all that is irrelevant when you intend to complement your attire with a touch of brilliance and finesse. What matters is how it does so in different circumstances - heat, stress, rain - and in that respect it does an excellent job. Longevity? Nearly a full workday of soft radiance, check!

This is - by far - my favorite office scent. Highly recommended for anyone who is looking for a stylish mature everyday scent at an insanely affordable price level.

Guerlain Homme Intense is one of those scents which seem deceptively “generic”, while instead scream quality and class like a very few others. All is quality for me here: the materials, the composition, the evolution. Still keeping it incredibly versatile and crowdpleasing. You can enjoy a crisp office scent without caring about its subtle superb quality, or you can dive into it and amaze yourself with Guerlain’s heritage on display – because, yes, Guerlain Homme Intense still belongs to “the great Guerlain’s” (unlike, for instance, L’Homme Idéale). Citrus, bergamot, bracing mint and its floral counterpart – geranium, other floral notes, bitter grass, a crunchy rhubharb note, a drop of rhum, sharp cozy woods. Dozens of mainstream green-woody perfumes feature these same notes, but what once was “the Guerlain treatment” brings them all up to another level here. Which is the realm of pure understated elegance. You just have to smell this to get what I mean. It’s a matter of radiance, richness, a perfect balance of realisticness, deepness and “polished” cleanliness. Then, all nuances are just so deep and sparkling, morphing and evolving under your nose, in a subtle but totally perceivable way.

Homme Intense starts with a bracing, invigorating and fresh slap of citrus, mint and grassy notes, then slowly revealing a warmer heart of rhum, geranium, pepper and woods, slowly drifting to an incredibly refined drydown which features a throwback in time – a really old-school, top notch quality smoky-salty vetiver note. Which is dry and woody, but perfectly enriched by rhum and made greener by a nondescript sort of bracing grassy-floral accord. All – I mean, all! – of these notes, try to imagine them in the best quality and crispness possible, blended together in a bright, cozy blend fitting you like a bespoke suit. Pure delight. The texture is clean and transparent, mostly green-woody with a slightly more unusual palette of nuances – rhum, rhubarb, a slight earthy-vegetable feel reminding me of good old Coriolan... Everything is perfectly safe and classic, even slightly formal, yet perfectly contemporary, as an everyday fragrance for “the modern elegant men” is meant to be. Fresh and sensual. This is my idea of modern luxury in a bottle; high quality and discreet elegance – and don’t have me started speaking about quality versus price, ‘cause the price of Guerlain Homme Intense makes any other self-claimed “luxury” scent look more ridicoulous than they already are. The only flaw of this fragrance is that maybe it is... a tad really too “apparently-generic” to be appreciated as it deserves. If I was more presumptuous I would rate this “for connoisseurs only”, but – aside from being uselessly pretentious – that wouldn’t do justice to the versatility and the positive “crowdpleasing” nature of this fragrance. Just, don’t underrate this.

8-8,5/10

Scentrack: Henry Mancini - Lujon

Similarly, to the older versions, the 2016 version of Guerlain Homme opens with the beautiful mojito accord of a famous Cuban cocktail. Extremely fresh mint, invigorating lime, warm rum accord and sugar cane-like sweetness are the hallmarks of the fabulous opening. A vivid olfactory representation of a tropical paradise. Absolutely gorgeous. Soon an unidentifiable sweet floral and slightly powdery accord balances this glorious opening as a bridge for the upcoming warm, woody accord of cedar, green vetiver with just a pinch of patchouli.
In my opinion, Guerlain Homme is a classy unisex composition, ideal for the warm weather. It is a beautiful juxtaposition of the fresh cocktail opening and warm woody base. A nice distance from the usual blue masculine fragrances. Charming, optimistic, and fleeting. Like a dance of palm leaves on a summer breeze. I am not sure about the position on the market of Guerlain Homme but hoping it will be in production for many years to come.

Can someone please tell me why perfume companies insist on saying their product is an eau de parfum concentration when the darn thing barely lasts 2hrs? I mean gimme a break Guerlain! You are not the only ones doing it though (I'm speaking to YOU Issey Miyake!). Anyway I've never worn anything so boring and uninteresting in my life. I'm not gonna get into specifics
because I'm so turned off by the stuff i have a good mind to ask for my money back. I bought the original edt a few yrs back and i actually get better results from that one. When i saw this in an edp version for a good price i jumped on it, thinking it would be a stronger version. I was wrong. PERFUME HOUSES PLEASE STOP LABELING YOUR CRAP EAU DE PARFUM WHEN IT CLEARLY IS NOT.

On paper, there's a very clear progression through the "mojito" top notes down through the mid and base but everything wonderfully blends together at once on skin. Very green and aromatic, slightly woody with a gentle hint of the top notes overlaying the baser notes. Projection stays close to skin but gives off a very pleasant, mature aura. Versatile, sophisticated, masculine fragrance that punches far above its weight.