Guerlain Homme Pininfarina Collector Guerlain 2011

Guerlain Homme Pininfarina Collector by Guerlain

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7.4 / 10 33 Ratings

A perfume by Guerlain for men, released in 2011. The scent is citrusy-woody. It was last marketed by LVMH.

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Main accords

Citrus

Woody

Fresh

Green

Sweet

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Peppermint Lime

Lime

Heart Notes

Rum

Geranium

Base Notes

Cedar

Patchouli

Vetiver

Ratings

Scent

7.433 Ratings

Longevity

6.930 Ratings

Sillage

6.630 Ratings

Bottle

7.541 Ratings

Submitted by Skylab, last update on 05/12/2019.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

FM 456

Guerlain Homme Eau de Parfum

Reviews

2 in-depth fragrance descriptions

12/13/2014

MasterLi
375 Reviews

MasterLi

1

Rum & Lime Cocktail...

Well, first of all let me start by saying that I have not tried the original Guerlain Homme, or even the Intense version (upon which this is based), or the L'Eau series flankers... In fact, this is my first from the Homme lineup.

So for this one (beautiful bottle I should add), this is like a minty geranium with lime and rum, and a hit of vetiver in the base. I just want to say I wish this wasn't a limited edition and that I wish I had a 100ml bottle of this stuff! Instead of the 30ml size. It's like a tropical hot weather scent! I could imagine wearing this in somewhere like Panama or Cuba or Brazil... I can imagine a man wearing a white linen suit or a safari jacket/suit (you know, the classy type that we see in the "spy" movies). I really like this one! It reminds me of a Brazilian cocktail called "Caipirinha" which is made with strong white rum and fresh limes. Very nice!

Unfortunately even with a nice red and glass bottle and a fresh, tropical smelling juice this one is a limited edition (which is a shame as I like it). But to be completely honest, the combination between lime and vetiver is not so hard to achieve, and there are a few other fragrances you can buy which will give you the same "feeling" as this one. I'm talking about the "tropical" or "sport" fragrances for men like the original Dior Homme Sport or Virgin Island Water etc... and of course the original Guerlain masterpiece of Vetiver, which can be worn in hot weather very well in my opinion (and the Guerlain Homme series itself). So in conclusion, there are many out there with (arguably) better quality than this. But I just miss this one because I like the bottle and the unique rum note! Maybe I'll keep this small bottle to take with me on my next overseas holiday in the sunshine! It's just perfect for that!

11/23/2011

7.5
Longevity 8
Scent

Apicius
224 Reviews

Apicius

Helpful Review 2

Guerlain Homme plus Vetiver

Yes, I like this glaring red perfume flask – just the same kind of red that Guerlain already used for Habit Rouge Sport. The gaudy appearance, the addition of the words “Eau de Parfum Intense” in the denomination on the outer package announce a more robust, full-blooded fragrance.

As far as I understand Guerlain's intentions, Guerlain Homme was planned as a bread-and-butter-product: only a hint of an exotic style, not too outré, comparatively inexpensive and easy to get. Does this work out? After all, Guerlain has issued one variation per year – unfortunately, all are hard to get in Germany. Do you have a flight attendant among your friends who can be sent out to the duty free shops around the world?

Now, this nice perfume bottle stands on the table in front of me. A few spritzes of the well available original Guerlain Homme I just got from the neighboring shopping mall, and also the variation “Homme L'Eau” will take part in this comparison – the best Guerlain Homme so far.

Again, the original Guerlain Homme appears to be quite boring. I am surprised that I do not notice much of that candy-like, sweet “Mojito”-accord today, which was a complete failure IMHO. After a very short time, the fragrance breaks down into a boring indefinite woodiness. Was Guerlain Homme reformulated recently, or did just the tester spend too much time on the shelf? During my last test, Guerlain Homme did not appear to me that thin. Well, by direct comparison, perfumes often present themselves different than by a single test.

So, for Pininfarina Collector, the bar has been raised low on one side (Guerlain Homme), but very high on the other (Homme L'Eau). Homme L'Eau is a little masterpiece, and it is among my Guerlain favorites. Here, a wonderful acerb, puristic woodiness was combined with something very “bodily”, and a vivid citric freshness makes it a very high spirited fragrance. I would not hesitate to recommend Homme L'Eau as a very good alternative to Terre d'Hermès.

With Pininfaria Collector, Guerlain again breaks out into another direction. Instead of woody and citric notes – these are definitely also involved – the fragrance focusses on something very hard to describe. After a robust citric top note Pininfarina Collector becomes sweet. I smell something that - with some reservation – could be described as marzipan.

But don't worry: nothing becomes sticky sweet, because the sweetness is confronted with a distinct sharpness. Again, it is hard to say what this sharpness is made of. I smell something like a mixture of pepper, juniper, but also some dark chocolate! Typically Guerlain, you must not expect to be able to reveal all aspects of a fragrance – even with the less expensive ones. So, I have to invent my own name for this accord. I call it – chilli-marzipan!

From the start you can detect a kind of earthiness within Pininfarina Collector that will come more and more into sight towards the base notes, and that contributes to the robust character of the scent. It is Vetiver! At last the penny dropped: some citric top, some vetiver plus woods – this is just the structure of Guerlains successful “Vetiver”. You could almost suppose that Pininfarina Collector is just the ordinary Guerlain Homme with a big dash of their own Vetiver. So, Pininfarina Collector may just as well be regarded as a Vetiver variant!

Pininfarina Collector is not an altogether familiar fragrance. You may find a lot of strange things in it, and only after some time you find out that all fits together well. Pininfarina Collector can be puzzling, especially as it does not lead you straight into just one direction as, i.e. Homme L'Eau does. And that scent only pretends to be fresh and easy going! You may see a plus factor in that: Pininfarina Collector does not request you to immediately forge an opinion. It may be a good choice on those days when you are a bit indecisive and cannot decide between one perfume or another. My first intention to label Pininfarina Collector the second best fragrance of the Homme series does not do justice to that relationship.

I think, people buy Pininfarina Collector merely due to the nice flask. You cannot estimate its quality by a quick test at the perfume shop. A certain exotic touch at the start develops into a coherent discretion and balance with a not too distinct presence. It needs a little sensitivity and open-mindedness, or one may consider it strange at first and boring later on. Again, Guerlain does not make it easy for the customers.