L'Instant de Guerlain pour Homme 2004 Eau de Toilette

L'Instant de Guerlain pour Homme (Eau de Toilette) by Guerlain
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Top 65 in Men's Perfume
8.4 / 10 780 Ratings
L'Instant de Guerlain pour Homme (Eau de Toilette) is a popular perfume by Guerlain for men and was released in 2004. The scent is woody-spicy. It is being marketed by LVMH. Pronunciation
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Main accords

Woody
Spicy
Sweet
Citrus
Gourmand

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
GrapefruitGrapefruit LemonLemon Star aniseStar anise BergamotBergamot JasmineJasmine
Heart Notes Heart Notes
CedarCedar SandalwoodSandalwood TeaTea LavenderLavender
Base Notes Base Notes
CocoaCocoa PatchouliPatchouli MuskMusk Hibiscus seedHibiscus seed

Perfumer

Ratings
Scent
8.4780 Ratings
Longevity
7.6612 Ratings
Sillage
6.8584 Ratings
Bottle
7.6592 Ratings
Value for money
8.2150 Ratings
Submitted by Kankuro, last update on 04.05.2023.
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Reviews

28 in-depth fragrance descriptions
10
Bottle
7
Sillage
8
Longevity
8
Scent
DerDefcon
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DerDefcon
DerDefcon
Top Review 21  
Chocolate sensuality in places of olfactory and human discomfort.
Today I would like to share with you one of my perfumery visits, which have become very rare. Some peculiarity, some curiosity always occurs with these, that is certain. There is the obligatory frequent sprayer, which always reminds me to take the respirator mask of my great-great-great-grandfather with me on my next visit to such a shop. Furthermore, there are the experts who distribute heaps of test strips on the floor and on the shelves because they are denied garbage cans either because of ambroxane-based sensory opacity or simply because of a lack of education. But maybe both of these things just come together here.
In addition, we also find the large groups of friends who strategically position themselves in front of the big shelf of bestsellers in such a way that nobody but they themselves can reach it - according to the motto: First me, then me, then me again ... then you ... although, I, I, I, I.

I allowed myself this motto during my visit to the perfumery as an exception. Don't worry, I didn't bother a fellow human being by recklessly spraying around, penetrating shouting around to express "HOW HORIZY" this one fragrance smells, or by annoying blocking of shelves.
I'm after a very specific product carrier in that store. It was the one that presented fragrances from "Guerlain" and was located in a much less frequented shop area. Here I had my peace of mind and was also out of reach of ruthless combat sprayers who can ruin entire olfactory tests and who have already in the past - albeit unintentionally - spread weapon-licensed scent combinations on my coat. You don't want to know how the combination of "Joop Homme" and "Dior Homme Intense" smells - no - you don't want to. This is layering, which is likely to violate the Geneva Convention.

Well, enough of that.

So I was at Guerlain's goods carrier and knew immediately what I wanted to test. To my astonishment, both the eau de toilette and the eau de parfum of "L'Instant de Guerlain pour Homme" were presented, which in my experience is extremely rare. Up to now, I have actually only ever found the eau de toilette in shops.
Great, so you can make it difficult even for me, who entered the shop so determined and safe. After a short pause I reached for the eau de toilette and sniffed at the atomizer. But the eau de parfum continued to stare at me out of the corner of my eye and so I couldn't help myself and also took an olfactory test on its atomizer. Even this superficial test revealed that we are dealing with a much denser, probably much heavier candidate. But I put it back on the shelf and dedicated myself to the lighter eau de toilette.

On the positive side, by the way, I was asked by a very nice employee if I could be helped, whereupon she immediately added that I look as if I know what I am looking for. Should I still have a question, they are always available to answer it. It was a very pleasant experience, which made me, as someone who also comes from the retail trade, feel a little bit of a kick in the pants. After all, you don't experience something like that every day and finally such a statement can inevitably be considered a compliment.

Well - maybe a little influenced by the nice manner of the shop assistant - I sprayed the eau de toilette three times on my neck. A small part might have landed in the air, but I was there all alone in "my" Guerlain corner. I omitted the paper strip test that actually belongs to it, true to the motto "all or nothing". Well, well, well... i'm honest. In order to get to a paper strip, I would have had to enter "enemy territory", i.e. that of the combat sprayer squadron, which so slowly discovered the Tom Ford corner and thus also "Black Orchid (Eau de Parfum)" for itself. How lucky I was far enough away.

After only a few seconds of spraying, I was surrounded by a balsamic-soft and, above all, extremely authentic star anise note, which seemed a little old-fashioned, but which did not cause any discomfort or a "this doesn't fit me" feeling in me. Now it was time to find a safe way out, so that the Sillage crackers already sprayed in the shop would not destroy my beautiful Guerlain. It is not loud - I can already anticipate that - and that is a good thing, because I am looking for something for everyday life that is spicy and not too sweet to decorate my skin.

Having found the safe way out, I already had a slight hint of dark chocolate in my eyes. This was the cocoa that appeared very airy and transparent due to star anise and was not sweet at all - dark chocolate, but not just any chocolate, but a very high quality one.
With the addition of the patchouli, in this case neither herbaceous nor earthy-scented, a note reminiscent of milk chocolate was added - creamy and light, but by no means over-sweetened. Probably, the combination of dark cocoa and light milk chocolate will produce exactly the right scent, which is neither too tart nor too sweet. This is the golden mean to me As the fragrance progressed, I heard a good shot of additional creaminess, which may have been due to the sandalwood. "L'Instant de Guerlain pour Homme (Eau de Toilette)" reminds you, as some of you have already described it, of melted fine chocolate that has the optimum cocoa content. Fortunately, this chocolate does not communicate itself to its surroundings permanently and too aggressively. The eau de parfum should behave differently here, but this is only an assumption on my part, since I have not yet come to a comprehensive test. You are welcome to share your experiences, if you have any, in the comments. I am curious and many others probably are too.

Finally, a short appeal:

Please, dear perfumery owners, store managers and employees, make sure that your Guerlain warriors are as far away as possible from the door area where the Spontaneous and Combat Sprayers try to defend their habitat with chemical warfare, if this is in accordance with your instructions. The guerlains in the tall bottles have, without exception, delighted me so far with their sensuality - be it "Héritage (Eau de Parfum), "Guerlain Homme (Eau de Parfum)" or now also "L'Instant de Guerlain pour homme (Eau de Parfum)". This sensuality is too beautiful to let others destroy it. For your own protection, you are welcome to keep this range of fragrances at the bottom of the shelf, so that not everyone can see them. I as a perfumo will find them anyway, as we all here in this forum
8 Replies
8
Pricing
7
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7
Sillage
8
Longevity
9
Scent
Greenfan1701
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Greenfan1701
Greenfan1701
Top Review 26  
And again one
With most fragrances here, or the fragrance reviews that I read, I can always fully agree.
But here it behaves a little differently. It is always written of chocolate scent, gourmandig etc., but with me this fragrance is completely different.

It is true that here anise, bergamot and lemon are to smell at the beginning, (the combination I find great) but from chocolate comes with me nothing, but also so nothing at all. What I personally find good,
i do not have to have sweet scents - although in autumn and winter time - does not hurt so a little cocoa, gelle ;-)

Sandalwood, cedar and patchouli are present in good measure, so once again I am totally flashed by this Guerlain. Tz tz , I thought I had already found the ultimate fragrance with Heritage, but as it seems, the journey is not over yet, who would have thought?! (Smirk ;-) )

It's not a tart masculine perfume, but it's not a sweet gourmand scent either, more like in between,
oriental-woody.

Anyway, this is another one I had to have and now have (I'm only talking about the EdT here, the current version), where is this going to go, and when is this ever going to end, sigh?

The durability I also find exceptional, the holds with me so about 3 hours. That's already a lot, because most fragrances evaporate with me after 1-2 h (that's why I have' always so many, I simply NEED) ;-)

For me, this is an elegant, extraordinary, masterfully "concocted" (no offense) fragrance that is well wearable in autumn and winter, and even if you use several sprays he is not overdosed.

15 Replies
8
Bottle
7
Sillage
8
Longevity
8.5
Scent
Konsalik
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Konsalik
Konsalik
Top Review 18  
The clever service provider
L'Instant de Guerlain pour homme is in a way the simplest of all the Guerlain fragrances I have tested so far. Not in terms of the abundance of components used, but simply in terms of its expression, its goal. He left me no question marks, opened no locked doors to the past, and did not take me on a journey. The citric prelude with lemon and grapefruit very soon merges gently into the much discussed cocoa-patchouli-musky base, whereby the grapefruit can hold its own for a long time and prevents stuffy powderiness or gourmand overloading for many hours until the end with its remaining freshness. So it is to some extent the "delicious", "cuddly" nose warmer you read so often about.

However, his outer garment, thus described in a halfway exhaustively, nestles so finely and seamlessly against the noble "guerlinade" which forms the core here as well, that one can forgive his somewhat prosaic behaviour as well as easily differentiate between his more refined form of chimney coziness and the striking effect fixation of many of his colleagues. In short, it is the guerlinade that gives this "crowdpleaser" its backbone and posture. An example: L'Instant works for the gentleman who cares about himself in many situations after sunset. In a good restaurant as well as in a club. Always present, but never loud, L'Instant makes promises he can't keep. Men's chocolate instead of cotton candy, courteous instead of chumming up, help in the coat without reaching for the butt - you get my point. This fragrance is a clever, fine service provider. A Reginald Jeeves that makes a Bertie Wooster look good even in potentially delicate situations and at the same time prevents mistakes.

It's good that you don't have to say too many words about this scent. There are moments (nomen es omen!) when you need such scents on the shelf.
6 Replies
8
Bottle
7
Sillage
8
Longevity
9
Scent
Benedikt2019
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Benedikt2019
Benedikt2019
Top Review 14  
Winter-Freshy!
Yes, I like fresh scents or those that have a certain freshness. But at least in the cold season you reach a certain limit that seems insurmountable. In the autumn as well as in the winter you usually like it a bit heavier and more expansive. You can get a nice oud smell that foggy the surroundings. For those who find it too overwhelming, the question now is: "What do I wear in the cold season?" I have searched for a long time and my winter freshy's are rare, but now I have found my no. 1, which I still wear in summer. It means "L'Instant de Guerlain pour Homme" from the house of Guerlain.

Why is he a Freshy?

Of course, it is not a classic freshy, as you wear it in midsummer, it rather has its own, slightly sour freshness. First of all we can state that cocoa is the main theme of the fragrance. Here the first associations are mostly that it is certainly quite sweet, which can be denied immediately. The cocoa is like freshly prepared, unsweetened and quite dry. At the beginning, the Guerlain is even quite citrusy and tangy, which is due to grapefruit and lemon. They make sure that the heavy fragrances get a certain lightness and the cocoa gets a sour freshness. The cedar in the heart note, on the other hand, ensures that the cocoa scent is not only fresh, but also tart and masculine at the same time. Here, comparisons can be made with Kilian's "Intoxicated", which produces the same effect only with coffee as the main player. In summary, it is the interplay of citric, cocoa and the tart cedar that creates a rather fresh scent for the cold season.

How awesome is the drydown????
Yeah, what else is there to write, the drydown is to kneel down. What remains after a few hours is a soft, tangy-fresh and at the same time indefinable veil, which looks so sensual that one would like to bite into it. Seductively high10 I only say that I don't have a fragrance that comes close to this one in drydown, so you count the hours until the fragrance finally fades. Here no fragrance component is too dominant anymore, everything seems to flow perfectly into each other, wonderful!

Durable?
The question is always whether to go for EdT or EdP, especially in terms of durability. Here I can clearly say that it's the same for both fragrances, but the EdP is a bit heavier and doesn't have the freshness kick described above, so I will always go for the EdT. It lasts for about 8 hours and radiates well in the first two hours. This is enough for me :)

Bottom line!
So those who cannot do without freshness even in the colder days could get their money's worth here. Gueralain has succeeded in creating a scent that has cocoa in the centre and does not drift into the immeasurable sweetness. On the other hand, citric and the tart "dryness" of the cedar ensure that a fresh touch in general adheres and spreads. For me, this is my No. 1 winter freshness, which I can also wear today - in summer!
6 Replies
9
Pricing
7
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8
Longevity
10
Scent
Carlitos01

378 Reviews
Carlitos01
Carlitos01
Very helpful Review 18  
An instant of comfort and happiness
Our choice of partner can be largely guided by our sense of smell. Our personal tastes and culture can also influence us. Humans do not have a functional organ responsible for the absorption of pheromones. Unlike animals, humans do not depend on smell for close interaction. Men and women can be attracted to different smells. It really depends mainly on the preferences of each person. However, there are reactions to gender-related smells. As an example of group behaviour, most men are particularly attracted to lilies of the valley and freshly squeezed orange notes, as opposed to accords of chocolate and baby powder. Women respond well to vetiver and other earthy notes. In addition, it was discovered that fresh jasmine stimulates the female brain in the specific area responsible for releasing sexual pheromones. However, I believe that any professional perfume manufacturer is well aware of these types of facts.
I confess that I like to receive praise from other people, preferably from women. However, my main criterion for buying perfume is to like it. I don't have a favourite type of fragrance. I admit that I like oriental woody and resinous fragrances. But my entrance gate is wide enough to let in a good fougère, a delicious chypre, or even fresh citrus. I only think twice about floral or aquatic scents.

Guerlain L'Instant belongs to a group of personal perfumes that I mentally qualify as a pleasure generator for me. It is neither a perfume to draw attention in public nor a magnet for female attraction. But it transfers an aura of "I feel fine". It gives me well-being and transmits it to the people around me. L'Instant can be an extraordinary therapist for a lot more than just an instant. It simply places you instantly at the centre of your life.
The fragrance is woody, spicy, and a little sweet. At first glance, the power citrus power is impressive. I notice a lite and resinous aura together with a sweet and satisfying note of anise. As this first wave slowly dissipates, nuances of patchouli with lavender and white flowers emerge. The scent becomes captivating, manly, and elegant. After this agitated evolution, L'Instant enters a calmer phase, revealing dark and greasy cocoa. The woody notes appear in the form of austere cedar and creamy sandalwood, tangled with heavy and complex patchouli. This soft and warm base extends through the dryness, conveying a firm and secure masculinity.
L'Instant is not a performance star. Longevity is slightly above average, silage is moderate, and projection is poor. I would probably expect a little more breath from this star fragrance, but its undisputed elegance probably requires this kind of moderation.
I have both the oldest square bottle and the newer taller bottle. I can't detect any difference in smell or behaviour between the two versions, but I like the shape of the old bottle better.

Let's spend a moment evaluating comfort in numbers.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Opening: 9.0 (noticeably aniseed and citrus mixture)
DryDown: 10.0 (divine bitter cocoa and strong patchouli)
Longevity: 8.0 (3 good sprays can last up to 7 ~ 8 hours)
Sillage: 7.0 (up to 5 feet in the top with 3 sprays; projects for less than 2.0 hours)
Exclusivity: 10.0 (It has its own DNA and individuality; I don't remember any similar fragrance)
Portability: 8.5 (A three-season fragrance for outside or inside, day or night; avoid the hot summer days)
Versatility: 8.5 (A very easy-to-wear and comfortable fragrance; excellent for everyday or office wear; forget about sport and the sea)
Praise: 8.0 (You will smell good to everyone and people will respect you)
Quality: 9.0 (ingredients of above-average quality, solid bottle, nice sprayer; I take 1 point for the only average performance)
Presentation: 7.5 (classification for the new bottle; simple, effective, and practically identical to many other bottles. I prefer the old bottle)
Price: 9.0 (EdT 100 ml for € 30.00 on sale + shipping; the usual retail price is € 40.00 ~ € 45.00)
___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Overall rating: 8.58 / 10.00
- between 7 and 8 = above average;
- between 8 and 9 = recommended;
- greater than 9 = don't miss it;

Recommendation: This is a very elegant and unique fragrance. It is unexpectedly good value for money with its quality and affordable price. It exudes masculinity, self-confidence, and well-being. Average performance can be treated with a few sprays on clothing. For me, it is a must-own. I also recommend it as a blind purchase.

Music: Pink Floyd - "Comfortably Numb"
2 Replies
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Statements

7 short views on the fragrance
Carlitos01Carlitos01 3 years ago
7
Bottle
7
Sillage
8
Longevity
10
Scent
L'Instant was my first Guerlain and still rocks my preferences as a citrus-cocoa-patchouli potion. Very comfortable, elegant, and classy!
0 Replies
Jbl775Jbl775 4 months ago
8
Bottle
7
Sillage
8
Longevity
9.5
Scent
A versatile playful classic. Citruses, tea and cocoa. Worth every penny.
0 Replies
Amine1989Amine1989 3 years ago
8
Bottle
6
Sillage
8
Longevity
8
Scent
Wonderfull fragrance i wear it in all seasons its so good, u can blind buy this you can't go wrong with it , the cacao is so good
0 Replies
JFP26JFP26 2 years ago
7
Bottle
7
Sillage
7
Longevity
8.5
Scent
Elegant and sophisticated. Fresh yet sweet. On the base a gorgeous blend of cocoa and patch. Best for warm to mild weather use. Great scent!
0 Replies
ChicoRoch1ChicoRoch1 7 months ago
8
Bottle
5
Sillage
7
Longevity
9.5
Scent
Easily one of the finest fragrances from this Classic Perfume House.
0 Replies
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