L'Art & La Matière

Tonka Impériale Guerlain 2010

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Ranked 66 in Unisex Perfume

8.5 / 10 1355 Ratings

A popular perfume by Guerlain for women and men, released in 2010. The scent is sweet-gourmand. The production was apparently discontinued.
Pronunciation

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Main accords

Sweet

Gourmand

Spicy

Woody

Powdery

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Almond

Rosemary

Bergamot

Heart Notes

Tonka bean Tobacco

Tobacco

Jasmine

Base Notes

Cedarwood

Frankincense

Stone pine wood

Perfumer

Thierry Wasser

Ratings

Scent

8.51355 Ratings

Longevity

7.91148 Ratings

Sillage

7.21138 Ratings

Bottle

8.61070 Ratings

Value for money

6.5499 Ratings

Submitted by Ripieno, last update on 04/24/2025.

Interesting Facts

The fragrance was part of the collection "L'Art & La Matière".

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Tonkalicious

Chemin d'Amande

Fève Délicieuse

Shalimar Millésime Tonka

Tonka Sarrapia Extrait 75

Zouzou

Reviews

27 in-depth fragrance descriptions

03/13/2015

ColinM
516 Reviews

ColinM

Helpful Review 9

Majestic!

Guerlain goes back to its majesty. I am not really a fan of tonka, so I procrastinated the approach to this scent. Which contrary to what I feared, is great. Beyond great! The opening is pure beauty, a sophisticated, rich, golden cornucopia of vanilla, amber, resins, aldehydes, jasmine, all together bringing in triumph a complex, faceted, rich, tremendously high-quality tonka note, well supported by a sweet, humid, rooty tobacco note. A warm, fairly unisex Oriental blend, slightly fruity too, refined and sumptuous and terribly pleasant to wear (at least for a while, especially for its first phase), well framed by a gentle breeze of petals and aromatic herbs which give this Oriental gem a touch of elegance halfway French and Mediterranean. The tonka note is perfect: dense, vibrant, round, precious, not cloying (to me it is, quite often) and not too almondy-roasted. It smells fresher and more vibrant than usual, partially probably due to its quality, partially to the simple yet totally clever composition which effortlessly enhances its nuances – from earthy to sweet. The tobacco note works perfectly in keeping the blend literally “down to earth”, providing a shady whiff of smoke, contrasting with flowers and citrus bringing their sunrays in. And in the middle, this vibrating, solid heart of gold made of amber, vanilla and tonka. Great and elegant silky-talc drydown, discreet and still carrying soft hints of tobacco and vanilla, with no synthetic aftertaste. A perfect blend of richness and Exoticism painted with French grace and sumptuosity, great and irresistible from the very first sniff to the last second on skin. Smells, and is, hell expensive, but (finally!) for a reason. Fantastic, and for me easily the best from this “exclusive” line.

8,5-9/10

11/28/2012

6
Scent

Coutureguru
223 Reviews

Coutureguru

Very helpful Review 7

Sweet Tobacco and Wedding Cake

After my 'head over heels' reaction to Guerlain's Rose Barbare, I was very interested to get my nose on some of the other L 'Art et la Matière collection ... subconsciously hoping for more of the same! In the case of Tonka Impériale, it's unfortunately not 'instant love' ... but it definitely is 'like'.

I received a hefty 4ml sample of Tonka Impériale in a swap (thanks Tricciwoo) and on application the first thing that pops on my skin is the Tobacco. As a smoker, I am probably tuned in to this note ... if it is contained in a fragrance it's usually the first thing I smell. Here, the Tobacco is cuddled by the powdery-ness of Tonka and the marzipan sweetness of Almond. It smells like someone is smoking a pipe near a wedding cake :).
Unfortunately, Tonka Impériale has a very short life-span on my skin. It reminds me a little of Mugler's A*Men Pure Havane (which is much stronger and a lot less refined) with a bit more sweetness thrown into the mix. I've read that Tonka Impériale sticks to fabric quite well, so a full wearing is probably a good idea. It's extremely difficult to compare something one 'likes' to something one would sell a kidney for (and at the prices of the L 'Art et la Matière collection this could happen!), but as acceptable as this fragrance is it probably won't crack the nod for addition to my collection. I don't think it is 'special' enough ...

I have Iris Ganache also from this collection yet to try ... time will tell if the astounding beauty of Rose Barbare can be matched!

09/26/2024

10
Bottle 7
Scent

Telekinec
364 Reviews

Telekinec

5

Should've been named Tobacco Almond Imperiale

Rated at 8.5 on Parfumo (at the time of this review), I was expecting something truly spectacular. Decided to try this one as a decant from a trusted Facebook fragrance group seller before trying out Tonka Sarrapia Extrait 75 as I was curious to see what the fuss was all about. I know it's been discontinued, but I've been hearing about this one, so why not?

It's nice, but it's not 8.5/10 extraordinary. I have fragrances in my collection that are better than this one. I still don't know what tonka smells as this perfume could be renamed Tobacco Almond Imperiale for all I know. I get a really strong note of tobacco (a note I dislike apart from when it's in Tobacco Honey) with an evanescent note of herbal rosemary. It's pretty dissonant and weird when put together. Rosemary is spicy, green, while tobacco is pungent, dark and earthy. Almond appears underneath it all with a weird bitter note that further adds to my confusion. After a while tobacco becomes more powdery with the almond's influence (or the tonka?). As it moves on, there's a warm and woody note that comes on.

I just don't get the love for this perfume. I mean it's nice, if you love tobacco, which a lot of people do, but it's not extraordinary and I don't get the hype for it. Might be my least liked Art et la Matière right now. Will not be hunting for a bottle. Hoping the tonka extrait is better at translating what tonka smells like.

02/25/2022

8
Pricing 9
Bottle 5
Sillage 9
Longevity 9
Scent

Oriane
139 Reviews

Oriane

5

Another Total Triumph for Thierry Wasser and Guerlain

Tonka Imperiale is another seriously beautiful, sophisticated, and elegant perfume from perfumer Thierry Wasser for the legendary House of Guerlain. Wasser's composition does not merely rival but it completely surpasses Spiritueuse Double Vanille by the divine Jean-Paul Guerlain, which is saying a lot as far as I am concerned.

Like SDV, Tonka Imperiale is classified as an amber fragrance, and like SDV, it also borders on gourmand for me but in a much more intoxicating way.. It is beautifully blended. Tonka bean, almond, tobacco, and incense are the standout notes for me, although I do detect a bit of rosemary and a smidge of pine that help to temper the sweetness whilst the jasmine lends just a whisper of floral delicacy to the composition. It has a quite boozy dimension to it as well which I love. I imagine the booziness comes from the tonka and the almond, or perhaps there is a note of a deep, dark rum or cherry brandy that imparts that quality to this fragrance but is not listed in the notes pyramid? It feels somewhat gourmand to me in its top and heart notes, but it is a grownup, semi-gourmand if I may put it that way. It never becomes candy sweet, and it never becomes totally edible. Here Wasser has achieved the most wonderful balance of notes.

This lovely fragrance seems unisex to me although I think more women would be attracted to it than would men. It is elegant and understated in a way that Dior Feve Delicieuse, a true gourmand fragrance to which Tonka Imperiale is often compared, is not. Projection is within arm's length, and sillage is moderate. Longevity is quite good on my skin. It becomes a skin scent on me after about 2-3 hours, but there it lingers for a good 10-12 hours of pure bliss.

Tonka Imperiale melds with my skin in the heart and in the deep dry down in a way that smells so delicious and a bit boozy, but it does so in a very natural way as if my own skin produced the fragrance instead of a perfume. Now, that is sexy! For me, it is definitely full bottle worthy, and I would purchase it again once I use up this bottle. It is a wonderful fragrance for evenings in Autumn and Winter especially, whether at home in front of the fire or going out for a nice supper and a moonlight stroll, but of course I will not restrict myself to wearing this beauty in Autumn and Winter only! Very highly recommended. This is an utter triumph for Wasser and Guerlain. Kudos, M. Wasser! Encore, encore!!! {{{Applause!! Applause!!!}}}

Fragrance: 9/10
Projection: 5/10
Sillage: 6/10
Longevity: 9/10
Presentation: 9/10

08/16/2014

7.5
Bottle 5
Sillage 10
Longevity 9
Scent

Pipette
63 Reviews

Pipette

2

The Scent Without Edges

The Parfumo Community has given "Tonka Imperiale" very good ratings, which was one incentive for me to try it. After sniffing it at Bergdorf's, NYC, I was smitten. That was not the only time that I had examined it, over the years I often tested it. So, okay, break the bank and splurge, go ahead and enjoy. Said, done.

After that I read Kafka's blog article where she described it as sort of bland. (You can google the article.) Ah ha, bland you say. That is fine and good with me because sometimes I am just looking to spray something on that is pleasant and not attention-seeking or loud. Something like skin, but better. Something for every day.

But wait. Although "Tonka Imperiale" can easily be worn from morning to night every day, it is not limited to that - for an evening out, one could just spray more.

It is a fine and cultivated scent. Well blended from beginning to end. "The End" is after a long lasting period of easily 8 hours. The scent lingers softly and does not change in the base notes.

Mainly tonka bean, I am sure, but there is also a certain sleekness that continues throughout. Otherwise no edges, no roughness, and above all, no cheap notes. (Cheap notes I would describe as shrill or changing in the dry down to something offensively ugly; cheap perfumes often do that.)

It probably does not deserve as high a price tag as it has. But now that I have it, I will spray liberally and enjoy it. Leaving less good-smelling perfumes by the way side.

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