Chemikus

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.

I bought the 1997 Vintage on Ebay out of interest, original packaging with batch code on the plastic film, year of manufacture 1997 (!). The color is straw yellow. In comparison, the current batch (spring 2023) is light green. You read a lot that the old Dune was so much better and the new one had zero performance. In direct comparison, the 1997 is significantly sweeter and this sweetness really does last longer. It is somewhat reminiscent of the top note of a jar of honey. There is also vanilla and a very slight hint of rose. Of course, the whole thing is subject to the ageing of 26 years (!!), which means that the fragrance will have been different again after production.

The current version smelled like nothing at all in the store. Probably anosmia after too much testing - or tester aged in the bright LED light. Anyway, bought it anyway. Result: The new Dune is brilliant. The desert dunes are much more pronounced in this one. After the top note has faded, it is less sweet than the 1997, much drier and reminiscent of sand. Floral notes are very subtle and it is mainly reminiscent of fig leaves - I don't know what a fig leaf smells like, but it definitely gives the impression. The scent is absolutely unique and I can recommend it without reservation. There are no synthetic impressions or "artificial fresh woodiness". After drydown in clothing, the smell is also completely gone.
10/10

The black bottle, the massive name, I never expected such a fresh fragrance to be sprayed from it. The top note and the first hour are wonderfully grapefruit-based. You can also smell an airy idea of the other l'Homme Ideals. But this one is so light as a feather, you could describe it as if Mrs. Jelk had distilled a sugary mash barrel of Homme Ideal EDP and came up with this ethereal Platine distillé water. After 1 hour, the green almond emerges, which doesn't smell like a normal almond, but more like a plant than an almond kernel. A little later, however, a somewhat strong synthetic note comes through, which becomes stronger the more you spray at the beginning. I do not perceive vetiver and pepper.
For comparison, let's briefly mention the other Homme Ideals:
l'Homme Ideal EDT: strong sweet top note, then a strong change to leather (similar to Dior Fahrenheit) followed by a soft woody base with light pepper. A real fragrance journey.
l'Homme Ideal EDP: even sweeter, but then even better. Here you can smell the Ideal DNA, a little too sweet, very special and unusual, it blends pleasingly into a heavenly soft drydown of wood and incense.
l'Homme Ideal Intense and Extreme: the former slays me with smoky styrax, the latter with a synthetic drone.
Since the Homme Ideals above all pack a powerful punch, I like this Platine Privé the most and it is also the most distinguished.

After spraying my way through the 4711 department, I chose this remix. The apple is a little over-the-top, but quickly fades into the background and is accompanied by wonderful lemon and orange aromas that last a very long time, about 5-6 hours. The neroli is practically absent and fortunately you can't smell the sweet ylang either. This fragrance is therefore perfectly balanced from fresh to fruity and leaves no trace of synthetics. Artificial woods have also been avoided here, so that the drydown never develops a disturbing note until it has completely evaporated without leaving any traces on clothing. If you layer with the classic 4711 (super clean fragrance!! Nix Omma ey), you get a great orange accent at the beginning.
But this remix can do so much more! I can really only encourage you to combine it. Tested it today with Guerlain Homme Ideal Platine prive and arrived in 7th fragrance heaven: The 4711 remix puts the synthetic parts in Guerlain to flight and brings out the Platine prive grapefruit as well as the ethereal Homme Ideal DNA perfectly.

My first impression was a little disappointing: contrary to the popular videos, this is not a clone of Chanel Allure Homme Sport at all. It smells completely different and actually only has this aquatic note in common, which I often perceive as "buttery", and Chanel is also stronger in terms of longevity. After getting used to it, however, I have to say that it subjectively smells better and cleaner than Chanel. While Chanel opens mega fresh and citrusy and ends with a long fragrance progression with peppery and slightly smoky notes in a tonka-sweet drydown, Missoni Wave actually only has a faint mandarin next to a lot of aquatics. Much better than Versace p.H/Dylan Blue and the Wave is without woody-synthetic notes in the drydown. Well, if you only understand these aquatic notes as the basic DNA of AHS, then this is what they have in common. In comparison, the Missoni Wave lacks the slightly smoky, peppery notes and the sweetness - and I don't actually miss that at all, because it ultimately makes the Wave much more pleasing and smoother. In the meantime, the AHS is almost getting on my nerves in comparison. The Wave is certainly a valuable aquatic component for layer fans. Of course, I also find AHS very successful compared to so many other fresh fragrances, and even within the Allure range, AHS is the one with the fewest disruptive factors.
Layertip: Missoni Wave with Guerlain l'Instant EDT or EDP. It brings the classics into the modern age - or in other words, Wave gets a great top note twist in the otherwise so clear aquatics: the l'Instant EDT brings more sweetness, citrus, aniseed & lavender, while the EDP with citrus still brings something floral and the cocoa.