L'Homme Idéal Extrême
Guerlain (2020)

L'Homme Idéal Extrême is a bit too extreme in the wrong direction, unfortunately. While the notes sound appealing in paper, I found this to be the L'Homme Ideal theme (almond, cherry guerlinade) loaded with some woody-amber synthetics that approximate an accord of dry cedar and dusty tobacco. It's more powerful than the rest of the line, but I found it a bit too scratchy.

The sweetness here is within reason, and the late dry-down loses most of it, as the scratchiness is gone too mostly by this time, which is about a good five hours or so. It has moderate sillage (close, intermittent) and good duration, based on a moderate application. This would have been an excellent release only if it were smoother.


3/5

Bland and forgettable. No real tobacco vibe going on here either. Just a peppery cinnamon/ tonka /woods combo.

To sum it up in a nutshell it's the above plus an orangy almond top, maybe some amber/anise/licorice too but still kind of non-modern. Less so than Habit Rouge but still...

This is a modern masterpiece in my opinion. The blend here is simply superb, the way it opens with almond and spices, full of life, goes to fruity plum and cinnamon, then dries down to a gorgeous tobacco, and you can clearly follow these transitions.

This is a night-out fragrance, you can wear it on any night of the year, the seasons do not matter at all. It smells like a cool young cousin of Tonka Imperiale, the one who loves to drink but knows his limits, and is classy as all hell. One of my favorite wears, i simply enjoy every single minute wearing this. So nice.

Amazing gem this is on my skin!
The best of the L'homme Ideal flankers to me.
Regarding the construction, beautiful is the word that comes to mind. Reminds me of Cartier L'Envol in a thinner and lighter presentation, but with all of the layers present and accounted for.

Of note, there is an afterglow, probably the heliotrope? Smells of warmth, energety and is simultaneously comforting. I love this scent!

Smells great going on, gone in minutes.

Extreme is a wonderfully refined version of the original EdT. Less fresh effects, more warm and sweet ambery/cherry/almond goodness. Be careful with application. It's easy to go overboard. A very welcome addition to the L'Homme Ideal collection. Hard to track down in North America, though. Otherwise, highly recommended.