Guerlain – L’Homme Ideal Extreme – Guerlain has been trundling out their interpretation of the “Ideal Man” since 2014. We’ve had a sporty man, a cool man, and an intense man. This “Extreme” version veers away from the others’ sweetness in favour of a dryer leather and tobacco combination. Plum does provide some fruitiness, but it feels a little out of place here. The leather and tobacco facets give off more of a mature vibe, only for the overly synthetic plum to drag it back down a few notches. Typically, I enjoy plum in fragrances, but in this Guerlain, I’m not a fan. Almond, this series’s hallmark is still front and centre, so there’s no mistaking this belongs to the L’Homme Ideal family.
If I were to rate this one against the others in the series, I’d place it somewhere in the middle. It won’t beat out the EDP or the now sadly discontinued cologne as my two favourites. Undoubtedly, it trumps the sport and the cool flankers. It lasted over 10 hours on my skin with moderate sillage for the first 2 hours, which is pretty respectable for this line. I wouldn’t exactly call it extreme, though. At this rate, Guerlain will probably give us another flanker to this line, and it will probably be a fresher one, but I’d rather see them provide us with something completely new. I think this series has run its course. Having said all that, it’s a damn sight better than most everything else you’ll find on the shelves today.
Cartier – Pasha de Cartier Parfum – Oh, look another flanker. This one is an offshoot of the highly regarded Pasha Cartier from 1992. There have only been five flankers to Pasha that I know of, and this Parfum makes six. So, they haven’t gone too crazy overboard by flankering it to death. Cartier makes underrated scents, so this was worth a try. It’s pretty good but not particularly exciting. I don’t think it bears too many similarities to the original, but I didn’t have a sample handy to complete a proper comparison. The distinctive lavender and oakmoss facets of the original do not feature in this Parfum, though.
What we get is a boozy sandalwood scent, with some sweetness from benzoin and tonka and some aromatic spiciness from balsam fir. The boozy liquor accord is nondescript, I couldn’t say whether it was whiskey, rum, or something else. The sandalwood note is prominent, but I’ve tried better sandalwood scents in my time. It’s certainly a well-put-together composition, but it seems to lack a little character. It lasted 8 hours before fading away. I’ll stick with Roadster, Eau de Cartier, and the original Pasha over this one any day of the week.
Have you tried these two perfumes? Do you have a favourite L’Homme Ideal or Cartier scent?
Note: Samples tested in store. Bottle images courtesy of Google.