
By: Wim Janssens

"That night, I was a long way from Paris, up in the mountains, where a man was coming to join me. I did not know him very well, but he had somehow fascinated me since our first meeting. And so I was going to see him again, and I was getting ready as you do when you are not quite sure what will happen, nurturing a secret hope… I had been given a tiny, nameless bottle of an unknown fragrance, and had been told on no account to wear it, since it was not yet on sale. I was a long way from Paris, I told myself, and after all, why not…
Who is going to recognize it? I decided to wear it, I wanted to, and it suited my mood so well it was virtually impossible to resist. I took the phial, and I put a drop of the fragrance behind my ear, like a forbidden fruit, just before dinner. And night fell, poetic, rich with sensations, one of those nights that engender encounters without you ever knowing why, a sensual and sacred night, an endless night after which – it was dawn – he asked me: what is your perfume? I answered, it doesn’t exist, I am not allowed to say its name. And when he searched for the fragrance in the street and in the shops, I knew it was unique. That was the beginning of a dream of love… A journey to the land of promises, of hopes, of silences and expectations, when through the dream, the image of the other haunts your every waking moment and you catch yourself thinking about it. It is as if the whole idea of love were personified in the dream, making it purer and more beautiful…"

"That was the beginning of our idylle."
Idylle is the latest creation by Guerlain for mainstream distribution. It has been created by Thierry Wasser and it is the first fragrance he created in his position as the succeeder of Jean-Paul Guerlain, who was the latest nose for Guerlain from the Guerlain family. Thierry Wasser worked with Sylvaine Delacourte on "Guerlain Homme". They also created together "Quand Vient La Pluie" (1997) and "Guerlain Homme Intense" that was launched recently. "Iris Ganache" was his creation in 2007 for 'L'art et la Matière" - a range that belongs to "The Exclusives" in honour of the noble basic ingredients used by Guerlain through the years.
Idylle already drew a lot of attention before is was released.The website was like a mystery: a preview of the commercial and the song, after you had received a secret code by registration. You had to print this code and use your web cam. If the code was positioned correctly, it would be identified - the bottle of Idylle would be revealed - and you further acces. Then the mystery continued on until the 25th of September this year. It made me very curious and I wanted to try it, smell it, but I couldn't yet! Idylle is classified as a “floral chypre”. White musk's an patchouli are used as an accelerator, named the "Muscinade".
Very well balanced to my opinion. The scent is soft, floral and not gourmand at all. This in contrast of other and/or older creations - Shalimar, Mitsouko, Jicky, Vol de Nuit, Samsara, ... - where the accelerators are different and mostly having a much stronger odour - a lot of them by using the "Guerlinade" - but for Idylle this is just fine. This is new to me from Guerlain. Every perfumer at the house always had is own kind of signature - Jean-Paul Guerlain did not like to use musk at all - but I need to get used to this new and daring one. It is completely in honour of Guerlain - the use of the finest flowers and ingredients - but not that sharp like a lot of the other creations trough the years.
Idylle is the result of pure passion and devotion to the art of perfuming, and is in my opinion a creation that is going to become very popular and a classic over the years. I have feeling with the modern approach at Guerlain - in total respect for the heritage and the philosophy - and I can find myself in it. Thierry Wasser wanted to create a fragrance that would at least survive the strong regulations, to avoid reformulation already after a couple of years. Regarding to this matter: I was very delighted to have wonderful conversations with Sylvaine Delacourte so far. Sylvaine Delacourte is full of passion about the heritage and the future of Guerlain. She is in charge of the fragrance development and evaluation at Guerlain, and she has a fantastic nose. Our conversations made me understand even more why Guerlain is still alive, full of energy and not doomed to become a boring, not creative perfume house.

Sylvaine Delacourte has such a knowledge and works for Guerlain for more then 25 years. Jean-Paul Guerlain - as clever he has always been - assured the succession of his family company and he may enjoy his retirement, beauce Guerlain is safe with Thierry Wasser and Sylvaine Delacourte.
Back to Idylle, which I have smelled an worn already a lot. The first time I could try it was on the opening of a the Guerlain boutique in Belgium, where Idylle was already available in "avant-première". The fresh floral notes - combined with the Muscinade - develop into a very intimate and emotional scent. It is soft but pure and reminds me of the sweetness of a love in the past: receiving a bouquet of fresh roses and long walks in the park where are all different kind of flowers just starting to bloom. The excitement of being in love, a gentle touch, tenderness and pretty feeling...
"When I asked him how he had created Idylle, he confided to me that, while he was composing it, he was very happy and very much in love. He wanted to shout out loud how wonderful it was to be there, at Guerlain, with the mission to perpetuate such a proud heritage. He wanted to tell the whole world of his happiness, his high spirits, his love.I have tested Idylle, to write this review, four times on a card and two times on my skin. Pen and paper next to me, so I could write down my impressions. The bottle in front of me and the press map as background. I wanted to create an atmosphere completely devoted to the concept of Idylle, so I could get more in touch with my inner self. The golden bottle is shaped like an element from nature. Very simple but elegant ant static. It' a drop of gold, a raindrop, just before it's going to burst on the ground. If you turn the bottle upside down, it has the abstract shape of a heart. If you take the cap of the bottle and place it also upside down it reveals the shape of a heel from an elegant ladies shoe. The bottle reflects femininity in its purest form. What really fascinates me is the perfection of the bottle. You have to look very well to see anything of the vaporiser in the bottle.


I applied Idylle on a card, to test it. I waited a moment and then I closed my eyes... . The first note that blossomed was lily of the valley, immediately followed by jasmine, freesia and sweet rose petals. The rose petals did intensifie, but not overwhelm. Then I captured the "Muscinade" accorde- very soft and balanced.
After ten minutes, I noticed that the patchouli and white musk beautifully contrasted with the rose petals - the most dominant note. the result? A warmer and more intense bouquet. A perfect marriage between floral notes and the "Muscinade".
When I wear Idylle, i feel as if I am sitting in the most lush flower garden - resplendant with roses peonies, and lilly of the valley. there is a little fountain in the garden - filled with scented water containing white musk and patchouli, which contrasts perfectly with the flowers there.

Due to the quality of its ingredients, the sillage of Idylle is better than average, and wafts close to the skin, which is perfect for everyday use. Although it is marketed as a female fragrance, It is certainly suitable for men. "Idylle" is also like a soft fitted shirt that you wear very close to the body. It is comfortable and you can wear it all the time. At least you would want to.
I recommend that you test Idylle on your skin and wait at least five to ten minutes to give it time to develop. The scent unveils slowly, layer by layer, and may not be love at first sight, but wait a bit longer… . ( I still remember the day I tried Shalimar for the very first time. The very first impressions were horrible! A minute of five later, I smelled it on my wrist again, and I felt in love with it. A love that is still standing!). Guerlain surprised me again, this time in a very special way... and I believe Idylle may surprise you as well too…

Images: Guerlain, rawheadrex, Tie Guy II, audreyjm529
Author: Wim Janssens (MrGuerlain)
Fragrantica Writer
Wim Janssens is a writer for Fragrantica and an expert in Guerlain Fragrances. Wim is born on the 2nd of November 1977, lives in Bruges - Belgium, and he catalogues and test Guerlain fragrances. He enjoys to travel, to visit museums and to collect various fragrances. He loves British detective sitcoms and movies,Belgian fashion and modern composers like Wim Mertens, Philip Glass and Michael Nyman. His favorite city is Paris, where he would love to move to in the future. His signature fragrance is L’Heure Bleue from Guerlain.
Great review and the fragrance is fantastic, I have one :)
Dear Wim,
I loved your article on Guerlain Idylle . Love your passion for fragrances especially Guerlain House and the poetic description of ingredients and bottle design. When sniffing Idylle It was fascinating to discover the balance between the floral harmony and the chypre facet .I really love Idylle ,as I am a chypre fragrance fan but also enjoy a beautiful floral bouquet with a fresh lily of the valley aspect. The first sniff of the fragrance reminded me of my grandmother flower garden. It is beautiful how perfumery can take you back to places and dear memories .I agree with the fragrance being shared and consider that a fragrance should be enjoyed, breaking the gender barrier .I think sensuality is a dominant facet of the fragrance and please correct me if I’m wrong which is actually more of a question that statement.... does the fragrance have indole ? And is this what makes the fragrance so sensual?
Thank you
Kind Regards,
okay thank you!
use the perfume page, that's an article page go to guerlain perfumes then idylle u gonna fine the selection options :)
i wanted to add this to my wishlist but no buttton here as on all other frags? someone has the same prob?
well, when do i start , :) 1st of all um not a big fan for Guerlian but i like some of their perfumes , totally luve them my 1st by guerlian is L'INSTANT de Guerlain, i was so young when i smell it for the 1st time, i was about 19 years old, but it was on my top list , i've got it about 2 years ago , and i really luve it , my 2nd is Rose Barbare i've got a sample and i luved it although um not abig fan for oriental or chypre floral fragrances as much as iam a fan for floral fruity , but unfortunately MY INSOLENCE was soooo disappointing for me , i dunt know how its floral fruity , its sooo strong for being a floral fruity fragrance, i got it without testing it, as a gift from Dubai, and i really didnt like it at all , so strong, over powering, and annoying , i'd pass it to anyone, the bottle is a piece of art for sure i liiiike it very much , but the perfume , i dunt really like, so if i have to get one of insolence family, wht do u suggest Mr guerlian ?!! :)
Thank you for the lovely comments! I will write soon again!
Love,
Wim
Wim, we hope you are feeling better and can write again soon. we miss you . xo
Hi Wim,
I am a total novice to perfume and fragrantica.
I used perfume long ago but never found one I really love.
Then I got a Christmas gift certificate for a perfume. I had to use it. I went testing. After several sniffs of many perfumes, the sale lady asked if I would like to try Idylle, but it would be over the budget.
I sniffed it on the paper. I asked her to spray it on my wrist.
I bought a bottle, used it and now I'm crazy about it. It sooths me like nothing else. I like to put it on after shower before I go to sleep.
Your review says it better than I do but I totally agree with your nose.
Idylle gets me interested in fragrance. That says a lot.
Noi (from the Netherlands)
Being made by Guerlain, you just know it's going to be gorgeous.
I find it very addictive.
I doubt very much i'll ever own a bottle, it's a little on the expensive side.
But i'll go in the store and spray the tester all over me, and also drench one of those tester papers, and bring it home and put it in with my clothes to scent them.
A very beautiful elegant fragrance.
Hey Wim ,
wanna thank u deeply for such wonderful exuberantly passionate review , may i tell ya, that i share you to some extent the same heartily deep-seated passion & the vivacious enthusiasm about the great Great old house of Guerlain.
May Lord bless & support ya all the way long.
wish you & all perfume lovers in the world a very Merry Christmas & a happy new year. God bless.
I wish you all an "Idyllic" New year and a Merry Christmas!
I enjoy writing for Fragrantica and I hope I can share more of my passion for the house of Guerlain in 2010!
Thanks for all the nice comments!
Bonne Fêtes - Prettige Feestdagen !
Wim,
Idylle is so very good and you've done a great job at capturing why that is. If Idylle is Exhibit A of M. Wasser's reign at Guerlain I think this just might turn out to be a special era at Guerlain.
i have insolence eau de perfume and i paid a lot of money for it but i m not sorry and i think the perfume is worth every cent,it is special and extremly long lasting,it has guerlain quality,plus it s not so common.
idylle too....pleases my taste and expectations.
regarding the price...a big house like guerlain is to be expected to have such prices .....other big houses have it too....dior,chanel.....i think it s stupid to expect to pay for perfumes from these houses as much as u would pay for a hugo boss or CK perfume!!
Thank you for this beautiful review! I really enjoy Idylle. And would love to have a bottle of it! But you definitely
have to try it on your skin. It makes a difference!
You had to say that! I have never been in Egypt unfortunately, so I was not aware which currency is in use... .
So it's 60 Pound Sterling. In Euro is that very cheap if it would be a 100 ml. The price here is 128 € for 100 ml of Idylle. It exists in 30ml, 50 ml and 100 ml. I hope they release a pure perfume soon.
Guerlain fragrances are expensive, I know.
But I think that what you buy is worth it. If you go to exclusive collection, we are going to talk about other prices, but it's only sold in 18 place in the whole world. So it is exclusive ;o)
Idylle is for mainstream distribution. But the owners of the Perfume shop where the Belgian "Boutique Guerlain" is - they sell the private collection and the exlusives - told me that it is very popular.
I have been before to Paris only for an edition of Liu, but if you like something you do anything to get hold of it :)
haha lol , no mrguerlain , its 700 egyptian pounds , 1 dollar equals 5 pounds , but even though its so freakin expensive !
An Insolence Eau de parfum of 100 ml comes around € 120,- . In Pound Sterling this must be around £ 90-100. If you talk about Pound sterling then £ 700,- is crazy!
If it was a golden bee bottle or pure perfume in a white bee bottle I would understand. ;o)
on the other hand , krishka u have an excellent point of view also , some companies are trying to cut off thier costs and by doing this they might use cheap raw materials for thier products which equally ends up in crappy perfumes !!
nowadays i noticed a huge amount of perfumes that smell alike so magnificently that i lost faith and believed that its mission impossible to get a decent original perfume around here , thats why classics are very good in sales becoz its the only original things that people can rely on and know that theyr wearing something out of the ordinary
also another comment that i really liked krishka , good job :)
mrguerlain , such an impressive comment , u know alot about guerlain , id like to hear from u more , i got educated alot in fragrantica about brands and tons fo other stuff
also i reently asked for the price of insolence in egypt and it was 100ml for 750 pounds , that is ALOOT for a perfume !!!! so im sure they have a reason for this , they wont make a crappy one for 750 just fr fun u know . its a very reputable name , and like you said mr guerlain , its a like or dislike opinion :)
Guerlain will never compromise about the quality of it's flowers and other ingredients. They mix the best flowers to obtain constantly the same high quality. I called this "Fleurinade", introduced by Jean-Paul Guerlain. He was aware that perfuming with natural ingredients like flowers is like waking wine. Every year the harvest is different, and it will also change then the fragrance year by year. So he started to mix flowers to obtain the same odeur of it. A method they also use with grapes to produce champagne.
The harvest of the Roses from Bulgary in 2008 were sweet. This roses are used to produce Idylle. Itis mixed with the Robinson Rose from Jen-Paul Guerlain.
There is absolutely no compromise to the quality, but it's about personal taste. You like a fragrance or not. There are loads of people who don't like Shalimar. But is that the fault of Guerlain? I don't think so... .
Tried it and as expected the poor composion gives poor results....the fragrance is nothing outstanding light soap flowery one....the lasting power is weak ( i mean 1 hour max).
It continues the sad tendency of the perfume companies to cut their costs on ingredients but put up the prices of the products....as a result we get numerous new perfumes that smell similar with no personality whatsoever....
Plenty of white flowers, but dense. I liked it alot. I wouldn't refuse it as a gift
Dear Susieqr,
I deleted the comment on Idylle myself, so did others. I still think that was wise thing to do to do.
I do agree with Jeca. And I also made it clear in my review here for Fragrantica that what Guerlain is now, is the because they dare to innovate.
There are fragrances of Guerlain and other houses or creators that I don't like at all. But I will not critize the House or the creator on it, just the fragrance that they have created.
Perfuming is such a personal thing. Shalimar was not even popular when it was released, neither Mitsouko, Habit Rouge, ... . They were found to modern that time but now it are all creations that will remain timeless.
Please comment on the review and not on me as a person.
Fragrant regards,
Wim
Oh no, dear susieqrj, nobody deletes negative reviews on fragrances (not persons) ;o)
It's interesting how different opinions can be. I think if Guerlain stopped on Shalimar it wouldn't be Guerlain anymore ;o) Because Guerlain always be among trendsetting houses. Guerlain is an old house but their fragrances have been always modern.
I like L'instant very much, insolence, Guerlain's creations are very different, if you don't like their non-exclusive line, you can try something exclusive yet modern.
I remember how negative people met first fragrance by Narciso Rodriguez, now it sounds impossible, but I read so negative reviews on it. Now many of them changed their opinion.
Isn´t this Mr.Guerlain the same one who called literally "ignorant" everyone who considered Idylle to be a dull fragrance? In fact, all the bad comments pratically were deleted from the Idylle review...
That´s funny. To me, Idylle is still dull and the bottle is a copy of Antonio Banderas Spirit.
Update: I don't want to sound annoying. I never said that the webmasters did it. Maybe the bad reviews were deleted because people changed their opinion. And that's a good thing. But a bad thing is to call people names because not all of them agree with one's opinion.
what a poetic review. and it seems that Guerlain always invested heavily in their marketing campaings for all of their perfume releases. I only tried Idylle on a paper strip but it didnt quite live up to my high expectations. It is a really nice well-composed scent that somehow leaves me cold and indifferent. I had a similar sensation wearing J'Adore- there was so much hype and such a great marketing campaign, that a fragrance fell flat.
I may change my mind if I ever try this on my skin but right now I dont feel like i have to have it. Great review, though, I hope to read more like that in a future! :)
Wim, what and absolutely beautiful review and article. Thank you so much for conveying the story of Guerlain's latest fragrance with such eloquence and passion. It's a joy to read that this fragrance had made you dream so much.
Much admiration to you from a fellow Guerlain lover and long time resident of Belgium.
A real pleasure to read !
I found Idylle a lovely thing, if not specifically Guerlainish.
I'm looking forward to wearing Idylle in the Spring...
My senses crave the darker side, as the seasons of reflection approach :)
Lovely to see you here, jonge mijn !
My dear Wim, what a pleasure to read your fabulous review. I hope you right more reviews in future.
Barry
I like your review. And i also like Idylle. I could see that it is quite "discussed" here. Some even seem to hate it. Well, everyone has the right of free expression. I can remember that in the past fragrances, which were discussed like that (love it-or hate it) nowadays are "bestsellers" with a great success.
GREAT REVIEW!!
i will test idylle again tomorrow......i liked it but i wanna discover it more.....love the bottle anyway.
congratulations for such a profound story,i love guerlain house and i will always will.
Great review!!
I'm going to try Idylle tomorrow and write my own impressions ^^
Dear Wim,
Thank you so much for this beautiful review! One can really feel your love and passion for Guerlain and for "Idylle"! I am sure going try this new creation of Guerlain on my next trip to the perfume store :-) (One of my favourite for winter is "L'Instant". It is like a warm, beautiful blanket which keeps me warm :-))
Also, I would like to give "L'Heure Bleue" a try...but I do not know, if I should try EDT or EDP….maybe you can help me with this?
And, yes, welcome to Fragrantica! :-)
This scent has just arrived in Australia and is winning alot of hearts. Let's face it any fragrance by Guerlain is worth it. They are beautifully crafted and well balanced scents. My favourite is the original Mitsouko. Sensual, mysterious and there is on other like it.
Welcome.
I am one of the fans of this scent. I think there are occasions where a loud, bombastic perfume is not appropriate, and this is hte perfect alternative. I enjoyed reading Janssens' poetic description of this lovely scent, and look forward to more reviews by him.
Many thanks to Michelyn(memechose) who introduced me!
I will review only Guerlain fragrances in the future.
I also want to thank:
-David, Steven and Marius from Haute Parfumerie Place Vendôme - Boutique Guerlain - in Belgium. They share a lot of passion with me and make it possible that I can smell and try all the Guerlain fragrances.
-Sylvaine Delacourte for believing in me and providing me a lot of information and Peggy Ploix, also from Guerlain Paris.
- Many thanks also to Annabelle Seynave who's responsable for the Press and PR for Guerlain in Belgium and Christel Trösch, Press and Public Relations Manager for Perfumes & Cosmetics at LVMH Belgium.
If I am forgotten someone, I do apologize! :-)
Hi Wim - so nice to read you hear. I still haven't given Idylle the attention it deserves having been distracted by so many other exciting scents, recently. I loved your review, especially your narrative of romance at the start - really got me imagining a context for the fragrance. Can't wait to see what you'll write next. Have you tried the Habit Rouge Sport yet? L'Ame d'un Heros?
welcome wim... Fragrantica's Guerlain expert will be writing solely about Guerlain fragrances...
Dear Zoka,
Thank you for your very nice compliment!
I already met loads on Facebook where I created the Guerlain Fragrance Fan Page.
It's fantastic to share my passion for Guerlain on Fragrantica!
My very warm and fragrant regards,
Wim
Welcome aboard Wim thank you for beautiful and very comprehensive review of one of the newest fragrances by Guerlain. I am sure here at Fragrantica you will find many Guerlain fans.
Become a member of this online perfume community and you will be able to add your own reviews.
New Fragrances
Home Scents
Niche Perfumery
Natural Perfumes
Art Books Events
Fragrant Horoscope
Fragrances and Cultures
Raw Materials
Vintages
Columns
Fragrance Reviews
Interviews
Fragrantica
Perfumes
Noses
Groups
Notes
Search by notes
Videos
Colors
Designers
Countries
Parent Companies
Industries
New Reviews new
Juicy Couture
Viva La Juicy Nice Stuff for Nice Girl
Givenchy
Very Irresistible Electric Rose
Tim McGraw
Faith Hill Soul2Soul for Her
Tim McGraw
Tim McGraw Soul2Soul for Him
Roberto Torretta
Roberto Torretta Eau de Toilette
Miriam Ocariz
Miriam Ocariz Eau de Toilette
United Scents of America
New York
United Scents of America
New Jersey
United Scents of America
California
United Scents of America
Florida
Donna Karan
DKNY Women Summer 2012
Cartier
Roadster Sport Speedometer Limited Edition
Popular brands and perfumes: