Eau de Cologne Imperiale Guerlain for women

Now I can understand why this eau de cologne opened the "royal doors" to Guerlain in Europe!!! it´s for me the best eau ever!

It smells classic, refined, very feminine and it lasts 2 hours in my skin, quite long for an eau de cologne.

Put your airy dress, pearls, sunglasses and eau imperiale and enjoy your spring-summer days with style and elegance!

Une merveille!

Imperiale is the fragrance that started my love for Guerlain. The refreshing citrus and slightly sweet tenderness of this fragrance just made me want to be surrounded by it all day. As my skin temperature is a bit lower than usual, the scent projected from this fragrance on my skin is very soft and doesn't last at all. To compensate this, I would just splash it generously on myself every time I wore it and reapplied throughout the course of the day. Imperiale is a true masterpiece and anyone who appreciate good quality fragrances should have at least one bottle.

I love this stuff! It smells summery, dressy, classy and refreshing. The bottle it comes in is excellent, too; it makes me think of Napoleonic history. (Did Marshal Ney wear this?) A winner on both counts.

But, uh-oh... it starts disappearing as it hits my skin. Lasts, maybe, an hour or two. That's it. No longevity - the 4711 Factor. What a pity! If Guerlain could figure out how to better this, Cologne Imperiale would be worth what they're asking for it.

The best. elegant and not complicated. but I agree you must know the history and the past wearers to appreciate.
The first I bought my husband. I am so tired of all these mixes for men these days that are so heady, you're in the movies many rows back and you smell the guy- who wants to make out or share a pillow with that. headaches!! :))
A truly fresh, unisex fragance. For us USArs, it's different. to me is a truly French fragance
the empty bottle if BEAUTIFUL to look at. if you have an old one , place it on a bath tray, expensive looking and elegant ( I have said that before-it's a classy thinghy!!)

Magnifica Fragranza.....che rimanda al passato....inutile dire altro!!

I adore it, it is so fresh, the opening is wonderful, i love it after a bath or shower, it's a very self indulgent fragrance, as by the time you've changed it's gone. So if you love history, go for it, if you want something to last, avoid. For me though, Guerlain can do no wrong :-)

One of the best cologne of ever, but you must love history to really appreciate it!

This cologne is a good citrus and green scent. It does smell a bit dated (being originally made in the 1800's) but not bad. It kind of reminds me of something my grandfather might wear, but lighter. This scent works very well for men, even more so than women in my opinion. The bracing citrus and green notes are a little to stringent for women in my opinion.

That said for the price this scent is not worth it. Yes it smells good but being an Eau de Cologne this stuff literally only last 1-2 hours. This stuff should be around $20 a bottle for that type of longevity.

I enjoy this light, citrus Cologne very much. In fact, I use it as an aftershave because of it's short life, it does not greatly interact with other scents I may use and in some cases nicely complements a more subtle scent.

This fine fragrance is so bracing and energizing. I love the bright green and citrus notes. It's a wonderful way to begin the day. It's radiant and cool. A masterpiece cologne!

The notes which stood out me most where lemon, bergamot, and rosemary. I felt refreshed and light.

just got 1/2liter botle and was so afraid that i wont like it.but when opened its realy the classic cologne and litle goes long way!love it!

When I think of Eau de Cologne Imperiale Guerlain, which was created for the Empress Eugenie of France I am reminded of the remarkably beautiful Loretta Young who played her in the 1938 film “Suez”. I saw that film one rainy afternoon on T.V. when I was a kid and her ethereal beauty in ravishing hoop skirts that the empress made so popular in the 1860’s arrested my imagination. I never forgot her.

To think that this perfume has endured for 152 years is amazing. Once I tried it for myself, I found it entrancing as a waltz with the Empress Eugenie herself. It is definitely a uni-sex fragrance that is light and refreshing. This is a real Citrus Eau de Cologne in the most classic sense, and not at all complex but rather straightforward in its olfactory performance. Even with it’s romantic history I would not classify it as romantic heavy hitter perfume but rather a practical everyday down to earth citrus. Bright and pleasing all around with a good projection and I would say middle to long longevity.

It is not for everyone but rather for those interested in collecting something historic with a romantic story behind it.

Four gold stars ****

Its 93 and humid. I liberally sprayed myself this morning with this one, and I can definitely smell it now, a few hours later. Its like a gossamer veil. You have to spray a lot and the weather has to be as it is now- sticky and with heavy, hanging air to get lasting power. Otherwise, its great for an aromatherapy boost, just something to perk you up. Not everything has to be perceptible within a 12 mile radius to be worth it.

One nice thing about super hot days like today (pushing 100F) is that it is possible to wear lots of different colognes, especially when they have longevity like that of Guerlain EAU DE COLOGNE IMPERIALE. This may be the record holder in my collection for shortest perceivable life. I have a fair number of colognes, so there is some real competition in the category. My distinct impression is that this particular citrus cologne lacks any substantial base whatsoever. There is nothing for the citrus notes to cling to, so everything just evaporates away nearly as fast as I can spray.

I am supposed to forgive the shortcomings of this fragrance, it seems, as it was composed more than a century and a half ago. Its ultimate Creedoid claim to fame is that the recipe of this "made for royalty" fragrance was never changed. I'm afraid that I must beg to differ, as my box lists BHT as an ingredient, which did not exist (had not been discovered) in the time of Napoléon and his lovely (I presume) bride, for whom this composition is said to have been composed. Hmmm... my understanding is that Napoléon was a civet kind of guy--someone who would have really dug Jean Patou JOY, but maybe I got the story wrong somewhere along the way.

To me, EAU DE COLOGNE IMPERIALE is a limey citrus cologne, so I am surprised that lime is not listed among the notes. There is not a strong floral presence whatsoever, so I wouldn't call this a full-fledged linden blossom scent or anything of the sort. No, this hits me more as fresh lime rind twisted to release some oil and then mixed with some juice. There is a bit of light wood here, which seems a bit vetiverish to me--while it lasts--but is identified in the notes as cedar.

All in all, I'm not that thrilled with this Guerlain creation. It's a romantic idea to think that I am wearing the fragrance of an Emperor's wife, but I don't really believe it. In the end, this is just another light citrus cologne to my nose, exceptional only in its evanescence.

Nothing more endearing or classic than Guerlain's Eau de Cologne Imperiale - a pure and true-to-form "aromatherapy" scent as Krmarich describes brilliantly. This is entirely unisex - it started the entire genre, perhaps...breaking down boundaries between male & female scents. As gentlemanly as it is delicately feminine - it is not to be decidedly for either only. Carl Jung archetypes...this is static masculine and static feminine at the same time. It is "how" you wear it. Better yet, how you feel wearing it - and I feel wonderful...

I was very lucky to obtain a beautiful Vintage beehive bottle of the more opulent and aromatically-richer, Extra Dry formulation! My oh my, does the citrus, neroli and verbena sing. The aroma can only be from one house - this is signature Guerlain! Never to be confused.

Close your eyes and breathe, deeply.

Gorgeous. Delicate. Calming, yet stimulating the senses. Perfect for a hot day - over 100 degrees in Northern CA with just a light breeze.

What "scent" is meant to be - timeless.

Cheers.

You can go massively wrong with Imperiale. Because you will be tempted to believe that because it is old and made by Guerlain it has some magic in it. And that is simply not true at all. Imperiale opens with an ugly lemon, transforms into fine silvery film of elegant lemon and then it leaves you completely before you can start to enjoy its simplicity. For those on a budget looking for an olden feel perfume for both sexes I recommend Royal bain de Caron.

Oh and by the way: if empress Dildo had been alive today she wouldn't have chosen this bland thing.

You can't go wrong with Eau De Cologne Imperiale. From its rich history to the beautiful bottle in which its housed, this cologne is citrus presented with pure and elegant simplicity. It is clean, light, and refreshing. It is fizzy and bright. Due to its light nature, Imperiale can be applied liberally, and you may even wish to reapply it several times throughout the day. But it's worth it. Every time I spray this I feel good--cool,invigorated, and refeshed. And I believe that's the purpose of this classic cologne. Something I will reach for often and find plenty of occassions to spritz, Guerlain's Eau De Cologne Imperiale is a worthwhile addition to any fragance enthusiast's wardrobe.

And just to clarify, regarding its longevity, we're talking between a half hour and hour. It's definitely short lived, so don't say I didn't warn you. However, I still believe its worth it. I love this stuff for several reasons, but longevity is not one of them!

I got a bottle for $19.99 3.4 oz. yellow tag at Marshall's. This is not a gender specific cologne, is universal, meaning for anybody and for anything really. It's a very natural citrus scent, with a little hint of flowers/herbs behind it. I clearly see the therapy side of it, since it is very natural. Sure it's life is short, and projection is not there, but I do like it, but I do not believe you should pay a lot for it.

So lemony refreshing, not too florally for a guy, ideally for summer but who cares the season, I just apply it as many times as I want. As I have the bottle with a glass stopper, decanted some into a small spray to the office, to lift me up when tired.

Eau de Cologne Imperiale is somewhat boozy, in a mojito sort of way. Oddly enough it's my fragrance of choice when I'm hungover. From mojitos. Works like magic.

It may not last more than 2 or 3 hours, but Eau de Cologne Imperiale is as good as it gets when it comes to Eau de Cologne. It's clean, refreshing, and therapeutic as should be. It's the best Eau de Cologne out there, and when it poops out, just reapply and enjoy it again and again.....

This was the oldest product Guerlain had on the market that was unchanged since the 1850s! It was commissioned for Empress Josephine to relieve her migraines and worked. Aspirin had been invented yet, so perfume was medicine.

With the aromatherapy properties of citrus, lavender and neroli, one can see why it did. Its cool one down on hot days. Its last about 15 minutes...

The "bee bottle" sits beautifully on a vanity and during the Belle Epoche was a status symbol. How times have changed...

This is a clear example of how simplicity is the key for success.The neroli and citrus combination makes it ideal for summer. Easy to wear and easier to love.

This IS a scent for men and women too ,it's 2010 after all. As far as I know both sexes like to feel fresh and a classic cologne can be worn by both. This one is just a bit superior ,well worth the price.

This refreshing cologne is one of my all-time favourites. It is truly a Guerlain classic as the well-balanced blend of lemon verbena, cedar, neroli and rosemary fuses into a light bouquet, each enhancing the other. It is neither feminine nor masculine, yet asserts itself in its calmness and serenity. It is a peek into a palace herb garden from a perch in the citrus orchard while people go about their age-old task of keeping everything in order.

Wonderful in the morning, after a rain shower, or on your handkerchief on your pillow.

I really love this cologne. Its fresh, clean and aromatic, giving you a feeling of wellbeing. The fact that it was made in 1860 is amazing, there is nothing old lady about this fragrance. I find it very refreshing, and when you're feeling tired and hot, it really does revitalise you. A great cologne that has stood the test of time.

A fresh, clean and calming fragrance. Perfect for a hot summer day. It does not last long but that gives me more reason to spray it more. I find it personally uplifting and it does add a sense of calmness.

MrGuerlain, Thank you for the reply. I really appreciate it.

It seems that today Chanel, Dior and even Max Mara are returning to summer notes like this. So sophisticated, fresh and aristocratic! Hundred years ago, I would definitely wear this beautiful citrus fragrance.Good feeling of freshness and purity in the hot summer day.
Tres chic, this simple vintage bottle!

Eau de Cologne Impériale is a Cologne.
It is unisex.
It does not last long because it is a cologne.
I don't understand the idea about male or female fragrances.
Jicky for example is classified as a female fragrance, but why do so many man wear it?
You have to wear what you like, not if it is a male or female fragrance.

Eau de cologne Impériale was made for Empress Eugénie with the specific question that it would relief her migrains.

I use this cologne a lot, and I must admit that it has a positive effect on headaches. It is a very refreshing and at the same time calming cologne. A masterpiece, that you can use at an age, any time.

Greetings,
The comments on Imperiale are very interesting to me. I did not know that it was designed for women. I have been wearing it for over a decade. (A summer frag to be sure, and equally sure: to be applied more than once. No sillage, no longevity. But that's OK: any changes and it wouldn't be Imperiale.)Perhaps what I've read is true: genders are assigned for men so that they are more accepting of the idea of (a given) fragrance. And now I have to decide whether I could wear the Eau de Cedrat.
cheers!

No, it's not a scent for men although men could probably wear it. It's a wonderful fresh scent although subtle and not long-lasting. A good one though I think.

Wrong information, this is not a scent for men. This perfume was created by Pierre-Francois-Pascal Guerlain for the Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III. It is very citrus-like, with the bright note of bergamot. The fragrance itself is very "near to skin" and it doesn't stay long.