Idylle Eau Sublime by Thierry Wasser for Guerlain 2011

Hi there Perfume Posse, Portia from Australian Perfume Junkies with my favourite fragrance house of them all. For some reason I have long felt that Guerlain is my house, that they are creating their fragrant fantasies just for me. Whether it’s my greatest love Shalimar, all the Aqua Allegorias (nearly every one I’ve tried has smelled good on me), Jicky to La Petite Robe Noire. All of them in different ways are lovely, though not all of them do I ever reach for.  Not so long ago I grabbed my first bottle of Idyll, I don’t know why but I had never picked it up in store or ordered a decant, for some reason this lone Guerlain did not feel me. Who knows why? Could have been the marketing, the bottle, the notes (this is a fruit-chouli after all), anything. One day I did pick it up and SURPRISE! Perfection. So since I love Idyll so much I thought I should finally get my nose on its flanker Idylle Eau Sublime…..

Idylle Eau Sublime by Thierry Wasser for Guerlain 2011

Idylle Eau Sublime Guerlain FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Litchi, rose water
Heart: Rose, jasmine, peach
Base: Patchouli, musk

Ooooh! there is something furry in the opening, the litchi and rose water are sheer and wet, over the top of sweet, canned peachy fun. It feels like there is nothing even remotely natural in Idylle Eau Sublime. Though it’s not the same I get a similar feeling to Gucci Guilty women, there is a very perfumey-ness about Idylle Eau Sublime. Loads of breathy jasmine then moves in, it is sexy and with the canned peaches is a bit like kissing someone in the middle of dessert, the dessert has a whisper of rose water, maybe drizzled? As we make our way into the very lovely heart I am suddenly overpowered by rose and it’s a fresh cut, spicy, tea rose with cool dew still beaded from spritzing in the refrigerator.

Idylle Eau Sublime Guerlain rose dew PixabayPhoto Stolen Pixabay

What is so weird about Idylle Eau Sublime through the opening and heart is the complete lack of vanilla or ice cream. I could be smelling a fragrance from almost any other house than Guerlain: Gucci, Narciso Rodriguez, L’Artisan, Lolita Lempicka. Anything but a Guerlain, unless it was part of the Aqua Allegoria range. I do get a nice hark back to those very perfumey fragrances that many of our Mums wore, a brittle sweetness that could also have been used in hairspray or nail polish. I keep coming upon scents with this little reminiscence, maybe I am ultra sensitive to a particular ingredient that reads like that to me. I like it a lot, like hugging Mum goodbye before she left for a night out.

Idylle Eau Sublime Guerlain Jasminum_polyanthum Wikipedia Photo Stolen Wikipedia

I don’t get a patchouli much, unless it is a facet totally cleaned and washed that has become so attenuated that it doesn’t resemble the scent that I associate with patchouli. Laundry musks, check, in spades. I’m going to be honest, Idylle Eau Sublime smells cheaper than I expected. Not bad, just not expensive: expensive is how I expect Guerlain to smell. I think you could very easily get a headache from Idylle Eau Sublime and it has one of those sheer/hefty sillages that makes it very noticeable, I bet it grabs heaps of compliments because it would cut through any other scent. Do I like it? Yes, I think I will definitely finish my 5ml decant. There is something creamy and angelic about it and very clean.

Idylle Eau Sublime Guerlain angels LayoutSparksPhoto Stolen LayoutSparks

Further reading: A mini-mention Olfactoria’s Travels
FragranceNet has $41/98ml after coupon
My Perfume Samples start at $2/ml to $7/5ml

Are there any flankers you like? Could you wear fruit-chouli or are you already converted? If so what’s your favourite?
Portia xx

  • Katherine says:

    I think Guerlain is my house. I really love it. I am currently wearing the heck out of my angel hair mist!!! It’s the perfect amount of angel. Jicky has been my summer go to. I’m not feeling citrus. I don’t know why.

    • Portia says:

      Katherine,
      I love the aloofness of Jicky. It’s a perfect compromise between cologne and perfume. I bet you smell divine.
      Angel does a hair mist? WOW!
      Portia xx

  • Ann says:

    Howdy, Portia! This one sounds fun — thanks for putting it on my must-try radar. I think I remember liking the original when I tried it ages ago, but I need to revisit. Guess I’m due for a good, long visit at the Guerlain counter, eh? But will have to pass on the Shalimar; sorry 🙁 I didn’t much care for the original Lolita Lempicka, but the L and the Si are pretty nice for me.

    • Portia says:

      Hey there Ann,
      Yes, I loved the L flanker and Si now has spawned its own bunch of flankers too.
      Do go spend a minute at Guerlain. There is so much stuff you have to try.
      Portia xx

  • eldarwen22 says:

    I do have liking for Chanel no 5 Eau Premiere and remember liking Shalimar’s Ode a la Vanille but with Ode a la Vanille, I bought a bottle and only wore it once. So I’m gonna have to test it. Usually, I hate flankers because it’s not an interpretation of the original perfume. Take Coco Mademoiselle, it doesn’t smell remotely like the original Coco. I smell the similarities between no 5 and Eau Premiere. Patchouli is a crap shoot for me.

    • Portia says:

      Yes Eldarwen22,
      CHANEL is a bit naughty. Neither Mademoiselle nor Noir smell anything like the original Coco. As a flanker they are absolute and utter fails. As stand alone products I think they are excellent market grabbers.
      Why did you only wear the Ode de la Vanille once? Did it not resonate for you?
      Portia xx

      • eldarwen22 says:

        I think what happened, I wore it to bed once meaning to wear it for a few days but it got lost in the shuffle. I was consumed by vintage Shalimar and L’Heure de Nuit. L’Heure de Nuit is another flanker that’s really good.

        • Portia says:

          Right, yes that does happen sometimes. I fall victim to the Too Much Perfume bug too.
          I enjoyed L’Heure de Nuit immensely but from memory it didn’t last very well on my skin. HMMMM I need to revisit. Thanks for the reminder.
          Portia xx

      • I think if Coco Noir had just been named Coco Mademoiselle Noir, it would make much more sense.

  • I never thought of myself as a Guerlie Girl per se, but I realized one day while looking at my perfume shelf that I have more stuff from Guerlain (between FBs, decants and minis) than from any other house (and soon to add another, since I bought the Shalimar Ode a la Vanille on Fragrancenet). I haven’t tried Idylle or Eau Sublime. I don’t know if I’ve even seen it at the Guerlain counter when I’ve been at Neiman Marcus.

    • Portia says:

      Hi there Jennifer Counts,
      YAY!! That Ode de la Vanille is GREAT stuff. YUM
      As to Idylle, I bet it’s there but you overlook it in search of the stuff you love. Have a go and come tell me if you liked it please?
      POrtia xx

  • malsnano86 says:

    I’m not much of a Guerlie-girl, to be honest. I’m just not drawn to the house in general, though there are certain scents I would miss if Guerlain disappeared off the face of the earth… Chamade comes to mind, as well as Vega, Shalimar Light, AA Pamplelune, and Apres l’Ondee. On the other hand, SL is discontinued, Vega is about to be if it hasn’t been axed already, and they’ve messed with Al’O to the point that I no longer want a bottle and will have to make do with my 5ml decant from 6 years ago.

    On the OTHER other hand, I sort of liked Idylle EdT. The original was farrrr too much patchouli for me. True, it was cleaned-up patch, but I’m sensitive to it and it tends to hijack my nose. The EdT version is nice – rose and muguet and that heart-note patchouli, all of it very clean and a bit high-pitched but very refreshing in summer. I am blowing through my 10ml decant faster than I’d thought I would (it seems to be a great travel scent for me – not too loud, and covers up lack of freshness).

    • That is interesting Malsnano86,
      I would never think of a scent for covering on travels. GREAT idea, and you say Idylle is good for that. Excellent advice. I really like the fragrance but the bottle does annoy me a little, the lid is definitely not bag friendly. Yes, I think decanting it for travel is the only way.
      Portia xx