Tonka Imperiale and Spiritueuse Double Vanille L’Art & La Matière Guerlain

I bought Tonka Imperiale as gifts twice, but I never added it to my collection. It turns out that spending half an hour with someone wearing it is enough to satiate me for a month.

The "Tonka" in the name refers to one of the key components of Guerlain's raw material palette: the tonka bean. Its complex and slightly insistent scent combines the cyanides of cherry pits, the bitterness of almonds and rotten hay, and the balsamic notes of vanilla and cinnamon. Tonka beans are an essential ingredient in that "Guerlain patisserie" that enchants anyone who has ever tried L'Heure Bleue or Shalimar.

Tonka Imperiale has all this patisserie, but not from the facade and the ornate display cases with marzipan and sugar figurines. For the L'Art & La Matière collection, Thierry Wasser created a pastry-like backstage setting with dozens of jars and vials full of aromatic spices, pestles and mortars, the heat of ovens, and a brief respite from a smoke break by the back door in the crisp December air. Yes, the air of Tonka Imperiale also smells of pre-holiday bustle. I miss the magic of great perfumes, but it's still cozy and pleasant. For a while.

And a few words about the new release of the year in a Carre bottle. I didn't find it to be fundamentally different. It's just a typical batch difference.

Tonka Imperiale L'Art & La Matière Guerlain,

Thierry Wasser

bergamot, almond, honey, rosemary, jasmine, tonka bean, tobacco, vanilla, incense, pine, cedar, amber

I can't call myself a big fan of fragrances with the word "vanilla" in the name. Vanilla and vanillin occupy a prominent place in Guerlain perfumes, but they never take center stage and never stand out without the support of spices, flowers, and animalic notes. Like a virtuous mother, vanilla watches over everyone and remains in the background.

Guerlain understood this until about 2007, when they launched the limited edition Spiritueuse Double Vanille. Not just vanilla, but double vanilla! Perfume forums, I remember, were thrilled.

Spiritueuse Double Vanille was quickly transferred to the permanent line, and has now been reissued in carré bottles. What's inside? Everything's the same, but perhaps a little less balsamic and black resinous. There's apple strudel with vanilla cream, and a cup of hot chocolate with almond milk and cinnamon to go with it. The result is an exquisite insulin shock. But all the pleasures last for an hour. The bottom line is smoldering coals, foil, and the blue smoke of apple-flavored hookah tobacco.

Spiritues Double Vanille, Guerlain,

Thierry Wasser

Pink pepper, bergamot, incense, cedar, rose, ylang-ylang, vanilla, benzoin