The almond does not come alone, but accompanied by the "aquatic notes". Don't worry, because these notes are subtle and at least they don't wake up a shower gel feeling in me. For me, the Cologne of the L'Homme Idéal series was, along with the EdT, the stepchild of the series for a long time. While the EdP in winter spreads opulence in a positive sense and the sports version is wrongly underestimated in my opinion and is quite unique with its combination of almonds and aquatics, the Cologne always made the impression of the nice boy from next door during various tests on test strips, about whom you can actually say nothing bad, but who comes across quite arbitrarily. Almond, citrus, and woody spice start this one off. To me, this has the most almond in it, especially in the early stages. You get leather in there as well, but mainly its a citrus blast with a nuttiness. Sweet, dry, and clean coming down the home stretch. Where does L'Homme Ideal Cool (what a terrible name...) stand now in comparison to the other versions of this meanwhile extensive series (I wouldn't speak of flankers at all in view of the different orientation)?

The, unfortunately discontinued, Cologne version had convinced me more and more with the time. Not because it was a complex masterpiece or one of the most creative fragrances. But rather because of its encouraging, cheerful, lively and summery way. This was due to the grapefruit and almond notes. While these notes complemented each other and added more weight, the light musk note was also added (probably mainly as a fixative) to add more weight, inclusion and longevity overall. As a result, the grapefruit aromas could be perceived until the end. I think this is a good Wasser creation, it exemplifies his Swiss precision. It doesn't have the bombast or excitement of something from Jean Paul Guerlain and I've had a hard time accepting that. It's a bit like your favourite band putting out a very different sounding record and changing their style over time. Guerlain today simply isn't Guerlain of old.The citrus is fresh and reminds me somewhat of the Cologne version of Ideal, but this one still stays in more of a nutty/leathery mode, in totality. I think the first few hours is going to be when you’ll actually get complemented on Ideal. After that, it might have turned too light for many people to notice, outside of those who are close by. For me it is rather an evening/night fragrance for the summer instead of a cologne. Above all by the beautiful sweetness paired with the freshness. He is already very stylish and also a bit sensual. But it is also well wearable at milder temperatures, but not at all for the great heat. By this fresh stylish sweetness comparable to Chanel Allure Homme Sport Eau Extreme. Not from the DNA, but the scent type is similar.

Cologne has been discontinued, supposedly replaced by Cool which is more aquatic. I think they should have done Cologne as a separate non-Ideal release and not mentioned the word cologne at all. Usually flankers tweak the original (Terre D'Hermes upping the citrus or vetiver) but this one replaces a core note to the point where it is much less recognisable as part of the range. It reminds me of when Wasser made Habit Rouge L'Eau which smells almost nothing like the original but could have been good as a standalone release under a different name. I suppose it just fell in a gap where it wasn't quite enough like Ideal or its own thing.

Alongside these two notes in the opening are bergamot and vanilla. The bergamot is much needed – it provides subtle freshness, adding some balance to the dense scent profile. There’s also vanilla, which injects its usual touch of sweetness. Trust me, this isn’t a scent you want to project massively anyway. Since it’s syrupy and dense, the current performance fits the profile well, and restrains it from becoming too overbearing. It Has Underrated Versatility

If you're interested in a summer Guerlain, go with Vetiver/Vetiver Extreme, Homme L'Eau Boisee, or even L'Homme Ideal Cool, which I think is a lot better than Cologne, if not earth shattering.Fresh and has an almost frozen profile to it, that’s perfect for the warmer weather. Lighter sillage, but it could last for around 8 hours. If you can find a bottle, for a reasonable price, L’Homme Ideal Cologne is worthwhile. Ideal Cologne Review This is where it being called Cologne seems misleading. It's a medium weight scent, not a faint cologne. There's no fading citrus topnotes, instead this grapefruit hangs around for the whole duration and steadily tapers off through the drydown. You get the classic warm/cool contrast that often makes for great fragrance (Fahrenheit for example), and prevents it from becoming overly linear as you get varying mixes of the almond/grapefruit accord through the length of the wear into the vetiver/wood finale. I put me at this point something out of the window and claim that this fragrance is a hybrid of L'Homme Idéal Cologne and Guerlain Homme Eau de Parfum, although the influence of the latter appears significantly lower, but in my opinion quite present. Releasing a heavy fragrance as a fresher summer variant has been in vogue for several years now. I have to say: I like heavy DNA's in a slightly fresher robe, like Spicebomb, La Nuit de L'Homme, Code, Dior Homme and some more. Converting such DNA's into summer scents isn't even that easy. However, I find such scents great for milder summer days and summer evenings/nights without the great heat. I’ve been wearing this here in June, after the official start of summer, but it’s not really built for the hot days outside. It’s fine at night when it cools off a bit, but L’Homme Ideal would excel during the colder months of the year, like a lot of fragrances seem to do.