Guerlain
L'Homme Idéal Eau de Toilette
L'Homme Idéal: a seductive and innovative Guerlain for ideal men? After making a strong impression with La Petite Robe Noire, Guerlain had to show just as much audacity and imagination to launch its new men's fragrance, L'Homme Idéal. And the least one can say is that the marketing communication matched this magnificent juice created by Thierry Wasser.
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L'Homme Idéal stands out both in the traditional olfactory palette of the men's fragrances it offers and in the utterly offbeat design of its advertisements and materials. If L'Homme Idéal is a myth, the success of this striking fragrance is anything but!
L'Homme Idéal plays with clichés to stand out all the more
Thanks to the latest campaign launched by Guerlain for La Petite Robe Noire, the perfumery world had by then understood that the venerable house of Guerlain was ready to break with habits. And indeed L'Homme Idéal, released in 2014, would be no exception!
L'Homme Idéal aims for a beauty and elegance that are entirely provocative and addictive while carrying a deep and, relatively, subtle sense of humor. The visuals and the advertising spot were therefore carried by the magnificent Spanish model Jon Kortajarena, who plays along and self-deprecatingly pokes fun at the superficiality of his relationships with women. Moreover, director Michel Gondry, far more accustomed to the world of rock than to the glamour of perfume, would not hesitate to add the grotesque and the offbeat to the universe of the L'Homme Idéal film, utterly zany yet irresistible, and above all equipped with sharp marketing precision.
Let us not be fooled: although Guerlain organized, at the time of the launch, many pseudo “events” in the form of debates around the release of L'Homme Idéal (the street marketing effectiveness was formidable), it would indeed seem that the ideal man is a myth. No matter, he wears a superb fragrance and laughs at superficiality...
L'Homme Idéal, between virile elegance and fruity delicacies
L'Homme Idéal thus presents itself under two facets that might seem opposed at first glance but which in fact blend perfectly: refined elegance and fruity gourmand character. Through its classic, square shape, the bottle highlights the elegance and nobility of Guerlain's juices while offering the refinement of a black lacquer finish and a cut steel cap recalling Guerlain's passion for art and beauty.
The fragrance held within this precious bottle, however, is full of surprises. Since L'Homme Idéal, or the ideal man, must be handsome, strong and intelligent, these three facets are all present in the fragrance. Intelligence is highlighted by top notes of bergamot, fresh accord and mint, producing bright, inspiring scents very representative of quickness of mind. Beauty is then tied to heart notes that are both gourmand (amaretto given a masculine turn, paired with cherry) and delicately spicy (coriander, rosemary and cardamom). Finally, strength is of course represented by the deep sillage of L'Homme Idéal, built on woody and leathery accords of amber woods and patchouli married with powdery, gourmand notes of tonka bean, licorice and vanilla.
L'Homme Idéal is a myth; its fragrance is an essential of modern perfumery, its unprecedented and powerful scents breaking, with elegance and impertinence, the traditional codes of men's perfumery. Clearly, L'Homme Idéal wanted to be noticed, and it is evident that one will soon no longer be able to do without it!
Olfactory pyramid
- Top notesThe first minutes
- Heart notesThe heart of the perfume
- Base notesWhat lingers
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The advertising
Released in 2014, L'Homme Idéal embodies the perfect man (or almost!). At once a gentleman, elegant and charismatic, L'Homme Idéal is a fragrance for modern men. Created by Thierry Wasser, the official perfumer of the house of Guerlain, L'Homme Idéal is a sophisticated fragrance. The Guerlain man here is, more than ever, sensual. Contemporary, he is irresistibly seductive, and women cannot get enough of him. Guerlain's advertising nonetheless states that L'Homme Idéal is a myth, but his fragrance is a reality…
Jon Kortajarena is Guerlain's ideal man
To represent its ultra-masculine fragrance, the house of Guerlain called on Jon Kortajarena. At 29, the Spanish top model is the ninth highest-paid male model on the planet. Moreover, in 2009, the magazine Forbes ranked him among the ten most successful male models... In reality, Jon Kortajarena is primarily known as the face of Tom Ford, but he has also been the ambassador for Jean-Paul Gaultier's KoKorico. He is also known for having appeared in a Madonna music video. In the L'Homme Idéal advertising clip, Jon Kortajarena plays the bad boy. With an intense gaze and a rebellious lock of hair, the handsome Spaniard makes us shiver with every movement.
A rock-style clip directed by Michel Gondry for L'Homme Idéal
It was the French director Michel Gondry who directed the L'Homme Idéal advertising film. Michel Gondry is a highly sought-after and talented director. He has already directed numerous music videos, including for the Rolling Stones and Kylie Minogue. He has also directed short and feature films for cinema. When asked why he agreed to direct this clip, Michel Gondry states that he above all wants to find projects that suit him, meaning ones that avoid clichés, while still meeting the client's or agency's request; this was his first film for a perfume, but he accepted it because it departed from the usual spirit of perfume films. Guerlain's idea was to show a cool, seductive man and place him in a somewhat ridiculous situation in order to break the myth and catch the viewer by surprise. The music for the advertising clip is a song by Imelda May titled Johnny Got a Boom Boom. The whole thing is shot in a highly audacious glam-rock spirit.
It is a Spanish top model who represents Guerlain's ideal man. At once modern and rock, Jon Kortajarena moves through a multi-scene clip that recounts the life of a bad boy, but a terribly sexy one. The clip is modern and engaging, and since Guerlain says so, the fragrance of the ideal man does exist!