I've smelled so much fabulous perfume lately. I've already bought a bottle of Laura Mercier Minuit Enchanté, plan on springing for some L'Artisan Parfumeur Havana Vanille, love my decant of Tauer Perfumes Une Rose Chyprée, am enjoying Natori, and am tantalized by Tom Ford Private Blend Oud Wood. I practically can't sleep waiting to try Amouage Epic. Thinking of my pocketbook, I apprehensively dabbed a few drops of Giorgio Armani Idole d'Armani Eau de Parfum on my wrist. I needn't have worried. Thank you, perfume gods, for a fragrance I'm not even tempted to buy.
Idole d'Armani launched this month. Perfumer Bruno Jovanovic created Idole, using — and here I lift directly from the Armani cosmetics website: top notes of "dazzling bitter orange, juicy pear, ginger and davana"; middle notes of "audacious rose loukoum and mythical jasmine blended boldly with saffron absolute, creating a honey-coloured subtle spicy note"; and base notes of "unexpected styrax, patchouli and vetiver". (Let's just hope the Armani marketing people don't enter the Prix Eau Faux, or the rest of us don't stand a chance).
Despite the Armani website's cheesy description, Idole is built on a foundation that smells Armani perfect: smooth but not boring; elegant but not featureless; comforting but not foody. It's an intriguing mix of snuffed-out beeswax taper with saffron, the barest breath of patchouli, and the hot smell of burnt wick. But, smeared all over this lovely base is cheap smelling, loud, sticky pear.
I've been wearing Idole off and on for two weeks now trying to figure out what the pear smell reminds me of, and I haven't put my finger on it yet. It isn't as soapy as pear-scented body wash, or as pure as a pear tart, or as sweet as a Bonne Bell pear Lip Smacker (if there is such a thing). It smells industrial. Maybe pear-scented floor cleaner for use in schools and prisons? Whatever it is, it doesn't belong on my body.
To me, Idole is like so many starlets, smoky-eyed, draped in shiny fabric, who self-consciously walk the red carpet. They are such pretty women with such regular features, trim bodies, and glossy hair. So much potential. But they lack soul and individuality — at least, in appearance. Maybe any one of them could inspire grand passion if you had a conversation with her.
Unfortunately, with a perfume the surface is all you get. There's no ability to speak five languages or unexpected love of Petrarch or even facility with a ukulele to draw you in. I'd love to smell Idole with more jasmine and none of the fruity dressing, but I guess I'm not the target market.
I hope that if you've tried Idole d'Armani and liked it that you'll leave a comment so that readers get a more balanced perspective.
Giorgio Armani Idole d'Armani is available in Eau de Parfum in 30 ml ($39.50), 50 ml ($62), and 75 ml bottles ($137 $75).
This is slightly off-topic, but every time I see the word “Idole” in print, I read it as “Indole”, and thing, “Wow, now that’s… something.”
HA! that is what always pops into my head as well….”indole….hmm, poopy….no thanks….”
Ack! A little indole is intriguing, but anything named “Indole” could be over the top for sure.
I always think of Idole de Lubin–a different beast! (And not indolic at all.)
poor dear, must be your personal body chemistry. my husband says it smells wonderful on me. i have been wearing divine angel for years and we both love the armani. i’ve tried many over the years and this is the first time i’ve been tempted to change
I’m glad it’s doing so well on you! It’s wonderful to find a scent that you love (and your husband does, too).
Gosh I would love it if a perfume was designed to make you seem as though you spoke five languages and had an unexpected love of Petrarch. It would make such a nice change from those that claim to be sexy or those to transport you to some exotic clime (being south asian, the ones about India often make me cringe!). Also I hate pear in perfume because it just reminds me of the smell of esters in science lab at school: very chemical pear drops and faint whiffs of nail polish…euurgh!
It would be nice if perfume had those kinds of depths! Mostly I put that bit in the review so that people would understand that I know starlets may only *look* vapid. But where starlets have the advantage of an inner life, a perfume doesn’t.
Maybe the esters are what I’m smelling with the pear?
Hi Angela. You know, that list of notes doesn’t sound half bad to me, and I actually love the scent of pear (one of my favorite soaps is Kiss My Face Pear liquid soap). I haven’t found a good pear in perfumery yet — not that I’ve spent a ton of time looking. The couple I’ve tried just haven’t worked. On to the next launch!
(And I like to think Idole & Idylle were launched around the same time this year in order to provide a good minimal-pairs vowel exercise for us French-speaking perfumistas.)
I know what you mean about the notes–they sound really good! To me, though, the end product is generic. Could be any celebrity perfume built to make money.
Have you tried Goutal Petite Cherie? It’s a delicate, cherubic sort of pear.
I might need to get a sample of Petite Cherie; I’ve only smelled one spritz briefly. Tthanks for the reminder. Higher Dior also has pear and I should pull out that mini again to try it out.
That’s one I haven’t tried yet. So many perfumes out there!
you’ve never smelled Petite Cherie? Scandalous!
I’m getting some stuff together for you anyhow, so I’ll throw some Petite Cherie in there too.
Also, Dawn Spencer Hurwitz has a pear, D’Anjou, that is not bad at all. Starts out with a pretty realistic green pear note, not too strong; while it fades pretty fast and leaves a muguet-like floral, the pear floats back in once in a while.
That sounds nice and light.
aren’t they tromping on some toes name-wise? Lubin Idole has been around for a lot longer…..and is apparently way better.
Yeah, strange that they are not jumping on the sue-happy bandwagon. Maybe the folks at Lubin have more class than that.
Or, they copywrighted “Idole”, forcing Armani to go with “Idole d’Armani”.
I’m thinking that the full name is “Idole d’Armani”, so that’s their excuse.
you’re spot on, I was massively underwhelmed, and didn’t even try having deeper thoughts about it, well i tune with the perfume, nice but unremarkable (and I am an Armani fashion fan)
If I weren’t planning to write a review of it, I would have dismissed it with a quick “fruity mess–not for me” and let it go, too.
I tried Idole the other day, and your review is spot on. The pear was just too much and too fake, like pear flavored Bubblicious. On me I found that the pear died down after a while, although the whole thing was still too sweet for my tastes. But it’s fairly well done for what it is, and will probably do well as a “classy” scent for girls who’ve used up their bottle of Heiress or Fantasy.
You have a really good point there, and there may be enough people who are in exactly that class!
so 50 ml is $62 and 75 ml is $137? thats quite a price jump considering if you buy 2 of the 50 ml bottles you will have 100 ml for only $124.
Looks like 75ml is $75 at Dillards and Nordstroms sites.
Typo, just fixed, thanks guys!
Gosh, Angela, I’m so relieved by your review. I thought it might be only me that disliked Idole. To me, it’s a dated big-shoulders 80s power perfume, which is probably a bit of a novelty for a generation raised on Chloe and Miss Dior Cherie. (Hey, does anyone else think the Idole/Idylle thing is a bit like Odette/Odile in Swan Lake?)
Oh, if it’s 80s-like, it should do *very* well w/the teen set. At least, everything *else* 80s is back with a vengeance.
There’s so much real 80s out there, at bargain prices, too.
Yes, you’re right, the 80’s IS back with a vengance! Fashion, music and even furniture is all 80’s inspired these days. My wife and I went furniture shopping today and everything seems to be glossy black/white, black/white leather, chrome legs, glass, cuboid mirrors and those crappy side tables that are a set of three and progressively get smaller. Do you guys know the ones? So, looks like we might have to postpone out furniture selection until next year…
BTW Great review Angela, but doesn’t sound like I’ll bf gifting this one any time soon!
I know just the stacking side tables you’re talking about. The whole 80s trend doesn’t work for me, either, but at heart I’m really a 1940s gal with forays into the 50s.
From the comments so far, it looks like you and I are far from alone!
Odile/Odette–Idylle/Idole. Very confusing! A ballet featuring Idylle and Idole could be very interesting, though.
I found it too sweet and powerful to the point of headache inducing, the only other two launches to have had that effect lately being Boss Orange and Prada Infusion de Fleurs d’Oranger (both were furry orange cordial). No furriness here, but too much coming at you in the first spray, for sure!
It lasts for a mighty long time, too. And has giant sillage.
That pear! I was wondering what it was exactly that blasted out of the top notes.
I thought the bottle was a nice design, though. Too bad they wasted it on this — or maybe not, maybe it’ll be hugely popular.
I like the bottle, too. My instinct is that this one will fly to discounters, but I’ve been wrong before…
I was thinking the same thing–about it going to discounters fast, not about you being wrong before.
So, for everyone out there who is afraid to comment but loves Idole, pay attention to the discounters…
I put this on in the store and thought it smelled like industrial cleanser (I got more orange than pear). I held my arm out to a few friends when I got home and all agreed it smelled like it belonged on a mop or sponge.
It didn’t last more than 2 hours on my skin and I got none of the middle or base notes. Very disappointing.
Yikes, industrial cleanser! Well, at least it didn’t last long on you. On me it lasts forever.
Wow, this sounds great except for that pear. I might have to give it a spin. Every time I hit the shops, though, I’m wearing something else. xP
Forgot to mention: seems like pear is gearing up to be this year’s melon. Is there a new pear molecule floating around?
I don’t know a thing about new fragrance materials, unfortunately. It seems like there’s a lot of oud and pink pepper happening out there, though. Maybe pear is next in line.
I hope not, though my wallet would approve… can’t stand pear.
well Boo, it would give us time to catch up on all the other things that have been released lately. (I don’t much care for pear either)
Somehow, everything I’m interested in right now is still nowhere to be found…grrr. I’m looking at YOU, Havana Vanille and Mandragore Pourpre! I can wait to buy, but can’t they leak some samples or something?
My wallet would be happy, too.
About the Havana Vanille and Mandragore Poupre, I hear you! At least I have some time to save up for them. And, Daisy, I hear your point, too. I’m happy when I don’t like something new!
I just want to know if I *should* be saving up for them, or spending my pennies on something else on the list. (See, perfume houses? This is why I never buy! It’s a fear of perfume commitment. More 15 ml bottles, please!)
The industrial pear fruity accord is so aggressive that it ruins the rest of the composition for me. But do tell me what you think if you try it!
I actually really love pear and would test this if it were available. I bought Alfred Sung Jewel because of the crisp pear note. I think of it more as an office pear than a straight up pear. I haven’t tried Petite Cherie or Dior Higher yet, but will add them to the list of samples. I got a sample of LAMB shower gel from a friend and liked the pear in that as well. I believe Yosh U4EAH has a lot of pear in it, but it’s been ages since I tried my sample for fear of falling in love with another pricy must-have.
You just might like this, then! The pear note here, though, isn’t a very realistic pear, in my mind. It’s more of a nightclub, pink drink, pear. If you do try it and like it, I’d love to hear back.
A.S.: If you’re still out there, note that I retested the Higher Dior last night (it’s a men’s scent, btw). The top pear notes are really nice, but in short order it dries down to another one of those generic (and I mean GENERIC) men’s “fresh woody musks”. Not bad, but nothing to hunt down either. I love the first five or ten minutes though. And hey, it’s super inexpensive.
Thanks for the details, Joe. Dior Higher is suddenly less interesting.
You should give Sung’s Jewel a sniff. I think it could quite easily be unisex and the pear note is part of the fragrance composition in that it lingers throughout the perfume when applied to skin.
I am guilty of near instantaneous rejection on this one when I smelled it on a strip. It was actually rather vile, and I get the cleaning solution connection as mentioned above. I agree it won’t be long before it goes to the discount shops. My impression of the whole package and musk/wood base is that it is trying to be an alternative to EL Sensuous.
Or maybe even straddle the Angel/Sensuous market. Not a good move, though, in my mind.
Well, thank goodness it has “unexpected patchouli. . .” because that makes all the difference in the world. I would *never* wear just any ol’ EXPECTED patchouli. [Shakes head. Walks off, sobbing for death of language.]
Me, I don’t care if my patchouli is expected or unexpected. No, what I demand is “mythical” jasmine. I don’t want real jasmine, no way. Only the mythical stuff.
I bet that pear is the same synthetic fruit that’s in Dior Homme and Burberry the Beat for women and a host of other things.
Oh no! I like Dior Homme! The next time I smell it I’ll be on the lookout for the pear.
Saw the ad for this one about a month ago in Paris, literally plastered all over town–near Galeries Lafayette, Trocadero, Champs-Élysées, La Madeleiene, even at Montmartre near Sacré-Coeur. After seeing it for the 50th times in 4 days the fragrance began to turn me off because, well, all those ads amounted to a huge advertising budget–and something gotta give, you know?
I guess someone figures that marketing sells more than the quality of the actual juice does. But can’t we at least find a happy balance? To tell the truth, the advertising is even pretty predictably ho hum. And whoever did their copywriting should be fired. For all the money they spent on media, they could have done better on their web copy, at least.
Err…I did my business degree with an account executive who, in part, helped managed this portfolio so while I need to uphold my honestly I have to be considerate here (sorry, won’t reveal the specifics, including the region covered). As you probably know Armani’s fragrance deal is under L’Oréal’s Designer Fragrances division banner (along with Cacharel, Ralph Lauren etc. etc.)–so right away based on corporate culture I think of brand-building ads and sales through volume. Watching the bottom line with a keen eye, spending on things that are visible. IMHO that’s historically the balance point. So developing a distinctive fragrance personality, spending money on artisanal materials are probably not on the top of their to-do list, especially since the target markets have shied away from that kind of approach.
(And I think Chanel is overall one of the most well-rounded houses out there, though the modern creations, as a whole, are not without their flaws–but that’s another story.)
I have to remind myself all the time that I’m not the target audience, no one focus grouped for me, so I can’t expect to be bowled over by the marketing. But still. Mythical jasmine? Audacious rose?
Chanel has their image tied up smartly. A glance at the packaging and you feel the elegance and quality.
I was developing a split personality by the time I got to the end of the great variety of descriptives….
Split personality….or side splitting laughter? (I sure am snarky about Idole today, forgive me.)
Ah, but the copyrighting is the point: it’s a fragrance for people who don’t like fragrances. As the writing, arguably as bizarre as it is to us, is just what it is.
Well, I can’t argue with that. It’s so easy for me to forget that everyone doesn’t see the world the way I do…
where do you come up with these ideas?
…”facility with a ukulele”… I love your writing so much!!
great review!
~T
Thank you! Just thinking about what gives a person soul. Ukulele just might qualify.
I still prefer the oboe. Now that has soul.
Oboe is pretty marvelous, true.
hum. sounds like they ruined something potentially pretty decent. I like pear, mind you, but a bad pear note is just jarring. Incidentally – seen the ad? Really terrible. Laughably so. My husband walked in while it was on tv and burst out laughing. In a nutshell, guy intensely says worshipping things to female – female basically responds with ‘I know’ answers, then says that she worships Idole. It almost reminded me of those spoof Obsession ads, it was so funny.
I haven’t seen the ad, but it sounds like the marketing team was smoking something.
A little late to the party as usual these days…
Angela! I am so glad you did a review of this as an insert of this fell onto my lap the other day. I smelled it and couldn’t make heads or tails of the paper smelly thing. So far I only have liked pear in the AG Ce Soir ou Jamais, but I was thinking the Idole smelled a lot like the best smelling dryer sheets I’ve ever used, or maybe a really nice Yankee Candle. It is so disappointing really. It just reinforced for me that I need to put all my spare change into a bottle of Mitsouko and wait out the blahs.
I think you pegged it. There’s plenty of better fragrance out there to spend your hard earned dollars on, in my opinion.
Most definitely!
I agree on the striking pear and the sillage. After a few hours ist was still there, I tried to find out where the saffron might be, but…
At the beginning I liked it, then I got a headache. That’s the point on these scents: They have to be nice at the start, so you take them immediately with you. It takes me months, half a year or longer untll I decide to buy something new!
You are so wise to wait to buy something. I get impatient sometimes and plunge right in for a bottle that I might end up regretting later (although I am getting better about it).
Angela- I myself am trying to overcome the instant gratification issue and learn to wait. I think this scent may give me the incentive I need. I like the pear in it-reminds me of the baby food kind, but i’m not going to dab that behind my ears either!
Dolly, so true, baby food behind the ears doesn’t sound very good!
Just Googled my way here after getting a sample bottle with an order. I was happy before drydown, thinking I’d finally found that ginger and lemongrass scent I’ve been looking for (if you know what this might be, do point me to it) but it’s dried down into…well, something generically masculine. A bit like a muskier Be Delicious (which, again, I bought on smelling before dry-down, thinking I’d also found a much-longed-for apple scent). What a disappointment.
Some of those fragrances are so tricky–they pull you in with an alluring first ten minutes, then disappoint. I hope the next one you try turns out better!
I liked the smell, while some might find the scent over powering with hte pear, I find that I need a scent that has a staying power that can out live being coated in mud and coal all day and this one suits well. Not sure if that is a compliment to them or not though
I have to admit that I tested Idole in the average environment of clean air, light, and heat. With coal and mud to compete, it sounds like it’s just the ticket!
But then it is amazing what you find that smells good in that environment, when you are dealing with the constent sulphur smell from the coal industrial pears is a heaven send
Excellent point!
I love this scent! It reminds me of luxury bubble bath! Very comforting smell, not like any other perfumes I’ve smelled. And I don’t detect any industrial cleaner notes in it anywhere lol =D I’ll be adding this one to my perfume wardrobe very soon =D
It sounds like it’s perfect on you! (And I say that as a bubble bath lover.)
This was released in New Zealand today, and I spotted it on the shelf of my favourite pharmacy as I was indulging in a little perfume sniffing. I expected it to be a generic fruity/watery/desserty/Angel type thing, like all the other perfumes I have been smelling recently. I was surprised to find that it wasn’t. And it made me happy. :3
That’s terrific! Thanks for your “I like it” comment–it’s nice to have the balance.
Hmmm… I don’t pick up on the pear in this at all. To me, it smells like a classic floral – something exactly what I imagine Giorgio Armani would do.
No fruit at all, huh? That surprises me! It just goes to show the mystery of skin.
The first few seconds it smells like a floral perfume (I don’t get the pear either), but than it smells like nail polisher on my skin. And of course I could not get it of my skin……
It is a darned persistent fragrance, that’s for sure.
It didn’t even last 3 hours on me…and all I’ve done is sit here on the computer, since I sprayed it on. All that is left is a very watered down version akin to some sad Pear Glace body spray at Victoria’s Secret. Not a total loss, I agree with Angela’s thought on the fragrance anyway. One less sample to clutter the drawer!
I have to admit I’m almost relieved sometimes when something doesn’t bowl me over! I’m getting so choosy these days, and Idole d’Armani just doesn’t make the cut.
I was sooo freaked tht i didnt like this perfume.. it was a gift..
it has such synthetic smell… gives me a headache after a couple of hours.. I didnt use it after a couple of times… I dunno if its the perfume or jst dsnt suite me…
I’m not wild about it, either. Maybe you have a friend you can give it to who will like it better than you do?
this is another fragrance that my mom forced me to take home after a visit lol i tried to like it but i had to give it away. I love creamy fragrances but that’s all it was to me; cream with synthetic “fruits” and rotting flowers. I thought i’d like it after i smelled it on the nozzle but when i actually applied it it gave me a splitting headache.