Gucci
Gucci
115 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The coriander arrives first with a slightly peppery bite, immediately joined by lavender's herbal insistence and lemon's clean, almost aggressive citrus. Within moments, that unexpected sweetness emerges beneath, creating an intriguing dissonance between aromatic freshness and honeyed warmth.
Neroli softens the composition considerably, bringing a delicate floral tenderness that briefly harmonises the warring elements. The patchouli begins its slow ascent, introducing earthiness that grounds the remaining citrus while the sweet accord deepens, making the fragrance feel progressively less cologne-like and increasingly gourmand.
Cedar and amber become dominant, creating a warm, woody base where sweetness lingers as a comforting afterthought. The patchouli achieves prominence here, earthy and slightly resinous, leaving a skin-scent quality that's considerably warmer and softer than the fragrance's bracing beginning.
Guilty Intense pour Homme arrives as a restless fragrance—all nervous energy and sharp angles that soften only gradually. The opening volley of coriander and lavender creates an almost herbal agitation, a bracing quality that suggests cologne more than contemporary fragrance, yet the lemon cuts through with an acrid brightness that prevents it from ever feeling nostalgic. This is where the composition reveals its contradictions: it wants to be crisp and gentlemanly, but the sweet accord (registering at a rather aggressive 100%) immediately destabilises that intention, introducing a honeyed undertone that feels at odds with the aromatic top notes.
What emerges is best described as conflicted—a fragrance caught between two identities. The neroli and orange blossom in the heart provide genuine florality, yet they never achieve the creamy indulgence those notes typically promise. Instead, they remain somewhat austere, perhaps because the woody structure (88% woody accord) and creeping patchouli pull the composition earthward with considerable force. The sweetness persists throughout, creating a friction between the fragrance's aspirational cleanliness and its underlying warmth.
Add fragrances to your collection and unlock your personalised scent DNA, note map, and shareable identity card.
3.8/5 (75)