Guerlain Shalimar 95th Anniversary perfume review on Persolaise Love At First Scent episode 93
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 พ.ย. 2024
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Episode 93 of Love At First Scent
This was a TH-cam Live broadcast streamed on Sunday 24th May 2020. Unscripted. Unedited. Unrehearsed.
This was a special episode to mark the 95th anniversary of the official launch of Guerlain Shalimar, the timeless classic composed by Jacques Guerlain. I provided a brief history of the scent, discussed my personal take on it, and had a sniff of a few of the many variants the brand has released over the years.
As promised, here’s a link to my recent review of the perfume over on my blog: persolaise.com...
Here’s a link to the Thierry Wasser interview where he discusses vintage Shalimar: persolaise.com...
Here’s my original review of the Parfum Initial flanker: persolaise.com...
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[Sample of the current eau de parfum and of Parfum Initial provided by the brand at various points in the past for review purposes; all other bottles obtained by me.]
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Persolaise is not affiliated in any way to any brands, wholesalers, retailers or organisations involved with the fragrance industry. All reviews are entirely independent. Content is never 'sponsored' by any external agencies. Some reviews are based on samples provided by brands; others are based on samples obtained by the author. This has no bearing on the content of the reviews.
Copyright 2020 Dariush Alavi and Parfums Persolaise. All rights reserved.
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Hi Mr. P! I’ve finally decided to take the plunge and buy a bottle of Shalimar. Rewatching this for the hundredth time while I anxiously anticipate the delivery of my package. 😊
Oh my goodness, I do so hope you fall in love with it.
I was walking through Saks in Manhattan in 1986, the woman stepped out with Shalimar and I lost my mind! It makes my heart sing to this day. Thank you for this lovely episode.
It really is stunning, isn’t it. Thanks for watching.
I know this video is a few years old but I’m so happy to have found it! Shalimar is my absolute favorite perfume and I even have a bottle of it tattooed with a grouping of flowers on my upper arm. It’s gorgeous and I never tire of it. Have purchased soooo many bottles of it. I discovered it when I was in school for dental assisting and one of my instructors wore the eau de cologne. I have that version but I really love the EDT and EDP. I need to try the extrait!
I really hope you fall in love with the extrait.
I love Mitsouko pure perfume, I hate Jicky pure perfume and thinking about buying Shalimar pure perfume as a blind buy. I really hope it’s not Jicky with more vanilla 😱
I thought I hated perfume after growing up with migraines and a non maternal stepmother who showered in in 80s / 90s bombs (ysatis / first / Lauder) until I smelled Shalimar at 18 when I started working. I'm now 42 and it is still my no.1. Forever my favourite. Nana references? I care not. All my favourites are by Jacques 💙
Well, it's a pretty amazing No. 1 to have :-)
Thank you so much for watching.
You have the most mesmerizing voice I have ever heard! So rich, kind and clear! I wish I could listen to you for a very long time on a very , very long audible book!
Oh my goodness, thank you!
Perhaps I have a future as a book reader.
I must have smelt Shalimar for the first time in ballet class. It was my teacher's one and only perfume and it still is now, about 40 years later. And it was her mother's only fragrance before. So these two ladies might have worn Shalimar nearly on a daily basis ever since it was created., considering that her mother must have been born around 1905. Fascinating!
That's quite a story, Heinke. Thank you.
I discovered Emeraude in 1974 and it was wonderful. It was opening really fresh and green, incredibly vibrant and yet velvetly soft. In the drydown it developed the gourmande element. Creamy caramel combined with a beautifully blended vanilla. The green elements still remained, like a whisper. It was daring, seductive and irresistible. A huge headturner and attention grabber. Men and women were sniffing my arms like junkies. (apologies for the language) In 1976 I discovered Shalimar. I was mesmerised. It was love at first sniff. Emeraude had become difficult to get, and I happily greeted the beauty of Shalimar. So, was Emeraude better than Shalimar? Shalimar had a light, powdery sensuality blended with an air of elegance. Emeraude was darker and deeper with more layers. I remember my vintage Emeraude with great fondness. (Buying "newer vintages" of Emeraude from Ebay is a waste of money. They are a completely different scent, with no similarities whatsoever to the original.)
My love for Shalimar has never wavered. Slightly changed during the years, but still a beautiful masterpiece.
Thank you so much for this wonderful comment. I was fortunate enough to smell the original Emeraude at the Osmotheque.
@@Persolaise, my pleasure and thank you so much for your very kind reply. I'm so happy you got the opportunity to smell the original. I'm sure it had even more power than the early 70's version.
Shalimar is beautiful in all forms . I currently only have the EDT but i ain’t complaining as it’s stunning 😍
It really is. Thanks for watching 😊
The first time I smelled Shalimar was when my late grandmother showed her Shalimar collection when I was in high school and she spritzed some of it on me, and she gushed over Shalimar, and explained to me the differences between perfume, EDP, EDT, and I remember she has the Eu de cologne. When I was a teenager, she gave me a tiny bottle of the perfume and the body veil and I would splash on the perfume during special occasions, and the body veil I still have. I used the body veil for my wedding reception where my grandmother attended it, and then I applied it during my grandmother's funeral. It's a very lush scent, and I love the woody powdery vanilla scent. It fits so well during fall and winter, and during special occasions, plus date night! :) I did grow up with liking Lucky You by Lucky Brand when I was in high school as well as Cool Water by Davidoff, but Shalimar just had this extra luxuriousness and maturity to it that I enjoy quite a lot. My mom's favorite perfume is L'air du Temps by Nina Ricci, and I love its floral notes, and it's another one of my favorites. Though Shalimar will be a fragrance that will always keep me feeling connected to my grandmother. I just got the EDT of Shalimar on discount, and I got the shower gel on discount as well, and quite happy.
It’s very, very special.
Thank you for watching.
I had the same visceral experience: When I smell this, my mind is seemingly transported to my earliest youthful memories. As you said, I cannot placed anymore, and doubt if I came across this at that time. Forensically, I really can't imagine where I would have. Yet, there is something so hauntingly familiar, and deeply comforting; like an ancient intimacy. After writing a review on Shalimar's virtues, I was startled to learn that this was true for a surprising large populous. I'm so glad to know I wasn't the only one!
Ah, how fascinating. Maybe it tugs at long-buried memories we all have.
Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to write.
I wear this (the edp) at bedtime once in a while.. especially in cool/cold weather......i find it comforting and luscious......
It’s just so perfect, isn’t it.
Thanks for watching.
I would also love to smell the original Shalimar formula. I first came to this scent as a teenager and, oddly, had never smelled it before. Shalimar has been my signature scent for almost 40 years. EDP for evening and EDT for day. I really enjoyed your post and reading the comments.
Thank you so much, Melanie.
I find the modern version less zesty and deep and more sharp and powdery What is your favorite version?
Adore my Shalimar 💙🧡. Thank you 🙋🏻♀️🇦🇺
Thank YOU for watching.
I absolute love to layer the Cologne with the Extrait, my favorite way to wear Shalimar.
Gosh, that must be a dream.
@@Persolaise Oh yes, its amazing.
Oh I'm so glad you've mentioned the deja vu-effect Shalimar has. So strange :) I'm having the same experience since I grew to love Shalimar and it's almost impossible that I had any contact with it earlier in my life growing up in Poland. It wasn't that popular in the 90s like Dior's Poison was for example. I have never experienced anything like that with other classics like No 5 or Mitsouko. I remember my first encounter, being a perfumista-toddler back then, I was shocked by the explosive concoction of sweet vanilla rubber with the spark of citrus - I didn't like it, really. Wanting to understand the phenomena, I stubbornly kept coming back to it and after a time the aggressive rubber note went away and one of the most beautiful sweet vanilla with an alibi (leather and civet!) was revealed to me :)
I love that description: the deja vu effect of Shalimar.
And yes, Poison was SO popular in Poland, wasn’t it! 😂
Thanks for watching.
Love, love, LOVE Shalimar!!
It is the only fragrance 3 boyfriends and 1 ex husband have unimously agreed on, all 4 adored Shalimar, and now I have the EDT version,,, yes, Shalimar will forever and ever be right up there among my top three
Wow, that’s quite an endorsement. Thanks for watching.
I am proud to say I am now the owner of Shalimar in the EdT ! I promised myself it would be the last one I would buy for a while. I watch the video again to revisit it at the same time you do and will also read the comments in here which ar always interesting and also your blogpost!
Thank you so much.
I have some from the 50s and its glorious. That vanilla and civet are a dreeeaam together. I’ve smellled dirtier though. Bandit being one.
Ah, yes, Bandit is a total beast!
Thanks for watching 😊
Elisabeth ma’am what a weird flex that would be. I have Two mint condition horse emblemed extraits. look up what that means lol have a good day
Shalimar is so stunning-the extrait is my favorite (I got my bottle about 7 years ago). I think Eau de Shalimar is the most beautiful summer Shalimar. One of my few backup bottles.
It’s incredibly special.
Thanks for watching.
Gardens of Shalimar I totally understand the fountains element so refreshing at first and that sensual leather drydown as a man of 50 I wear it
I’m sure you wear it well.
Thanks for watching.
I first fell in love with Emeraude in the late 1960's and then I discovered Guerlain!
Ah, interesting. Do you remember what Émeraude was like then?
@@Persolaise Very strong vanilla , I used to "Lone" my sister's !!
Begin with I want to tell you you have a beautiful and highly communicative speaking voice, my mother used to be a Shalimar in the 1960s and I always was enthralled by that deep flowery vanilla with the civet and it always reminded me of my mother a highly committed deeply passionate woman who had an air of mystery about her
Thank you so much. And thanks for that wonderful description. The Shalimar Lady!
Since I saw this video, I started using my 8 year old 90 ml bottle again. I emptied it in 2 Month or so. Can‘t live without it anymore. I have a new EDP now and the extrait. Where the EDP is warm, the extrait is hot, I think. In my oppinion, they should make an original smelling Shalimar for the 100th year anniversary. We need that ❤️
That would be an amazing release… but I suspect they wouldn’t be able to do it.
Thank you for watching.
Another great vid! You go, Mr. P.! Love love love Shalimar, love love love Guerlain, and love love love your shirts! 😊
Thank you very much indeed.
L'Initial was so good. I have been searching for it for years after my first bottle ran out. Website here I come!! I do love both.
Thanks very much for watching.
I just discovered your video now, I have bought myself a bottle of edp recently after having never been overwhelmed by Shalimar and thought I will grow into it, and it is a perfume lovers must in the collection but unfortunately Shalimar causes me mostly headaches in the first 30 min after spraying it, if I spray very lightly I get to it, although I cannot get around to the vanilla, until after several hours, but it is for me the best in the dry down, which I really love. I gave the bottle to my daughter, who is a beautiful girl with Indian roots and she loves it though being young of age. ❤ lovely video and you do have a beautiful voice indeed!
Thanks very much for the kind words, and for watching.
Based on your compelling and wonderfully evocotive description, i purchased some shalimar eau de parfum, blind!!. None of the regular perfume stockists stock it here in NZ, so i couldnt test it. I adore dior and a lot of chanel(dior, dolce vita my favourite, followed by channel madmoiselle), so based on your review i fell in love with shalimar, scent unseen and unsmelt!! And i was not disappointed! My nearly 99 year old mum, who taught me my love of good quality perfume, said, on wearing shalimar, "this will get me a man and you will get 2 men! (i'm nearly 68! .) i don't like channel no 5 but i do love shalimar. Don't want the man, just the gorgeous perfumes!!
Thank you so much for sharing this. Shalimar is a masterpiece and will continue to beguile people for years to come.
New subscriber here. Shalimar my signature ❤️ EDP is smoky,vanilla well done,resinous,balsamic,fresh, citrus,warm and earthy. It’s blended so well it’s a masterpiece. Guerlain is my favourite perfume house. I’ve yet to try L’huere blue as I like iris. Great video 🥰
Thank you so much - and welcome aboard. I hope you enjoy the other videos.
Shalimar is beyond compare 😊
I love Shalimar , I fall in love with the scent . Happy Anniversary xx
It's one of my all-time favourites.
Thank you so much for watching.
The edp is on my wiishlist along with amre sultan and chergui from SL.
I hope you manage to get them.
Please do a video review of the new Shalimar Philtre flanker. I recently purchased it and I’m in love with it.
Sadly, that variant of Shalimar isn't available in the UK, but I'm so pleased you're enjoying it.
Perfection all the way!!! I always get compliments when wearing this beautiful gem! :)
It really is perfect, isn’t it.
Thanks for watching 🙏
Gave up on my dream of having an original tasseled Nahema and decided to get the new Nahema and it was on a 40% off. I love shalimar simply gorgeous like the soufflé. The bottles are to die for. I also have Samsara
Many thanks for watching. Hopefully, you’ll be able to find the Nahema one day.
@@Persolaise ordered the new Nahema in the arrow bottle. Doing an update to my top ten roses with some new ones hope you will take a look on TH-cam 💕🌹
I found a vintage bottle of Emeraude in a charity shop a couple of years ago. It's certainly similar to Shalimar but there is a Tarragon note that annoys me for the first half hour. It dries down very baby powder and is missing the leather and burnt rubber accord that gives Shalimar it's sultry depth.
Ah, interesting. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Adore Shalimar, parfum, edp, edt, shower gel, powder... everything
Thanks very much for watching.
Chanel no5 edp , coco chanel edp, Shalimar edp, Angel edp my favourates.
Thanks for watching.
Brilliant video. I really enjoyed discovering so much about the history of Shalimar and all the detail you went into. Thank you for the tip about Osmothèque. Hopefully I'll visit it in my next trip to Paris, whenever that may be.
I’m so pleased you enjoyed it. And yes, the Osmotheque is a must-see.
I should get my bottle in the mail today 😁 I blind bought it and am so excited to smell it for the first time!
Wow. Do let me know what you think of it.
@@Persolaise I received it and absolutely love it!!!
Sadly Shalimar Edp makes me sneeze as soon as I spray it. I think it's the bergamot. I have Shalimar Cologne, Souffle de Parfum Intense and recently blind bought Shalimar Eau de Cologne online for a bargain price. I like the Edt and will probably buy it. After hearing you wax about the Extrait de parfum I really want to sniff.
The extrait is a force of nature!
Actually I do enjoy Souffle de Parfum - this is the first one from Shalimar family that I have smelled (got it as a free sample). I'm not a huge fan of oriental, woody or spicy scents but Souffle de Parfum was perfect for me for special occasions when I was in high school - not to fruity or floraly but also not to woody. This description definitely doesn't make them seem captivating, but maybe I'm just into some sort of "muffled" scents. When I wore Souffle de Parum, I have even been told that I smell expensively. Lately I found that old sample bottle of Souffle de Parfum and I think thet I'm going to give it a try. When had a chance to smell Shalimar EDP I found it too heavy for myself. I really enjoyed the smell but it just doesn't suit me
That’s great to know, thank you 😊
And thanks very much for watching.
you should try souffle intense It's divine
Parfum initial will cost around the £200 now that it's part of Les Exclusifs. I read in Fragrantica that Shalimar Cologne, which has recently been discontinued, smells similar to the Mathilde Laurent's flanker. I love the lemon meringue note but in the Cologne it last 5 minutes and it's gone.
Yes, those exclusives are pretty pricey!
Many thanks for watching.
I still have my 1970'sbottle , sadly sans perfume. I do have a few versions and love it.
Well, at least the bottle is a lovely souvenir.
Thanks for watching 😊
I'm wearing Shalimar right now. 😄
Wonderful 😃
I am fortunate enough to own a bottle of Shalimar from the 70s. It was a gift from a French friend to my grandmother and this passed to my mum and she gave it to me. It must have at least 150ml left, but it’s been kept on her dressing table for decades, so it’s difficult to tell whether it’s “off” or whether this was the intended smell that has subsequently developed - probably a combination of both! It’s very different from the current formulation. I wear it on my wrist from time to time because I can work around the obstacles. I do love Shalimar and as a result of this video, I’ve invested in a 30 ml bottle of EDT and 90ml bottle of EDP. I’ve gone a bit mad since I’ve been bingeing on your videos - I’m balancing out due to some appalling pre Christmas purchases!
The bottle is very 70’s, teardrop shaped, but with an Eastern/Asian style golden plastic cap (probably a nod to the backstory) and nowhere near as elegant as the current iteration.
Wow -- vintage Shalimar! Treasure it!
I hope all the purchases turn out to be successful ones.
@@Persolaise Thank you very much. I’ll report back on the EDP. The EDT is wonderful and feels joined at the hip with Habit Rouge. Like you, Habit Rouge (EDT) is my very favourite fragrance. It’s always in my top shelf on Fragrantica. There’s just nothing that I’ve ever found that’s worthy to tie the shoe laces of Habit Rouge!
I have just come across a formula for Shalimar powder in the book “ Le Roman des Guerlain“ by Elisabeth Feydeau. First of all I don't know why they call this a novel because it is really a history book (probably for sales purposes and yes it is very nicely written in a very fluid narrative form). The photography of the hand written formula was taken from the original book at the Guerlain laboratory, and of course the formula must vary substantially from the perfume formula. The mere fact that it does not contain any Vanillin or Vanilla is proof of it. There is Coumarin of course. However the amount of Bergamotte might be indicative of its importance in the composition as a whole. In this formula there is more than one third of bergamotte to the whole composition and one tenth is lemon. (4500 and 1200 respectively in 11973 (grams?) of the total composition)
Wow, this really is fascinating. I have a feeling I’ve got a copy of the book stashed away somewhere. Thanks for sharing.
Such a great video. Shalimar is so adorable and strong, I just bought me a lamp bottle one!!!! Or anphor. Not sure about the name
It’s an absolute masterpiece. Thanks for sharing watching.
Another beutyfull shirt. God bless you and thankyou for this review I wasent sure to buy this perfume.
Thank you so much 🙏
Mesmerising and mysterious, after spending hours thoroughly smelling niche perfumes and new releases..I find it outstanding that the current edp formulation is still available and smells the way it does! Thoughts on the edt?
Yes, thank goodness it’s still wonderful. I think the edt is in pretty good shape.
Thanks for watching.
Bought a bottle of Shaal Nur Etro and really enjoying its Shalinar similarities
Wonderful - enjoy it.
I'm the only person I've ever encountered who adores Shalimar Initial. I love Shalimar too, on other people, but it simply doesn't work on my skin- perhaps it's the amber- whereas Initial feels made for me, and people respond well to it, too! Perhaps it was made for me alone. (I'm thankful I discovered this about 8 years ago and bought several flankers then)
I wonder if one of the main problems with it is that they gave it the Shalimar name -- I think it may have been more successful if they hadn't tried to connect it to such a massive classic.
Thanks for watching :-)
@@Persolaise I think that's true- it's such a different beast, and I can understand why Shalimar devotees are incredulous about it. I'd love to be one of the cool kids who can wear Shalimar... maybe one day.
@@pulgasari You can be one of the cool kids who wears Initial!
You certainly aren’t the only one - Parfum Initial is gorgeous and many people love it :)
@@sensesandmusings9741 Reassuring to hear! I guess I just haven't met them. I do think it's underrated- that there's something unique about it.
Love Shalimar!!
Me too 😉
I began using Shalimar in the 80's and am constantly disappointed that it is not the same fragrance today, I used to get compliments
every time I wore it, now can't smell the fragrance at all on my person but still love to use it, just wish it was like the dream it used
to be. What would have been the difference between the 80s and now please ????
Thanks for writing, Jennifer.
The truth is that lots and lots of factors could be different, from the animalic notes to the mosses and the citruses.
I just got a bottle of Shalimar EDP. It is a new batch, and it is awful. I sprayed it on, left it on for an hour. It still smelled like cleaning solution. After I washed well with soap, what remained on my skin smelled like the Shalimar that I remember. Maybe this bottle needs to age. I have found that my Chanel no. 5 smells better as it ages.
The ageing of scent is an issue that isn’t talked about enough.
Thanks for watching 😊
I quite enjoy the bat bottle for shalimar, but it does look very phallic...
Thanks for watching.
Loved this!
Thanks very much 😊
Please help me...is yardley's Shanida from the 80' Shalimar? I was i love with Shanida😢
I’m so sorry, I have no idea.
The House of Guerlain's perfume recipes all contain a secret recipe called "Guerlainade".
Thanks for watching.
I’m planning on buying blind Shalimar pure perfume, I hope it’s not Jicky with more vanilla. I can’t stand Jicky pure perfume 😂
I would say it’s definitely not Jicky with more vanilla.
Thanks for watching.
I think that the Soufle flankers are like 3rd removed cousins of Shalimar. I have the Intense but I don't really love it, not even likeit that much TBH 😒. I think the bottles are the best think about these flankers. Specially the Taj Magal and Peacock ones 🙂
Yes, they didn’t really make a massive impact on scent lovers.
@@Persolaise That's a diplomatic way to say you're not a fan either 😉
I wasn’t crazy about them - but I genuinely meant what I said. They didn’t seem to send the cash registers singing.
@@Persolaise I doubt anyone was TBH 🙂
Hi loving your videos. Can a man wear it and carry it off? I love strong perfumes. Like opium, youthdew, clinique aromatics, eden ect thank you Gary
I would say everyone should wear whatever they enjoy.
Thanks for watching.
He was an eldery gentleman, well into his 70's I would say, who boarded an airplane at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. He wore a long woolen/cashmere camel coloured coat that was slightly worn and added to the simple elegance and the dignity with which he carried himself. Completing his presence was a perfume so beautiful and in harmony with the whole of his appearence that the word “Gesamtkunstwerk“ might have been an appropriate description. “Oh my god, what is that smell?“ my colleague asked whispering. “Shalimar“, I replied.
A great story.
:-) indeed! I will remember him and Shalimar.
Please I would love to know if the scent is to smell different in the 75th anniversary bottle?
I’m afraid I can’t remember now.
Should I get EDP or EDT, what do you think smells best? many thanks
I’d say that’s entirely up to you. I enjoy all the versions.
Thanks for watching.
I’m a gay man but Shalimar just smells so beautiful on a woman….
I think I know what you mean, but for what it’s worth, I’d say perfume appreciation doesn’t need to be defined or limited by gender or sexuality. We can enjoy the smell of perfumes on anybody, no matter who we and they are.
I’ve known plenty of straight and gay men on whom Shalimar smells sensational.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write.
@@Persolaise no I completely agree, even I knew my comment was a little iffy as I wrote it
Do men use it? Can it be worn by men? Thx
Yes, absolutely.
@@Persolaise Thank you very much friend! I just bought one 90ml EDP version, can not wait to test it..... Best regards to you.
Thanks for watching.
THEY HAVE DEFINITELY CHANGED THE SENSE ON THIS PUERFUM, SMELL LIKE OLD LADY, ROLL IN J AND J. BABY POWDER. JUST GOT A BRAND NEW BOTTLE TODAY. 🤔🤔
Thanks for taking the time to write.
❤
Thanks for watching.
Gentleman, do you see a great similarity between Emeraude and Shalimar? . In what decade would you say Shalimar was reformulated for the first time?
Edit:
OK, I have your answer, the question came to mind when I started watching the video. In other words. If you had a vintage shalimar would you go get a bottle of vintage Emeraude extrait?
Oooh, I’m not sure I know. I probably would, just to say I’ve got one!
Thanks for watching.
I wish that I liked Shalimar but I just don't. I do love the Guerlain fragrances but Shalimar I do not care for.
That's okay -- we can't all love the same things.
Right? Every so often I try to give it another chance but I am always disappointed w/ it. I end up just giving the bottle away. @@Persolaise
Am I the only one getting the smell of old lady using Indian saop in this perfume? I couldn't stand it then I give it to someone else
Thanks for watching.
Im a woman what i shall buy edt or edp?
That depends entirely on which one you'd rather wear.
Thanks for watching.
@@Persolaise i didnt smell any one of shalimar att all!
I’d recommend smelling any version you can find.
@@Persolaise 😒
Edp
❤
😊