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patrik – :
I totally agree with the previous review, someone has massacred, disfigured the formula. I could barely recognize it…
Current Shalimar smells like a very, very bad copy of Coty’s Emeraude. Outrageous and sad. :/
KpoJIuk=) – :
Un massacre !! Un massacre total avec le Shalimar des années 2000 !!
Imaginez La Joconde totalement refaite au pinceau !
Ils ont massacré Shalimar !
Ce n’est plus du tout le même Shalimar que l’on a connu !
Je me souviens de l’avoir senti sur ma maman et ma mamie, c’était un Chef d’Oeuvre oriental poudré…
Maintenant c’est un flacon d’essence pour automobile diesel !!
Je suis furieuse comme toutes les autres !!!
Guerlain doit revenir à l’ancienne formule !
podlepin – :
I have a few vintage bottles of Shalimar. One pure parfum circa 30’s, parfum circa 50’s and one extrait 60’s. These are so different from one another. I have the current EDP as well and that is a different perfume all together( I still love it though). In order to experience Shalimar in her glory I truly believe you need to own a vintage. The parfum is a citrus, creamy, buttery, warm sweater dream wheras the EDP is resinous and sultry. . I try reserve both of my vintages for no one other than me. I love to wear them around the house and when I go to bed so I can fall asleep sniffing my wrist. Shalimar is one of 3 that makes me close my eyes every time I smell her.
paypeLiesty – :
WHAT did Fragrantica do to the notes???!!
This used to display all the wonderful gazillion notes we all knew and loved in this incredible dream. Now it looks like a pathetic something that a sad person threw together in their bathroom.
THIS is not right! THIS is NOT The real Shalimar – and what are those ambiguous “floral notes” ????!! FIX IT PLEASE! Bring back the original notes!
Assaurlteelt – :
I purchased 2 vintage bottles one from the 80’s and my favorite one which is from the 60’s or 70’s with the Marley Horse logo. The bergamont in this is beyond amazing! I only put a drop on my wrists and this will scent the whole room just from me typing, it’s that good! My bottle is small but thankfully a dab is all you need. I love the civet in this I was not fond of it in the current Shalimar edp at first but thanks to this I now fully appreciate this scent and what is in it.
I only wear this extrait on very special occasions or when I just want to sniff it, it actually relaxes me. I don’t get too much floral it is there just not super pronounced in this bottle. In this bottle that I own it’s all about the bergamont. civet,Iris, and vanilla. I love how Guerlain does vanilla it is mainly why I still buy their scents today. Plus I love the powderyness the Iris brings
There is not much more that needs to be said about this that hasn’t already been said except to enjoy this and the history it brings with it. I’m so grateful I own a small bottle of this juice. I would like a bigger one but for now I only need a few drops and it just takes me to such a wonderful place. All while lasting on my skin till the next day! So, I guess I wrote this review because I wanted to share my love for this classic as well. Adore it!
rza_994 – :
My late dearest ballet teacher and later boss wore Shalimar, and I still think of her when I smell it. I remember the trail she left when she busily paced through the corridors of the opera house on high heels. She was a strong willed woman, yet gentle with great humility, and so full of passion and love for the art of ballet, her dancers and students. Through hard work and the passion that she installed in me, I became a soloist in the company when I was only 20 years old. She remained my mentor and role model until she passed away from cancer a year ago.
To honour her memory I recently ordered a flacon of the extrait and I was lucky to get my hands on a rather rare version; this extrait has also been produced in the flacons similar of the Mitsouko and L´Heure Bleue, and this is what I got.
The fragrance is deeper, spicier and heavier in the animalic aspect than the perfume versions which suits me just perfectly. Wearing this is my tribute to the Grand Old Lady of ballet in Norway, Ms. Anne Borg! <3
5220923 – :
Lemon, leather, flan, creme brulee, smokey, vanilla, incense, and Earl grey tea. I don’t get any flowers in this. My bottle is from 2017 and I don’t smell any Civet, I think.
The extract was my first guerlain, wow.
ZERO COOL – :
Oh Shalimar…my beloved queen of all fragrances…Shalimar. I just happened to be fortunate enough to win a brand new…in the box…slice of heaven. I only paid $45.46 for the pure parfum. Evidently people had no idea exactly what this was. Guessing since you only got .25 fluid ounces they bid on the bottles with more parfum in them. Not realizing this was PURE PARFUM. She is in that baccarat crystal perfume bottle and she is gorgeous. I had a bottle of this back in the 1980’s. I treated it as if it were gold. I used it very sparingly trying to make it last forever. Haven’t had a bottle since then either because it’s so expensive. Shalimar is the queen of fragrances and I absolutely love her. She is a classic oriental fragrance. The opening is a light citrus and cedar, it has some iris, may rose and jasmine in there but I really don’t smell them. This is not a floral fragrance at all. The dry down is a powdery, incensey, smokey, leathery, resin and vanilla. Not a confectionery kind of vanilla but a burnt cream brûlée kind of vanilla. This fragrance is complex and very well done. I have this one, a vintage edt and edp, and the current 2017 edp. They all smell divine but nothing compares to the pure parfum/extract version. Thank you Jesus for leading me to this treasure!!!
pavlin67 – :
There used to be a fine dining establishment in my town by the name of “The Colony”. This was the epitome of elegant service, beautiful decor, wondrous wines and delicious food. Exceedingly high prices, but so justified.
It seemed that only the most gorgeous women and powerful, exciting men dined there. One could often catch a subtle breeze of smokey vanilla-laden leather wafting throughout.
Yes, it could only be one… Shalimar Extrait.
Pearls and gemstones against black velvet or silk; hair done in French twists or chignons. And at the pulse points, a touch or two of Jacques Guerlain’s Shalimar.
Shalimar Extrait is perhaps “The Oriental”, but it is also so French. Rather good to wear around food, as it speaks volumes, but in a pleasant murmur, such as conversation at The Colony. Drink your Champagne and inhale this love-inspired parfum and be content. So content.
I don’t think of Shalimar as a “sexy” fragrance. More as an opulent, seductive glance sort of scent. Never could understand what some smell as “band-aide” in its’ notes. Perhaps it is some resin mixed with leather? It is powdery, but not like powder-puff powder. Just enough to be oh, so feminine.
Guess I’ve said more than enough. Can you tell that I wish I were dining at The Colony, twisting my pearls and sniffing my Shalimar annointed wrists?
Damn this is just about Heaven.
arch75 – :
Shalimar Extract is the most sophisticated frag from the most sophisticated parfume house in France, featuring one of the 3 most difficult ingredients to prepare for being the dominant component: “the most buttery Iris”, rightly says redskyatnight.
But there’s a lot more to it, with it’s unique oriental touch. A timeless jewel, almost 100 years young. A look at the votes above simply tells the story : how many frags on this site have a love or like to dislike ratio close to infinity ? It’s the only frag I know which is totally independent from mood, season, daytime, etc., sort of a solid rock inviting you to come and be its object, not the other way around.
You must be an unconditional parfume lover to appreciate this wonder, as sillage and longevity are incredible (when our son is in our home, he smells it from his far away bedroom when I spay it on me …). Everything is perfect, from the spray at evening to the drydown the next morning, after a long travel through kaleidoscopic gardens and landscapes.
I’m 64 and didn’t notice any change in this frag over the decades, except that like every really great frag, it is not affected by age – I actually think it is even getting better with age.
So for my retirement I went for the 250 ml bee bottle of Extract, not really cheap (actually around 1000 € in France), but with 25% off sometimes available in the Guerlain Boutiques and their website, given the quality of this juice and the price of the tiny 30 ml bottle, I felt it was a bargain … and a taste of paradise which now can wait for years to come to me ….
Qzard – :
Shalimar extrait is a total animal – civet and leather are most prominent. It’s dirty in the BEST way. Of course, that means the above note pyramid is missing a lot. This is the most buttery iris. The vanilla is dry and woody, like an old book. I don’t get any citrus, as it has probably evaporated from my old bottle. Sillage is hard to determine; a dab is not overwhelmingly strong on myself, but I’m sure it leaves quite a trail. Longevity is stellar. The extrait is of course excellent for that touch of vintage glamour as you dab the ambery elixir in special places. I save it for special occasions and pampered evenings in, and it never gets old.
IlinhoS – :
This really is worth it – compared with the EAUs.
I wore the EDT and then layered this on top of it.
Pure Luxury. Reminds me of Jicky, in that you’d
have to get the EXTRACT to fully understand (&
thereby even have a chance at appreciating) this
little Cloud of Heaven. The EXTRACT is literally a
Cloud of Heaven you be surrounding yourself with
Mexwp697bedyWelty – :
I had the good fortune to win @ auction many years ago a vintage bottle of Shalimar body oil produced circa early 1950’s before the introduction of the 15 ml. (1/2 fl.oz) huile pour le bain limited range in the clear glass ‘lyre’ bottle with the gold cap, my bottle had originally contained roughly 50 mls. although slight evaporation had removed all volatile elements of the product over the 60 or so intervening years since production, the deep gold emollient had turned into a pourable black tarry sludge that resembles used motor oil and the tiniest smudge from handling the white plastic cap upon opening persists on skin for at least 12-24 hours plus, gone are the top citrus notes leaving only the bulk of the middle including May rose(centifolia), Grasse jasmine, Florentine iris and the powerful ‘Guerlain’ balsamic base of vanillin, incense, powdery styrax, tonka & sandalwood, WOW! A veritable powerhouse of all that is dark, carnal and utterly sensual in a perfume of such oriental proportions. I have since transferred the bulk of this precious unguent into a Baccarat *Chauve Souris*Shalimar flacon and is stored in climate controlled conditions along with my other rare extracts and vintage perfumes, the rest I keep in a small vial to use sparingly during the cooler winter months, this rare commodity is technically not a Guerlain extrait/parfum as such although I imagine after considerable concentration of the pure elixir vitae this would be the ultimate result, of this I have no doubt. Upon application the dry down just keeps evolving into the most incredible densely lush vanillic/ashes of roses combo that defies most modern orientals! BTW, my other assorted bottles of vintage parfums , body oil’s & extrait’s of Shalimar are just as special although a lot tamer by comparison, I consider this most unusual past treasure as my reference point to the greatest oriental fragrance ever created, Thank’s for reading, it’s great to share with like-minded collectors and aficionados, I guard this fragrant oddity most zealously and use it even more sparingly!
igor_soshnikov – :
As TillyWave says, no real review is needed here. I like modern Shalimar, prefer vintage. Love eau de parfum and parfum de toilette and the older cologne, like the Ode a la Vanille versions very much. I’m not a huge fan of edt but only in that it’s the last concentration I’d choose – it’s Shalimar, The Queen of the Orientals and to me, it’s all good. But the extrait is on beyond good. Again I prefer vintage, though modern is still lovely. It’s not at all hard nor outrageusly expensive to find good bottles of Shalimar parfum from the 70s – early 90s on Ebay so that is what I have a hoard of. There’s nothing else on earth like it. I am one who loves the smokey bergamot opening which is much more pronounced in the extrait than any other version. The heart is to die for – so rich, with it’s beautiful iris, jasmine, rose, vetiver on a base of leather, oppoponax, incense, civet, tonka, sandalwood. The drydown..oh the drydown. An Oriental masterpiece. Shalimar parfum is what I would grab first in an evacuation. It is the one perfume I have never been without a bottle of since I turned 18
dima_beel – :
When it comes to Shalimar, I have champagne tastes on a beer budget. While I love Mitsouko and Samsara in any concentration, it is Shalimar that I have sampled countless bottles of Eau de Cologne, Eau de Toilette, and Eau de Parfum, and while I like all of them, there is just something missing, We are talking over 7 years of testing Shalimar and either finding it lacking or finding it lovely, but nothing make me say “Ohh….” in that way that perfumes does when you finally find what you’re looking for, when everything clicks and maybe you can stop looking altogether.
That indeed is Shalimar in Pure Perfume Concentration (unfortunately.) I snagged about 4 mls of the stuff from Ebay for $20 and this perfume really hits the spot. This is thick and full and blended. It opens with offensive rubber and smoke and leather and bergamot oil, and in the middle are sweet creme brulee, carnations and roses and incense, dries into amber and balsams/woods/sandalwood and vanilla. Ultimately it is the middle/drydown that does me in–it is the most complex and perfectly blended drydown I have ever smelled–florals, leather, incense, woods…
In the age of the topnotes being the stars of the perfume and the drydown being frankly, a faint musky drysheet, it’s hard to remember that the drydown is the part of the perfume that you have to live with, and the drydown is what counts most. Shalimar is the drydown and what you have to live with, discount the difficult topnotes, well, that’s what perfumes are now, all topnotes, so why wouldn’t we know to wait around awhile?
So. I love Shalimar in pure parfum. She doesn’t need another review but really she’s amazing in this concentration.