Shalimar

Perfume Chat Room, November 22
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Perfume Chat Room, November 22

Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.

Today is Saturday, November 22, and it is almost Thanksgiving! I really enjoy Thanksgiving, because I like to cook, I love having my family around, and I enjoy setting a formal dinner table since I do that so rarely! I also love the scents that come with Thanksgiving, mostly from the aforementioned cooking. I grow many of the herbs that I will use: actually parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, as the song says. Their fragrance is alluring even before I start cooking.

I already know what my holiday fragrance will be: this year’s Shalimar flanker, issued in honor of the perfume’s 100th anniversary. Shalimar l’Essence is the first Shalimar I’ve really loved, though there are a couple of other “editions” I have liked very much, such as the eau de cologne formulation. My lovely husband brought me a bottle from his recent trip to Las Vegas, where there is a Guerlain boutique. To my nose, it has all the charm of the current eau de parfum minus the burnt rubber smoke that I always get from that. It’s very vanilla-centric without being sweet; it becomes soft and powdery, and it lasts for hours on skin and days on fabric.

I like it so much that I got the bigger bottle for my own Christmas gift from lovely husband! In fact, when I was picking it up at the big department store in our city’s biggest mall, I even persuaded a much younger woman to try it. She was browsing among the Guerlain scents, and I pointed out the tester and suggested she might like it. Then I moved along. She came rushing up to me a few minutes later, holding out her arm for me to sniff and exclaiming how much she loved it. She was browsing with her fiancé so I’m pretty sure they left the mall with a bottle. Do I get my enabler pin?

Do you have any special traditions, recipes, or scents for Thanksgiving, if you celebrate it? Or for other holidays at this time of year?

P.S. As always, I’m very thankful for all of you who read my musings here and especially those of you who share your own thoughts in the comments. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Bottle of fragrance with turkey-shaped top
Golden Turkey Wallflower; Bath & BodyWorks.
Perfume Chat Room, October 19
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Perfume Chat Room, October 19

Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.

Today is Sunday, October 19, and I am the lucky and grateful recipient of several new fragrances! Our oldest daughter returned from her trip to Italy with a roller bottle of extract de parfum from Casa Amalfi, called Blue Grotto. It’s a very pleasing, unisex, citrus aromatic, launched in 2025.

My husband just got back from a work trip to Las Vegas, where he stayed in a hotel with an onsite Santa Maria Novella boutique. He asked which of their fragrances I might like, and since I already have a couple and didn’t know much about the others, I requested their discovery set. I also (shame on me) admitted that there is a new fragrance I was eager to try: the 100th anniversary flanker to Shalimar, Shalimar L’Essence.

My lovely gift!

Reader, I love it. I was pretty sure I would, and I knew that at least I would like it, based on the reviews I had read, which prompted the blind buy. It is really gorgeous, and I say that as someone who has had a mixed reaction to Shalimar and flankers. Of the older versions, the one I’ve liked most was the eau de cologne, because it didn’t have a strong tarry note, which is what “leather” notes in fragrance sometimes smell like to me.

Enter the 100th anniversary flanker, in its beautiful bottle!

Shalimar L’Essence

It has lots of vanilla, with just a soupçon of lemon at the start, then just a hint of lavender and leather or tobacco, undergirded by iris and rose. It lasts for several hours on my skin, and a little goes a long way; I’ve been applying light sprays to my wrists and one at the base of my neck, and that’s plenty. I will enjoy getting to know this new addition, created by perfumer Delphine Jelk.

Do you have a favorite version or flanker of Shalimar? Have you tried this new one?

Perfume Chat Room, August 22
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Perfume Chat Room, August 22

Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.

Today is Friday, August 22, and we are having seesaw weather again! It veers between very hot and humid, and cooler but with sudden torrential downpours. Next week, we’re supposed to get a stretch of cooler weather without the thunderstorms. I’ll believe it when I see it! Meanwhile, in the SLOW process of reorganizing and tidying, I came across an early favorite in my fragrance journey, the discontinued Blasted Bloom by Penhaligon’s. It was a gift from my husband that he brought back from one of his work trips, and he chose it himself. The man has great taste!

I still love Blasted Bloom and I was happy to wear it again. It suits this unpredictable but mostly hot and thundery weather, with its notes of sea water and green leaves. It’s very refreshing without being citrusy.

The landscape that inspired Blasted Bloom.

On another note, I find myself surprisingly excited by the 100th anniversary release of Shalimar! I know some of you are huge, longtime fans; I’m not, though I like it now, more than I did ten years ago when the only version I found approachable was the eau de cologne (I know, I know). Shalimar L’Essence sounds really great, and I like the bottle design. It is supposed to be available starting September 1, have any of you pre-ordered it or planned to rush out to get it asap?

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Perfume Chat Room, April 29

Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.

Today is Friday, April 29, and Monday is another “Scent Semantics” posting day! The word of the month, chosen by Portia, is a secret until then, so check back next week!

My roses are in full bloom this week and wow, do they smell gorgeous. I’ve posted some photos on my Instagram account.

Thanks to a timely post on Eau My Soul, I bought a very discounted bottle of Shalimar Philtre de Parfum from Costco, which sometimes has great deals on high-end fragrances. I’m very happy with my blind buy, which wasn’t completely blind because I had read that it was reminiscent of Shalimar Eau de Cologne, which I enjoy very much. Indeed it is, though not identical. For one thing, Philtre is an eau de parfum, and it definitely lasts longer. Below is the review of Shalimar Eau de Cologne I posted on Fragrantica some years ago, and I stand by it:

Happy happy happy! I have tried Shalimar EDP several times in department stores, and just didn’t like it. I recognized its quality and its legendary status but it was too heavy, too sweet, too strong, too old-fashioned. Every single time. Then I found Shalimar Eau de Cologne on sale for 24.99 at CVS, read the reviews here on my smartphone and thought, what the hell — let’s do this. So I did. I love it! This version is just yummy without being sweet. I get the vanilla, I get the smoke, I get the cedar, I get the leather. Shalimar EDC is luscious but light. Classic but not stuffy. I am just so pleased with this.

I would say that Philtre has more citrus, and less smoke and leather. It lasts all day (12+ hours) on my skin. I think the tolu balsam base note is a great touch; it adds depth and warmth.

At risk of setting off a torrent of verbiage, do you have a favorite version of Shalimar?

Scent Sample Sunday: Shalimar Hair Perfume
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Scent Sample Sunday: Shalimar Hair Perfume

I’ll be the first to admit that I struggled a bit with Shalimar when I ramped up my interest in fragrance and perfumes. It hadn’t previously been part of my repertoire or my late mother’s — her perfume classic of choice was Chanel No. 5. But as I read more and more about perfume, so many writers and commenters waxed eloquent about Shalimar that I kept trying it when I was at any department store fragrance counter, where it was readily available in either eau de toilette or eau de parfum. Nope. It just didn’t click with me. I recognized its quality and its legendary status but it was too heavy, too sweet, too strong, too old-fashioned. Every single time.

Then I found Shalimar Eau de Cologne on sale for $24.99 at CVS, read the Fragrantica reviews of the eau de cologne on my smartphone and thought, what the hell — let’s do this. So I did. I loved it! The eau de cologne of Shalimar is just yummy without being sweet. I get the vanilla, I get the smoke, I get the cedar, I get the leather. Shalimar EDC is luscious but light. Classic but not stuffy. I know, I know, it’s like Shalimar with training wheels, but nevertheless, I rejoiced at finally getting a glimpse of what all the fuss was about.

In 2016, Guerlain launched a “brume cheveux”, or hair mist, version of Shalimar, created by Thierry Wasser. You can still find it online (I got mine at Beauty Encounter) for very reasonable prices. Since our weather has suddenly turned very hot and muggy this week, I thought I would take it out and try it, as hair perfume seems like an excellent solution if one wants to wear a richer fragrance but not feel overwhelmed (or overwhelm others) in the heat. It is like a light Shalimar flanker, with notes that include citrus opening top notes such as bergamot, grapefruit and lemon; freesia, jasmine and rose among the heart notes; and base notes of musk, iris and vanilla. These are the same notes as Wasser’s 2015 Shalimar Cologne, not to be confused with the eau de cologne; and the liquid in the bottle is the same pale pink as Shalimar Cologne.

Shalimar Hair Mist

I’m very pleased with this pretty hair perfume! It goes on lightly but I keep getting nice wafts of fragrance whenever I turn my head. I would say that, after the initial bright citrusy opening, mostly what I smell are the vanilla, iris, and freesia, a very lovely combination. No wood, no leather, no resin or incense, no animalic notes, but still very recognizable as “Shalimar”. The hair mist softens into a powdery floral, and it lasts well.

I’m happy to see the success in recent years of various “hair mists” and that one can now find classics like Chanel No. 5 and Shalimar in this format. They wear very easily and make it possible for more people to enjoy and get acquainted with these classics. I think this hair mist would combine beautifully with whichever version of Shalimar the wearer prefers, whether the heavier, richer formulations or the lighter ones.

Do you have a favorite Shalimar? Which one(s) and why?