Reviews of Shalimar (1925)
by Guerlain

Shalimar is too much for me, a too dense and aggressive oriental with a very strong vanilla note. Real vanilla bean, granted, not some sweet and insipid fake vanilla, but still too much of it for my taste. It's the kind of scent that could easily give me a headache and make me feel as though I'm suffocating, despite smelling "good". There's something else beside the vanilla - perhaps a sandalwood note? - that I also perceive as too dry and harsh and aggressive. I can definitely see why this is worn by a lot of men - actually it reminds me quite a lot of M7. It gets a neutral thumb because I can appreciate it in theory, though I don't feel comfortable wearing it and probably wouldn't want to sit next to someone wearing it either. Though to just quickly catch a whiff of someone wearing it might be intriguing and alluring...

Like luckylouie, I wear Shalimar to bed. I like the Milky Body Veil (lotion) best, although i have never had the pure extrait de parfum, which I am now putting my spare change into a coffee can for ;)

I jave read more than once tha Shalimar is best appreciated at a distance, which I believe. When I put my wrist to my nose, it smells of masking tape!

One of the greats.

This is my second time trying Shalimar.

The more I try it the more I appreciate it, but there are still some elements of the perfume that still make me wrinkle my nose a little bit.

This particular fragrance has a tendency to come on very strong when first sprayed, and it's full of heady greens. The vanilla slowly makes an appearance, but it starts to get a little powdery while retaining the bite without being overly cloying like most vanillas tend to do.

I'd have to say that I start liking it the best when it finally hits the base, and there's a nice stately mix of vanilla and powder. The green is still there, but this time it's not shouting to be noticed like it does at the opening.

In conclusion, I'd say that I like this perfume but I'm not in love with it like others are. I think it might take a couple more tries for me to truly appreciate it, but I think I might come around. Quite frankly, I think I might like it a bit more if there was a bit more of vanilla at the opening instead of intense greens.

A lovely oriental that is just a touch too soft on my skin. Although I have this in my fragrance wardrobe it is only because a friend keeps giving it to me and I don't have the heart to tell him that it isn't really a favourite.

Whilst on other people this is incredibly sexy, I just wear it to bed alone. The combination of vanilla and bergamot makes it a very soothing fragrance for anyone having difficulty getting to sleep.

Shalimar has always been my best friends only scent and so I have tried over and over to like it. It smells wonderful on her, but there is some note in it that smells too heavy or smoky on me. Then Shalimar Light came out and solved that problem. So I can respect the talent that went into creating this perfume, but will stick with the Shalimar Light.

My dad hates perfumes. Everytime my mom would come home from the mall, smelling of the latest scent, he would gripe about how she stank! Well, my mother was shocked when she came home smelling of Shalimar, and my dad asked her what she was wearing. He actually liked a perfume for once! My mom was amazed, and she bought some Shalimar. When they went to visit my dad's mother, my mom gave her a bottle of Shalimar, and she loved it too.

I have a feeling that the sandalwood triggers some kind of scent-memory in my dad and his mother. It might have something to do with the fact that they are from Thailand, and they burn a lot of sandalwood incense there. For me, Shalimar is just another perfume.

The opening notes smell like Vitalis to me. (Does anyone even know what Vitalis is anymore?) Vitalis is the hair grease my dad used to use. Sharp and green-smelling.

After that it smells like public bathroom freshener. Then maybe an hour later, it smells like a powdery chypre -- like baby powder. That's what it smells like on my skin, anyway.

I believe that somehow the whole perfume movement has evolved since the time where this perfume was considered groundbreaking, its seems very primitive, nothing special at all. I only tried the EDT but it left me very unimpressed (especially due to all the love it gets). kinda makes me scared to try the rest of the line for fear of similar disappointments!

Question: was this reformulated? It smells different to me, less spicy, perhaps, than it did maybe 2 years ago. Is it just me???

I appreciate this fragrance. I realize it's the quintessential Oriental, the grandparent of all Orientals, and I understand that many people really like it, and with good reason. I can't stand it, though. I don't know what part of it I don't like, but I find it instantly repellant. Perhaps it's that it smells "old" to me (my grandmother wore it, as did my mother and probably several aunties and teachers), but I like many older perfumes so I don't think that's entirely the issue. I love the bottle, I love the whole idea of this perfume, I love the classic quality of this, but... I don't like the perfume (and yes, I've tried). I wish I could love it, but I just can't tolerate it.