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Shalimar appreciation thread

post #1 of 22
5/22/10 at 5:41am
Thread Starter 
As I have mentioned in the samlpe of the day Thread today I revisited one of my earliest yet still up to date beloved obsessions : Guerlain Shalimar.
Again, it took hold of me immediately and I'm still captivated by the wafts ascending from my wrist.

There are lots and lots of perfect descriptions and reviews here.

I just want to express my admiration and that I consider it sheer beauty, elegance, sensuality, lusciousness and seduction in a bottle.

I think it is definitely unisex and wearing it always proes to be a highlight for me.


So I would like to hear whether there is more love out there for this true milestone in perfume history.
Do you like it?
Do you wear it?


Why I dont already own FBs in any concentration of this is far beyond me.
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post #2 of 22
5/22/10 at 6:00am
Shalimar is one of the great classics and it's easy to understand why. I love it and have it in edc, edt, edp, pdt and parfum. I don't wear it enough...
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post #3 of 22
5/22/10 at 6:31am
My love for Guerlain started with Shalimar (Edp) I really love the composition of it...it's so transparant and goes from the freshest bergamot to the warmest vanilla, what a great fragrance. However, I don't wear it that often anymore because i like Mitsouko and l'Heure Bleue even better.
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post #4 of 22
5/22/10 at 7:31am
Apparently I wrote a little review for this in 2008 :

"EdT.

Shalimar is amazing, intoxicating fragrance than can be quite difficult to wear, though. A real "keep-your-head-up-on-special-occasion" fragrance. Evening wear only.

I have only tried EdT version, and I have worn it couple of times, but I didn`t feel myself comfortable during the times at all - to me it smelled very feminine after all, although it`s quite close for being a superb unisex creation. But yes, at least EdT isn`t appropriate for men, and that is naturally just my opinion....

Bergamot, rosewood, jasmin, iris, benzoin, opoponax, balsams, little bit civet thrown along. (it`s old news that Shalimar indeed has some civet)
Shalimar (EdT) is a massive oriental, feminine and highly intoxicating with saucy animal presence.

Be very, VERY easy on the trigger. 2 sprays is perfect."


- I still actually stand behind this opinion. I have a bottle of EdT (the only version I have tried) but I don`t keep it in my actual wardrobe since I don`t want to wear it. Yes, I think it is a fragrance for women. Strong, spiritually mature, confident and mysterious women.

Masterpiece it is, no doubt about that.
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post #5 of 22
5/22/10 at 8:03am
I think it is fantastic in all of its versions, and is for anyone who wants to wear - except of course for those who let marketing and labels rule their sampling and purchases.
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post #6 of 22
5/22/10 at 8:16am
I *HEART* Shalimar too. New and vintage.
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post #7 of 22
5/22/10 at 12:59pm
I find the three concentrations I've tried to be all rather different.

Eau de Toilette - This, I didn't get along with. The warmth and dirtiness isn't strong enough, so I must agree with the somewhat unfortunate "baby wipe" description my mother gives it. As with all the Shalimars, I enjoy the drydown much more than the top notes, but prefer the more intense versions; this is a little too light and powdery.

Eau de Parfum - now this I enjoy a lot more, perhaps my favorite of the Shalimars. Very warm, creamy, deep oriental drydown - I see why this became such an archetypal oriental, though I know it's been reformulated dozens of times by now.

Parfum Extrait - this one took me a while to warm up to, but when I smelled a fellow Basenoter wearing it, I decided to give it another try. To my nose, this is almost a leather fragrance, drier than the EdP and more animalic. I think it could become my favorite of the Shalimars.
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post #8 of 22
5/22/10 at 2:29pm
Perhaps needless to say, I'm a big Shalimar admirer too. Here's my tribute to it...

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post #9 of 22
5/22/10 at 3:11pm
I love Shalimar. I love the EDT most of all. Perhaps the discontinued Eau Legere is my fav form of the scent. (The new EDP is a bit smoky and I have to be inthe mood for it. I will accept the Eau de Shalimar, but prefer the Legere.

Heck, a tip of the hat to other Guerlains: Derby, Habit Rouge (EDT, EDP and extrait), Mouchoir de Monsieur...etc.

BTW, Mr. G, I like "unintended seducing."
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post #10 of 22
5/22/10 at 3:39pm
Yes, wonderful! I haven't yet worn it in public, because it seems to demand a higher level of style than I can manage. But it is great. Of course, I seem to be addicted to Guerlain. I like everything I have tried. My only regret is that it is so expensive in Japan.
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post #11 of 22
5/22/10 at 5:09pm
Shalimar is simply an amazing classic which I wear with confidence in extrait and EDP. Shalimar ranks in my top 10 fragrances along with Mitsouko.
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post #12 of 22
5/22/10 at 6:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Primrose View Post

The new EDP is a bit smoky and I have to be inthe mood for it. [snipped]

I think that is why, in smallish doses, it makes a great masculine in cold winters.

Nevertheless, a monument to good taste, regardless of gender.
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post #13 of 22
5/22/10 at 6:57pm
One of my wife's favorites.
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post #14 of 22
5/22/10 at 8:36pm
I have 70+ bottles of fragrance and about 500+ samples. Yet, even though I have all of those to choose from I wear Shalimar (circa 90's Eau de Cologne) every night before I go to bed. It's that good.
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post #15 of 22
5/22/10 at 11:34pm
Thanks for this thread. There could never be too much Shalimar appreciation!

Shalimar and LHB are my top 2 frags. I grew up around these two and they are still, to me, the *most beautiful* scents I have ever smelled. The other frags in my collection make for a nice change, but they just don't get the same love.

I frequently wear the extrait and edp - I love their resinous qualities. And I wear the edc on many evenings for its smokey vanilla. I'm still waiting on the edt (!). And the Eau Legere is a fun - almost gourmand - take on Shalimar. I've used about a quarter of a bottle in just a couple months.

Shalimar! <sigh> How I love thee! Let me count the ways...
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post #16 of 22
5/22/10 at 11:42pm
I just resently discovered Shalimar,
I found me some at a fleamarket,
and it's way better than I could have
even hoped for. I adore Shalimar!

A new fan is born..!
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post #17 of 22
5/23/10 at 2:26am
I have been wearing Shalimar vintage extrait and think is the the one most suitable for a man to wear. I love the smokiness, milky vanilla and the intense bergamot. I have the EDP and is no way as glorious as the vintage extrait.
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post #18 of 22
5/23/10 at 4:25am
Sounds like I need to get me some extrait...
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post #19 of 22
5/23/10 at 5:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by shifts View Post

Sounds like I need to get me some extrait...

The extrait definitely can't be beat. It wears closer to the skin, though, despite it's richness and depth. The edp has less depth, but I think it's actually quite close to the parfum in terms of smell. So the edp is worth trying, too, if you want a bit more projection.
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post #20 of 22
5/23/10 at 7:58am
Thanks for the tip!
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post #21 of 22
5/23/10 at 6:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by shifts View Post

Sounds like I need to get me some extrait...

I own vintage extrait and it's wonderful. But note: I imagine that I found a real appreciation for it, because of my love for the EdC. What I mean to say is once you've 'lived with' Shalimar for a while, you start to find certain facets of it that coalesce just beautifully on your skin: the biting bergamot at the top notes; the whiff of smoke and animalic leather that's growling underneath the resins; the very last puff, at the dry down, that smells like luscious, artisinal vanilla pastry icing - that has dried on your skin. Once you start to 'learn' the Shalimar accord then I think it's a good time to introduce yourself to the parfum, because then it takes those same facets and slows them down and deepens them.

I think if one went and jumped straight to vintage parfum, they might perhaps miss part of what this scent says to it's wearer.

Nonetheless, shifts, you and every other lover of oriental fragrances owes it to themselves to try vintage Shalimar parfum. The one I have is in the white and black box (from the 1960's).
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post #22 of 22
5/23/10 at 11:10pm
Whao... I always thought that Shalimar was a female fragrance, but it seems like I've got to try it too. Top notes aside, would you consider Shalimar a better vanilla than Spiritueuse Double Vanille?
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