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I'm beginning to 'get' this fragrance...just in time to turn 37

post #1 of 20
9/5/10 at 4:01pm
Thread Starter 
Shalimar.

The parfum was rather a non-event on my skin, but the EDC revealed itself over the last 3 days.

A delicious vanilla dessert at the outset, it turned smokier and evolved to something I can't really describe, but couldn't help smelling off and on for 3 hours.

And the wonderful part is that it lasted 9 hours on my forearm( I can still smell the scent).

I turn 37 today and discovering this fragrance is one of the best b'day gifts of all!
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post #2 of 20
9/5/10 at 4:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by domperrier View Post

I turn 37 today and discovering this fragrance is one of the best b'day gifts of all!

Double yay! Congratulations, my dear!

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post #3 of 20
9/5/10 at 4:31pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Le Grand Duc View Post

Double yay! Congratulations, my dear!


Thanks so much! The cupcake is delish...and vanilla too! The same alluring ingredient in the scent
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post #4 of 20
9/5/10 at 4:33pm
I hated Shalimar the 1st time I wore it. Just instant HATE. I blind bought a bottle because I wanted to see what the fuss was about, and I remember asking Mr. G about the Eau de Cologne version in the gold box, to see what year this was from (it's from the 80's - 90's) and so I bought mine from a neglected corner of my local CVS fragrance rack (in the corner, in the back, a little tear in the box). I remember thinking, no no no...this is not what I wanted.

But subsequently afterward I couldn't get it out of my head. I sort of felt like giving it another chance, so I wore it two more times. Each time, of course, that bite in the very beginning - where the bergamot kicks in was a challenge. But then all of a sudden I 'got' it. And very soon it became a strong favorite of mine. It was soon after that, that I started wearing Shalimar every night - right before I go to bed. This is a daily ritual for me. So because of this, it is easily my Most Worn Fragrance - probably in my whole life. I have almost gone thru my bottle of EdC and replaced it with a vintage EdC (in those disc shaped bottles) from the 60's. It is less biting in the top notes and a bit more resinous and dusty/smoky. Just beautiful.

Much later after I purchased the EdC, I fell in love with the parfum. The interesting thing with the parfum is it really needs body heat to 'bloom' - I've noticed this each time I wore it. It is, the most powerful and concentrated form of the scent (obviously) so every facet of its evolution is luxurious, splendid and fascinating.

It is a scent I wear solely for my personal enjoyment. My husband doesn't really like the way it smells on me. I never receive compliments when I wear it. But when I am wearing it, I feel...completely serene and comfortable. It is the olfactory equivalent of a soft worn T-shirt and a pair of pajama pants.

Happy Birthday domperrier.
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post #5 of 20
9/5/10 at 4:46pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeperez23 View Post

I hated Shalimar the 1st time I wore it. Just instant HATE. .....

But subsequently afterward I couldn't get it out of my head. I sort of felt like giving it another chance, so I wore it two more times. Each time, of course, that bite in the very beginning - where the bergamot kicks in was a challenge. But then all of a sudden I 'got' it. And very soon it became a strong favorite of mine. It was soon after that, that I started wearing Shalimar every night - right before I go to bed. This is a daily ritual for me. So because of this, it is easily my Most Worn Fragrance - probably in my whole life. I have almost gone thru my bottle of EdC and replaced it with a vintage EdC (in those disc shaped bottles) from the 60's. It is less biting in the top notes and a bit more resinous and dusty/smoky. Just beautiful.

Much later after I purchased the EdC, I fell in love with the parfum. The interesting thing with the parfum is it really needs body heat to 'bloom' - I've noticed this each time I wore it. It is, the most powerful and concentrated form of the scent (obviously) so every facet of its evolution is luxurious, splendid and fascinating.

It is a scent I wear solely for my personal enjoyment. My husband doesn't really like the way it smells on me. I never receive compliments when I wear it. But when I am wearing it, I feel...completely serene and comfortable. It is the olfactory equivalent of a soft worn T-shirt and a pair of pajama pants.

Happy Birthday domperrier.

First of all, to clarify : Aren't you a guy?

Secondly, I gave Shalimar parfum another chance by dabbing it on a tissue, but it evolved in exactly the same way as on my skin(Maybe I wasn't sniffing it continouously so could not catch all the subtleties of it)

The lemony zing at the beginning is probably the best part of the parfum for me. The EDC lacks that totally,but all other aspects compensate.

I'm due to receive a rosebud bottle(amphore) of the dark brown juice from the 50s so I'm a bit hesitant on that...

Finally, thank you so much!
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post #6 of 20
9/5/10 at 5:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by domperrier View Post

Shalimar.

The parfum was rather a non-event on my skin, but the EDC revealed itself over the last 3 days.

A delicious vanilla dessert at the outset, it turned smokier and evolved to something I can't really describe, but couldn't help smelling off and on for 3 hours.

And the wonderful part is that it lasted 9 hours on my forearm( I can still smell the scent).

I turn 37 today and discovering this fragrance is one of the best b'day gifts of all!

Happy Birthday!!!!

I bet you smell good in Shalimar!
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post #7 of 20
9/5/10 at 9:04pm
Happy Birthday. It seems there are many fragrant Virgos out there.
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post #8 of 20
9/5/10 at 9:15pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by N_Tesla View Post

Happy Birthday. It seems there are many fragrant Virgos out there.

Thanks! A belated Happy Birthday to you too!

My opinion is that Virgos are a moody and sensitive lot, so we need our olfactory pleasures much more than most other Zodiac signs...
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post #9 of 20
9/5/10 at 11:57pm
Happy Birthday Domperrier ! Sorry I am late to this thread. I love Shalimar !
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post #10 of 20
9/6/10 at 12:48am
Happy Birthday. Congratulations on discovering the glory that was Shalimar. I use the word was because the modern version since the early 00s and the new bag bottle is a sad sorry little thing compared to the glory is was.

I hoard my older edp and parfum.
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post #11 of 20
9/6/10 at 1:15am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mimi Gardenia View Post

Happy Birthday Domperrier ! Sorry I am late to this thread. I love Shalimar !



Thanks ! You are a well-known Guerlain fan...2nd perhaps only to Mr. G :P
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post #12 of 20
9/6/10 at 1:21am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by donna255 View Post

Happy Birthday. Congratulations on discovering the glory that was Shalimar. I use the word was because the modern version since the early 00s and the new bag bottle is a sad sorry little thing compared to the glory is was.

I hoard my older edp and parfum.

Thank u!

Unfortunately, I gave the parfum a test run again, and again it proved to less faceted than it's oft made out to be.

On my skin, I smell three variations : lemon/bergamot fizz, followed by insecticide/bugspray(dunno why I can't shake off that association!), then powdery vanilla(or is it musky vanilla?)

Oh well, my version came from the 1990s anyway. Failed several times to secure the 1960s- 80s one, so I guess I have to be content for now.

Waiting for the practically full, sealed amphore from the 1950s to be shipped to me. Come hither...come hither... lol
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post #13 of 20
9/6/10 at 2:05am
When I first sprayed on Shalimar somewhere around the age of 25 I simply found it too sweet. I did not get the bergamote, I did not sense the smoke, just some too sweet vanilla.

Then some seven years later I gave it another chance and it has become my most favourite vanilla perfume. There are lots of other vanillas out there which I love but this is the only one where upon smelling it I think: "Masterpiece".
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post #14 of 20
9/6/10 at 2:36am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bonsai View Post

When I first sprayed on Shalimar somewhere around the age of 25 I simply found it too sweet. I did not get the bergamote, I did not sense the smoke, just some too sweet vanilla.

Then some seven years later I gave it another chance and it has become my most favourite vanilla perfume. There are lots of other vanillas out there which I love but this is the only one where upon smelling it I think: "Masterpiece".

The strange thing is : the parfum's drydown is exactly like the opening of the EDC on my skin.

Although I don't appreciate the parfum as much, I can tell it's a scent of high sophistication!
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post #15 of 20
9/6/10 at 11:56am
Happy Birthday, Domperrier and N_Tesla! ("Moody" Virgo here, too, and nature lover - don't forget that Virgo is an earth sign).

I love Shalimar eau de cologne! Mike is right, vintage is better, but the recent formulation is nice, too. Once I bought a bottle for a friend as a gift, but instead kept it for myself and gave her something else. That's the only time I've ever done that. For years I had no idea that Shalimar parfum was the mysterious scent I was looking to identify...I'd catch a whiff now and then on someone and think, "What's that exquisite scent?" Finally, I was able to ask someone and she told me it was Shalimar parfum. I was in heaven when I finally bought myself some. Those two formulations, cologne and parfum, are my favorite versions of Shalimar. I don't care much for the edt, and I'm not sure I've ever sniffed the edp or pdt, but if I did it wasn't as memorable.
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post #16 of 20
9/6/10 at 1:12pm
Happy birthday, Dom! Congratulations. Shalimar has a smokey edge that is not always a first-time appreciation.
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post #17 of 20
9/6/10 at 4:43pm
Thread Starter 
@ lilybelle - EDC is so interesting for me! Smelling of appealing dessert from the bottle, then quickly morphing into that 'bugspray' note shortly after application...then changing again in a short while.
The parfum stays in the 'bugspray' phase a tad too long for me.

@Primrose - Funnily, the smoke doesn't rear its head too much on me...or maybe it's my nose!
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post #18 of 20
9/6/10 at 8:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by domperrier View Post

First of all, to clarify : Aren't you a guy?

Secondly, I gave Shalimar parfum another chance by dabbing it on a tissue, but it evolved in exactly the same way as on my skin(Maybe I wasn't sniffing it continouously so could not catch all the subtleties of it)

The lemony zing at the beginning is probably the best part of the parfum for me. The EDC lacks that totally,but all other aspects compensate.

I'm due to receive a rosebud bottle(amphore) of the dark brown juice from the 50s so I'm a bit hesitant on that...

Finally, thank you so much!

Oh yes, I'm a man.

The parfum you are testing...you might want to test a vintage parfum...it might be a bit gentler than the one you're describing. If you still hate it, then perhaps you should just stick with the EdC.

Oh and please do try Shalimar Eau Legere.
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post #19 of 20
9/6/10 at 8:57pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeperez23 View Post

Oh yes, I'm a man.

The parfum you are testing...you might want to test a vintage parfum...it might be a bit gentler than the one you're describing. If you still hate it, then perhaps you should just stick with the EdC.

Oh and please do try Shalimar Eau Legere.

Oh..haha...was caught off guard by the 'husband' bit...

Thanks for the heads up. Probably get it next year since my unobtained wishlist is still quite long.

FYI, my frag-vacuuming skin managed to keep Shalimar parfum on for about 11+ hours, with the base note remnants still faintly discernible almost 24 hours later.

THAT was a pleasant surprise!
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post #20 of 20
9/9/10 at 7:04am
Thread Starter 
Today, I reluctantly experimented again, dabbing a larger-than-usual dollop of Shalimar parfum on my forearm.

The 'bugspray' phase was not so annoying this time, smelling more like spicy lemon(bergamot). But this phase dissipated surprisingly quickly today(after about 15 mins), to reveal a downplayed but nuanced complexity that added to the intrigue.


I'm beginning to understand why this scent is described as 'sensual'.
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