Has everyone recovered from Friday’s group project of wearing Guerlain Shalimar? Today I’ll test your endurance with a Shalimar Face-off. For the past few days, I’ve been wearing different formulations and vintages of Shalimar to suss out their differences.
Before we start, let’s have a quick Shalimar refresher. Jacques Guerlain created Shalimar, and it launched in 1925. Its notes include bergamot, lemon, iris, jasmine, rose, vanilla, incense, opopanox, patchouli, musk and tonka bean. What you smell are chiefly Shalimar’s tent poles of lemon, vanilla and rotting squirrel. Wafting over these tent poles is a complex fabric smelling of incense, amber, tonka, opopanox, vetiver, musk and powder.
For the face-off, I dug out every concentration of Shalimar I had on hand: a 1970s Eau de Cologne, the sought-after 1980s Parfum de Toilette, a 1990s Eau de Parfum and a pre-1985 Extrait (see image below). Before we go on to their comparisons, it’s worth noting that all of these formulations are vintage, so they’ve likely changed over time. Three of them I bought at thrift stores, and I can’t speak to how well they were stored, but they smell pretty well preserved to me.
Now on to the face-off!
1970s Eau de Cologne
In the Eau de Cologne, Shalimar’s basic elements shine clear: bright lemon, rich vanilla and tonka, and, once the lemon fades a bit, definite funk. The lemon is almost rudely insistent and reminds me a little of Lemon Pledge, but after fifteen minutes, the fragrance settles into its signature stained glass vanilla and civet. The Eau de Cologne is curiously bare, though. It’s definitely Shalimar, but Shalimar picked out on a piano rather than played full orchestra. Despite being an Eau de Cologne, it lasts for hours and hours. There’s something bohemian and wonderful about this version.
1980s Parfum de Toilette
The 1980s Parfum de Toilette Mitsouko is one of my favorite versions, so when I saw a similar bottle of Shalimar at Goodwill, I snapped it up. The 1980s Parfum de Toilette is much fuller than the Eau de Cologne. As with the Eau de Cologne, instead of smelling a silky blend, I smell Shalimar’s components, like you’d see a building’s floor and walls and ceiling, with space between them. They’re of a whole, yet independent. These components smell rich and full of dimension, from the soft lemon on down to the complex dry down buzzing with amber, wet with vetiver, smoky with incense, and sweet with vanilla.
1990s Eau de Parfum
This Eau de Parfum seems to take the Parfum de Toilette’s elements and whirr them in a blender until they’re a glamourous Shalimar smoothie with a silken powder edge. The first time I wore it against the Parfum de Toilette, I found them really similar until the dry down, when the Eau de Parfum was noticeably more powdery. On wearing them together again, I realized that the Eau de Parfum is altogether smoother. (This doesn’t mean that it’s better — it’s simply different.)
Shalimar Extrait (pre-1985)
No doubt about it, the Extrait is the queen of Shalimar formulations. Only in the Extrait did I really smell Shalimar’s iris, rose and green notes. In other versions, its florals were stampeded by lemon, vanilla and civet. Not that you don’t notice skank here. Plenty of dirty, fusty notes, like old velvet or the yellowed pages of a book, give Shalimar its iconic, grand lady personality. In Extrait, Shalimar is smokier, too. On a lark, I sprayed Shalimar Ode à la Vanille next to the Extrait. The vanilla version came off like an eager-to-please groupie next to the Extrait’s regal presence.
Overall, the beauty of Shalimar is that it’s Shalimar. With only a few cues, you know what you’re smelling. That said, I’m hooked on the vintage Extrait now. I’m hoping to compare the new and vintage Extraits at some point, but if you’re familiar with both, please comment!
Shalimar is fairly easy to come by in thrift and antiques stores. Sure, it takes a little patience, but the regular thrifter or estate sale attendee is almost guaranteed to find a bottle eventually.
Rotting squirrel! love it.
That’s what it smells like to me! I like it, though, and can’t imagine Shalimar or Jicky without it.
“Rotting squirrel”! Angela, you’ve found the only horror I haven’t experienced in Shalimar. It’s usually the vanilla and Pledge that does me in. I think a dab of rotting squirrel might make it more interesting for me, so I’ll keep a look out next time.
Oh, it’s there! Maybe more recent versions have played down the civet (maybe, not sure), but boy can I smell it in these.
haha, thought the rotting squirrel note was exclusive to Jicky–which I still haven’t tried. Perfume education never ends!
It really comes out in Jicky, but it’s in Shalimar, too!
Thanks for doing this comparison! The vintage extrait is my only Shalimar, and after reading your reviews I’ll just continue to stockpile it. I can’t imagine Shalimar in a more perfect form.
It was my favorite, hands down.
Thanks for your analysis and insights, Angela! I had meant to do something similar with my several vintages and concentrations but suddenly felt like wearing Thierry Mugler Oriental Express that day. You’ve inspired me to save this plan for another day when I can give it my full concentration. I’ll have a Shalimar retreat! 😉
One of my favorites is an older Eau de Toilette in the oval or tear-shaped flacon with a dolphin label, exactly like this one (no affiliation):
http://divineantiques.com/van1e1.html
I’d always had an attracted/repelled relationship with Shalimar until I found this bottle. The quality of the ingredients and the dryness of the old EdT were my gateway to Shalimar.
The modest price or $119 for a bottle of Shalimar quite possibly from the 20s or 30s illustrates your point about what a bargain vintage Shalimar is.
(In case the link above breaks in the future, I’ll note that there is also a blurry photo of a similar, perhaps smaller, bottle in the Perfume Shrine article on Shalimar.)
I had a bottle of Vol de Nuit like that! I loved it.
The classic Guerlains can really vary between formulations, and I think that’s one of their attractions. Mitsouko still troubles me, but I like the vintage EdC in the watch bottle the best and the PdT second best, I think.
This is great! I love your descriptions.
I do love Shalimar-but prefer the Ode a la vanille flanker (Madagascar) version the best. Smokey vanilla creme brûlée
I have a decant of plain Ode a la Vanille, and it’s so much smoother and tamer and less insistent than regular Shalimar.
Thank you, Angela! Now the only think I want/need to know: how does the current EDP stack up against its predecessors? I definitely get some funk (think rotten breath) out of my Shalimar every now and then so that corner is covered. 😀
That is, is it worth it to try and hunt them down?
I’d intended to get a new sample to compare with these, but I didn’t have time, unfortunately.
Really, I’m not sure it’s worth hunting down old Shalimar unless you’re a huge fan. Shalimar is so definitely Shalimar (if you know what I mean) that simply hearing its tune is enough. That said, I see vintage bottles at thrift stores and estate sales fairly often.
This was so much fun to read, thank you, Angela. Shalimar is the queen.
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Shalimar is definitely the queen!
Excellent post. Educational and entertaining!
Thank you! I’m especially glad you found it entertaining.
I always think of Daisy and her term “Shalibarf.” There IS that undercurrent of something icky, isn’t there?
I once had a mini of that 80s pdt, and it was good, far richer than the edt and very smoky. I only wore it when the weather seemed right, though, and finally passed it on to someone else because honestly, I just don’t love Shalimar. I prefer the Eau Legere/Light (either version, though the one I have stocked up is the blue juice JPG one).
Actually, though, I’d far rather wear vintage Emeraude, which avoids all the dirty stuff. It’s maybe less *interesting* than Shalimar, but I don’t really care.
I think there’s a definite team of people who prefer Emeraude to Shalimar for their Oldie Oriental hit. You’re not alone.
I wore both vintage ( a sample I bought from The Perfumed Court years ago) and 2008’ish extrait de parfum for the Shalimar challenge. I found the experience thoroughly enjoyable. It’s one glorious perfume. I’ve never tried any of the other variations, so I can’t comment on those, but both extraits are very smoky, and dense to me.
I really like Shalimar, but I often find myself reaching for something else to wear, I think because I believe I already “know” Shalimar. It was great to wear it intensively for a few days! (Although I’m done with it for a while.)
What are your most worn fragrances actually?
That’s so hard to say! When I simply need something easy, lately I’ve been reaching for Cuir de Russie and No. 5. Mythique is a standby. Audace, too. It’s a crapshoot, really, depending on where my hand wanders in the perfume cabinet. (Today it’s Lyric Woman.)
Austenfan asked the same question I had, and thank you for answering, Angela. I like to think there can be a subtle difference between someone’s “favorite” fragrance and “most worn,” perhaps an important distinction.
I’m on a No. 5 smelling spree (Eau Premiere, EdT, EdP, Extrait) at the moment. Heading over to read your Belated Appreciation for No. 5 + comments. Certain to learn something new, so I’ll say thank you again now. 🙂
Someone else feeling the No. 5 these days! It sure smells nice in our corners of the world.
Ah, I’m so jealous that you find vintage Shalimar often when thrifting. I’ve never seen one and I’ve been looking for years. What a cool project.
Speaking of Guerlain, I’m wearing LHB today and for the first time I noticed a kinship in the drydown with Mitsouko. LHB is cooler toned and Mitsouko mossier, but that guerlainade really does tie them together.
Interesting! I do love l’Heure Bleue. I’m going to set that one to the front so I wear it soon.
I have fairly recent versions of Shalimar in EDC, EDT, EDP and extrait (as well as a vanilla flanker) and enjoy them all. But I’ve been afraid to try any vintage Shalimar for fear it would ruin the others for me.
I understand the fear! You probably don’t have to worry too much, though. Besides, it sounds like you’re set for a while!
I loved reading your comparison and would be equally fascinated to hear how the modern parfum compares to the vintage parfum! (I’ve never smelled the modern parfum either.)
Shalimar is unequivocally my favorite, but I must be crazy because I don’t find it dirty at all. “Old velvet”: spot on. Yet somehow, the more time I spend with it, the more my nose has become attuned to different citrus elements above all else. It’s almost like it’s gotten even cleaner to my nose over time.
That said, Jicky was a nightmare of diaper filth to me the first time I smelled it, and I don’t find it dirty at all anymore. So maybe it’s me.
It’s amazing how tolerant I’ve become of notes that curled my toes years ago. Also, my taste has expanded. I didn’t use to think I liked pretty florals (too uninteresting, you know), but I do now!
I have several formulations of vintage Shalimar but have never wore them. I am a wimp when it comes to anything even remotely hinting at rotting squirrel and have contented myself with the Ode a la Vanille Mexique flanker which I proudly paid full price at Galeries Lafayette as a memento of my 1-day Paris visit in 2013. I got other things too but this post is about Shalimar 😉
Now you’ve piqued my interest! What else did you bring home?
LOL, a bell jar of Fourreau Noir
Nice!
I am bizarrely addicted to vintage Shalimar extrait. It’s not just that I love it (oh, how I love it) but that I sometimes (okay, often) find myself actually craving it. I’ll be lying in bed reading, or on the phone making an appointment to have my teeth cleaned, or walking to the shoe repair place to buy boot laces, when out of the blue I’ll be gripped by a powerful need to smell Shalimar, and FAST, and I rush like a madwoman to get to my stash.
I once wore it to an outdoor summer staging of a (can’t remember which) play at Shakespeare in the Park, and I swear to God I was high from the fumes as they floated in the warm air around my face. You know that expression that an a drug addict has “a monkey on his back”? Well, in my case (and thanks to you), turns out it’s a dead squirrel.
That’s hilarious! And definitely true, true love. It’s a marvelous thing when a perfume has you by the throat like that.
Thanks for this post! I did a little quickly comparison myself on Friday to see which version smelled the least like vomit for that first 15 minutes or so(to wear to work), and it was the PDT. Mine is from the early 90s. I have a decant of the current and it’s still Shalimar but maybe softened a bit and really poor longevity on me. My 90s bottle of EDP is how you described the 80s edp. The woman who sold it to me in a store gave me a discount because she thought it smelled bad/off. Nope, it’s just Shalimar. Funny, I can’t wear Jicky because that steamy vomit/rot isn’t hidden very well for me. I’m dying to try the vintage extrait now.
It sounds like you have a good nose for civet and/or castoreum! (Aka dead squirrel.) That’s so funny that someone thought it was off, but, hey, if it got you a discount, that’s pretty great.
I hated Shalimar (80’s Eau de Cologne) when I first smelled it. I mean *hated*. It just smelled like dirty powder. And yet I kept trying it. And a couple weeks later I sort of fell in love with it. I ‘got’ it.
I now have tried, owned (or currently own) several versions of EdC, Parfum de Toilette, very very old EdT (I think from the 1940’s), vintage 1960’s Extrait and 2000’s Extrait – plus I own Eau Legere (the original), Ode de la Vanille, Dusting Powder, Shower Gel & Body Cream.
The vintage Extrait is smokier, more complex, it has a gasoline-sort of initial smell that I love…whereas the ‘new’ Extrait is much more smooth, accessible, powdery. I prefer the vintage Extrait.
I do not like current Eau de Toilette – it’s too powdery & dirty at the same time.
But the one I wear the most is vintage EdC. Almost every night, to bed.
p.s. – that term “Shalibarf” made me giggle uncontrollably for a few minutes lol
I love how you did a complete 180 on Shalimar! It just goes to prove its mystery. Your sheets must smell like heaven itself. Thanks, too, for the comparison between the extraits.
I don’t know why Guerlain is trying to make the new extrait accessible. That’s what Ode a la Vanille is for.
Squirrel!
I feel like Dug the Dog from the movie Up.
Often when I am in Ulta I spritz Shalimar on a paper strip, sniff it, then leave it in the little trash receptacle on the shelf. Within minutes a SA picks it up and carries it away from the sales floor. Heh. I’m not being passive-aggressive, I simply hope I’ll smell something different each time. Pretty much get nothing but funk so far. I love lemon and vanilla, so hope springs eternal.
Can anyone suggest which not-discontinued version of Shalimar you find the least squirrely-smoky-skanky?
Have you tried Ode a la Vanille? It looks like it’s still in production. It’s a much friendlier version of Shalimar–softer opening, little to no skank–yet it’s still definitely Shalimar.
Thank you!, I hoped there might be an easy answer. 🙂 I will try Ode a la Vanille, and I now remember that the new-ish Shalimar Eau de Cologne is on my to-try list for this year. So, Shalimar times two it is!
Oh yes, the new Shalimar Eau de Cologne (and Eau Legere and Light) are fresh and easy–almost drinkable–versions. The old EdC is fabulous, but not particularly friendly.
I’ve only tried current edp and vintage extrait (60s I think). Of the latter I have a small bottle and I really love it! The current edp is a bit too acrid on me, the incense is kind of nasty for quite a long time so it’s not something I would wear even if the drydown is nice. But the vintage extrait is indeed amazing! I still get a lot of smoke but it’s much sweeter, deeper and warmer smoke. And the drydown is so much more complex! I can’t say that I reach for it often though… there is just nothing casual at all about it and I feel a need to dress to match when I wear it. So it’s one for special occasions.
And what a way to make a special occasion even more special!
Great article. SHALIMAR is my Holy Grail Fragrance. The comment about a squirrel is not entirely off-base: I once had the chance to sniff some 1963 vintage Extrait: Indeed it had a pleasantly mousy quality that one doesn’t get in modern formulations of the scent. I get the impression that Shalimar was once concocted to serve as an adjunct to one’s furs, and it indeed had a “furry” quality to it…
I love the descriptor “mousy.” Perfect! There’s something undeniably animalic about Shalimar.
After reading and reading and READING on this site, I finally took the plunge and bought two tiny bottles of Shalimar Extrait from eBay tonight. A locally thrift store owner also told me of three different small town around my city where I should be browsing for vintage parfums, and I’m already planning a Saturday trip to one of them. The bug has bitten.
Congratulations! I hope you have fun finding and smelling new fragrances.