Guerlain Shalimar Parfum Initial L'Eau

Let me just voice out what a lot of people here are secretly thinking: Can a man wear this fragrance? Can a man wear fragrances marketed as feminine? Hell yes! I knew about Shalimar well before trying this flanker. I was intrigued when I read that Shalimar Parfum Initial L'eau had been discontinued, so I went ahead to buy a bottle. And I did not regret doing that. A lot of people here are saying that this (or Shalimar Parfum Intial - also discontinued) is nothing like Shalimar. I think they are both right and wrong. There are obviously different perfumes, but Wasser has kept the structure of Shalimar intact. An overdosed bergamot top, a floral-woody heart (iris), and a tonka-vanille base that reminds me again and again, that this is a Guerlain. There is no skank, no leather, no smoke in this piece, and this is going to appeal to you if you've always loved the idea of Shalimar but hated the civet in it. The opening is a blast of bergamot and other citrus notes that can be a bit rough. Once the bergamot settles down, the powdery iris starts to appear, reminding me strangely of Dior Homme. Heat activates the tonka bean and vanilla base, giving this perfume such sensuality. Being a Guerlain, the vanilla is not an edible one, but a very sensual one. The bergamot continues offers a bitter and astringent contrast to the sweet tonka and powdery iris, giving it a bright, sunny color, while the vanilla keeps the astringency of the bergamot in check and affords it depth and sensuality. This is a very balanced composition that demonstrates the skill of Thierry Wasser. This fragrance projects well. Longevity is excellent, easily lasting an entire day. Suggested wearing is spring and even summer - as long as it doesn't get too hot. Use it for an instant lift to your spirits. Unfortunately, this fragrance has been discontinued, likely due to poor sales. So do yourself a favour, go to your nearest department store, and if you see it, smell it, and then buy it.

Iris Heaven! Soft, beautiful, powdery Iris. I wasn't sure I would like it after reading through all the contrary reviews here. At times, I felt like I was reading about two different fragrances. Dry? Sweet? Caramel? Citrus? Wanting to find out what it really smelled like I purchased a card sample from frag net. Testing out this less than a ml. sample I found the opening to be clearly shot and smelled like nail polish remover. This is a discontinued scent after all and the sample small and clearly old. Then the top notes faded away in a matter of minutes and the most beautiful Iris came out and it is amazing. Soft, powdery, enveloping. I feel like a babe wrapped in a blanket of Iris petals. Really wonderful silage too. I'm barely picking up the other notes which could be due to deterioration of the sample, but it also could be that the Iris is so outstanding that my nose is focused like a laser on that note. Then, more than halfway through the wear the Iris is joined by the signature Guerlain vanilla and I know that I am lost. I have to have a bottle! After many, many hours it became a skin scent and when I smelled my wrist could smell the famous Shalimar spices. Unfortunately, this is a discontinued scent and very hard to find. Edit - I manage to find a bottle and even though it cost a pretty penny, I already know it's well worth it. For me, this is a full-blown uncompromising love I plan on treasuring and treating like the rare gem it is. Still, that won't stop me from purchasing a back-up bottle should I be lucky enough to stumble across one in the future. Edit - Found a back-up bottle but while it says L'eau on the box it doesn't say that on the bottle. I find that strange.

It's been more than four years that I have a bottle of Shalimar Initial L'Eau sitting unused and lonely on my vanity.I could never understand the rave about Shalimar Initial,I didn't like it as I couldn't pickup any caramel in it,just bug spray like,sharp,cold,bitter iris and citruses so I gave it away two years ago but kept this one just because I loved the shap of Shalimar bottles and wanted to have one from this family.Recently I decided to give it another chance and I'm shocked to see how much I love it! I have to confess that Shalimar Initial L'Eau is heavenly.I'm not into citruses but citrus notes:bergamot,orange and grapefruit are very sparkly,fresh and lovely here,not sharp or sour like in some masculine colognes,not syntethic like in room sprayes,they blend so well with a powdery,very well-done iris and soft,adorable Guerlainade vanilla.it gets warmer,more rounded,more sensual as it dries down and tonka shows up.I love it so much now that it's difficult to believe I had once disliked it.it's vibrant,youthful and modern also very classy,expensive-smelling and elegant.it lasts about 6 hours on my skin(a lot longer on fabric)and projects amazing.to me it's wearable year round and I may need a backup Now that my feeling has totally changed about Initial L'Eau I can see that not keeping Initial was such a huge mistake.I'm sure I can pickup caramel now and I know that it could be a warmer,richer,more sweet Initial L'Eau and could enter my top ten favourites.I have to find it though it's very expensive now,I have to find every Shalimar flanker I can and try them again(except the mother Shalimar EDP which I still hate) ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

First, don't even try to compare it to the original Shalimar! Coz, of course it's not comparable. If Shalimar Initial is her daughter, SHIL would be her grand daughter. They are in different age, have different interests and surely different blends. In short it's a lighter and daytime version of Shalimar Initial. Secondly, if you’re into teeny, bubbly, sweet, youth perfume, PLEASE don’t even try this. SHIL would only break your heart and instead of giving a fruitfully review or critics you would end up trashing this beauty. Well, here we go... I surrendered and downed on my knee from the initial spray....captivated from the beginning. The citrus is sparkly and blends nicely with the powdery iris + burnt vanilla combo which came out heavenly. I'm not sure if I'm able to differentiate all the floral notes that are stated here, but there are hints of jasmine or rose. I don't detect any lily of the valley and I can't vouch for freesia, since I haven't smelled any of them so far. I feel that the top and the mid were woven tightly, creating a solid lingering blends that couldn't be separated. They are one in two different beings. This top-mid phase stays for like 1-3 hours. The dry down is balmy, slightly bitter-sweet, very earthy and smokey, almost smells like the wet and damp dirt. Could that be the tonka bean + iris root + vanilla?? Probably. As the descendent of Shalimar I'm expecting longer longevity, SHIL loves my skin for only 4 hours max. The sillage is powerful in the first 5-10 minutes and calmer afterward. I can’t wear the original Shalimar, but SHIL....I would guard this for the rest of my life!!

Initially I was very skeptical of this perfume. A flanker of a flanker of a flanker l'eau, please. But I am a sucker for iris perfumes, and in general I still think that Guerlain is great at what they do. So I tried it, and I can say that I love this pink tasseled flanker that has little to do with Queen Shalimar. There are no ginger notes in here, but the opening is so sparkling with bergamot and grapefruit and neroli that it is just luminous, the notes create this sensation of smelling ice cold, fizzing ginger ale. There is a bit of transient greenery as well. The citrus notes stick around for quite awhile, over the floral heart, I mostly smell hyacinith and a bit of rose and some sweet jasmine. Slowly, slowly the sparkle dies down a bit and things do become more powdery, with iris, vanilla, and tonka bean in the base. Shalimar PI L'eau is one of those perfumes that I wear and I literally just smell myself all day, I probably look crazy, I find every opportunity to sniff my wrist or the collar of my shirt. The longevity is very good, at least 10 hours it goes strong, and this is one of the few perfumes that I've worn that I've gotten compliments on. If Guerlain would have just given Shalimar PI and L'Eau their own identities, maybe they wouldn't have discontinued them? It is such a waste, I think that they could have had another L'Instant or Idylle on their hands with this one, instead of already giving up on them. I find both perfumes to be very well done in their own right, and comparing them to the original Shalimar just seems a little weird.

Purchased this as a blind buy, like most of my perfumes. I guess it's part of the rush... But I was not disappointed at all. This is one of my all time favorites! So sad it was discontinued. Guerlain is one of my favorite houses. Upon receiving this Initial L'eau version of Shalimar, I wasn't sure if I would like it. I caught wind of a powdery sweet scent after unwrapping the cellophane. Powder and sweetness is not appealing to me. Too girly, too pink. However I spritzed it on, and to my surprise, I *loved* it. The initial spray is a sharp powdery citrus. There is very little sweetness to it. It is a semi-spicy zest kissed with a touch of vanilla and iris. Neither the floral notes or vanilla are overbearing but instead are soft and sensual (though I am not sure if it's the vanilla or tonka bean I smell). These notes create an amazing combination that makes this scent complex, but each is so easily deciphered. The drydown remains powdery without being headache-inducing. The citrus notes linger as well as tonka bean. After hours of wear the scent dies down to a soft floral powder with an ever-so-slight spice. The many facets of this fragrance really can't be described with words. It is a multi-dimensional work of art. Addictive. Shalimar Initial L'eau is great for daily wear or special occasions. I've only had a chance to test it out in the warmer months, so I can't wait to see how it transitions in cooler weather. I would totally wear this any time, any season. Purchased back up bottles and always on the lookout for more.

How lucky I am to have received a bottle of this in a swap with a lovely and generous Fragrantician! I am powdery iris heaven, and as much as I love the original Initial, the L'eau takes it to a different level. My eyes roll back in ecstatic delight from beginning to end, which isn't terribly long. But since this is a L'eau, and an iris marvel, all is forgiven. It just means I can spray on more! It's ALL about iris and the famous Guerlain vanilla on my skin. I can detect the bergamot and other citrus in the initial phase, which combined with the Guerlainade pays proper tribute to the OG Shalimar, but it is so much softer and fluffier that it seems to lift me up on a cloud scented with iris! I am aware that this sounds like hyperbole and more like an advertisement than a proper review, but it's exactly how I experience it. It is one of my two favorite irises of all time - a spot previously reserved for No. 19 Poudre, but now shared by both. Silage and projection are both soft, but noticeable. This is a scent I will happily wear all year long, day and night! EDIT 10/7/22 Since I wrote this review 2 years ago, my collection has really grown, and I own and have experienced so many iris-centric fragrances that I can no longer say with 100% certain which one is my favorite. I still love L'eau and Poudre, but there are several that share top billing for me.

I have managed to stock at least 7 bottles of the eau de parfum, and since we are now in summer I thought that maybe something lighter would be suitable for the warm days. I love so much my eau de parfum that I did not want to move away from its beautiful smell. I have tried lots of "eau's" in the past, all of them not lasting more than 2 hours. This one is an exception and is slightly different from the EDP: head note is bergamot and a floral blast that gives you a good kick on a warm day, particularly after a shower. I can find some resemblance with Escale a Parati by Dior or Obsession Night by Calvin Klein. Middle note is very close to the original Shalimar: powdery, flowery and vanilla but without the leathery sensual note of the original Shalimar (the monarch), which makes it more wearable at the office during warm days. Base note is reminiscent of Parfum Initial as if to tell you that even though it is a bit different, it stays in the family. Projection, massive after spraying, then more a very present skin scent after a few hours. Longevity close to 6 hours, which is great for an "eau". I liberally reapply at the end of the day just to enjoy its presence even more. Sadly this baby like the EDP has been discontinued and thank god a few bottles are still available on the intranet. Grab them till you can, because when they're gone, they're gone!

Hello from Deco Dawn. This is my review of Shalimar Perfume Initial L'eau. A modern fresher, lighter, version of the Original. I have worn the Original Shalimar for over 30 years and I love this younger sister version. It's modern and contemporary but the dry down still has the Guerlinade in the dry down. The fragrance is 'sparkling' like a glass of pink champagne and is very sexy without being dirty. It's happy and very romantic. I feel the notes are prominent, citrus, iris, jasmine & Rose without being overwhelming and the vanilla & tonka bean are more polite and restrained than the Original. This fragrance is sheer perfection. It's refined, of quality ingredients and in a beautiful glass decanter bottle that is perfect to adorn any ladies dressing table. Guerlain are my all time favourite fragrance house. The monumental success of their best selling fragrances has lasted nearly 100 years and they are the oldest surviving house in Paris. I adore Guerlain Champs Elysees store I visited last year. It is an incredible shop and worth the visit if you are a true perfume collector. The store houses rare collectables and beauty salon and restaurant. As I always say don't just try it, buy it. And with this fragrance you will not be disappointed. Excellent and perfection. A huge thumbs up from Deco Dawn.

First I read the comment text on the packaging of Shalimar L'eau, quoting Jaques Guerlain "A burst of freshness revealing one of the most beautiful Guerlain Iris notes.." And surely to my nose it is! I love the original Shalimar version, all of them except Ode Vanille. Shalimar Initial was wonderful with the great earthy patchouli note in there.. but I guess this one Shalimar L'eau will appeal to more people because of missing this strong and sometimes strange notes (Caramel!)of the Original Initial version. In Initial'Leau there s only a splashing green freshness of Bergamote, Grapefruit and Neroli.. and then not long after these fresh opening the Iris kicks in, warm , powdery, caressing , flowery ..so much enhanced by the rose .. My dream combi! Iris, Rose, Tonakabean, Vanille, always a winning combination for me! And yes, there s a fine sweetness to it of course through the vanilla and tonka, but that s to a great effect, never sickening sweet only flowery, powdery. Also a great iris-rose combi is Burberry Body Intense.. but that s another story and somehow sweeter then Initial L'eau. I m not very often disappointed by a new Guerlain, this one no exception. Only downside point : it s an EDT and not as long living as some would wish, but 3-4 hours will do. Needless to add: Totally LOVE IT!

It opens zesty and sharp with lots of citrus notes,mostly bergamot,also grapefruit and orange..this much citrus is too much for my taste,so I really don't like the opening part of it...soon middle notes start to show up with blasts of powdery iris and other florals..I am a fan of powdery scents but this much powder is too much even for me..there is also a bitter undertone which I like but in whole I don't like the middle phase either But the dry down is the part I die for,powdered mist starts to calm down and sit on my skin gently..I can still detect citrusy iris but in a lovely blend with soft,warm vanilla and tonka...it's still powdery but in a soft gorgeous way and thanks god first phases don't last long on me L'eau is a milder version of initial..it's younger,fresher and less serious(no patchouli here)..it's a scent you can use all around the year but I prefer spring and fall..good longevity(about 8 hours)with a good sillage during the first phases and then it sits close to skin I also love it's elegant bottle I can't name shalimar l'eau a love because of it's sharp opening but I can say I like it very much and am happy to have it in my collection

I have Shalimar EDP, Shalimar Initial L'eau and Shalimar Initial EDP. All three have elements and notes of each other but they are not the same. Shalimar EDP is sweeter, rounder, creamier and the smoke is there from begin till the end. Shalimar Initial L'eau is, for me at least, the best of the three perfumes. Initial L'eau is fresh, inviting to have fun, romantic, flirty, flowery. You can use it all day and it is perfectly for after a shower. Shalimar Initial EDP stay between the other two. I tested Shalimar Initial and Shalimar Initial L'eau. They smell almost the same in the first 5 minutes. At this stage I thought they were the same. The same orange with the bergamot peel. After the first five minutes Shalimar Initial l'eau begin to smell soapy, soft flowers and vanilla. SI edp begin to smell animalic, earthy, the patchouli emerges. After 10 minutes they smell again almost the same. The drydown is quite different. Shalimar Initial L'eau stays all the way floral, fresh and soapy as in the beginning. Shalimar Initial Edp turns to a gourmand scent. The drydown is caramel and patchouli. I am glad I have all three scents. I just love them all.

Upon purchasing this, I had no idea I would fall head over heels. The initial smell is infectious. It makes me want to spray it over and over and over again. Super soapy citrus, a la citrus dish detergent, yet soooo edible, like lemon meringue pie. Mmmmm good. That fades pretty quickly, within a couple minutes, and the drydown is so delicious, I am not too sad to see the citrus go! It comes in separate waves, sometimes a wave of very sweet, dry tonka bean hits--like the smell when you crack peanut brittle. Sometimes it is more of a flowery, powdery iris note: super lush in bloom, reminiscent of springtime. At any given moment is a constant, warm, spicy, and powdery vanilla note that is absolutely scrumptious: the smell of confectioner's sugar filling the air, being mixed into vanilla-spice icing. I am quite impressed with the longevity. The drydown seems to last a good 8 hours for me, though after the first three hours, it is quite faint, which is my only sadness in this beauty. Overall, it is amazement. I am so glad I took a chance on blind buying this; well worth the risk! I am sure that I will be trying the others in this line!

Today, I was trying out 2 perfumes of the Guerlain.. on my left hand, I sprayed this one, on the right one L'instant Magique. My first impression of Initial was.. meeeh. My first impression of Magique was WOW. After 10minutes, things started turning out totaly different. SHALIMAR was a bit too citrusy and not that much impressive at the start. But after half an hour, it developed a really full, dynamic smell, soft and lady like, but bold at the same time. This frragrance IS NOT a seductive one.. I would say it's an all-occasion smell for somebody who likes to sniff herself and be pleasent smelling to everbody around. Now, after 7 hours, I can still smell it - faintly. The tonka bean smell stays the last, and I like it this way. UPDATE: I have been wearing it now for a few weeks, and I must say although I love it, it seems to stay really close to the skin, nobody even notices I'm wearing a perfume, except if I ask them to sniff it. My boyfriend doesn't like it - it seems to be on of those comfort smells you like sniffing on yourself, but it doesn't do much to the outside world.

Soft lipstick-iris with sparkling citrusses on a bed of Guerlain vanilla, rounded with a warm jasmine. The bergamot of the original Shalimar is very recognizable in this, but the grapefruit and orange are noticeable, too. I'm surprised the jasmine isn't higher in the voted notes pyramid, I can smell it quite clearly and it lends the perfume a feminine sensuality. I don't smell any of the other additional floral notes though. Compared to Parfum Initial EDP, I find this less waxy, more citrus-focused and more vanillic. As the name suggests it's also lighter. If Shalimar Parfum Initial is a fluffy cloud, L'Eau is a fine mist. Interestingly I get more of the original Shalimar from this than from Initial, even though it's so light and modern that no one who can't wear Shalimar needs to be afraid of it. The drydown isn't as heavy on the iris as it is with Initial, and the warm, powdery vanilla seems almost balsamic to me, it reminds me of a trace of Shalimar on a scarf. I like Parfum Initial a tad more than L'Eau, it's more unique and special, but this is also great.

I have Shalimar Initial and can't describe my love for it in words. After getting a sample of initial L'Eau I would say I love this one even more! This scent is deep, fresh and dark but not Gothic. The opening is more woody and fresh with bergamot and grapefruit, bergamot rules to the end, and takes the place of caramel notes of initial. Hence, L'Eau is more suitable for spring/summer and somehow freezes in cold weather. The sweetness and sillage is definitely less than initial, it also evolves less but longevity is almost the same and very impressive (more than a week on cloth). I extremely adore citrus especially my lovely bergamot, so guess that's why I prefer this version and can't stop smelling my wrist! Do not worry about discontinuation, it has continued under the name of Shalimar Initial L'eau Si Sensuelle, the feathery pink bottle which smells identical to this one. And I disagree with L'eau being a watered down of initial parfum, this is a summer version: mainly citrus, fresher, and less sweet.

Initially & NOW: A Shalimar for the ages... Opens with a signature Guerlain burst of citrus with multi-faceted bergamot, clean touches from neroli and a hint of powdery iris as it transitions to the floral heart. It's predominantly iris at the heart of a mixed floral bouquet with some lingering citrus, underpinned by Guerlain vanilla with some powderiness from tonka. The longer it dries down, the tonka brings out some near-cherry facets that enhance and sweeten the florals. As my 2012 bottle has aged (1Y02 Nov 2011), the citruses became less crisp though still present in blended form, and the juice has become a rich & vanillic citrus-amber, more similar to Shalimar EDC, with tea-rose coloured juice instead of pale pink. Initially (no pun intended) it was still Shalimar but with a sheer wash of modern chypre, along the lines of La Vie Est Belle Lancome or Coco Mademoiselle Chanel. But now, like a chameleon, she's evolved into the more timeless Shalimar style. What is this wizardry?....

L'Eau de Parfum Initial IMO confirm the Guerlain ability of making perfumes that can be breathable in warmer climate or casual occasions, especially if worn with sense, without producing weak soulless flankers. L'Eau de Parfum Initial maintains all the grandeur and sophisticated vibe of original only to a lower concentration and more delicate impact, faster working as for many EdT version at Guerlain. It's an addictive powdery yet modern type of scent and IMO a return to refined yet wild feminity, out of the crisis, out of austerity but with discipline. The lovely round fresh start is an ode to happiness and a burst of spontaneous behaviour, while the evolution reminds us of the fact that we are talking about "woman", not a lively teenager, rather a lively grownup lady who likes to plays with her own feminity. She doesn't do it in a confuse way. She plays knowing the game, she knows how to be daring but never vulgar. Great staying power and sillage on my skin.

I didn't think any in the Shalimar Line could smell better than the original but this one does. It is a absolutely beautiful scent that has delighted me to the point that I'am in love with it and went and bought one of the other last two bottles I could find which is worth every penny spent. It feels like I'am wearing wearing luxury for this is my first Parfum hence why it has more depth in its scent, This scent is soft yet has a power that lets everyone know its there in a sweet way. It's class in a bottle that has a lovely projection that last all day long for me. with only a couple of sprays. It is fresh with a light fruit scent with a creamy powdery background, not like those in traditional perfumes of today Then moves in a lovely scented floral bouquet that is just intoxicating, with a dry down of a creamy warm vanilla scent. So wish I could go to Macys and order this but can't so I feel so blessed with the 2 vintage bottles I now own, Just so lovely!

Long story short, i hated it, then it came to me as a present. After some time i can say i looove it, now. At first it smelled like dirty feet, but now that is gone. Well when i'm wrong i am really wrong. It must have been this citrus combination that reminded me of dirt. Now it is my favorite part :) It doesn't last that long, at first it seemed like it will last forever. I'm sort of sad that it doesn't. After that it turns in wonderful creamy vanilla. I fell madly in love with this little horror. To my nose (that, now i know, doesn't work well) it goes: citruses (bergamot-lemon), iris and vanilla. These flowers in the middle i do not get (but, i'm no expert :)) If you do not like it on paper, spray it on your skin anyway. It changes incredibly, and you might end up liking it. (This and Shalimar Parfum Initial were on my dislike list. I removed not only l'eau but also Parfum. You know, just in case... ;) )