Shalimar Eau de Cologne

This is a wonderful version of Shalimar, and like a truly interesting perfume, full of contradictions. Like: This is probably the easiest version of Shalimar to wear. Yet it's full of leather, civet, resins, and practically devoid of anything soft or clean. This is the version of Shalimar that you could get away with at work, yet it is dense in aromatic notes that aren't poplular/crowd pleasing right now. The notes themselves are heavy and strong, but Shalimar EdC wears as a skin scent and lasts only 4 hours, even in vintage versions (to be fair, by definition, it's an Eau de Cologne.) My vintage bottle of EdC is lacking the classic Shalimar citrus topnotes. Rather the perfume dives RIGHT IN to a leathery, spicy, resinous, skanky (civet) incense heaven. This version seems to lack any florals to my nose, and I think of it as a heavy aromatic base perfume of leather, woods, incense, civet, spices, and resins. Now doesn't that sound overwhelming? It isn't. In fact like I said this is a skin scent that you can wear anywhere, and I am sorry that the summer is over, because this wears better in hotter weather than cooler. A hot weather version of Shalimar, imagine that. The truly thick, spicy leather with a drop of civet notes are the heart of the perfume, and as it wears, it calms down. The skank dims, the spices lessen, and what you're left with is a lovely vanilla leather sandalwood drydown. Vintage Shalimar EdC is all over ebay, the bigger bottles have the clear "Guerlain" inscribed cap, not the blue, and the tall ribbed cylindrical bottles are also vintage, along with the pocketwatch style dabber bottles. They can usually be found for $20 to 30 and seem to age well. The current EdC isn't bad, there's a brief citrus opening, it's a little more powdery, and the moood is lightened up considerably. An upside is that I do smell more of the floral aspect, rose and iris. It's recognizably Shalimar but the vintage cologne is so good, and so chock full of those spicy delicious resins and leather, and so inexpensive, that I would go for that instead.

At Long Last ~ I possess a bottle of this ethereal magic. As Yourfoxiness states, " I absolutely love this incarnation of Shalimar..." Couldn't have said it better, luv! Now I don't really have anything against the edt formulation ( apart from my odd sensation that it's bottle looks uneasily topheavy ), just a huge appreciation for THIS one. Hats off to the layout here at Fragrantica that has categorized the edc apart from the edt, as there really is a ( subtle ) difference. Some of us will notice this more than others due to the vagaries of personal chemistry --- but it's there. If you look at the note bars at the top, they are a Good representation of just what the differences are. My nose appreciates the slight spiciness in this more than the slightly rubber scent of the edt. I am currently wearing the edt on my right arm and edc on the left. Ahh! The edc lingered less on the rubber - like opening note and went for the heart. A very warm and happy heart. The edt took longer, but it's there now after an hour or so, and very nice it is. But.. somehow this is a trifle less warm and happy on my skin ~ cooler, perhaps. And the spicy quality is almost absent. I frankly do not generally invest in more expensive scents, as they seldom satisty the way my favorite drugstore beauties do. THIS ONE is worth the money!! Emeraude is not a substitute for Shalimar IMHO, just in the same general fragrance family. It would be hard for me to choose between them if I had to pick just one to own. Very Hard! To sum up, you could easily try this out by getting it at your local Walmart or Walgreens. Both have great return policies, so it's no - risk. The 2.5 oz bottle of edc costs between 45 to 48 dollars in my area, a decent luxury that even a penny pincher can save towards - or return if it just isn't your thing. But I'd rather have one bottle of this than about a hundred mochas or Starbuck specials...... WOW

Have you ever read other peoples' descriptions of their experiences online and thought, "Are we smelling completely different things?" 😂 That's been my experience with Shalimar for a while now. I just couldn't understand how everyone loved it so much! I gave it SO MANY chances, but I eventually had to admit that I just didn't like it. I knew that took down my perfumista cred several notches, but apparently I just wasn't sophisticated enough to appreciate the "mystery" and "complexity" of Shalimar... Turns out that the answer to my question was, "Yes!" I actually WAS smelling a completely different thing than everyone else--I was smelling a modern formulation. I finally got my hands on a vintage formula, and I cannot believe the difference!!!! Vintage Shalimar SINGS. I don't even want to write a description because it's so damn good I feel like I couldn't do it justice anyway. But, what's more than that, I don't really want to try and put words to my experience because I just want to enjoy the experience. If you want a detailed description, there are countless available. I just want to make two points. First, getting your hands on a vintage formula is non-negotiable. Don't be fooled by the modern bottles that say "Shalimar" on them. They're liars and fakes. The real Shalimar died a while ago and the only way to experience it now is to get an older bottle. Secondly, if you're like me and aren't a big fan of leather accords on yourself, don't be afraid of the strong leather here. This is not like any leather you've smelled in other perfumes. This is like some ethereal leather Aphrodite would wear on Mt Olympus or something 😂 Anyway, it's amazing. I can't recommend it enough ❤

LEMON-VANILLA & LEATHER. This feels personal; handed down - it's hard to describe - it just feels right. Lemon meringue, a barber's leather strop, vanilla, ancestors, Brill creme my grandfather put in his slicked back hair, bandaids, baby powder, baby cream (not wipes), a familiar soap...these are some of the association I get wearing this. With the first sprays, this seemed to be more of a citrus cologne, or a more lemon-y version of the original perhaps (before the bottle matures), with slightly shorter wearing time, but after the vanilla ages it's a VANILLA BOMB!!!!! This gets compliments. I agree with reviewer Rasputin1963 below, this is close to the EDP. I get about 4-5 hours of good projection, after which it becomes a skin scent for a few more hours (6-8 total). This reads unisex to me, maybe because, to the best of my knowledge, neither of my grandmothers wore it. It leans a little masculine before the vanilla ages, but then it leans feminine with the aged vanilla. This is one of the very few scents that transcend the 'best before' limits IMHO. There is a timelessness to it that keeps me coming back, unlike the many scents I once loved, but could not be paid to wear now. I wear this for myself, for others, to bed, out, or just whenever. But I'm more likely to wear it in summer and wear the EDP at other times of the year. I thought I preferred the EDP to the EDT, but I actually go back and forth, although I enjoy them all. I currently have 5 versions of Shalimar, which I'm not even sure makes me a collector considering the numbers that some people collect. Shalimar forever. Enjoy! 10/10.

For the opening, and only the opening does this smell like it's respective color. It's a tart, zingy, zesty citrus opening, and it's the sort that's perfect in the morning when you're groggy and trying to wake up fully. It of course settles and becomes so, so soft, and beautifully powdery...it's really lovely. The leather reveals itself early on, and immediately you can tell it's the leading note. I actually have never read the notes here, but it's such a clear, convincing leather without being overbearing, that I think it's actually quite a rare balance and done incredibly well here. This has a romantically oldschool tone, but not as strongly as original Shalimar (which I haven't smelled in years, but remember at least that much). As it dries on my skin, a licorice-y tone emerges along with the vanillic (true vanilla absolute smell, it smells like the real deal) leather, my mom confirmed this as well, though on her it smells nearly of patchouli with sandalwood. It's not very animalic, but it's not entirely "clean" smelling either, it's all just kind of gently in the background here. Even in colonge form, Shalimar is a fragrance of dimension, history and romance. It unfolds like a song, and I deeply enjoy the entire process. It's delightfully out of fashion (but are beautiful things ever, truly?), yet none of that matters in the slightest. Wearable art 🎨 ✨️