Shalimar Millésime Iris

Pre- review: I waited too long to purchase directly from Guerlain and by the time I was ready, it was sold out! Resellers are scalping everyone for a bottle. $250, $300, $500!?!? Absolutely disgusting! *We should create a forum where we collect a list of scalpers so we can blacklist them. One shouldn’t have to take a loan out to purchase a fragrance: paying a premium for a hard to find frag is one thing but geez.* Anyway, I found a ebay seller (art of fragrances) who is selling authentic *sealed* boxes for $155 or best offer. I paid $150 after taxes. My flacon is authentic. I’m over the moon! Review: First impression of two sprays on each wrist, love at first sniff! more musk than others have let on and less Iris than I thought an Iris centered fragrance would have though it’s definitely a tamed version of Shalimar. The fragrance is ethereal but it still has great siliage. I keep smelling her as I move around creating a wonderful scent bubble. It’s sweet without being cloying. I’m not getting the gooey caramel others have mentioned but again, this is my first impression. It’s really not as gourmand as some are making it out to be. I’m experiencing a powder puff/ fur like texture to the fragrance. I keep imagining white fur. If Shalimar Miliseme Iris were a color it would be a pastel purple. I really love the house of Guerlain. Now I must root out an affordable bottle of Milesime Tonka! Edit: I’ve been wearing this all day and I’ve added to my two sprays Wow! On second application, I get the signature smoky/leathery vanilla incense in the opening then the lipstick Iris comes in quickly behind just to peak in and say hello. I really wish the this part lasted a bit longer. After a while SMI becomes sweeter and I smell cotton candy. I keep getting whiffs of it in my hair and it triggered a scent memory of a very particular cotton candy from my childhood. So I see the references to Prada Candy and Pink Sugar but I have both of those and S.M.I is just more special. I perceive this flanker to be Shalimar with sweet, waxy Iris *almost lipstick but not really* on a bed of confectionary, powdery almond/vanilla and cotton candy musk. Shit! I’m gonna need to buy a back up bottle. Damn it! It’s delicious. If this isn’t for you, please message me and I’ll buy it off of your or swap from one of my full bottles in my extensive collection. Edit: This lasts well into the next day. This is definitely gourmand, I was wrong but not in a caramel ice cream way, I get a Iris Dragee or a Iris candy/Jordan almonds effect. It’s really addictive. I do wish the smoky/leathery opening stayed throughout because I love Shalimar but perhaps with more wears I’ll experience that and pick up on it.

It's lovely, for what it is. It opens with a touch of bergamot ~ which always intermingles with some of the resins and gives a touch of "Shalimar". Going forward from there, it's a bit different from what I was expecting. I don't get carroty iris, I get a doughy iris that ends buttery. It's sweet, no doubt about that, but the caramel/vanilla note does help this along. I will say, this ends better than it begins. About an hour in and I get a buttery, iris-y Shalimar candy, it sort of leaves an airy, smooth and somehow ~ sparkly ~ trail: but it's always a Shalimar-lite. Not at all hard to wear, it never wears you. The og is the Queen, never to be dethroned in my opinion, but the Millésime line are such delicious options for different moods. The orris root, imo, is very good quality ~ just not sure it was best put to use here. I've only had it for about 10 days and Vanilla Planifolia and Tonka both changed, morphed into better scents. All Guerlains do (the older ones especially, but the newer ones get better too). I'm a Shalimar ho, so I will always buy the next one; but I'd suggest testing first unless your're like a lot of here and love anything Shalimar. Shalimar Millésime Vanilla Planifolia ~ very pretty, easy to wear and I think rivals todays version of SDV for a great vanilla. Not the older version of SDV,, never the older one. Shalimar Millésime Tonka ~ technically a nicely structured perfume and beautiful, it's just getting deeper and more lovely. I'd say it's true to Shalimars complexity. Shalimar Millésime Iris ~ buttery, smooth iris candy, with a better trail than body. It's kind of swirls and eddies around you, others seem to enjoy it on me. Edited to add: I'm excited about Rose next year, and hope that it's more complex, truer to that French Guerlain ideal, not a more gourmand-y flanker. And I love a good gourmand/vanilla/milky-musky scent -but it just needs to be more......Guerlain.

As an unconditional lover of Shalimar I find it gorgeous and it shares the density, depth and richness of the other Millesime, Vanille and Tonka. So from that perspective, beautiful, and I hope all Shalimar lovers will like it even if the more smokey and leather notes of the original are toned down and the vanilla toned up in general. But this is the case in all the Millesimes I find. On the other hand, inside the Millesime range I find Iris the least pronounced on the headline note, the iris. Yes the iris is there, of a very high quality, more on the dusty side not really a very powdery one, but very diffused and not bringing a strong enough iris preence in my view. I still sense more the stamp of the vanilla of Millesime as a signature of the fragrance rather than a pronounced Iris-Shalimar. From this angle I think Shalimar Philtre de Parfum managed the iris print much better and I would say that if you look for an iris based Shalimar that one is more iris than the Millesime (just my view). But overall this range is wonderful if only for its richness, density and quality (and a very good staying power also). Am looking forward for more next year if they plan to release one a year.

I bought two bottles of Millésime Iris when it was released in 2023. One still remains unopened. With its predecessors Millésime Vanilla Planifolia and Millésime Tonka being favorites in my collection, I figured Millésime Iris would be a slam dunk. I was wrong. I barely wore it at all. I didn’t expect a gourmand Shalimar and I didn’t understand it. It is not like any of the other Iris fragrances in my collection. Initially MI opens up with a buttery caramel. It is slightly salty and almost verges on the side of caramel popcorn. I couldn’t get over my disappointment. Where was the Iris? I love Iris fragrances. So, I shelved it. Two years later I am wearing it again and I completely get it. Now buttery caramel seems like the perfect sidekick for Iris in a Shalimar iteration. It wouldn’t make sense to lean into violet or carroty nuances with the Shalimar base. This is a buttery Orris and I am really enjoying it. It is not as smoky or as leathery as the Vanilla and Tonka Millésimes. I smell very little bergamot in the opening. The dry down is where the Iris begins to have its moment and I’m here for it. I have to say, now I am glad I purchased two bottles.

Happy to have it, thanks to fine folks at QVC, because I originally decided I wouldn't bother with yet another Millesime edition. I have so many Shalimars, and as much as I love them, my husband is starting to notice my spending habits, so I had to slow down some when this one was released. The collector in me is screaming "Yes, you finally have this version too", but the wallet is saying"Really, they all smell alike". I am not getting any iris from this at all. Iris seemed to be a big thing in 2023, and of all releases, La Vie Est Belle L'extrait was the one that knocked my socks off. Millesime Iris holds a huge resemblance to Millesime Vanilla P. and Millesime Tonka, and it would be really hard to tell these three apart if one had to. I am finding the Iris version to be a tad sweeter than the previous two, but still very grown up and very leathery and smoky, just like the OG Shalimar. However, I still love wearing it, and since all the rest of mine are in storage while we are house hunting, I will enjoy this to the max. And the lotion this came with? OMG, everyone needs Shalimar body lotion in their life. Everyone. It Is Just Heavenly!

I am absolutely shocked to say this is one of my favorite Guerlains in terms of how much I enjoy wearing it. It feels so bizarre unexpected and a little uncomfortable to love it this much after having had and loved so many of the discontinued favorites of both vintage shalimar as well as so many flankers and the Les Elixirs Charnels line and DSV and so many of the other great guerlain vanillas I have loved for so long... It’s a vanilla scent, with a lot of beautifully soft iris - and a hint of Shalimar. Iris Ganache never worked for me- there was a note in it that was metallic that I couldn’t get past so I never got to enjoy this wonderful vanilla iris I craved until this creation I never loved Shalimar for my skin as much as the gourmand vanilla offerings from Guerlain. When I read the reviews saying this was too sweet I thought that it sounded good to me and it is better than I could have dreamed... Try it if you loved the Les Elixirs Charnels!!!! It’s potentially more of a vanilla than a Shalimar though. An amazing, iris filled, complex, Guerlain vanilla/iris with some beautiful incense!!! Incredibly well blended.

Shalimar Millésime Iris swooned me. It’s so good it’s hard to describe. I love Iris perfume but this isn’t typical of most Irises. It’s not a streamlined elegant type of thing, it’s not cold or minimal. This is like a cloud of intense, dense, velvety deliciousness. It’s a fog of powdery vanilla leather that quickly envelops the wearer (and everyone else in close talking distance) in the aromas of a delicious and warm pastry shop that you enter after a cold winter walk, opening the door into a bright fire lit sitting area where people are eating an array of pastries, talking and laughing, and they all welcome you with a smile. The furniture people are sitting on is old and worn leather and lovely, soft velvet. Someone inside is wearing Iris perfume and you get whiffs occasionally but you’re not sure what it is, only that it’s familiar. This is much more accessible than the classic Shalimar and for me at least the moment I smelled it I knew I had to have it. I think it’s a really good deal too for a Guerlain perfume, if we can talk about less romantic things like money, and on my skin lasts a very long time.

This is my favorite offering from the Shalimar Millesime collection so far and my favorite Shalimar flanker overall! I get a lot of iris in the opening, which is accompanied by a caramel note that gives this fragrance a slight gourmand-ish feel, which I LOVE. As Millesime Iris dries down, the iris becomes more powdery and the fragrance warms up and gets spicier, but not as spicy as Millesime Tonka. I actually understand the votes for Gourmand Coquin smelling similar, but more so in the late dry down of Millesime Iris when it becomes a spicy vanilla scent and the iris note is less detectable. I prefer Millesime Iris over Millesime Vanilla because I really enjoy the caramel sweetness and the Shalimar DNA is significantly softened (so much so that if you love the OG Shalimar DNA then you may not like Millesime Iris). I know this line is meant to be limited edition, but I really hope Guerlain keeps this one as part of their permanent lineup because I finally found the Shalimar for me and will be so sad if it's discontinued.

I'm very confused by the controversy around this one, as for me, it does *exactly what it says on the can*, which sucks for me, because given the comments here, I blind bought it thinking it would not. This is Shalimar through and through, especially in the opening - big slpash of leather and some smoke and bergamot. As a non-Shalimar fan, this is a bit too much for me, I thought that DNA would be toned down. Thankfully the suede mostly recedes, and is mainly smelled close up. Then the orris root is unmistakable - yes, there is vanilla here, and caramel, but the main player is orris, powdery, creamy, lovely. I only wish it had more projection. Maybe people get confused as the scent profile mixes up with vanilla? So there you have it - Shalimar Iris, delivering its promise. It's nice, hopefully it grows on me. EDIT: well, it seems it has grows on me, as I've been wearing it everyday for the past 2 weeks. I have also grown accustomed to the suede. I only wish the fragrance performance was stronger

From the reviews, I was worried I would get dominant caramel as I am not a fan of gourmand perfumes. While it is sweet, it is not cloying. It does have the DNA of original, and I think this is quite enjoyable, easier to wear, more suitable to today’s taste. And I am fairly old. I think it’s very well formulated. So far my favorite flanker is Soufflé Intense and now this. Oh and my partner loved it. Granted he likes everything I wear, this one he gave thumbs up—much more enthusiastic. 🥰 Bravo— Guerlain continues to impress me. Update 5/6/2024: after wearing different perfumes in the past several months, I sprayed this again. Oh my goodness, it is so so so good. Beautiful powdery vanilla with a bit of the OG’s edginess. But it’s not the hard smoky leathery note that takes time for some people to appreciate for the OG. This is softer and lovely. Update 04/17/2026: After trying other flankers, Iris is my favorite Shalimar. For me, it’s perfect. 💐

I blind bought Millésime Iris and got it today! The opening kind of threw me off. It smelled like beautiful white suede of a designer leather purse. I hate leather notes so I was so disappointed. Then about 20 minutes later I was at work and I gave my arms another smell and I had a nose-gasm! Holy Heck!!! It was GORGEOUS!!! What is this sorcery???? Magic??? I don't care and I'm glad I own it. It became the most provocative, sexy, powdery, vanilla, iris, scent I have ever smelled in my life. It does have the Shalimar DNA waaaay in the background which doesn't bother me. I was at work and I was talking to a gentleman patient and he said you are making me nervous with how good you smell. I almost died!!! The next patient was a kid and they said, "You smell really good!" Back to back comments lol/compliments. I am so glad I got my hands on a bottle of this. It's INTOXICATING!!! Give it a chance. Get past the first 20 minutes and BAM!

Very sweet, but not overly so for my taste. It does evoke Prada Candy and Infusion d'Iris in the first hour or two, but it's much richer then either of those. I can detect the Shalimar signature easily in the second hour or so before it dries down to a sweet but balanced caramel vanilla. I did a side by side test with both of the Prada fragrances and I could barely smell them, they are both much subtler, I'd say thinner as well. When I first tried it I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't more Shalimar and was such a confection. But I've been wearing it every day since, and it's been over a week. It's really satisfying in its way. I'd compare the sweetness level to Cuir Beluga, but it projects less, and is more interesting. I'm really pleased that this year's limited edition is more easily purchased. I tried with the vanilla one but never got there in time.

I find this so much more wearable and palatable than last year's Millesime Tonka release. I found the tonka incarnation to be strongly leathery, very dark and evening appropriate. Granted, Millesime Iris seems to have less in common with the OG Shalimar DNA but it is beautiful. It possesses a great deal of sweetness from the caramel but manages to remain elegant. I think the sugariness is tempered by the powdery quality of the iris. This is the perfect balance of mass-appealing yet sophisticated, ladylike yet wearable. It has more of a typically designer smelling profile than niche but it doesn’t put me off. I have long been a fan of Iris Torréfié by Guerlain but the pricing of the Arts and Materials line are prohibitive. Not that this is similar, but it has the same beautiful take on the note of iris, though limited edition the price is much fairer.

Shalimar Millésime Iris is the perfect balance of old school and new school. MI smells like creamy toffee and vanilla on my skin. So much so, that I got called “edible” while wearing this. The iris balances out the vanilla and toffee so that it’s not too gourmand like many of the overly done niche vanilla-brown sugar offerings. Huge plus that this lasts all day. MI is youthful and feminine as others have mentioned, but not juvenile at all- MI is more like a young person that’s an old soul with impeccable taste. Definitely more modern than its timeless predecessor, Shalimar. My only complaints are that it’s not a “permanent” offering AND the bottle is only 50ml. The toffee and iris turn me greedy... I just want more- buying a few backup bottles of this as I never *not* want to have this in my collection!

For me, Shalimar is an eternal favorite, and among them, Millesime Iris is the standout. You can clearly sense the original DNA, yet it’s far more wearable—lighter, less heavy, and not as vintage. Once it dries down, the iris and vanilla notes emerge beautifully and with great intensity. It’s feminine, soft, skin-close, elegant, sophisticated, and special. Very well composed. The notes come together seamlessly; nothing feels loud or out of place, yet it remains distinctive because of its uniqueness. What I love about the entire Shalimar line is that it’s truly incomparable, with beautifully blended, refined notes. My only heartbreak is that it’s no longer produced. I recommend it to anyone who finds the original too strong or overwhelming, yet still appealing.

My favorite Shalimar. It’s absolutely fascinating how differently we humans perceive scents. I can already sense the dominant iris note right from the first spray—much more so than the caramel. Then comes the caramelized vanilla. It shows a different side in every situation and in every season. Yesterday it felt dark and smoky, slightly converging toward Millésime Tonka. At other times it’s creamy and vanilla-forward without the smokiness; sometimes more dry, caramel-like, and powdery. What I really love is that it opens with far less citrus than the original. I don’t like the strong citrusy opening of the original fragrance at all. It’s a shame it only comes in a 50 ml bottle and was a limited edition—this one will be gone quickly.

What comes to mind when I wear Shalimar Millesime Iris is a bougie old fashion plain glazed donut with a sprinkle of powdered sugar, soft spices & buttery iris. Out of the three Millesime’s I wear this one the most and if you are a gourmand fragrance lover like moi I think you’ll really enjoy this. It still has that beautiful Guerlain perfume quality to it but there is this beautiful dance between the soft buttery iris and the sweetness from the caramel that makes it almost edible. This is chic, sweet, endearing and playful yet at the same time its sophisticated, refined, graceful and simple. I don’t have anything in my collection like Millesime Iris and this is an absolute love for me. Back up bottle approved!

I just received my bottle today. I am in love with this version. I do wish the Iris peeked out more. I also love the original Shalimar. This is a version that could be signature worthy for me but, since it is only available for a limited time, I will just have to savor it. I know layering is not recommended by some people but I did layer this over my Shalimar eau de parfum and it is lovely. I never had the opportunity to experience Iris Ganach but I wonder if this resembles that one. I cannot be the only one who gets frustrated with Guerlain for making masterpiece parfums and discontinues them. Please Bring back Gourmond Coquin!

This is gorgeous to me. I am abit mythed how people are saying they do not get the Iris... it's very present especially in the opening then it recedes but still very present for me while the caramel and vanilla notes come through. Beautifully blended as well..OG Shalimar DNA also obvious to me in the very beginning but that does not last too long. Dry down is a soft buttery sweet iris and vanilla. Prefer this over Intial as this is better blended. At first spray I can see a comparison between M.I and Initial. Glad I purchased this very happy. I do really like OG Shalimar but for years I struggled as it didn't like me lol.

So so glad to add this beauty to my collection. Compared to Millésime Tonka, Rose, Jasmin and L'Essence, I would say that this sits very close to L'Essence as a more balanced, modern iteration of Shalimar. That being said, I agree that it's a more powdery gourmand version of Shalimar but it's truly a gorgeous scent. It reminds me of L'Essence, but with the sweetness dialled up, just a smidge to give the scent a bit of levity, but still grounded by the Shalimar DNA. Current ranking for the Millésimes for me: Tonka > Iris > Rose > Jasmin. I still need to try VP to compare it to the rest!