Shalimar Souffle Intense

I should start by saying that I haven't smelled original Shalimar in years, having always dismissed it as too mature for me during my early 20s working in the cosmetics department at Macy's. But in the last few years, having renewed my fragrance obsession via reading the amazing articles and reviews here on Fragrantica, I began searching for a high quality vanilla based fragrance, like so many I had in the past that are either now discontinued or reformulated beyond recognition. And surprisingly, all roads seemed to lead me to Shalimar. As you may already know, there are dozens of listings for Shalimar and all her variations. But which one would be the right one for me? I didn't want to fall in love with something discontinued, which eliminated a good chunk of prospective juices right off the bat. I liked the idea of a newer, maybe more modern take on the original, so Souffle was a contender... until I discovered the Souffle Intense reviews a couple weeks ago. The reviews described her as less citrusy and closer to the original Shalimar than Souffle, while retaining her own identity. So since I've always loved rich, vanilla-heavy orientals, and with winter right around the corner, Souffle Intense sounded like a perfect new seasonal addition to my collection. I pulled the trigger and blind bought, and she arrived today. It's been a few hours since the first spray, and I'm still a little overwhelmed. Shalimar Souffle Intense is absolutely beautiful. The first couple minutes are citrusy and bright, but almost immediately the top notes dissapate and lush, white florals begin to emerge. They are creamy, dewy, and a bit powdery. But the floral notes never overwhelm the true star of this fragrance, which are the base notes. The vanilla in here is to die for, and while sweet; Souffle Intense never veers off into gourmand territory, as there's something a little spicy/smoky to keep her in check. I wish I had the vocabulary to accurately describes the sumptuousness of how she dries down, but I don't so you'll just have to trust me. It's heavenly. I remember in the early 2000s there were a slew of gorgeous Oriental fragrances introduced: Dior Addict, Armani Mania, Boucheron Initial, Givenchy Organza Indecence, just to name a few. I had and loved them all. Most have sadly gone the way of the dinosaur, and I'd all but given up the search to ever find anything comparable. Until today. If you're new to Guerlain, or Shalimar like me but have always wanted to give her a try; or if you just love a good vanilla based oriental without the sickly sweetness that can accompany some of the newer gourmands, Souffle Intense might be for you. I actually ordered two back up bottles because at this moment I don't ever want to be without this! Oh, and speaking of bottles, the midnight blue glass is simply divine. 10/10

This smells like Shalimar Cologne to me with a heavy dose of benzoin. Unlike some other Shalimar flankers, like the Initials and even Souffle and Lumiere, there is no doubt this is a close relation of the iconic original, sharing the same citrus, spice aka. Guerlinade, and famous Shalimar vanilla. As such, it shares more than a passing resemblance to Shalimar Cologne. In fact, without the addition of benzoin, it would probably smell almost identical to my nose. Since I wanted to get a back-up of Shalimar Cologne anyway I no longer think it's necessary as this is so similar it would be redundant. While I like this a lot and think it's very pretty, out of all the Souffles my favorite is still Lumiere. I find it softer, fluffier, creamier, and somehow more rounded, despite having bergamot as a note running throughout. Like the aforementioned scents it also has vanilla, but is much lighter on the spice, only becoming apparent in the dry down as it becomes a skin scent. It shares the benzoin of Intense but whereas the benzoin subsides greatly in Intense as the scent progresses it stays throughout the life of the scent in Lumiere. As a result, the fragrance remains light and fluffy from beginning to end. I also find with Intense that like Shalimar Cologne it has a strong citrus presence that stays strong from beginning to end. Sometimes I find the Shalimar Cologne citrus too sharp in hot weather (I actually prefer wearing it in cooler weather) and I fear the same thing will happen with Intense. Despite Lumiere starting out with a strong bergamot opening it greatly subsides as the fragrance progresses becoming softer, and as such I think will be more versatile for year round wear. My personal opinion – if you have Shalimar Cologne you probably could do without Intense and vice versa. If you have either (or both) and want something different, I highly recommend Lumiere.

And the next morning I woke up wrapped in a very sensual, floriental scent. The pillows give off Shalimar Souffle Intense, the hair has locked the scent and there are still traces of it on the wrists and the palms of the hands. It's a bliss, like a heaven. I haven't really worn yet Shalimar. And this was one of my favorite moments in Sephora: when they don't see you, douse with a perfume. My hand grabbed the dark blue bottle, that stood out. I don't regret it. It's a true floriental, that has a very nice sillage for the first three hours and then stays close to the skin; it lingers and lingers and lingers. Combines two vibes: a vintage green citrusy and florals with vanilla. It is aromatic, nothing foodish or gourmand; my worst fear with vanilla is the foody aspect. There is no such thing here. No cakes, no cookies, no cheap tacky vanilla. It's a smooth combination of vanilla, totally upfront, honeyed; I'm a sucker for honey,it's not listed but I sense it, a subdued caramelic sweetness that actually complements a composition when in proper dosage. The opening is green and cologney, there is the vintage vibe, classic, nose-filling, a wake-up of the senses. The last thing is the florals. Shalimar Souffle Intense doesn't win in complexity, but that's not a problem, we've got Shalimar for that. A lovely blend of jasmine mainly and less orange blossom. Honeyed. Somewhere metallic. White florals can do that. The perfume it reminded me of is Allure EDT Chanel, I wonder how anyone hasn't spotted the similarity though. The difference lies in benzoin, that makes Shalimar Souffle Intense thicker. Not a heavy scent, actually it's youthful, undoubtedly feminine and sensual without smelling cheap. Contemporary with bits of the past. I really really liked the effect it left on me, well done Thierry Wasser

It's often contested whether these Souffle fragrances can truly be considered flankers of the original Shalimar, given how strongly they diverge from the original scent. I think the answer is that Guerlain considers anything based on citrus and vanilla to be a Shalimar variant, regardless of how it smells. As a lover of the original I must admit this doesn't come close. Souffle Intense, however, is very pleasant in its own way and seems somewhat avant-garde to me. I get a burst of non-acidic lemon on the opening, which swiftly progresses to a very floral, soapy centre. I suspect it's the fabled orange blossom absolute, but to me this smells like magnolia-scented soap in a bath: citrusy, foaming, and sweet. Running through the scent from top to bottom is an extremely strongly resinous, sweet benzoin note which is granular, crystalline but in the process of melting. This benzoin alone conjures the same fantasy of the East as the original, though here everything is 'wet' as opposed to the dry leathery quality of the original. Vanillic benzoin takes over almost totally towards the dry down, and is the star of the scent and the most attractive element to me. The original Souffle de Parfum has musk in place of this benzoin note, and I think that's why I prefer this Intense version. Having gone through 50ml of this, I can say that as lovely as it is, it's not going to be a repurchase for me. It is extremely good as an alternate take on Shalimar, however, preserving the structure of the original (citrus yielding to sweetness) but not the scent. Lemon soap on top of purring resin.

Absolutely divine. This was a blind buy for me after carefully review and comparing/contrasting it to other Shalimar flankers (since the EDP was slightly too mature for me and the EDT a tad too smoky); I was in desperate need of a new fragrance so I took the plunge, and I am so so glad I did. The first time I wore it I was reminded of the holidays for some reason? And at first I was worried that it was going to be more of a "like" than a "love" because it was a tad too sweet for me in the beginning...making me think it may be the kind of fragrance for special occasions only, not daily wear...but the next morning it was still lingering on my skin and had transformed into something I quickly couldn't get enough of. It didn't smell Christmas-y anymore, it smelled like home; not like a childhood home, but rather a feeling. It wraps around you like a warm embrace, staying close. If I had to describe what I'd imagine heaven to smell like, this would be it! It comforts the mind, soothes the soul, and lifts the spirit. My one and only complaint is that I need to reapply throughout the day, more than I'd like to; not the greatest projection on my skin, but on the flip side it makes for a more intimate experience, which is also nice. I'd describe Shalimar Souffle Intense as an "introverted" fragrance...but maybe once temperatures rise a bit, that will change. Regardless - 10/10 would recommend this beauty! EDIT: I realized my skin had dried out quite a bit, which is probably why at first this seemed a bit elusive. Not anymore :)