Today I smell of 1925.
This may potentially conjure up an image of a musty, moth eaten silk flapper dress from an old attic, or rusting old Ford; however, cast your mind to a boudoir with velvet cushions, the seduction of swirling smoke from heavy incense, the heady heat of the East. Gentlemen; imagine a Sheba. A smokey eyed, scarlet lipped temptress luring you lasciviously. Ladies; a Sheik. A smouldering, tall, strong, dark Valentino about to take you in his grip and make love to you passionately.
This is a scent of intrigue; deep, sensual, heady, romantic and mysterious. For the lady who wears it; think Theda Bara in a bottle, and this is Shalimar. It is the scent of vamps.
Shalimar by Guerlain was re-launched in 1925 after having initially been created in 1921. The bottle itself is beautifully ornate; a midnight blue stopper with Guerlain Paris scrawled in gold, sitting atop a crystal urn shaped bottle on a footer, with a gold label in the centre displaying it’s name decadently.
Apparently (so I have read in sources long forgotten) the perfume contains pheromones amongst the other dark velvet infusions; whether this is true or not, it was the first perfume to ever heavily use vanilla as its base note which Jacques Guerlain considered to be a powerful aphrodisiac, making it a perfume designed to intentionally inspire love and lust. So, when I say it is the perfume of vamps, it really is - it epitomizes the dark eyed, bee stung lipped, pale skinned beauty who peers out of a smoky screen and lures her lover into the darkness of her Eastern boudoir.
It is exactly this heady exotic Eastern world that inspired the perfume. The name Shalimar means ‘Abode, or Hall of Love’ in Sanskrit, and is taken from the Gardens of Shalimar in Lahore in what is now Pakistan, built by Shah Jahan in memory of his wife, the love story of whom also inspired this perfume.
The top notes in this scintillating scent are bergamot, hesperidies and lemon, with rose, jasmine, iris, patchouli and vetiver making up the middle notes. Vanilla, opoanax, musk, civet, leather, ambergris, sandalwood and incense all combine to give the velvety rich base notes which I adore.
Sadly, modern versions of the perfume have been altered so that the deeper, darker muskier notes which were so apparent in the original have now been overpowered by higher citrus notes to adapt to changing tastes in perfumes.
Earlier perfumes of the twentieth century most certainly follow a trend of the dark, intense musky fragrance as opposed to most perfumes of today; personally, I prefer the darker scents with this musky infusion as opposed to the lighter citrus notes that modern fragrances favour. The depth of Shalimar undoubtedly creates this warm, sensuality that modern scents just cannot match.
What can I say; the lady is a vamp. Shalimar is a perfume that exhibits all the elegance, velvety purrs and feline grace of the panther, with a gentle wink that reminds the admirer of the hidden claws and teeth.
