Shalimar, the success story of the legendary fragrance from Guerlain

Shalimar perfume is a rare perfume that ages without losing its splendor. It is a unique fragrance, formulated by Jacques Guerlain in 1921 and launched in 1925, bringing to light the first irresistible oriental fragrance in the history of perfumery and still smelling ready around the world today. The fragrance combines intuitive improvisation with genius and its success stems from a perfect equation: the meeting of eternal inspiration with a revolutionary fragrance that embodies the spirit of the age.

The story of inspiration for this timeless legend

The story of the luxury brand Guerlain from the beginning

Shalimar, like many works of art, was inspired by a love story. In the early twenties of the twentieth century, Jacques Guerlain took the love story between the emperor of the Mughal Sultanate Shah Jahan and Princess Mumtaz Mahal in the seventeenth century as a source of inspiration. The Indian ruler dedicated a singing royal gardens in Lahore to his beloved and named it “Shalimar”, which in Sanskrit means “temple of love”. Until the tragic death of the princess, these gardens were a witness to their love story. Then the ruler who grieved his girlfriend built in these gardens the mausoleum of the Taj Mahal, which became one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

“A good perfume is the perfume that simulates the first dream.”

Jacques Guerlain

Vanilla perfume with a name inspired by the intuition

This story was definitely a beautiful story, but it alone is not enough to make a perfume, but we still need to formulate the formula to get a great perfume. It took a bit of chance and a touch of genius for Shalimar to see the light. That coincidence occurred when chemist Justin Dupont introduced ethyl vanillin, one of his latest innovations, to his friend Jacques Guerlain, and it was here that Jacques Guerlain had an idea and poured a few drops of these scented molecules into a bottle of Jicky's perfume. Did he realize then that he had just drawn the starting line for the first oriental fragrance in perfume history? The composition of the fragrance was completed several months after that incident, and the composition combines a captivating and refreshing vanilla with a generous amount of bergamot and delicate touches of iris and rare tonka beans that overflow with warmth and indulgence. This perfume constituted a new opening in the world of perfumery, as never before has a perfume appeared with such superior sensual energies.

Vanilla, the main ingredient in Guerlain's signature fragrance, has been used in perfumes throughout Guerlain's history and continues to inspire perfumer Thierry Wasser to this day.

revolutionary innovation

Guerlain chose for this amazing fragrance a distinctive bottle specially designed for this perfume by his nephew Raymond. The flask of the perfume, a sip of numerous creations with Mughal-inspired motifs and Arabic tilted motifs, evokes the water basins of the Shalimar Gardens. The Shalimar bottle was the first perfume bottle in history with a base design and the first bottle with a colored cap made of lacquered Baccara crystal in a style that remains a secret to this day. This unique piece of art known as Shalimar perfume was announced at the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts in Paris, which was held in 1925, 4 years after the creation of the fragrance. The house decided to wait until the right moment came to launch this new fragrance, and it was a fruitful decision as this prestigious event awarded the first prize to Shalimar fragrance. Shalimar perfume is characterized by a character of mystery and exoticism and distinctive Indian touches that make it an embodiment of the fascination of that era with the world of the East, as it is the best expression of the spirit of that era.

To the world of legends

Various factors came together to make Shalimar's success story. By crystallizing the fantasies of the tumultuous twenties that witnessed the birth of this fragrance that changed the rules of perfumery, this perfume formed the nucleus of an integrated family of oriental perfumes. Since the fragrance has won the admiration of customers in the United States of America, it has become an essential choice for many women. On a voyage across the Atlantic, Raymond Guerlain's wife became a perfume ambassador as American travelers fell under the spell of the enchanting fragrance and asked her what she was wearing. This enthusiastic response was a reflection of the dazzling success of the fragrance, which continued its success and flooded the whole world with its captivating notes of the senses. Shalimar is a legend in the modern perfume world and is now a famous icon. The name of the fragrance, which consists of three strange - but common - syllables bears a charm that does not lose its splendor