Shalimar Philtre de Parfum Guerlain

For the first time in many years, I recognized it. In Shalimar Philtre de Parfum Guerlain, you can clearly smell the real Shalimar without the sticky sweet toffee and burnt rubber that have appeared in the great, long-suffering fragrance over the past 20 years.

Most of all, Philtre de Parfum reminds one of the toilet water of the early 80s with its powerful animalistic aspect, but slightly shaken, as if it were a really vintage bottle that arrived from overseas, frozen and shaken in the parcel.

It joyfully greets the new owner with prickly green lemons, fizzy lavender soda and plays only on the light side for a long time. The darkness does not rise immediately. Drop by drop, little by little, a little shit is added to the joyful citrus bubbling. Powerful amber with fecal tones, tightly pressed sleepy warmth, a little wet wool and patchouli. In words, it is strange and scary, in real life it is pure sex, as it was depicted in “fur” perfumes in the 20s and 30s of the last century.

I missed vanilla in Shalimar Philtre de Parfum, softening this mating cry of the maral. It is there, but it comes in timidly after the amber. You could say, for dessert.

I don't really understand who Guerlain released this for. It's complex, strange, beautiful and very vintage. If you want to get closer to what Shalimar really was, you should definitely try it.

Shalimar Philtre de Parfum, Guerlain, 2020

Thierry Wasser

Lavender, lemon, bergamot, iris, jasmine, rose, patchouli, vanilla, tolu balsam.

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