See Prices

More

We may earn a commission when you buy from links on our site, including the eBay Partner Network and Amazon.

Shalimar Guerlain 1925 Extrait

9.0 / 10 276 Ratings

A popular perfume by Guerlain for women, released in 1925. The scent is oriental-powdery. Projection and longevity are above-average. It is being marketed by LVMH.
Pronunciation Compare

More

We may earn a commission when you buy from links on our site, including the eBay Partner Network and Amazon.

Main accords

Oriental

Powdery

Floral

Spicy

Sweet

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Bergamot

Blossoms

Heart Notes

Iris

Jasmine

Rose

Base Notes

Vanilla

Balsamic notes

Tonka bean

Perfumer

Jacques Guerlain

Videos

Watch video

Ratings

Scent

9.0276 Ratings

Longevity

8.8254 Ratings

Sillage

8.1254 Ratings

Bottle

9.3271 Ratings

Value for money

7.698 Ratings

Submitted by Nibelung, last update on 09/26/2025.

Variant of the fragrance concentration

This is a variant of the perfume Shalimar (Eau de Toilette) by Guerlain, which differs in concentration.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Shalimar Eau de Parfum

Shalimar Eau de Toilette

Shalimar Ode à la Vanille - Sur la route du Mexique

Shalimar Eau de Cologne

Emeraude Parfum

Shalimar Ode à la Vanille

Reviews

12 in-depth fragrance descriptions

12/12/2017

10
Bottle 9
Sillage 9
Longevity 10
Scent

ScentFan
334 Reviews

ScentFan

Very helpful Review 8

No Greater Excellence

If a greater perfume than this exists, it's got to be Roja (Haute Luxe) by Roja Dove--at least in my personal sniffing experience. But even Roja can't eclipse the sheer wonder of Shalimar in its most glorious form, the original extrait. It took me a long time to understand this perfume, years to collect every version, months to study it, compare it. Then, one day, I put on the extrait and it was as if clouds parted and a choir of angels sang. Not the boring kind of angels. These were wrapped in furs (magic ones not from animals) and had wings of gold. The real Shalimar is an experience of bliss awaiting the perfumista or perfumisto lucky enough to snag a well-preserved bottle of the extrait then glory in the Lemon/Bergamot top and thrill in its civety heart and base. From Jacques Guerlain's notes, Thierry Wasser reports the extrait has: bergamot, lemon, jasmine, rose, orris, opopanax, tonka bean, birch tar, patchouli, incense, vetiver, civet, castoreum, vanilla, musk. I can smell them. Given the restrictions on today's perfumers, such a scent will never come again. At least it once was made and can still be enjoyed--the reigning excellence in perfume, even in its age.

06/14/2023

Stacia
134 Reviews

Stacia

5

Iconic

Time travel to January of 2003. I have run away from my old life and am hiding out in a cottage in the snowy woods. I have taken only a few possessions with me, including a mini bottle of Guerlain Shalimar. I take to wearing it every day as I settle into a peaceful and strange new life off the grid. Shalimar makes the most sense to me in the context of this setting. It opens with one of the most realistic Earl Grey accords I have ever smelled. The morning cup of tea as I sit at the dining table, relieved to be rid of the old life and contemplating how I might move forward this morning on plans for my new life. Shalimar moves into a leather gloves note. Makes me feel brave enough to bundle up and venture out into the brisk air and walk around the property. As I do, my body temperature increases, bringing out the sweet smoky opoponax incense. Makes me want to curl up by the fire, or at the very least, go back inside and make another cup of tea while paging through old books forgotten for years on the shelf. Shalimar is the ultimate "sexy librarian" scent in my opinion. After a day of wear, the note that is left on my skin is a soft vanilla, a memory of a hug from a long passed ancestor. It lingers on my sweater for days and becomes the olfactory soundtrack to an era of my life when I had to be my own mother and father and grandparents.

07/06/2025

8
Pricing 10
Bottle 6
Sillage 9
Longevity 10
Scent

Enders
9 Reviews

Enders

4

100 Years of Shalimar

Shalimar, first sold in 1921 under a different name, didn't become "Shalimar" until 1925.

As a lover of Guerlain fragrances I figured there is no better time to add Shalimar to my collection than during Shalimar's 100th anniversary this year. Having smelled the EDP, and the modern version of Shalimar Extrait / Parfum I was always left curious how the vintage version would compare, so I went hunting.

Before I begin, a note about the modern version of Shalimar. Both the EDP and Extrait were satisfactory for me. Guerlain does a great job keeping their classics intact. You shouldn't feel the need to go vintage just because that's the decision I made!

During my hunt for a vintage version of Shalimar I made the choice to wait until the right opportunity presented itself. I ended up waiting 7 months until the bottle I bought popped up. A suspiciously good looking listing popped up. "1970 SEALED Vintage Shalimar Extrait". The pictures looked great, and I used many sources to validate it was real, so I bought it.

Apparently, the bottle of Shalimar Extrait I bought was from between 1967-1974 based off markings. According to the seller this bottle sat in a dark closet in his Mom's house for 50+ years, totally untouched. I documented the entire unboxing, which can be found in the video I linked.

Upon opening it and removing the stopper I was instantly hit by a massive waft of top notes coming from the bottle. That bergamot was waiting 50 years to escape, and it smells amazing. I couldn't have asked to find a better bottle. Nothing was off about it at all. Same amazing bergamot opening, it was powdery, vanillic, slightly leathery, ambery, floral, and later on that civet made it's present known as well. The depth was amazing. Long live SHALIMAR

09/12/2025

10
Pricing 10
Bottle 10
Sillage 10
Longevity 10
Scent

Shadows444
58 Reviews

Shadows444

3

Enter, The Grand Duchess!

The bottle of this I'm trying is old. How old? I'm unsure. But old. It's from an auctioned lot of an estate sale.

Yes, Guerlain is as French as possible. But yet...this fragrance gives me vivd mental imagery of imperial Russian monarchs, the Romanov family, bitterly frigid conditions outdoors, and the absolutely un-processably gorgeously lavish Winter Palace indoors.

This is to say, this fragrance is unreal. It's difficult to even make sense of it all.

On my skin, it's pissy when it opens. Vinegar-y, sharp...skanky. I believe the bergamot is shot. I've made vinegar from citrus peels....this is reminiscent of that.

But it doesn't last long, as that evaporates, the smoothest, orris-y, leathery, decadent AGED tonka just BLASTS off. There's dry, matriarchal rose. There's golden dusty narcissus (probably not actually, but that's how it reads to me). There's INDOLES like mad, a dignified sexuality. What am I even saying? No...it makes 0 sense. But it actually makes perfect sense.

Overwhelmingly though is simply...emboldened elegance. And warmth. Warmth enough for absolutely anything.

This bottle is going to my mom, because Shalimar was always her signature. I have the EDP anyway, it's aging gracefully, and the EDP is FAR more wearable (an eldest princess, but not the Grand Duchess). No doubt I'll inherit this anyway when the time comes (though I don't care to dwell on that, but this perfume will be a balm for my heart on that day).

So beautiful, beyond description, beyond time. A masterpiece.

06/26/2024

Ninamariah
282 Reviews

Ninamariah

2

New formula, still gorgeous

GUERLAIN
Shalimar Parfum Extrait
Jacques Guerlain 1925
New formula

At least some of the original notes (Kafkaesque)

Bergamot, Lemon, Jasmine, Rose, Orris, Opopanax, Tonka bean, Birch tar, Patchouli, Incense, Vetiver, Civet, Castoreum, Vanilla, Musks

Possibly in the new version Benzoin, Peru Balsam, and Sandalwood (The Perfume Shrine)

If you check the list of the notes nowadays it’s very simple and unfortunately it is the case in new formula of edp but in this extract there is a depth in it which includes a way more than “Bergamot, Florals, Iris, Rose, Jasmine, Vanilla and Tonka Bean” (extrait, Fragrantica). For sure you can find there a leather note which is from Birch Tar and from the combination of balsams and resins (Opoponax, Myrrh, Benzoin, Peru Balsam) and there is a beautiful slightly smoky feeling, like Sandalwood like creamy texture as well blended with Vanilla.

I’m sure in the old formulas Civet, Castoreum and Musk play the big role and bring the sensuality, glory and some mystery to this scent and I will haunt some vintage version. Parfum is definitely better one than edp and it has more personality as well.

Someone's comment (edp) “Some people may find the scent too strong or overwhelming”. The reason for that phrase imo is not that the juice would be that strong but the most of the people voting here are maybe more used to mainstream designers and therefore it feels exceptionally heavy and very different. Yet, the both edp and the new formula of extrait de parfum are very wearable and versatile but it’s also good to bear in mind that even if I’m not categorizing the perfumes so strictly into the seasons, Shalimar is shining when the weather is cold.

More reviews