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Raymond Guerlain

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Shalimar L'Essence Guerlain 2025

8.7 / 10 280 Ratings

A new perfume by Guerlain for women, released in 2025. The scent is sweet-powdery. It is being marketed by LVMH.
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Main accords

Sweet

Powdery

Oriental

Spicy

Smoky

Fragrance Notes

Bourbon vanilla

Ethyl vanillin Iris

Iris

Vanilla

Bergamot

Rose absolute

Perfumer

Delphine Jelk

Videos

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Ratings

Scent

8.7280 Ratings

Longevity

8.0243 Ratings

Sillage

7.4243 Ratings

Bottle

8.9229 Ratings

Value for money

7.6180 Ratings

Submitted by Spl3xx, last update on 11/06/2025.

Interesting Facts

This fragrance was created for the 100th anniversary of Shalimar. The face of the advertising campaign is Russian model Natalja Michailowna Wodjanowa.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Shalimar Millésime Vanilla Planifolia

Shalimar Eau de Parfum

Shalimar Millésime Iris

Shalimar Ode à la Vanille - Sur la route de Madagascar

Cuir Béluga Eau de Parfum

Spiritueuse Double Vanille

Reviews

15 in-depth fragrance descriptions

08/28/2025

8Scent

bouffant
21 Reviews

bouffant

Helpful Review 4

A solid Guerlain vanilla for the price

I'm not a fan of regular Shalimar. This (thankfully) lacks the animalic notes of the original and feels much more modern. It is very sweet, especially in the opening, with floral notes and spiciness unfurling midway through. It reminds me of SDV and Cuir beluga, although I like those more... but they are also twice the price. Bottle, as always, is beautiful. Not sure if this is permanent or limited edition.

08/30/2025

7Scent

Telekinec
497 Reviews

Telekinec

4

Modern reinterpretation of a timeless classic

I've never tested Shalimar or its flankers (yeah, I know, shame on me) so I was getting into this with a fresh, clean slate and no expectations. I got my hands on an official sample when I bought something on Guerlain's official website and I was pretty hyped to try out a famed, classic Guerlain scent.

I was somehow expecting something more? Don't get me wrong, the scent features a beautiful Guerlinade, but on my skin it's somehow subdued. I almost have to crush my nose against my skin to even get a whiff of it. The beginning is a mix of citrusy bergamot, sweet rose and powdery iris. As it settles down, I start getting that refined vanilla I've smelled in other Guerlain fragrances. It's a bit dusty, powdery even, but it has that balanced sweetness that's quite enticing. I don't get any leathery facet like many people have, but the vanilla is warm and comforting, almost ambery in the drydown. It also starts getting a smoky facet to it that's quite enjoyable.

Overall, I think it's very lovely, but I'm surprised by the high praise it's getting (8.9/10 at the time of this review) since I think I've smelled this drydown already in other Guerlain fragrances (Art et la Matière? Extraits?). The price for this one is undoubtedly more palatable than the more expensive vanilla featured fragrances from Guerlain, so this could be a reason why it's a nice replacement to the more expensive ones. I enjoyed smelling it, but unfortunately it's a like, not a love which is why it won't be going into my collection.

09/24/2025

10Scent 8Longevity 6Sillage

Tommarcos
3 Reviews

Tommarcos

Helpful Review 4

A Shalimar for our times.

For this Shalimar, Delphine Jelk was deeply inspired, and she knew the responsibility of creating a version for Shalimar's centennial in the permanent line. I can say she honored her place at Guerlain. L'essence features a vanilla blend; I detect mainly Vanille Planifolia Extract, but also a touch of Spiritueuse Double Vanille and Cuir Beluga. The texture reminds me a lot of Cuir Béluga with its suede aspect, but L'essence features a light, delicate white suede with white musk, which also reminds me of Iris Pallida Extract, which has that light white suede tone. The iris is very evident in L'essence and brings a powdery aspect in a modern and elegant way, as in Iris Pallida Extract. As someone who loves Guerlain and vanilla, I can attest that this Shalimar is beautiful, chic, refined, smooth, and very well crafted. It's Shalimar, but a Shalimar for today!

09/09/2025

5Scent 5Longevity 4Sillage

Caroleanne81
191 Reviews

Caroleanne81

5

Way Overrated

I’m not a fan of the Shalimar scents. I was interested and excited to try this based on the glowing reviews, and due to it being the anniversary edition. To me it’s pretty mediocre. Sure it’s nice (or just ok really) but it’s absolutely nothing special. There’s nothing unique about this. I’m not a fan of the iris in this, and it comes through as a main note along with the vanilla on my skin. It’s a light skin scent, so I guess it would be ideal for summer. It is good value for the price point if you like it, but it’s a pass for me.

10/04/2025

SandraParis
22 Reviews

SandraParis

1

Enjoyable but not for me in the end

I am not a huge Shalimar fan. The current formulation is so loud and screechy on my skin. So much so, that it is impossible for me to wear it.

I thought Shalimar was not for me until I tried a vintage extrait bottle and a vintage EDT (batch year 1995) that I enjoyed but somehow I never got a bottle.

I am not a huge fan of the Millesimes either. I smelled Shalimar Millésime Jasmin I was not a fan. I bought Shalimar Millésime Iris due to FOMO. I sold it as the caramely notes was to sweet and too cloying for me. And i didn't get the opportunity to smell the other Millésimes (Tonka, Vanilla Planifolia)

So I was hoping that l'Essence would THE fragrance that WOULD make me finally buy a bottle of Shalimar. I hoped it smell like a vintage Shalimar too.

So now, would did i think about Shalimar L'Essence . For me the DNA of Shalimar was way too diluted. I got hint of the vintage Shalimar extrait but so so soft. Then I got a huge vanilla like vibe and it reminded me a lot of Cuir Béluga Eau de Parfum . I did enjoy the scent but not enough to buy it, mostly now as I am decluttering and keeping only absolute loves in my collection. Due to the hype and all the positive reviews, I was expecting way more though

I feel this Shalimar is more geared towards people who are not diehard Shalimar fans, or a younger audition.

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