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Top Review
What a pity - no unshalimar-like Shalimar
Years ago, I first encountered Shalimar in a department store. I had heard a lot about it. A classic, a legend, worn by our grandmothers and great-grandmothers...
In this specific case, I was intrigued by an autobiographical interview with the actor Winfried Glatzeder, the "Die Legende von Paul und Paula" Glatzeder "whose grandmother also wore Shalimar back in the day."
So I was interested and open-minded, but unfortunately, the scent horrified me upon spraying and made me wrinkle my nose and quickly disappear.
Thus, Shalimar was off my radar for a long time.
Years later, I was actually persuaded by a Douglas saleswoman to test the Shalimar Parfum Initial and was thrilled after a contemplative night, becoming a willing consumer.
So there was still hope for Shalimar and me!
Now I was on parfumo and got swept up in the current excitement and near mass hysteria of the last few weeks for the new Shalimar.
It was said: atypical Shalimar, unshalimaric, "best Shalimar of all time," one superlative chased the next. And then there was the principle of scarcity - where the brain usually has no other chance to react and screams "buybuybuy!!," - you don't want to fall victim to the panic of irreversible loss.
I absolutely wanted to give it a chance; it could go well. Besides, the bottle is SO incredibly beautiful and museum-like and decorative.
So I tore open the package after a 3-week wait (and lovely anticipation), applied the newcomer with excitement, and thought:
"Damn!"
No simsalabim-revelation miracle happened; I smelled a harsh resinous scent that simply isn't my thing. It reminds me of resinous Greek wines, Retsina. And that is bitter. Then there’s this damp leather note that turns into adhesive plaster, "Leukoplast." Damn! (Some described this here in advance as plastic-like?)
Even though it develops into a more pleasant and somewhat warmer smoky-vanilla scent after an hour - this could then be compared to Cuir Beluga - one still has to endure these "older notes" of the beginning.
Similarities to Aura Sublime were also mentioned here, which initially made me optimistic. However, I must say that Aura Sublime is sweet-vanilla and lemony - and not as initially harsh-resinous-leathery as this Shalimar LE.
I still don't know what I will do with it after the initial disappointment...
I am now "practicing" on the 3rd day, just like one has to get into a cumbersome music record.
Well, it was a (blind) attempt; I would have loved to share the enthusiasm. However, it will surely continue to have its followers, as thankfully tastes and receptors are different.
In this specific case, I was intrigued by an autobiographical interview with the actor Winfried Glatzeder, the "Die Legende von Paul und Paula" Glatzeder "whose grandmother also wore Shalimar back in the day."
So I was interested and open-minded, but unfortunately, the scent horrified me upon spraying and made me wrinkle my nose and quickly disappear.
Thus, Shalimar was off my radar for a long time.
Years later, I was actually persuaded by a Douglas saleswoman to test the Shalimar Parfum Initial and was thrilled after a contemplative night, becoming a willing consumer.
So there was still hope for Shalimar and me!
Now I was on parfumo and got swept up in the current excitement and near mass hysteria of the last few weeks for the new Shalimar.
It was said: atypical Shalimar, unshalimaric, "best Shalimar of all time," one superlative chased the next. And then there was the principle of scarcity - where the brain usually has no other chance to react and screams "buybuybuy!!," - you don't want to fall victim to the panic of irreversible loss.
I absolutely wanted to give it a chance; it could go well. Besides, the bottle is SO incredibly beautiful and museum-like and decorative.
So I tore open the package after a 3-week wait (and lovely anticipation), applied the newcomer with excitement, and thought:
"Damn!"
No simsalabim-revelation miracle happened; I smelled a harsh resinous scent that simply isn't my thing. It reminds me of resinous Greek wines, Retsina. And that is bitter. Then there’s this damp leather note that turns into adhesive plaster, "Leukoplast." Damn! (Some described this here in advance as plastic-like?)
Even though it develops into a more pleasant and somewhat warmer smoky-vanilla scent after an hour - this could then be compared to Cuir Beluga - one still has to endure these "older notes" of the beginning.
Similarities to Aura Sublime were also mentioned here, which initially made me optimistic. However, I must say that Aura Sublime is sweet-vanilla and lemony - and not as initially harsh-resinous-leathery as this Shalimar LE.
I still don't know what I will do with it after the initial disappointment...
I am now "practicing" on the 3rd day, just like one has to get into a cumbersome music record.
Well, it was a (blind) attempt; I would have loved to share the enthusiasm. However, it will surely continue to have its followers, as thankfully tastes and receptors are different.
Updated on 10/27/2021
Translated · Show original
20 Comments
By the way, there are 214 people who own the scent compared to the 11 who are selling it in the souk ;-).
And as Kajsa5 writes - that's exactly how it is with the hype and blind buys of trendy fragrances.
But I've noticed this before. When fragrances are hyped right after their release, it always seems to happen the same way. Many people buy the bottle in excitement, and two or three weeks later, the whole market is filled with those very bottles ;)
I was also curious to read your review. It was the first one where the "over-the-top quality of the scent started to crumble."
Well, civet - I unfortunately don't know what that smells like. To me, the herbaceous bitterness at the beginning/middle comes across as resin.
There might also be a hint of bergamot in the opening, but just for a few seconds.