Ellen1964

The scent was a blind buy for me, probably "hooked" by the numerous enthusiastic comments here and the thread in the women's forum.... At this point, a big thank you to Rosenherz for the tip that the fragrance was still available at "Incenza" and at a very good price too;-)
My experience with Shalimar goes back to the 80s, the scent was a gift from my then-boyfriend and I found it dreadful! Way too oriental-cosmopolitan and, in my opinion at the time, also outdated for a 22-year-old..... The bottle was a beautiful gold-framed Art Deco special edition and unfortunately led a more or less unnoticed existence as a decorative object.... Occasionally, I would spritz it on while wrinkling my nose and wondered why this scent was considered a sacred cult fragrance. Otherwise, my love at that time was for scents like "Giorgio" or "Joop Femme"; that’s how I wanted to smell as a young woman. Over the years, I occasionally tested the various new releases and flankers of Shalimar, but still found the scent too unappealing and somehow cumbersome. During that time, I lived in Paris for many years and often encountered Shalimar on young and very stylish French women - it must have had something about it that I just couldn't grasp...

Now, however, to "Millésime Vanilla Planifolia". I love the vanilla-heavy scents from the "L'Art et la Matière" line and according to a few reviews, the fragrance was supposed to be in the direction of "Cuir Beluga"....
What a shock it was when I opened my package today and eagerly inhaled the first spray on my wrist: I primarily perceived smoke and vanilla, and the original Shalimar jumped at me directly and mercilessly! Okay, I decided to give the scent some time and worked for a few hours in my home office. I briefly left my desk, and when I returned to the room, a beautiful hint of a non-sweet, noble vanilla lingered in the air, the scent came across as very "sophisticated"... I could no longer detect smoke, but when I sniffed my wrist, the scent was still smoky and somehow stubborn. I think that "Millésime Vanilla Planifolia" is a fragrance that is perceived as more beautiful, interesting, and appealing by others or the environment than by the wearer themselves.
I think we will still get to know each other, I will take "Planifolia" out this evening for the Friday gathering with friends at the Italian restaurant, and there are a few fragrance enthusiasts among them...