Shalimar by Guerlain: History of a Fragrance Legend

1925, the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts is held in the hall of the Grand Palais in Paris and chooses to put perfumery in the front row. Every evening, Lalique’s fountain shines with its crystal sequins.

This new style, sometimes “flashy,” highlights the most precious raw materials: ivory, crystal, Macassar ebony, shagreen, mother-of-pearl. Classical furniture is no longer in fashion; we talk about decorative art. From all over Europe, the last sovereigns and wealthy industrialists flock to admire Paris, the city of splendors and luxury.

The house of Guerlain chooses to present “the brand new creation” for the first time: Shalimar, a bottle created by Raymond Guerlain in collaboration with Baccarat (it received the first prize). The fragrance was created by Jacques Guerlain.

1925, as Hemingway said, “Paris is a moveable feast,” women are more and more beautiful, stylish, and smiling. An air of freedom and madness floats in Paris; it is the era of prohibition, a troubled and troubling period, the era of hot jazz and the Charleston. It is also the birth of a myth: Shalimar will perfectly embody the woman in all her femininity and freedom.

The Bottle: A Technical Revolution

The curved lines of its bottle, designed by Raymond Guerlain, outline the basins of the Shalimar gardens, while its blue stopper, shaped like a fan, evokes the splendors of a precious and refined Orient. The sapphire blue stopper is a true revolution in the world of perfumery; Shalimar is the first bottle with a colored stopper.

The mercury anecdote: Initially, to obtain this blue stopper, it was pierced so that mercury (very dangerous) could penetrate the glass. Quickly, Baccarat crystal works found a system, still secret, to obtain a blue stopper without needing to pierce it.

Another technical feat, it is the first footed bottle in the history of perfumery. The label was inspired by those engraved drawings I could observe on the immaculate white walls of the Taj Mahal. Moreover, the shape of the label inspired the shape of the eau de toilette and eau de parfum bottle.

The Inspiration: The Temple of Love

Its name is that of the bewitching and wonderful Indian garden: the Shalimar gardens in northern India, Pakistan, in Lahore (this name Shalimar means “temple of love” in Sanskrit). It is also in this fabulous garden that the love of Princess Mumtaz Mahal (meaning light of the palace) and Shah Jahan blossomed.

When the latter passed away at the birth of her child, Shah Jahan, “inconsolable,” had a mausoleum built for her in white marble chiseled like lace: a true splendor that I was lucky enough to visit.

The Fragrance: The First Oriental

In 1921, Justin du Pont, a collaborator of the House, presented Jacques Guerlain with a sample of synthetic vanilla: ethylvanillin (10 times more powerful than vanillin), which he combined with vanilla tincture (alcohol in which vanilla pods will macerate for as long as possible, at least 3 weeks).

He worked within a Jicky framework: he locked himself in his laboratory, tried all possible combinations, removed the aromatic notes, put a little back, replaced with 30% citrus notes, pushed the oriental notes. After numerous trials, Jacques came out of his laboratory and said: “I think I found the balance!” His genius expressed itself once again: Shalimar was born!

It is the mythical perfume of the oriental family; its bewitching scents make it a “transgenerational” perfume that seduces very young women. An overdose of citrus notes (and especially bergamot) melts rapidly into enveloping notes (rose, jasmine, iris, woody notes, tonka bean, balsamic notes). A voluptuous delight built around vanilla. In the deep base notes, have you noticed its very sexy leather note?

The Evolution of the Range

Years pass and Shalimar evolves with its time. When released in 1925, it was offered as an eau de toilette, an indispensable complement to the perfume extract. In 1937, eaux de Cologne were in fashion. Guerlain therefore offered Shalimar Eau de Cologne, in a magnificent bottle called “montre” (watch).

In 1986, the company Pochet & Du Courval produced a bottle for the Parfum de Toilette (today called eau de parfum). Guerlain was one of the first houses to offer complementary products such as Shalimar hair spray, Shalimar brilliantine, Shalimar Stilboïde, and of course, a body cream, a milk, talc, bath salts.

The Myth: From France to America

Perfume of temptation, of desire, perfume that makes one want to get closer, Shalimar first experienced great success in the United States. On the ocean liner Normandie, American passengers were enthusiastic about this perfume worn by Madame Guerlain, Raymond Guerlain’s wife. Men only noticed her, her beauty, and her perfume that turned heads; women were shocked and jealous, a scandal!

Cable from New York: everyone is only talking about Shalimar. Some Americans even think it is a new perfume company! More than a success, a surge. All of New York wants nothing but Shalimar by Shalimar. A legend was born, and this perfume contributed greatly to the success of the house in the interwar period in the United States.

Shalimar even inspired a fashionable song in those years: “In a little street in Singapore, a delicious scent of Shalimar floats in the air.”

A Skin Alchemy

Knowing Shalimar is impossible; it cannot be pinned down so easily. It charms the one who wears it by giving her the feeling that she is unique. No pretenses, you are Shalimar or you are not! It refuses lukewarmness, compromise does not suit it, the alchemy happens or it doesn’t. On every skin, it will express itself differently, to such an extent that, on some people, I sometimes have trouble recognizing it immediately!

For 25 years, I have smelled women who wore Shalimar wonderfully. Some were blonde, others brunette, or redheaded. I even smelled it on men with astonishment, but with delight. This perfume is truly a huge success, especially in France and the USA: unthronable.

Eau de Shalimar, purified, a tangy delicacy, without the leather, animal, and mysterious notes, “works well on my skin.” Unfortunately, Shalimar doesn’t like me! Too bad.

Advertising and Heritage

The numerous visuals of the “French-style” perfume are sometimes true masterpieces. Elise Darcy, a great illustrator, explores the different facets of the perfume, as much by its feminine sides as by its inspiration from the Orient. In the American imagination, advertising campaigns will leave the idea of a chic perfume.

Let us recall that the GIs, when they participated in the liberation of France in 1945, queued at Guerlain to bring back the spirit of France in their luggage: a few essences of Shalimar.

History in Numbers

• 19 years of happiness between Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan
• 14 children born of their union
• 1593/1631: birth and death dates of Mumtaz Mahal
• 410 fountains in the Shalimar gardens
• 5 cascades
• 22 years of construction for the Taj Mahal
• 20,000 workers to build the Taj Mahal
• 400 kg of gold were used for the construction of the Taj Mahal. Precious stones, inlaid in the marble, were unfortunately later looted by the English
• 2 years during which Shah Jahan abstained from all entertainment and official ceremonies to mourn his beloved
• 7 years of imprisonment of Shah Jahan, by his son Aurangzeb, because he was going mad with love or simply mad
• 1 other mausoleum that Shah Jahan wanted to have built identically, in black marble, but without success since he was locked up in the Agra Fort, just opposite, from where he could see his beloved resting