Shalimar is a
perfume
Perfume (, ) is a mixture of fragrance, fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), Fixative (perfumery), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agre ...
originally created by
Jacques Guerlain
Jacques Edouard Guerlain (; 7 October 1874 – 2 May 1963) was a French perfumer, the third and most famous of the Guerlain family. One of the most prolific and influential perfumers of the 20th century, over eighty of Guerlain's perfumes remain ...
in 1921 for French perfume and cosmetics house
Guerlain
Guerlain () is a French perfume, cosmetics, and skincare house which is among the oldest in the world. Many traditional Guerlain fragrances are characterized by a common olfactory accord known as the "".
The house was founded in Paris in 1828 b ...
. In production continuously since 1925, Shalimar is currently a flagship product for Guerlain.
History
Shalimar was created by perfumer
Jacques Guerlain
Jacques Edouard Guerlain (; 7 October 1874 – 2 May 1963) was a French perfumer, the third and most famous of the Guerlain family. One of the most prolific and influential perfumers of the 20th century, over eighty of Guerlain's perfumes remain ...
in 1921, but after another company claimed to already have a fragrance by the same name, Guerlain was forced to rename the fragrance "No. 90" until a legal dispute over the name was settled.
Shalimar was re-released in 1925 at the
.
Jacques Guerlain was inspired by
Mumtaz Mahal
Mumtaz Mahal (; ; born Arjumand Banu Begum; 27 April 1593 – 17 June 1631) was the empress consort of Mughal Empire from 1628 to 1631 as the chief consort of the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan. The Taj Mahal in Agra, often cited as one of t ...
, the wife of
Shah Jahan
Shah Jahan I, (Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram; 5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), also called Shah Jahan the Magnificent, was the Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 until his deposition in 1658. As the fifth Mughal emperor, his reign marked the ...
, Mughal emperor of India, and for whom the
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...
in
Agra
Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...
and the
Shalimar Gardens in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
were built.
The harmony of Shalimar was created when Jacques Guerlain poured a bottle of
ethylvanillin
Ethylvanillin is the organic compound with the chemical formula, formula (C2H5O)(HO)C6H3CHO. This colorless solid consists of a benzene ring with hydroxyl, ethoxy, and aldehyde, formyl groups on the 4, 3, and 1 positions, respectively. It is a Hom ...
into a bottle of
Jicky, a fragrance created by Guerlain in 1889.
Raymond Guerlain designed the bottle for Shalimar, which was modeled after the basins of eastern gardens and Mongolian
stupa art. Shalimar's blue, fan-shaped bottle topper was inspired by a piece of silverware owned by the Guerlain family. The bottle was manufactured by
Baccarat Crystal and received the Decorative Arts Exhibition Award in 1925.
During the 1920s, Shalimar was popular with
flapper
Flappers were a subculture of young Western women prominent after the First World War and through the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee length was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their ...
s which helped give it a "bad girl" reputation.
In 1985, Shalimar was repackaged and presented encased in a Lucite box to commemorate the 60th anniversary of its original launch.
In 2004, Guerlain issued Shalimar Light by perfumer
Mathilde Laurent. However, Shalimar Light was taken off the market and replaced by Eau de Shalimar in 2008.
Shalimar is preserved in its original 1925 formulation in the archives of the
Osmothèque
The Osmothèque (from Greek ''osmē'' "scent" patterned on French ''bibliothèque'' "library") is the world's largest scent archive, a leading international research institution tracing the history of perfumery, based in Versailles with conferenc ...
, donated by
Jean-Paul Guerlain. As of 2017, Shalimar was Guerlain's second best selling fragrance, behind La Petite Robe Noire, with approximately 108 bottles being sold every hour.
Scent
The fragrance contains notes of
bergamot,
lemon
The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...
,
iris,
jasmine
Jasmine (botanical name: ''Jasminum'', pronounced ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family of Oleaceae. It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are wid ...
,
rose
A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...
,
patchouli
Patchouli (also spelled patchouly or pachouli; ; '' Pogostemon cablin'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, commonly called the mint or deadnettle family. The plant grows as a bushy perennial herb, with erect stems reachin ...
,
vetiver
''Chrysopogon zizanioides'', commonly known as vetiver and khus, is a perennial bunchgrass of the family Poaceae.
Vetiver is most closely related to sorghum while sharing many morphological characteristics with other fragrant grasses, such as ...
,
opopanax,
tonka bean
''Dipteryx odorata'' (commonly known as "cumaru", "kumaru", or "Brazilian teak") is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae. The tree is native to Northern South America and is semi-deciduous. Its seeds are known as tonka bean ...
,
frankincense
Frankincense, also known as olibanum (), is an Aroma compound, aromatic resin used in incense and perfumes, obtained from trees of the genus ''Boswellia'' in the family (biology), family Burseraceae. The word is from Old French ('high-quality in ...
,
sandalwood
Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods. Sanda ...
,
musk
Musk is a class of aromatic substances commonly used as base notes in perfumery. They include glandular secretions from animals such as the musk deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial substances with similar odors. ' ...
,
civet
A civet () is a small, lean, mostly nocturnal mammal native to tropical Asia and Africa, especially the tropical forests. The term ''civet'' applies to over a dozen different species, mostly from the family Viverridae. Most of the species's div ...
,
ambergris
Ambergris ( or ; ; ), ''ambergrease'', or grey amber is a solid, waxy, flammable substance of a dull grey or blackish colour produced in the digestive system of sperm whales. Freshly produced ambergris has a marine, fecal odor. It acquires a sw ...
,
leather
Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...
, and
vanilla
Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia'').
''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...
. It is considered to be an Oriental perfume (see
Fragrance Wheel).
Marketing
Illustrator Lyse Darcy created many illustrated ads for Guerlain products, including Shalimar, from the 1930s through the 1950s. Photographs taken by
Helmut Newton
Helmut Newton (né Neustädter; 31 October 192023 January 2004) was a German-Australian photographer. The ''The New York Times, New York Times'' described him as a "prolific, widely imitated fashion photographer whose provocative, erotically ch ...
were used in a print campaign for Shalimar in 1997.
In 2013, Guerlain produced an advertisement titled "The Legend of Shalimar," featuring
Natalia Vodianova
Natalia Mikhailovna Vodianova (; born 28 February 1982), nicknamed Supernova, is a Russian supermodel and United Nations Goodwill Ambassador.
In 2012, she came in third on ''Forbes'' top-earning models list, estimated to have earned $8.6 ...
. The advertisement was directed by
Bruno Aveillan and featured music by
Hans Zimmer
Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, five Grammy Awards, and has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy Awards and a Tony ...
that had been originally composed for ''
The Da Vinci Code
''The Da Vinci Code'' is a 2003 mystery thriller novel by Dan Brown. It is “the best-selling American novel of all time.”
Brown's second novel to include the character Robert Langdon—the first was his 2000 novel '' Angels & Demons''� ...
''.
In popular culture
Music
In his 1961 song about Ireland, "
Forty Shades of Green",
Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...
wrote the line "where the breeze is sweet as Shalimar and there's forty shades of green".
In 1963,
Eddie Barclay
Édouard Ruault (; 26 January 1921 – 13 May 2005), better known as Eddie Barclay, was a French record producer whose singers included Jacques Brel, Dalida and Charles Aznavour. He founded record label Barclay.
Life
Ruault, the son of a c ...
released an album called "Parfums", with one of the songs being named after Shalimar ("Shalimar de Guerlain").
In the musical ''
La Cage Aux Folles,'' Shalimar is mentioned in the song "A Little More Mascara".
In the song "
Madame George
"Madame George" is a song by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It appears on the album '' Astral Weeks'', released in 1968. The song features Morrison performing the vocals and acoustic guitar. It also features a double bass, flute, d ...
" from his 1968 album ''
Astral Weeks
''Astral Weeks'' is the second studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was recorded at Century Sound Studios in New York during September and October 1968, and released in November of the same year by Warner Bros. Re ...
'',
Van Morrison
Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...
sings, "of sweet perfume...like Shalimar."
The lyrics of the song "
On a Little Street in Singapore
"On a Little Street in Singapore" is a jazz song written by Peter DeRose and Billy Hill (songwriter), Billy Hill. It had some measure of popularity in the 1930s and 1940s, marked by a number of high-profile performances. Artists to cover the song ...
", contains the line "My sails tonight are filled with perfume of Shalimar".
Cheryl Bentyne
Cheryl Bentyne (born Cheryl Benthien; January 17, 1954) is a jazz singer who spent much of her career with The Manhattan Transfer.
Early years
Bentyne started singing at age 13 with her father's Dixieland and swing band. Following graduation fr ...
's lyric for
The Manhattan Transfer
The Manhattan Transfer was an American vocal group founded in 1969 in New York City, performing music genres like a cappella, Brazilian jazz, Swing music, swing, vocalese, rhythm and blues, Pop music, pop, and standards. They have won eleven G ...
's 2018 cover of
Grace Kelly
Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982), also known as Grace of Monaco, was an American actress and Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Rainier III from their marriage on April 18, 1956, until her death in 1982. ...
's "
Blues for Harry Bosch" includes two mentions of Shalimar, both in reference to the lyric's unnamed
femme fatale
A ( , ; ), sometimes called a maneater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and Seduction, seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype ...
, described initially as "her poison" and later, simply "the venom".
Film and television
In the film
California Split
''California Split'' is a 1974 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Altman and starring Elliott Gould and George Segal as a pair of gamblers. It was the first non- Cinerama film to use eight-track stereo sound.
Plot
In Los Angeles, ...
, the character of Helen Brown claims to be wearing Shalimar.
In the episode "In Camelot" of
The Sopranos
''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The series follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey American Mafia, Mafia boss who suffers from panic attacks. He reluct ...
,
Junior Soprano
Corrado John "Junior" Soprano Jr., portrayed by Dominic Chianese, is a fictional character from the HBO TV series ''The Sopranos''. Usually referred to as "Junior" or "Uncle Jun" (pronounced “June”), he is the Boss of the DiMeo crime famil ...
mentions sending bottles of Shalimar to Fran.
In the 1989
Gene Wilder
Gene Wilder (born Jerome Silberman; June 11, 1933 – August 29, 2016) was an American actor, comedian, writer, and filmmaker. He was mainly known for his comedic roles, including his portrayal of Willy Wonka in ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Fa ...
and
Richard Pryor
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Known for reaching a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, he is widely regarded ...
movie ''"
See No Evil, Hear No Evil",'' Richard Pryor's blind character identifies the villainess played by
Joan Severance
Joan Marie Severance (born December 23, 1958) is an American actress and former fashion model.
Early life
Severance was born in Houston, Texas, the daughter of Martha and John C. Severance. Her father was an IBM systems manager who had to move ...
by the smell of Shalimar.
In the 1971 movie ''
The Mephisto Waltz,'' Shalimar is the perfume favored by
Jacqueline Bisset
Winifred Jacqueline Fraser Bisset ( ; born 13 September 1944) is a British actress. She began her film career in 1965 and first came to prominence in 1968 with roles in ''The Detective (1968 film), The Detective'', ''Bullitt'', and ''The Sweet ...
's character, Paula.
Shalimar is mentioned during an episode of ''
The Love Boat
''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Wilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, three TV movies aired before the regular series pre ...
'' (Season 1, Episode 3).
In the 1981 movie ''
The Four Seasons,'' Shalimar is given as a gift.
Shalimar is mentioned during an episode of ''
NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to:
Law enforcement
* National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom
* Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...
'' (Season 11, Episode 12).
In the ''
Mad Men
''Mad Men'' is an American historical drama, period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on cable network AMC (TV channel), AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, with seven seasons ...
'' episode "The Long Weekend",
Joan Holloway
Joan P. Holloway Harris is a fictional character on the AMC television series ''Mad Men'' (2007–15). She is portrayed by Christina Hendricks.
Hendricks has received six consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting ...
's roommate notices that Joan is wearing Shalimar.
In the 1988 movie ''
Working Girl
''Working Girl'' is a 1988 American romantic comedy drama film directed by Mike Nichols, written by Kevin Wade, and starring Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver and Melanie Griffith. Its plot follows an ambitious secretary from Staten Island ...
'', Katharine asks Tess to get her bottle of Shalimar.
In an episode of ''
Orange Is the New Black
''Orange Is the New Black'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''OITNB'') is an American comedy-drama television series created by Jenji Kohan for Netflix. The series is based on Piper Kerman's memoir '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Pr ...
'' (S1:E6 "WAC Pack"), Nicky describes Piper as smelling of Shalimar after she receives a hug from her mother during visitation.
In season 2, episode 12 of ''
The Nanny
''The Nanny'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from November 3, 1993, to June 23, 1999, starring Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, a Jewish wikt:fashionista, fashionista from Flushing, Queens, who becomes the nanny of three children ...
'', Fran (
Fran Drescher
Francine Joy Drescher (born September 30, 1957) is an American actress and trade unionist. She is currently serving as the national president of the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). She pla ...
) remembers her aunt Mima smelling of stuffed cabbage and Shalimar under her mink coat. A season later, in season 3, episode 26, Mr. Sheffield (
Charles Shaughnessy
Charles George Patrick Shaughnessy, 5th Baron Shaughnessy (born 9 February 1955) is a British actor. His roles on American television include Shane Donovan on the soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'', Maxwell Sheffield on the sitcom ''The Nanny ...
) is leaving the house to fly to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. When Fran tells him "Shalimar", he corrects her by saying it's "Au revoir", thinking she was telling him goodbye and not knowing she was actually asking him to buy Guerlain's Shalimar duty-free.
In season 3 episode 10 of ''
Love
Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment (psychology), attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most su ...
'', Mickey (
Gillian Jacobs
Gillian MacLaren Jacobs (; born October 19, 1982) is an American actress. She is known for playing Britta Perry in the NBC sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015), Mickey Dobbs in the Netflix romantic comedy series '' Love'' (2016–2018), and Mar ...
) tells her boyfriend Gus (
Paul Rust
Paul Rust is an American actor, comedian and writer. He starred in the 2009 film '' I Love You, Beth Cooper'' and in the Netflix series ''Love''.
Early life
Rust is the son of Jeanne and Bob Rust. His family is of German heritage. Rust was ra ...
) that his childhood home smells like "laundry detergent, ham, and Shalimar."
In season 1 episode 19 of "''
Person of Interest
"Person of interest" is a term used by law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and other countries when identifying someone possibly involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. It has no leg ...
''," villain Elias remembers his mother wearing Shalimar perfume.
In season 5 episode 11 of ''
American Horror Story
''American Horror Story'' (''AHS'') is an American horror film, horror anthology series, anthology television series created by Ryan Murphy (producer), Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for the Cable television, cable network FX (TV channel), FX. Th ...
'', while pouring herself a drink, the Countess realizes that Ramona Royale has entered her suite behind her back. Without turning around the Countess says, "It’s not the Shalimar that gives you away - it’s your blood."
In season 1 episode 9 of
Abbott Elementary
''Abbott Elementary'' is an American mockumentary sitcom television series created by Quinta Brunson for ABC. It stars Brunson as Janine Teagues, a perpetually optimistic second-grade teacher at the underfunded Abbott Elementary, a fictional p ...
“step class” Barbara questions why Principal Ava would want to teach step class. Barbara says “And when the bell rings, all that's left of you is a lingering aroma of Shalimar.” To which Ava replies “um, excuse me. It's Fenty.”
Literature
In the novel "L'Indic", by
Roger Borniche
Roger Borniche (7 June 1919 – 16 June 2020) was a French author and detective of the Sûreté nationale.
Borniche was born in Vineuil-Saint-Firmin, Oise. He started as a singer, but his fledgling musical career was interrupted by the German i ...
the aristocrat Sylvia de Neyrac utilizes Shalimar to fascinate the policeman Roger Borniche.
In the novel
''"War Cry'', by
Wilbur Smith
Wilbur Addison Smith (9 January 1933 – 13 November 2021) was a Northern Rhodesian-born British-South African novelist specializing in historical fiction about international involvement in Southern Africa across four centuries.
He gained a f ...
(with David Churchill), Saffron is caught attempting to descend the Cresta Run in St. Moritz (for male skiers only) due to her forgetting that she had used the perfume Shalimar following her morning shower. Reminded of the smell of the perfume by Herr Zuber, the equipment shop manager, she washes the perfume off prior to attempting the descent.
In the novel ''Angel of Baker Street'', by Catherine Bell, Olivia always pictures her mother in her mind whenever she caught a hint of the perfume. Olivia is also given a bottle of Shalimar as a gift by Dominique, who had protected her during Olivia's stay in Paris.
In 1991,
Louise Bourgeois
Louise Joséphine Bourgeois (; 25 December 191131 May 2010) was a French-American artist. Although she is best known for her large-scale sculpture and installation art, Bourgeois was also a prolific painter and printmaker. She explored a varie ...
created ''Cell II'', a work of art which featured multiple empty and nearly-empty bottles of Shalimar on top of a mirrored table and next to a sculpture of wringing hands.
In the 1991 novel ''
Wise Children
''Wise Children'' (1991) was the last novel written by Angela Carter. The novel follows the fortunes of twin chorus girls, Dora and Nora Chance, and their bizarre theatrical family. It explores the subversive nature of fatherhood, the denying of ...
'' by
Angela Carter
Angela Olive Pearce (formerly Carter, Stalker; 7 May 1940 – 16 February 1992), who published under the name Angela Carter, was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picar ...
, Nora Chance wears Shalimar. This is the only way other characters can distinguish her from her twin sister Dora, who wears
Mitsouko
Mitsouko is a perfume by French perfume and cosmetics house Guerlain, created by Jacques Guerlain and first introduced in 1919. Its name is derived from the French transliteration of a Japanese female personal name Mitsuko. It is a fruity c ...
.
In the 2018 novel ''Greeks Bearing Gifts'' by
Philip Kerr
Philip Ballantyne Kerr (22 February 1956 – 23 March 2018) was a British author, best known for his Bernie Gunther series of historical detective thrillers.
Early life
Kerr was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, where his father was an enginee ...
, the anti-hero, Bernie Gunther (alias Christof Ganz) comments upon Elli Panatoniou's Shalimar perfume as having the effect of "making a woman smell like a woman and making a man want to behave like a rampaging gorilla".
In the 2018 novel ''
Lethal White'' by
Robert Galbraith, the private detective,
Cormoran Strike about his ex girlfriend, Charlotte "...could smell what he knew to be Shalimar on her skin. She had worn it since she was nineteen and he had sometimes bought it for her."
''Falling'' is a 2021 thriller novel by T.J. Newman. The flight attendant Jo mentions that when the women of her family turn thirteen they receive their own bottle of Shalimar.
Mentioned in two Fannie Flagg novels, in the plot of one (''Welcome to the World, Baby Girl'') of which it is a clue to the mystery.
Shalimar is part of four pianopieces Dutch composer Carolien Devilee wrote on perfumes of Guerlain (4 Fragances de Guerlain pour Piano: l'Heure Bleue, Mitsouko, Shalimar, Chamade). 'Fragances' as noun for a new music form in which the music is based on a specific scent/fragrance.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shalimar (Perfume)
20th-century perfumes
Perfumes
History of cosmetics
Products introduced in 1925
Flappers