Few fragrances have defined eras, and remained as evocative as Guerlain’s Shalimar. Created in 1925 by master perfumer Jacques Guerlain, it was the first amber fragrance in history, a daring creation that has transformed the lexicon of perfumery. And in its centenary year, the maison celebrates its olfactory icon with a new chapter: Shalimar L’Essence.
A Love Story in Scent
The story of Shalimar began not in a laboratory, but in a legend. Inspired by the tale of Mughal Emperor Shâh Jahân and his beloved Princess Mumtaz Mahal, Jacques Guerlain sought to capture the passion and grandeur of their love. The result was Shalimar — a fragrance named after the Shalimar Gardens, symbols of eternal devotion. With its sensual blend of bergamot, iris, and an opulent amber base, the perfume became a declaration of love in liquid form, destined to seduce the world.
Shalimar L’Essence: New Expression
To mark its centenary, Guerlain reimagines its masterpiece with Shalimar L’Essence, a more intense, modern interpretation crafted by Delphine Jelk, Guerlain’s Director of Perfume Creation and Perfumer. This limited-edition Eau de Parfum amplifies Shalimar’s most emblematic note — vanilla.
Infused with Guerlain’s ancestral expertise, L’Essence combines Madagascan vanilla tincture with ethylvanillin, the same compound that sparked Jacques Guerlain’s original inspiration a century ago. The result is an intoxicating ode to vanilla — smooth, woody, sensual, and infused with subtle hints of leather. While bergamot and iris bring light and powdery elegance, the amber accord unfolds with greater depth than ever before, enveloped in modern musks that lend a new softness and warmth.
The trail is unmistakably Shalimar: rich, daring, and irresistibly seductive — yet renewed with an intensity that speaks to the contemporary woman.
A Daring Spirit That Shaped Perfumery
Shalimar was born from boldness. Jacques Guerlain’s chance encounter with ethylvanillin — a new synthetic compound with a potent vanilla scent — sparked the idea for a fragrance unlike any other. Revolutionary for its time, Shalimar pioneered the amber fragrance family, establishing a trend that continues to dominate perfumery a century later.
But Shalimar is more than innovation. It is a spirit — an attitude. For generations, it has embodied bold, confident femininity. A fragrance of freedom, daring, and self-assurance, it has become a ritual passed down like a jewel, treasured by women across the decades.
A Legend Renewed
So to commemorate a century of redefined passion, Guerlain invites tastemakers of fragrance to rediscover its legend through Shalimar L’Essence — an ode to the past, present, and future of the world’s most iconic perfume. Available for a limited time, this reinterpretation captures the soul of Shalimar while infusing it with modern sensuality, ensuring its enduring relevance for the next century.
