This guide will introduce you into the world of Shalimarperfume. Below you will learn about what scents make up the perfume, the different perfume bottles that housed Shalimar throughout the years, how to date your bottle and various Shalimar products that are available.

original Shalimar bottle

Shalimar perfume was created in 1925 by the perfume house of Guerlain, it is is classified as a refined oriental fragrance. Shalimar is the flagship perfume of Guerlain. The design of the bottle was designed by Raymond Guerlain and Baccarat and remains the most successful of all the Guerlain perfumes. It was named after the garden in Srinagar, built for Mumtaz Mahal, wife of Shah Jahan in honor of his wife. Shalimar means 'Temple of Love' in Sanskrit.

 Shalimar proved to be so successful that a rival company decided to cash in on the popularity and launched a perfume of the same name, a legal battle ensued, forcing Guerlain to temporarily replace the perfume's name with its stock number "No.90" on bottles that were exported. These bottles are very rare to find.

Shalimar was one of the first scents to incorporate the synthetic vanilla compound, vanillin. I read somewhere that Shalimar was created from mixing Jicky and vanillin. The scent of Shalimar is deep and velvety black with the scent of lemon hinted medicinal vanilla. Night-blooming flowers, vanilla and musks blend exquisitely in this heady, romantic and sensual scent to create instant and lasting intrigue.

Personally I find that vintage Shalimar perfumes smell the best, as their perfume oils were more concentrated and didnt have the chemical smell that today's versions have. The vintage perfumes have a delightful musky and well rounded accord that are not comparable in the Shalimar of today. If you wish to obtain the earlier versions, I suggest the Shalimar of the 1920s up until the 1950s. They have aged beautifully, like a fine wine. Ebay always has some really good examples, and they are usually at bargain prices. I suggest getting the perfumes that look dark, syrupy and thick. I find that these last a very long time when applied to the skin and the vanilla warms up nicely. Please remember that the older Shalimar is, the darker it will be in the bottle. If it is light colored, it is newer. Compare the two pictures below to see difference in color.

          older Shalimar                      newer Shalimar

 Shalimar was presented in several different flacons over the years, all bottles will have a gilded label. The oldest design is it's original one from 1925, the urn shaped flacon by Baccarat, this design was also copied and used for Shalimar by the glass houses of Cristal Romesnil and Pochet et du Courval. Look on the base of your bottle for acid stamps for Baccarat or Cristal Romesnil, these markings add value to your bottle. the mark for Pochet et du Courval is an entwined HP molded into the base of the bottle. The bottle is made up of clear crystal with a fluted base, and a blue glass stopper with Guerlain in gold. A very rare example will have the stopper in just plain clear crystal and gold lettering. This vintage bottle would have came housed in a lilac flocked hinged box, simulating velvet.  The bottle will lay down perfectly in a specifically cut out portion of the box.

A very rare presentation, called the Presentation Avion (airplane transportation presentation), used this style of box and was offered on the Air France Paris-New York flights, starting in 1960. The box was slightly different in the fact that instead of laying down inside the box, the bottle would stand up snugly inside a small plinth, in which the box lid would slip over making a cover. The stopper was not inside the bottle itself but was inside a tiny cardboard box which was included in the presentation box. The perfume was sealed with a cork covered in a thin plastic seal. These bottles were made by both Baccarat & Pochet et du Courval, look for their logos on the base, an entwined HP or the Baccarat symbol.

In the late 1920s and into the 1930s, Shalimar could be found in a oval shaped bottle with a satin glass stopper. The label was located towards the base of the bottle.This bottle was used for other scents such as Apres L'Ondee, Liu and Jicky.

 Vintage 1920s-1930s bottle.

 For a short time in the 1940s, Shalimar was launched in Guerlain's original squatty rectangular bottle with the mushroom stopper, called the quadrilobe, manufactured by Baccarat. The bottle came housed in a green box with Art Nouveau like gilded designs of stylized lotus flowers. This bottle was originally used for Jicky during the 1890s and into the first part of the 1900s.

During 1940-1945, because of wartime restrictions, Shalimar was presented in its usual urn shaped bottle packaged in a simple blue and white boxes called presentations de guerre, marked "Conditionnement provisoire du manque d'ecrin-la qualite et la quantite du parfum sont rigoureusement identiques a celles de notre presentation normale."

In the mid to late 1950s, Shalimar was again presented in a different bottle. This time it was a frosted and clear crystal curvilinear shape with a molded rosebud stopper.The bottle was designed and produced by Baccarat, and also manufactured by Pochet et du Courval, so check the base for the acid stamp or logos. This bottle was also used for the perfume Ode, Vol de Nuit & Mitsouko.

A simple bottle from the mid 1950s is a ribbed elongated perfume bottle, called the parapluie or "umbrella" was made by Pochet et du Courval and made its debut in 1952. It had either a goldtone cap covering the spray nozzle or a gilded screwcap.Some bottles came in a leather pouch. It was also presented in the purple flocked box and continued to be sold into the 1970s, and maybe into the 1980s.

Vintage 1950s bottle.

Vintage 1950s-70s bottle.

Starting in 1936, Shalimar came in a round, disk shaped eau de cologne bottle with a cone shaped stopper. Sometimes the stopper is gilded.The bottle was first made by Pochet et du Courval.  The bottle came in several different sizes and was also used for other scents such as Chamade, Vol de Nuit,Chant D'Aromes, L'Heure Bleu, and Mitsouko, many of these date to the late 1960s. The bottle came with a black and white box.  A rare 1950 Christmas  holiday presentation for Shalimar consists of the disk shaped bottle and a small, square red cotton ladies scarf printed with an image of this Shalimar flacon.They were housed in a rectangular, white cardboard case, with white satin interior.

The 60s also saw a different type of bottle for Shalimar eau de toilette, this was a cylindrical metal bottle which housed a 3fl oz glass spray vial which could be replaced with a new refill when finished. The metal bottle was enameled with blue and white Oriental designs. This copyrighted design was launched in 1968. A taller, skinnier bottle was also used and had a goldtone cap over the spray nozzle, this bottle was packaged in the same black and white boxes as the disk bottles.

vintage 1960s bottle

circa 1968.

In the 1970s, the disk bottles were still being sold and Shalimar was still being sold in those tall, skinny bottles and were being packaged in both the familiar navy blue or gold boxes you see today.

vintage bottle used from 1960-1990s

In the 1980s, gold purse sprays were available for all scents and the original Shalimar bottle got a modern makeover and now came with a plastic cap and spray nozzle. The original bottle continued to be made, but for the Parfum only. In 1982, a limited edition goldtone cylindrical bottle was offered with a glass spray bottle,which could be replaced with a new refill when finished.These gold bottles hosted all Guerlain eau de toilette fragrances at one point between 1981 and 1989. 

As the millenium approached, Guerlain wanted a fresh, modern look for some of its bottles, and introduced the Habit de Fete limited edition bottles. These bottles are an updated version of it's classic refillable styles, but come in three different sizes. The bottles are a thick goldtone studded with silvery dots. Refills for these bottles can be found at the Guerlain counters or purchased online.

Habit de Fete bottle.

Throughout it's life, Shalimar continued to be sold in it's original crystal bottle with the blue glass stopper. These bottles almost always held the parfum. Baccarat would produce limited edition presentations of this bottle throughout the years.You can still purchase parfum in it's crystal bottle starting at $300 for one ounce at Neiman Marcus. A Baccarat flacon holding one ounce of parfum retails for $700-$1500 on various websites..but you can find it at bargain prices on ebay!

Here are some other tips on dating your bottle:

• The presence of clear labels indicating contents were first used around the 1950s.

• By 1970, cosmetic companies were stamping colored numbers on the bottom of their products.This stamping usually consisted of four numbers and was visible on the bottom of each item. Older bottles from the 1930s-40s would have lot numbers or patent numbers.

• Zip Code on a label denotes age meaning this bottle is from 1962 or later. Before 1937, no zip codes were used. From 1937 to 1962, two code numbers were used on mail and labels. In 1962, all zip codes were required by the US Postal Service.

• Another feature was the use of plastic caps placed over a ground glass stopper. The finest plastic caps began to be used in or by 1962.

• Guerlain labels and presentation boxes featured the red Marly horse logo from about the 1930s and into the 1950s.

• On Shalimar bottles the old labels simply had Shalimar on the label, in newer bottles, they were also marked Guerlain just under the Shalimar name.

• Old glass bottles might have etched matching numbers on the base of the perfume bottle and on the bottom of the stopper. This was done at the factory when the stopper would have been ground to fit the bottle, the numbers are to show which bottle goes with the right stopper.

• Older bottles stamped their name and origin somewhere on the bottle. In the 1940s, stickers replaced the stamping but were soon lost or destroyed, making it difficult to authenticate.

• At the beginning of the 20th century, revenue stamps appeared on the imported scents coming into America.This stamped container is very collectible, because of the information on that stamp.

• Always look at all sides of a bottle. Some labels can be read from both sides, looking thru the back of the bottle. You might encounter labels which have the date stamped on the back of the labels. Sample bottles from the 1950s onward, often had labels that would say "sample, not to be sold". Today's bottles read "tester". Factice, or display bottles, were not meant for resale, and will have labels such as: "dummy, not for sale".  

• Old labels turn brown naturally, however, water and perfume can cause stains on labels over the years.

• Look on the base of your bottle for acid stamps for Baccarat, Cristal Nancy or Cristal Romesnil, these markings add value to your bottle. Cristal Nancy closed their doors in 1934. Only from 1936, Baccarat bottles were systematically engraved with  a mark. Prior to this, they were acid etched, stamped and some had round paper labels, while many have no distinguishing marks.

• Older perfume will start to darken and the oldest perfumes have a syrupy texture.

• Sealed perfumes which look to have some perfume missing, have had their contents evaporated, this is caused by heat, and poor storage as well as aging.

• Older perfumes have onion skin paper seals.

Shalimar Fragrance Notes:

• Top: Lemon, Bergamot
• Middle: Jasmine, May rose
• Base: Iris, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Musk, Incense, Opoponax, Tonka Bean, Vanilla

 Shalimar Eau Légère, also known as Shalimar Light, introduced in 2003, it skips the musky accord and goes from the cool lemon top into a warm vanilla heart. It was created by Mathilde Laurent, a young in-house Guerlain perfumer, however in 2004, Jean Paul Guerlain slightly changed the composition. It is lighter as the name suggests and less complex than the original Shalimar.

These Shalimar products can be found in the online or at fine department stores:

• Eau de Cologne 2.5fl oz
• Eau de Toilette Spray 2.5 fl oz
• Eau de Toilette Spray 1.7fl oz
• Eau de Toilette Gold Bee Bottle 16.9fl oz
• Eau de Toilette Gold Bee Bottle 33.8fl oz
• Eau de Toilette White Bee Bottle 16.9fl oz
• Habit De Fete Eau de Parfum Spray Refill 1.69fl oz
• Habit De Fete Eau de Toilette Spray Refill 3.1fl oz
• Habit De Fete Perfume Spray Refill 0.27fl oz
• Eau de Parfum Spray 2.5fl oz Eau de Parfum Spray 1.7fl oz
• Eau de Parfum Spray 1fl oz
• Eau de Parfum mini Parfum/Extrait 0.25fl oz
• Parfum/Extrait 0.50fl oz
• Parfum/Extrait 1 fl oz
• Sensual Milky Veil (Body Lotion) 6.8fl oz
• Moisturising Body Lotion Bottle 6.8fl oz
• Silky Moisturising Body Mist Spray 3.4fl oz
• Body Cream 7fl oz
• Sensual Body Oil 3.3fl oz
• Perfumed Dusting Powder 4.4oz
• Bath Salts 17.6oz
• Ritual Bath Gel 6.8fl oz
• Shower Gel Bottle 6.8fl oz
• Voluptuous Foaming Bath Bottle 6.8fl oz
•  Deodorant Spray 3.4fl oz
• Hair Gel 0.25fl oz
• Shalimar Light Eau de Toilette Spray 2.5fl oz

Looking for other Guerlain scents? I have written an extensive guide on vintage Guerlain perfumes, please find it here. Feel free to email me for details or any questions. I also have a perfume identification and appraisal service here on ebay, click on myME page for info. Or visit my site at www. freewebs. com/cleopatrasboudoir

Check out the 200+ guides & reviews I have written on perfumes on ebay. If you have found this guide helpful, click YES below. Thanks!Good luck and have fun collecting!

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