Guerlain Shalimar Millesime Iris perfume review on Persolaise Love At First Scent episode 394

[@herb9838]

Hello Persolaise, I wasn't able to join live but I really have to say what a joy it is whenever you upload. Never stop, not even in 100 years!

[@Persolaise]

That's so kind, thank you.

[@L-Ondee]

After the top 10 I am watching this drowsed in Mitsouko and it sounds like, perfume wise, I will stay with 1919 and 1925 this winter. No harm done!

[@Persolaise]

Two vintage years! Thanks for watching.

[@kristabel71]

I wasn't thrilled with it, but it I find it likeable. So as a Shalimar fan, not a complete waste of money. I will wear it. I was impressed by the longevity on me - a full 24 hrs.

[@Persolaise]

Yes, it's certainly long-lasting.

[@nastyfyme]

Le Lion is the best flanker to the OG Shalimar... 😜

[@Persolaise]

This is a very good point!

[@R.N.19]

Suprisingly, the pefume that is very similar to Le Lion is Héritage (edp) by Guerlain. The only difference is that Le Lion has myrrh and a lot of iris. Héritage does not have the same strength or much Iris on the dry down and no myrrh/smokiness as midnote. But Héritage is the calmer more subtle version of Le Lion. It is like the first sketch of Le Lion.

[@Persolaise]

@@R.N.19 Now I have to find my bottle of Heritage.

[@R.N.19]

@@Persolaise I was shocked how similar they were. Although Guerlain added oakmoss to Héritage and Chanel did not. Furthermore the Patchouli notes are indentical twins

[@Venera1704]

I actually smell the sweetness for only 5 minutes, that is like a vanillated caramel in dust form, than it explodes with a lovely not sweet fine powder dark violet iris. It is wonderful, yes it reminds me of Parfum initial but that is a bit more animalic and not so airy. I love Millesime Iris most from this collection

[@Persolaise]

Good to know - thanks for watching.

[@danilibo7005]

I actually love it! It is definitely a “sheer” and “pale” Shalimar, no question about that. But that makes it more accessible and easy to wear than the Grand Dame. Which I adore but doesn’t fit my lifestyle as often as I’d like it to. I agree that it is too caramely, it could have been named Shalimar Millesime Caramel! But I admit I have a sweet tooth. And I also agree that one is left searching for the iris. I fault the marketing around the perfume for that more than the actual perfume. The name was confusing and misleading, especially for iris aficionados like myself. However I find it a damn good perfume and I suspect it’ll be the first one to empty of my three Millesimes. In order to give it a sharper iris, I layer it with Ormonde Jayne Vanille d’Iris and it is PERFECTION

[@Persolaise]

I’m so glad you like it. I have a feeling it’ll find many fans.

[@wildernessisland2573]

I love it too! I think i detect more of the iris than most people do, but it definitely is very caramely, which I really like, too. I'm going to have to look up the Ormonde Jayne you mentioned!

[@nineonehundred]

I just adore your videos so much. No one else I trust! Thank you!!!

[@Persolaise]

That’s very kind - thank you.

[@katerynari5039]

Prada Candy is one of my most hated fragrances of all, and, luckily, i don’t detect a tiniest trace of it in Guerlain Shalimar Millesime Iris.😅🙏🏼✨

[@Persolaise]

Well... that IS lucky!

[@shirleycantoni3152]

I bought it today.. I love it so much. Thanks 🙏

[@Persolaise]

Good to know, thank you.

[@boogiedaddy3434]

I'm quite disappointed to hear that this is so disappointingly sweet. I missed the previous Millesime flankers and was ecstatic when I read that this one was supposed to be iris-focused. I love iris and thought this was the fates' way of repaying me for missing the previous editions. Now I suppose the fates are angry with me. Oh well, glad I didn't jump the gun and blind buy it.

[@Persolaise]

Perhaps you’ll be able to give it a sniff at a shop somewhere. Thanks for watching.

[@mousarzuhair]

It reminded me a great deal of similar vanillin in Un Bois Vanille by Serge Lutens.

[@Persolaise]

I'll have to dig out my sample.

[@annemiekevandenbelt2971]

Thank you for this review and also to the live chat crew for weighing on this one. 🙏 Very glad I didn’t blind buy this yet, because I am not very keen on gourmand scents and I will just stick with my original Shalimar and the MV and MT flankers instead 👌😉

[@Persolaise]

Happy to be of service 😉

[@auroraborealis9490]

So nice of you to have ordered a bottle. I had already decided to pass on MI, I have MVP and Shalitonk as I call it, and have access again to my bottle which is kept in Nyons Drôme Provençale where I spend every September (lucky me). It is incredibly diffusive and just the right amount of sweetness, no caramel thankfully. *Video liked

[@Persolaise]

I guess they had to make a gourmand sooner or later. Thanks for watching.

[@Sara-qw4hi]

I was very disappointed that I wasn’t drowning in iris. As a vanilla scent, it’s not bad and it’s starting to grow on me a bit. I like the touch of sueded vanilla and richer bergamot in the opening. And I do like the iris supporting the vanilla and making it a bit dryer and fluffier. But it’s fighting a loosing battle against the caramel. The caramel was so much better handled in the Tonka flanker which is still one of my favorites scents! I swear that one is more dry, powdery, and airy. I have to be in the mood for a caramel-vanilla gourmand. And when I am, this flanker will be a nice way to scratch the itch. But I certainly don’t need multiple bottles of it like I did with the Tonka. Now if they would put this tooth rotting sweetness aside for a bit and do a throwback flanker that pays homage to the original formula, I would be in heaven. Two of my vintage Shalimar bottles (1950 and 70’s) are about to run out😂

[@Persolaise]

Thanks for this. I wonder if we’ll have another Millesime next year.

[@suleikahorz8651]

I do enjoy this new flanker though I think the name is very misleading. You really have to search the iris here. The bergamot opening is beautiful and I don't mind that the fragrance is on the gourmand side. I usually don't like perfumes with caramel but here it is still subtle enough and not overly sweet. When smelling and wearing the perfume, I was asking myself if the brand did decide to change the formula during the creation process to make it more commercial? And use less iris to make it more appealing "to the masses"?

[@Persolaise]

That's something we may never know, but I suspect it'll do well commercially.

[@emercycrite]

Mr P coming in strong with the shirt game again 💪🏻

[@Persolaise]

😂 Thank you.

[@sardonicsophisticate3974]

So weird! I perceive this as all Iris and very dry, not sweet. It’s also very light and doesn’t last too long so I respray often. I have L’Initial and I find no similar between the two whatsoever. I have all three of the Millesimes and this is my least favorite but I want it in my collection, nonetheless. Also, this edition must be much larger as the supply on the USA website is always in stock. The vanilla and Tonka were impossible to obtain unless you stalked the website for days.

[@Persolaise]

Now, that is fascinating. Thanks for sharing.

[@Zeljana93]

Same here. I get so much iris out of this and caramel is there, but not loud at all.

[@Persolaise]

@@Zeljana93 This is so interesting. We need to do a poll of some sort.

[@algebraist1997]

What I found most intriguing about this millésime is in the top and towards the heart, I notice a somewhat fatty, milky facet (suggestive of something like sulfurol) that I have only experienced otherwise in L'Heure Perdue from Cartier. I don't notice any iris (irones) but there is a violet note. I think the ethyl maltol is just perfectly judged, a touch more sweetness would have already been too much.

[@Persolaise]

Maybe the fatty note is an effect of the iris. Thanks very much for watching.

[@maudline]

It probably will sell really well being that sweet. Getting hold on those early 20s girls who don’t like the original but want to seem ‘old money’ 😅😅

[@Persolaise]

Very true!

[@shunyaspirit5321]

Thank you for the review, i love Iris , but i do not like gourmandy super sweet, caramelly Parfums, i believe this one is not for me. I love the original a lot.

[@Persolaise]

The original is unbeatable. Thanks for watching.

[@annapi1121]

Thank you for this review! It was my first thought too-“Prada Candy”. Where is the Iris?

[@Persolaise]

I was instantly reminded of Candy.

[@annapi1121]

I have learned so much from watching your videos in the last 3 years. Thank you for your work, enthusiasm, and entertaining. I am glad we smell things in a similar way, Ihave a nice collection of greats based on your recommendations. Please, do an updated 10 best feminine perfumes, including some from Mrs.Persolaise:)

[@lindapestridge3073]

Watching from the 🇬🇧

[@Persolaise]

Thank you.

[@StelmaDesigns]

Well if this isn't a bummer of a review, seeing as how my bottle is on the way now, lol :o). I am a full on Shalimar girl since the 80s and I have most of the "flankers" and all the Millesimes. I bought parfum L'Initial when it came out and boy do I remember the Perfumistas (we were called that back in the day) going crazy over it and not in a good way and I had to keep quiet because I loved it and still do! We shall see, but I do not like gourmands or super sweet perfumes so it doens't sound like I am going to love it. Thank you for your thoughts!~. oxJulia

[@Persolaise]

Well, don’t be too swayed by my review. Please come back and let me know what you make of the scent.

[@LesBergamotes]

I get the disappointment as this isn't really Shalimar but I do enjoy it on its own merit. It as a rather adult sweetness, and side-by-side a bit more sophisticated than Parfum Initial (which I also like). It calls to mind Dior Homme but I haven't tried the original in so long.

[@LesBergamotes]

Actually, maybe the closer comparison is VC&A Bois d'Iris? I always found that one sweet. Can't remember when I tucked that bottle though

[@Persolaise]

I can't say it made me think of Dior Homme. But an interesting comparison. Thanks for watching.

[@MelzoA.]

I did smell the millesime vanilla planifolia and found it very plain. It lost everything I love about shalimar, the smokyness, the animalic, the complexity, the change over time. Original shalimar tells a story, the vanilla planifolia was just there as it was, so I was not interested to smell the others…❤

[@Persolaise]

Thanks very much for taking the time to write.

[@kristabel71]

I should add, L'Initial is my ride or die fragrance, I get more iris from that than this new one.

[@Persolaise]

Yes, me too.

[@what_udid]

I received mine yesterday and well .. 😅 I like it, but I don't love it, if that makes sense. At first sniff I didn't get any iris, but when trying it the second time, I absolutely smelled it. It' s there, it's just hiding behind a big amount of fluffiness, sweet toffee and white musk. 😂 It's not a bad fragrance, don' t get me wrong, but to be completely honest, like you I was expecting a little bit more from a Shalimar to be.... More deep, more oriental, more classy, more "french chic" ... At least more Shalimar. This is more a "little girl playing princess scent" than it is a true queen to me. Still like it though. Like the souffle.🙃 But a true love for me was the last year tonka edition. And the main family, EdT, EdC, EdP and even the discontinued Philtre version.

[@Persolaise]

Yes, I preferred Tonka too. Thanks for watching.

[@kenbeckman4948]

Ordered a sample because I'm a big fan of caramel and sweet

[@Persolaise]

I hope you like it. Thanks for watching.

[@milehighhokie]

Oh no. I blind bought this from the Guerlain site this week, based upon my appreciation of the first two Millesime fragrances and Guerlain’s success with previous iris-centric fragrances. Your comparisons with Candy and Angel tell me that this Millesime will not be to my liking at all. 😢

[@Persolaise]

Well, you never know... you might enjoy it. Come back and let us know what you make of it.

[@ipurvi]

Haven't tried this and I am yet to get the magic of Shalimar to be honest. May be growing up always surrounded by incense fragrances, attars and very old fashion heavy fragrances, this feels too much of that to me ? I don't know. It's nice and classic but I don't love it.

[@Persolaise]

Well, this one is quite removed from original Shalimar. Many thanks for watching.

[@cheapimitation2242]

This was a huge disappointment for me, so cheaply sweet smelling in the base. Glad I didn’t blind buy as I almost gave in to FOMO.

[@Persolaise]

It's certainly very sweet.

[@Fons53]

Received a sample today and iris is for me not present at all😢the scent is MUCH too expensive!!!!

[@Persolaise]

It seems to have been very divisive. Thanks for watching.

[@CaroCoffee123]

I think all the Millesimes were successful- they all sold out in no time! I’m not a fan of this one unfortunately. Shalimar + iris…it was so promising but I can’t get over the Prada Candy aspect.

[@Persolaise]

I have a feeling this one will do very well. Thanks for watching.

[@renadistasio510]

Oh bummer. I ordered this last week and they're having a shipping issue, so it hasn't reached me yet. It doesn't sound promising. But, at least the comments section reminded me to wear Initial more often, which I have always championed and regard as the best of the variations on the Shalimar theme. I have an original bottle of Initial and it's almost gone. Has anyone smelled the latest version?

[@Persolaise]

I’m wary of trying the current version, but I should take the plunge. For what it’s worth, here’s my original review of it: persolaise.com/2011/07/reviews-shalimar-parfum-initial-from.html

[@renadistasio510]

Thank you! @@Persolaise

[@phutureprimitivedark]

Talking about flankers.. Did you try chanel chance eau fraiche EDP.. No one talks about it

[@Persolaise]

You're right, it hasn't really been mentioned anywhere. I should try to seek it out.

[@tammyhiggins1013]

I am just not a fan of caramel in perfume so this will be a hard pass for me.

[@Persolaise]

Well, we can't love them all, right?

[@tammyhiggins1013]

That is true. I am not lacking in fragrance choices, that is for sure! The house has many fragrances I love! Thank you again for your reviews and lives as they are much appreciated!@@Persolaise

[@tributeam5708]

👏🏽🌹

[@Persolaise]

😊

[@trina6256]

Love Guerlain…. Love Shalimar… yet this is too sweet caramel/gourmand for me…so sad!!! I wanted more Iris….🫤Sorry Guerlain it is a swing and a miss for me!

[@Persolaise]

It’ll be interesting to see how successful it turns out to be. Thanks for watching.

[@trina6256]

@@Persolaise Agreed Mr P.

[@le_journal_de_natalie]

You mentioned the reactions to this one in today’s video so I decided to go back and comment. First I need to say though that Caramel was a movie I completely forgot about! I think I watched it twice or three times back in the day. It was so good! Back to Shalimar. The name is a mistake I think, especially since it’s been so hyped up in the wrong direction and hence a substantial part of the disappointment. I was warned by a perfume shop owner who smelled it pre-launch that it was not an Iris so I guess I had a different mindset. And I do love it and here’s the reason why. I’ve been looking for a really good sweet perfume but I don’t like them really sweet so it’s been hard to find. Every time I would go to Shalimar and Philtre of Shalimar but I wanted something with more sweetness, something more like Cuir Beluga maybe but not as treacly and dark as the Tonka. Bake came out and I bought that after much hesitation but it’s a touch too sweet for what I needed in those moments and makes me want to eat a lemon merengue pie instead of satisfying a smell craving. I tried a sample of Salt & Caramel by Shay & Blue and that was unpalatable. And then came this flanker and it was exactly that dessert but with the beauty of Shalimar that I needed apparently. Like somebody else said in their comment above, maybe not two back up bottles worthy like the Tonka one, but I do really like it for the sophisticated “gourmand” that I sometimes have a need for. And the flanker does help to sell the original as well, I’m sure. In fact I resmelled the EdT and bought it as I decided that it had its own merit by being a little softer and gentler and maybe even sweeter than the EdP because of not being so animalic. It was thanks to Tonka that I learned to appreciate Shalimar. And now with two Tonka backup bottles, two Philtre backup bottles and five bottles of the different versions on my dresser and Shalimar having gone from “not for me” to “never without” and a version/flanker for every occasion. I think Guerlain marketing mostly know what they are doing.

[@Persolaise]

@@le_journal_de_natalie Thanks very much for taking the time to write this. I'm glad it seems to be finding some fans.

[@polpofemo_5107]

Hi, I was waiting for this. I bought it online as soon as it was available and I have no regrets but was disappointed. If you search for a good gourmand the perfume is well done and elegant, but it's not what I expected from a Shalimar flanker, especially one called "Millésime Iris". I hoped for a distinctive earthy, starchy iris note and I can find none, just a powdery sweetness. Not bad, hints of candy prada and l'initial are nice, but it's too sweet for my taste. I loved Vanilla Planifolia, wich is sweet but in some way drier whereas this one is sticky. Anyway, I wish all sweet gourmand were like this!

[@Persolaise]

You make a good point: the perfume world would be a happier place if all gourmands were like this. But it doesn’t tick many Shalimar boxes.