Shalimar fragrance: Did you know Mughal emperor Shah Jahan’s wife Mumtaz Mahal was the inspiration behind world’s second most-selling fragrance? |

In 1921, Jacques Guerlain unveiled a perfume that will turn into one in all the most iconic in the world of perfumery, Shalimar. Encased in a shocking Baccarat crystal bottle, this intoxicating scent captivated France throughout the Roaring Twenties, feeding a rising fascination with the mystique of the East. Today, it stays a cornerstone of Guerlain’s legacy, promoting 108 bottles each hour throughout the globe and is simply second to its best-selling perfume after La Petite Robe Noire.

A love story in a bottle

The inspiration for Shalimar traces again to the grand romance of Seventeenth-century India. Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan was deeply dedicated to his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, for whom he created the breathtaking Shalimar Gardens. When she handed away, he honored her reminiscence with the Taj Mahal, an emblem of everlasting love. This poignant story discovered its method to Jacques Guerlain via a visiting maharajah in Paris. Moved by the emperor’s devotion, he got down to craft a fragrance worthy of an empress, one which exuded ardour, thriller, and opulence.

As the jazz age thrived and Paris embraced the unique, Jacques Guerlain sought to seize the essence of this new period. He started experimenting by including ethylvanillin, an artificial vanilla compound, to Jicky, one in all Guerlain’s present perfumes. The outcome was a wealthy, heady mix infused with deep oriental notes. To full the composition, he launched opulent components: velvety vanilla, sensual sandalwood, resinous benzoin, iris, patchouli, incense, and tonka bean. The end result was one thing extraordinary, Shalimar, an audaciously sensual perfume in contrast to something earlier than it.

A bottle as iconic as the scent

Shalimar’s luxurious aroma demanded an equally breathtaking presentation. Raymond Guerlain, Jacques’ cousin, designed a chic flacon impressed by the cascading swimming pools of Mughal gardens. The crowning jewel was a deep blue, fan-shaped Baccarat crystal stopper, tied with a fragile silk thread and sealed with wax.

The bottle’s design was so distinctive that it gained the International Decorative Arts Exhibition Award in Paris in 1925.

A perfume that stands the take a look at of time

For almost a century, Shalimar has remained an emblem of sophistication and attract. Over the years, it has been reinterpreted by artists and visionaries, from legendary illustrators like Cassandre to photographers corresponding to Helmut Newton, Jean-Paul Goude, and Peter Lindbergh. In 2008, Paolo Roversi’s iconic marketing campaign that includes Russian mannequin Natalia Vodianova redefined sensuality, echoing Serge Gainsbourg’s lyrics, “She’s not wearing anything, aside from a little essence of Guerlain in her hair.”

Even at the moment, Shalimar continues to evolve. In 2011, Guerlain’s grasp perfumer Thierry Wasser launched Shalimar Parfum Initial, a contemporary interpretation that softened the perfume’s extra intense notes whereas retaining its legendary spirit.
Through many years of reinvention, Shalimar stays greater than only a fragrance, it’s a legacy of affection, artwork, and timeless seduction.