Shalimar Cologne
Guerlain (2015)

Like a sparkling Shalimar Fairy, Guerlain's Shalimar Cologne EdT is pure delight. A lemon meringue puff leads to a gorgeously fresh bouquet, then a lovely drydown with impressive longevity for an EDT (especially in light of all the expensive yet poorly-performing fragrances out there these days).

Although I can easily get overwhelmed with freesia, the bare touch of it in the heart notes is so effective, beautifully blending with jasmine and rose. Unmistakably Shalimar, but so alive, pretty, and shimmering. Two sprays on forearms last most of a day, longer on clothing.

But good luck finding this. I bought two on fragrancex back in 2019 and it's since virtually vanished from the market. So glad I have that sealed NIB BuB.

I recently bought the 2020 Shalimar Philtre de Parfum (on costco website as of April 2023 for a steal price). It's not quite as lovely as this Cologne EdT, but still really nice and I think it would work well on men, too. If you like lavender, it's got a gentle, high quality lavender note that glistens through the entire ride.

Although the way Guerlain names these Shalimar flankers is (at best) confusing or (at worst) infuriating, they really do a wonderful job tying the offspring to the mothership. You would not smell either this Cologne EDT or the Philtre de Parfum and not immediately be reminded of classic Shalimar.

If I was Thierry Wasser and people kept banging on about Mathilde Laurent's Eau Legere, Jean Paul Guerlain's assault on it, unfortunate names that suggested a diet Shalimar and now a discontinued Eau de Shalimar I would also restore the fragrance. He has been the 'Great Improver' and those of us who have benefited from his tweaks of MItsouko bow to his artistry. There are great specifics there from Mr Bon Vivant's review; cool iris and thyme made me my knees tremble. And I am indeed kicking myself for missing Eau Legere because I came late to Guerlain; the Dowagers in my family wore Caron, Chanel and very 'Green' fragrances that were the rage. Having tried Cologne today I knew I was undone.

Shalimar Cologne, the 2015 flanker, is none other than perfumer Mathilde Laurent's Shalimar Eau Legere given the Wasser treatment. Eau Legere was a 2003 fragrance meant to be a gateway to Shalimar. So Guerlain has fallen back on its habit of re-issuing defunct fragrances under new names.
Like Eau Legere, Cologne opens with a sweet lemon accord. There are discreet floral touches in the heart. The base is the rich musk-vanillin combo that has been Guerlain's signature since the early 2000's.

How is Cologne different from Eau Legere? For starters, Wasser lightens the whole fragrance. Eau Legere, despite its name, was a fairly heavy fragrance whose sillage kept rolling off your skin in great musky vanilla waves. Cologne is considerably lighter, with a more discreet sillage. The top notes, while maintaining the same accord as Laurent's, are made more acidic (or tangier), which is where the “grapefruit” marketing comes in. A discreet touch of ozone keeps the citrus crisp and fresh into the heart. If you're a stickler for details, you will catch whiffs of a cool iris and some thyme.

Since I sometimes find the old Eau Legere a bit heavy in the heat, Cologne (though also an edt) is a welcome dilution. However, I admit I was hoping for something a bit crisper, given the name. And if I had known it was essentially the same as Eau Legere, I wouldn't have bought it (blind).

So, Cologne is a lighter version of Eau Legere (and not Shalimar Light, nor Eau de Shalimar). If you already have Eau Legere in your hoard, skip this one as it is redundant.

But if you're kicking yourself for missing Eau Legere – and ebay prices are certainly too steep to justify buying a bottle – then this is your chance to snag it one last time at retail price. At least until it's re-re-released under a another new name.

Longevity: decent
Sillage: medium to discreet
Bottle: purdy
Juice: pale gold (not pink)