GUERLAIN
Shalimar Millesime Iris

2023

bergamot

iris
rose

white musk
vanilla

‘This Year Highlights Iris Palida: This year Guerlain Selected a rare variety of iris called “Iris Palida”, Shalimar Millesime Iris not only retains Shalimar’s signature bergamot base, but also adds a powdery vibe. In addition, the fragrance combines rose, and white musk, allowing one to feel the presence of the iris in these notes, resulting in a floral and silky fragrance.’ – Guerlain

This is a pretty nice version of Shalimar, albeit a different version than what I was hoping for. And I think Guerlain can do better.

Do I get iris? Surely I do. Yet, I can’t help but to feel that this flanker reads mostly as a dry vanilla scent. Mostly the scent of vanilla, spices and cake for 90% of the wear time.

The opening is heavy on the iris, but on my skin, the scent of iris fades quickly and instead, creates mostly texture. Otherwise, this is almost all vanilla on my skin. Not as floral as I expected and I’m even missing a lot of the bergamot that’s so significant to Shalimar’s opening.

And if I’m being 100% honest; as much as I like the scent, I don’t think the iris/white musk combination added makes it any better than many other vanillas. It’s dry, powdery, almost band-aid-esque (like YSL Babycat) with the slightest hint of suede to my nose. I won’t go as far as calling it smoky, but it has a specific spicy, leathery tinge to it (in a light way).

I don’t love it for being ‘Shalimar Millesime Iris’ and it’s middle of the road for a vanilla-caramel fragrance to me. For example, I’d quite easily pick Casamorati Lira over this..

Judging by the reviews thus far, most people seem to agree; calling this the ‘iris’ millesime feels a bit out of place to me. Instead, this feels like a continuation of the Vanilla Planifolia flanker. I like it, especially the opening, but I’m not too excited for it and was hoping for something that highlighted the iris more.