Shalimar(1925)

Created by Jacques Guerlain, Shalimar is among the most historically significant oriental fragrances ever released, built on bergamot, lemon, and mandarin in the opening, a heart of iris, jasmine, and rose, and a dense base of vanilla, opoponax, incense, and tonka bean. Its name references the Shalimar Gardens built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, the same emperor who later built the Taj Mahal in her memory, and the fragrance is popularly said to have been inspired by that love story. Its defining technical achievement was overdosing ethyl vanillin, a synthetic vanilla compound significantly more powerful than natural vanilla extract, against the bright citrus opening, creating a contrast between sparkling freshness and deep, smoky-sweet warmth that had not been attempted at this scale before. That vanilla-citrus contrast became the founding architecture of the entire oriental fragrance family as it matured through the 20th century, with Shalimar serving as its most frequently cited reference point. Guerlain has kept the fragrance in continuous production for a century, and it remains regularly cited alongside Chanel No. 5 and Mitsouko as one of the three or four most influential compositions in the history of modern perfumery.