Happy Labor Day to US readers.
I washed the glass roof in my kitchen a few days ago. Do that twice a year. Amazing what a difference it makes to remove all the bits that have collected themselves, the moss tufts from the roof, things the birds drop (not poop but that too – they leave interesting gifts), just the residue of months of rain and then no rain at all.
I usually decide what I will write about a week in advance. But recently I’ve ended up with an embarrassment of samples. So, I might actually try to write a month of posts in advance.
Anyway, last week, I wrote about Guerlain’s Shalimar L’Essence. At the end of that post I mentioned a picture a friend had sent of the new Guerlain L’Heure Bleue bottle with the blue juice.
A bit after that she pointed me towards a YouTube video by the blogger Persolaise reviewing the new LHB. So, I had a go with that.
To remind, I tried L’Essence and got basically a gentle almost tribute band thing to Shalimar. I adore the original Shalimar and wasn’t over the moon about this. It’s fine and certainly worth a go.
As to the new LHB, to paraphrase the Persolaise video (it’s short and very worth watching): a bit of WTF and why? Not violent WTF – more utter perplexedness. He wonders why the house has done what it has done with this release.
Apparently the new LHB is the blue juice, with the original LHB bottle labelled 1912 for the original release year. So, two different perfumes with the same name — but a sneaky tweak by using the year of the release. The notes list for the new one is: ozonic notes, neroli, pear, iris, orris, jasmine, vanilla, ambroxin and musk. Ozonic notes? Um, ok …
One of the first things Persolaise says is that on his wife, who actually did skin on this when he bought his sample, it smells of almond.
Ok, now that’s mostly what I got with L’Essence. So, one asks the question: is Delphine Jelk, the nose, having a big almond moment coincidentally or is this the direction of the re-dos/flankers? Is it a way to differentiate her stuff from the originals? Persolaise was positive about LHB 2026 but not fulsome. It’s pretty.
So, my questions are: 1) What do we think Guerlain is up to? and 2) Is there a chance of a retreat and phasing out of the original stuff? (A note: I looked up the Guerlain extraits and here they are now £315 for 30ml. I recall paying £250 for that size of Shalimar around four years ago.)
Now, Shadid. This was released in 2025 and I totally missed it. Notes (from Fragrantica) include castoreum, coriander, nagarmotha*, ambergris, sandalwood, cedarwood and vanilla.
This opening on me pure Tauer, a bit strange and rather perplexing. I have a chamomile plant in the garden and this is very close to that. Meaning: medicinal, a tad unpleasant, shoe polish. Compelling in a way that you want to know what happens next.
It develops into leather modified by a lot of time by a campfire. The smell of a well-used leather jacket or saddle. Plus, the beast inhabiting either. Plus, whiffs of meadow.
The drydown is lovely leather-sandalwood with a touch of sweetness from the vanilla. Decent longevity, as with all the heavier Tauers.
This is very Tauer. If you like Lonestar Memories in particular this might be up your alley. I like it – it sits well on my skin. I don’t like it enough to think about owning it.
The bottle is the beautiful blue Tauer pentangle with one third decorated in what looks like it’s meant to mimic red intricate fabric.
So, thoughts on my Guerlain musings? Does Shadid sound like it’s for you?
*a frilly topped plant found in Australia and New Guinea. Mimics the smell of campfire and damp roots.
Pics: mine, Facebook, pexels