Review: Shalimar Souffle d’Oranger – Guerlain

Now, I ask you, who doesn’t like a little orange blossom? The tingly sensation in your nose, the sweetness, the hint of citrus. A natural phenomenon capable of transporting you to a French orchard (or possibly Spanish), sunlight filtering through trees and girls dressed in bohemian lace with flowers tucked into their just-mussed-enough wavy curls.

I am an original Shalimar EDP* fan. I wasn’t for the longest time, because it was years before I actually decided to try the stuff on my actual skin…but that’s another story. In the time that I have been wearing Shalimar there have been countless (or what seems to be countless) flankers that have been released some were ok but nothing I would have raved about. Then the Souffle* line came out and there were AHMAZING reviews all over the interwebs but I still couldn’t muster up the same sentiment for them as I held for Shalimar EDP, even despite their beautiful bottles. In fact, when I first tried the Souffle line I got that gaggy feeling in the back of my throat which is normally reserved for very heavy rose fragrances (sorry Mr Malle).

So, I almost DIDN’T try this one, except that one evening after work, whilst perusing the Guerlain counter for a little something to boost my fragrance game before date night, a trusted Guerlain sales assistant grabbed my hand and spritzed with abandon. So… I suppose you could say I didn’t *choose* to try it, someone decided for me! At first, I could feel the familiar itchy feeling in the back of my nose but the gag never quite came. Instead I was engulfed by a cloud of exotic neroli and petitgrain with just the mildest hint of mandarin peel.
Interesting!

As it developed the neroli remained strong, but the other notes seemed to shift and change around it. A white floral element emerged which immediately drew me in even closer (I love white floral everything) and the orange started to emerge. I found this promising, and so I spritzed a bit more before heading off to meet my Bohemian Prince.
The evening may have felt a little underwhelming for my partner, as I spent the entire evening obsessively sniffing my wrist, shaking my head and babbling about oranges and vanilla and spice. Thankfully, he has become well accustomed to my obsessions, but I suppose I did feel a little bad.

I still smelled of soft, warm, spicy, vanillic orange the next morning, and even after my sweaty 90minute gym workout that morning, I still had it wafting up to me when I stepped into the hot shower.

This fragrance is quite different from the original Shalimar, although there are hints of the familiar warm vanilla notes of the original, the orange blossom and neroli bring a freshness that makes Souffle d’Oranger more approachable without being too sickly sweet, or so powdery that you almost choke (not that *I* could ever have that problem with powder…give me ALL of it!).

The opening is green and herbal with that neroli and petitgrain leading the charge, but it does quieten down to a beautiful soft and fresh orange blossom with just the perfect amount of vanilla and woodsy notes to give it some depth and a truckload of longevity.

Any case, this has immediately stepped into my list of most favoured perfumes, which has not had a new entrant for quite some time, so for me it’s a win. Have you smelled it? What did you think?

*From time to time I may use affiliate links in my posts where I may earn a small commission if you should choose to make a purchase. This is at no extra cost to you and it enables me to fund more items to review. I never recommend something that I haven’t actually tried or used myself. However, please don’t use the link if you don’t feel comfortable doing so.