It goes without saying, I should think, that Guerlain is one of the world’s great perfume houses. They have a long and deservedly glamorous history, and they are responsible for any number of the marvels of modern perfumery. In particular, Mitsouko (1919) and Shalimar (1925) make almost every list of the perfume classics that will withstand the test of time.
So it is with great personal shame that I admit that I don’t really properly appreciate the classic, pre-1950 Guerlain fragrances…