Founded in 1828 Guerlain is a legendary French perfume house renowned for using luxurious and rare materials in the composition of their fragrances. In fact, the brands flagship fragrance ‘Shalimar’ – an iconic Oriental including bergamot, tonka bean and iris notes was one of the first perfumes to successfully incorporate vanillin, the primary component of the extract from vanilla beans. One of the best selling fragrances of all time, Shalimar was created by Jacques Guerlain as a tribute to the infamous love story between Emperor Shahjahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal – Jewel of the Palace. The Emperor built the Taj Mahal for his love Mumtaz and The Gardens of Shalimar were her favourite on its grounds. From early beginnings as the official perfumer for many European royal courts including those of Queen Victoria and Napoleon III, today Guerlain products are still held amongst the highest regard in the industry.
