Shalini Parfum GOLD, a Ninth Collaboration with Maurice

Shalini Parfum has released GOLD, its ninth collaborative fragrance with master perfumer Maurice Roucel. The perfume is an olfactory interpretation of the element gold, built around a core of marigold absolute and completed with a succinct selection of five other precious materials.

According to a review on CaFleureBon, founder Shalini Kumar's long-standing fascination with gold inspired the scent. The metal's celestial origins and symbolic associations with purity, divinity, and permanence provided the creative foundation. Kumar's inspiration also drew from art, specifically Gustav Klimt's gold-leaf portrait 'Woman in Gold'.

The Central Note: Marigold

The fragrance places the marigold, or tagetes, in a starring role. The review describes the note as profoundly golden yet complex, exhibiting vibrant floral, herbal, and bitter facets with a licorice-like quality. The flower carries rich historical and ritual significance across cultures, from being used as an offering in place of gold coins in medieval Christianity to guiding spirits during Día de los Muertos in Mexico.

The Olfactory Composition

Maurice Roucel's composition uses only six key materials to achieve its effect. The marigold is burnished with Spanish saffron, a spice noted for its comparable value and history. The classic precious triad of frankincense and myrrh joins them, with the reviewer noting a subtle incense presence and a pronounced, arid myrrh quality on their skin. The formula is rounded out with honey and Baltic amber.

The honey adds a floral, tenderly animalic sweetness with tobacco nuances. The use of Baltic amber, dry-distilled from northern European pines, introduces a denser, faintly smoky impression of ashes and pine. The review suggests this choice prevents the composition from becoming overly syrupy.

The Perfumer's Alchemy

The collaboration between Kumar and Roucel is described as an act of olfactory alchemy. Their goal was to embody the transcendent trinity of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The resulting fragrance is characterized as gracious, holy, and serene in its splendor. "What took the alchemists of yore centuries to ponder was achieved by dint of marigold, saffron, myrrh, frankincense, honey, and Baltic amber," the review states.

The scent launched at Bergdorf Goodman in February 2024. It is available online and through various stockists.