After recently writing on Twitter about my being nasally assaulted ONE TIME TOO MANY by the unholy stench of Clinique Happy perfume (I just don’t like it, okay? I’m sorry, wearers!), I got to thinking about the various scents that I’ve worn throughout my life. I decided I’d write a post about that, and I was
so excited about this brilliant plan that I shared it with
Slynnro, and she was all, “yes, that IS a great plan. And I did it last year.”
I was pregnant when she wrote her post, so I’ll blame the lapse in memory on Pregnancy Brain, a convenient catchall excuse if ever there was one. Still, I’m glad I mentioned it to her, because I’d have hated for her to read this post and think to herself, “That Metalia. Not only does she
drink corn juice, but she also
steals post ideas and passes them off as her own.”
However! I promptly forgot about the idea to write the post (as I am wont to do), and was only reminded of it once again yesterday: I had occasion to try a bunch of new perfumes (by which I mean, “wandered out for lunch and found myself lured into Sephora by some sort of cosmetic-related tractor beam”), and -- I don't know, you guys. I really wanted to find a New Perfect Scent, and maybe I have some sort of hypersensitive olfactory issues, but it’s like, NOTHING made me happy, perfume-wise. I finally settled on one (ONE) scent that made the cut (i.e., to actually try out ON MY PERSON, as opposed to the little paper stick), and it was a colossal mistake. It smelled kind of okay, but also kind of like you’d imagine a drunk-ass ho would smell on
Taxicab Confessions. Or
Flavor of Love. Or
Rock of Love. Or--well, any show featuring copious appearances by drunk-ass hos, really.
Sigh.
I suppose it’s back to my old standbys for now, but first! (With a nod to lovely Slynnro) I bring you my perfume timeline:
1) Tribe – Okay. I’m probably the only person who ever wore this, but this was one of the “body sprays” made oh-so-popular in the late-‘80s early ‘90s. I believe the commercial had some heavy
congo drum beats, POSSIBLY a dijeridoo, and some husky-voiced woman going, “join…THE
TRIBE.” It was all about subtlety, you see, and I am ashamed to admit that I fell prey to the siren call of…an aerosol can of aggressively floral perfume.
I would LIBERALLY COAT MYSELF IN IT FROM HEAD TO TOE, after taking baths with the radio tuned to the classical station, and an inflatable neck pillow in the tub. It seemed—to me at the time—a very grown-up thing to do. I WAS 11 YEARS OLD.
2) Sunflowers by Elizabeth Arden- Oh, how I begged for this for Hanukkah when I was in eighth grade. BEGGED. To my delight, I received it, and thought it was pretty much the best scent ever. I distinctly recall telling my mom how I would never be sick of it, ever. In retrospect, “cloying” doesn’t even begin to describe this perfume. I am sad to report that on special days, I would apply the perfume…while wearing my awesome floor-length navy blue jumper, which was covered with…you guessed it! Enormous, man-eating sunflowers! Completing the look were scrunch socks and clunky mary janes, so I really had quite the look going there for a while.
3) CKOne- Oh,
ninth grade.
The scent is actually not too bad, but once again, it’s what I wore it WITH that makes me cringe: Doc Martens, baggy jeans, thermal
tees and flannel shirts OHMIGOD I KNOW, I LITERALLY THOUGHT I WAS ONE OF THE MODELS IN THE AD.
4) Polo (the men’s version)- I didn’t personally wear it, but a number of my guy friends/boyfriends in high school did. This, to me, still smells great, and if I catch a whiff of it, it totally takes me back, and makes me think of high school boys.
Wait!!
I didn’t mean--Not
ACTUAL high school boys,
right now, it’s just that it reminds me of BEING in high sch—No! No! Call off the Cougar alert! NOOOOO!
5) Issey Miyake L'Eau D'Issey – Show of hands: Was there honestly anyone out there who DIDN’T wear this, at least for a little bit?
6) Dirt by Demeter – I love this brand’s concept of kitschy, offbeat scents (e.g., Play-Doh, Funeral Home, etc.), and Dirt is my very favorite. I actually bought this in the Sephora located at the mall beneath the
World Trade Center in August of 2001; I don’t really wear it very often anymore, but I still can’t bring myself to get rid of the bottle.
7) Angel by Thierry Mugler-I briefly flirted with this scent in college. I still have it, and I know, it’s totally a “love it or hate it” perfume. I think it’s the most grown-up perfume I have, and wear it very rarely, primarily to big fancy events that requires me to act like a mature adult, which I am totally not.
8) Light Blue by Dolce & Gabanna – I began wearing this mid-college, right around the time when I first met J (we didn’t date until after we’d graduated, but that’s a story for another day); as a result, my scent memory (that’s a thing, right?) has the two of them inexorably linked in my mind. It’s still my go-to scent, and I really will never tire of it. ( Or him, for that matter.)
9) Spring Fever by Origins- I began wearing this when I started my first job, and wanted a new light-but-professional scent to be my "Work Perfume." (I AM A LOSAH.) Though, strictly speaking, I can’t speak for the perfume itself, but I am a huge, HUGE fan of their scented “body soufflé." To me, this just smells FRESH and CLEAN and SPRINGY (the season, not…not--the
metal coils) and is another one of my “classics” that I hope I never get sick of.
10) Brit by Burberry – SPEAKING OF getting sick of things, I got this
riiiight before I got pregnant with Toopweets. I loved it! Wore it everywhere! Adored it to no end!
And then.
After I became pregnant, I was stricken with really bad morning sickness, the kind that’s set off by merely
thinking about boiled chicken, or shampoo, or…or..,YOUR (HERETOFORE) FAVORITE PERFUME. My god, it was truly a marvel at how quickly my feelings on this perfume turned.
Mentally, I knew I ENJOYED the scent, but in actuality, it had this visceral, violent, hurl-inducing effect on me. Of course, by this point, it was, like,
embedded in everything I owned, so I pretty much wanted to die. Well, throw up constantly. Whatever. Funnily enough, even though I’m no longer pregnant, and the perfume no longer makes me ill, the MEMORY of it has effectively killed this perfume for me, forever.
So! What about you? What were some of your favorite perfumes/HUGE-ASS FRAGRANCE MISTAKES?
And equally important, now that you know the scents I currently wear on a regular basis (Light Blue and Spring Fever), do you have any recommendations for me? As much as I love them, I’m still looking for a new scent, considering I haven’t found (a
new) The One in over three years.
2) Sunflowers by Elizabeth Arden- Oh, how I begged for this for Hanukkah when I was in eighth grade. BEGGED. To my delight, I received it, and thought it was pretty much the best scent ever. I distinctly recall telling my mom how I would never be sick of it, ever. In retrospect, “cloying” doesn’t even begin to describe this perfume. I am sad to report that on special days, I would apply the perfume…while wearing my awesome floor-length navy blue jumper, which was covered with…you guessed it! Enormous, man-eating sunflowers! Completing the look were scrunch socks and clunky mary janes, so I really had quite the look going there for a while.
3) CKOne- Oh, ninth grade. The scent is actually not too bad, but once again, it’s what I wore it WITH that makes me cringe: Doc Martens, baggy jeans, thermal tees and flannel shirts OHMIGOD I KNOW, I LITERALLY THOUGHT I WAS ONE OF THE MODELS IN THE AD.
4) Polo (the men’s version)- I didn’t personally wear it, but a number of my guy friends/boyfriends in high school did. This, to me, still smells great, and if I catch a whiff of it, it totally takes me back, and makes me think of high school boys.
Wait!! I didn’t mean--Not ACTUAL high school boys, right now, it’s just that it reminds me of BEING in high sch—No! No! Call off the Cougar alert! NOOOOO! 
5) Issey Miyake L'Eau D'Issey – Show of hands: Was there honestly anyone out there who DIDN’T wear this, at least for a little bit? 
6) Dirt by Demeter – I love this brand’s concept of kitschy, offbeat scents (e.g., Play-Doh, Funeral Home, etc.), and Dirt is my very favorite. I actually bought this in the Sephora located at the mall beneath the 
7) Angel by Thierry Mugler-I briefly flirted with this scent in college. I still have it, and I know, it’s totally a “love it or hate it” perfume. I think it’s the most grown-up perfume I have, and wear it very rarely, primarily to big fancy events that requires me to act like a mature adult, which I am totally not.
8) Light Blue by Dolce & Gabanna – I began wearing this mid-college, right around the time when I first met J (we didn’t date until after we’d graduated, but that’s a story for another day); as a result, my scent memory (that’s a thing, right?) has the two of them inexorably linked in my mind. It’s still my go-to scent, and I really will never tire of it. ( Or him, for that matter.)
9) Spring Fever by Origins- I began wearing this when I started my first job, and wanted a new light-but-professional scent to be my "Work Perfume." (I AM A LOSAH.) Though, strictly speaking, I can’t speak for the perfume itself, but I am a huge, HUGE fan of their scented “body soufflé." To me, this just smells FRESH and CLEAN and SPRINGY (the season, not…not--the metal coils) and is another one of my “classics” that I hope I never get sick of.
10) Brit by Burberry – SPEAKING OF getting sick of things, I got this riiiight before I got pregnant with Toopweets. I loved it! Wore it everywhere! Adored it to no end!
And then.
After I became pregnant, I was stricken with really bad morning sickness, the kind that’s set off by merely thinking about boiled chicken, or shampoo, or…or..,YOUR (HERETOFORE) FAVORITE PERFUME. My god, it was truly a marvel at how quickly my feelings on this perfume turned.
Mentally, I knew I ENJOYED the scent, but in actuality, it had this visceral, violent, hurl-inducing effect on me. Of course, by this point, it was, like, embedded in everything I owned, so I pretty much wanted to die. Well, throw up constantly. Whatever. Funnily enough, even though I’m no longer pregnant, and the perfume no longer makes me ill, the MEMORY of it has effectively killed this perfume for me, forever.
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79 comments:
Ooh, I have a recommendation! It's Kenzo "d'ete" and I adore it for its fresh, green, not sweet/cloying scent (I find "flower" by Kenzo to be overly sweet and powdery, for example). The only annoying thing is that the bottle is shaped like a leaf--pretty, yes, but it doesn't stand. Just lays there.
I too was drawn into the Sephora vortex yesterday, and found myself trying various scents. There was one, an orange flower perfume, that I thought I liked on the little paper wand thing. I made the mistake of spraying it everywhere and now I ha-aate it. I am going to have to wash my coat and scarf just to get rid of that smell.
Isn't perfume funny that way?
I've been wearing Yves St. Laurent Paris Paris since 1993. This year, I asked my husband to buy me DKNY's Delicious for Christmas, and he did, and I wore it for 2 weeks, and I'm back to Paris.
In March of 1993, I was spending a weekend in Paris (doing the whole semester abroad thing) and I was walking towards the Louvre with an aquaintance, and I said, "your perfume smells great, what is it?" and she said, "it's Paris." And I said, "No, I know Paris smells good, but what perfume is that?" And after the Laurel and Hardy moment passed, I realized, of course, the name of the perfume WAS Paris, and then I went a bought a bottle IN Paris. And it forever reminds me of Paris.
But even without that association, it's a nice smell.
Oh my gosh CK1 totally brings me back to flannel shirts and Docs. I had a brief relationship with Victoria Secret body sprays... that was my mistake. UGH.
I recently found the most perfect "adult" like perfume. Smells so fresh, incredibly clean, not too strong, perfect for night and day, I seriously get STOPPED on the street and asked what I'm wearing. It's a little costly but also a true perfume which lasts all day long with just one application. I could really wear it forever: Bond No. 9 New York Saks for her.
I bought my BFF a tiny purse edition for $55. It is worth trying.
OHMommy - Bond #9 - AWESOME.
LawMommy - I wore Paris also for YEARS. So many years I couldn't do this post because tha's all I remember wearing (I went from Love's Baby Soft to I guess nothing for a couple year and then Paris). I still love Paris.
My daughter wears Burberry Brit sometimes but Angel is actually her sig scent - she wears it constantly - daily.
My current favorite is Stella by Tocca. I love it. But I'll always have Paris.
Your descriptions on Sunflowers, CK1, and Polo Sport are nearly identifcal to what I would have written. I was also a fan of Sun, Moon and Stars and Chloe Narcisse. I was a sucker for "designer" fragrances. In high school, I almost exclusively wore Allure...it seemed so grown up to me. In college, I couldn't find a perfume I liked so I mostly went with scented fruity lotions (Bath and Body Works), blech.
Finally, when SJP came out with Lovely a few years back I tried it and was smitten. I have used an entire bottle of it (which is the first time I've ever done that). I wear it most days but only one squirt. Similar to your experience with Brit, after being pregnant I can't handle much of any smell.
Oh, Sunflowers. That one was HUGE in 8th grade for me, too. I remember my mom driving me and a (lucky) friend (who's loving parents bought her a bottle of that stuff) to the mall and my mom asked, "what's that smell? that's awful."
To this day, 15 years later, whenever my mother doesn't like whatever perfume i'm wearing she asks me if it's Sunflowers. THANKS, MOM. I GET IT.
When i was 10-ish, i so very badly wanted a bottle of Exclamation! but no dice. I like the packaging and the smell, but mostly the packaging. It was a black and white bottle and the inside of the box was a bright fluorescent pink. Hot. Mom wouldn't buy it for me.
I have very specific tastes in perfume. It can't be old lady-ish (which to me means musky), it can't be too sweet. It should be fresh and light. My favorite is something lightly floral and a little baby-powderish.
Gardenias are my FAVORITE flower so pretty much all of my perfumes are gardinia based. My latest discovery (that I LOVE) is Essence by Marc Jacobs. I think pretty much all of Marc Jacobs' perfumes are gardenia based, but this one is my favorite.
of course i wore sunflowers. of course i did.
heh.
I have definitely worn at least five of those scents, including Tribe. Luckily Tribe was the 6th grade (along with Exclamation! and Vanilla Fields), but they do still have it in Walgreens in case anyone really missed feeling nauseous with just one spray.
ooh ooh ooh! I love this post. I was all about Sunflowers when I was in 10th grade and from what I can remember it smelling like, I'm pretty sure it would make me barf now. I loved CK One and am pretty sure I would still rock it nowadays. I also liked the sequel: CK Be. My other go-to scents in high school were Tea Rose from the Body Shop (probably too rose-y for me now) and Tranquil Breezes body splash from Victoria's Secret. Actually most of the body splashes from VS were big in my group of girls because they weren't perfume-heavy. We were in a ballet program (ballet class, school, ballet class, ballet rehearsal) so scents were an important consideration since we were always insecure about smelling bad from bookending our school day with sweaty ballet classes.
I'm currently rocking Light Blue by Dolce & Gabbana and it's probably my most favorite scent yet.
My mom wore Angel for awhile and I've always had conflicting feelings about it. Sometimes it's fine, but most other times it's just too much.
I feel like there was a Chanel scent that I wore for awhile but I can't remember what.
My biggest scent sin would have to be Debbie Gibson's Electric Youth. So nasty. Even when I wore it at around age 8, I could tell that there was something hideous about it.
I LOVE the Kenzo perfume mentioned in the first comment. I actually bought my first bottle when we were in Jamaica in a duty-free store, so it has good memories for me. I also wear Happy by Clinique and Lauren by Ralph Lauren - although I don't think they make that anymore.
In high school, I wore that Jean Nate body body splash and still remember it smelling nice and clean. In college, for several years, I wore Jungle Gardenia by Tuvache. It was my signature scent and I was often complimented on it. Can't imagine wearing such a cloying scent now!!
mmm Polo Sport....I still have to fight to jump whoever is wearing it whenever I smell it. I use a perfume/cologne from Fruits & Passion (not sure if you have in the states). It is a very mild pear and linden (I think that is what it is) smell.
I am currently in love with L'Occitane Cherry Blossom. So subtle and nice.
This is such a fun post idea. I might have to do it on my site and link back to you because I went through quite a bit of awful scents in my preteen years.
That really sucks about the Burberry Brit. That makes me a little nervous to think that pregnancy could potentially ruin some of my favorites.
YES! Sunflowers. Oh LORD. I not only had the perfume, but my mom also bought me the SHAMPOO as a gift in Jr. High. I'm sure you could smell me a million miles away. Ditto with the CK One - that, I always work with my plain grey CK shirt. And a devastated expression on my face.
Now days, I'm hooked on Prada. I actually like it a lot more on my skin than straight out of the bottle (so powdery off the bat, but it settles immediately). I'll occasionally go to Burberry Weekend when I need a little scent break, but Prada is the first scent I haven't wanted to chuck out the window after 3 months straight!
so i think i may be one of the only people who has never worn issey miyake (thats so not how you spell it) because my mom wore it and actually still does.
angel - sorry, cant stand it.
my two right now are light blue and armani code. i had the exact same experience you had with the burberry perfume, but i dont remember which perfume it was that did it to me because it was so horrid i had to get it out of the apartment as fast as possible!
I've never been a huge one for scents, but my friend wore Angel in college too. It was so weird, when she put on the scent at the beginning of the night it smelled so good. And then throughout the night it just soaked up the smelly bar and smoke smells and smelled absolutely barftastic at the end of the evening. It was such a dramatic change! That's the main thing I remember about it.
Fifth grade. Loves Baby Soft.
I bet if I could smell it this very moment, I'd still like it.
The one scent I have always detested... Tresor. (BWAAAP! Yeah, that was me gagging just thinking about it.)
Sunflowers, of course. Also Victoria's Secret Heavenly. My BFF says that's still the scent she associates with me. Awesome. There's one more that's almost too shameful to tell *cough*coolwater*cough.* It was a LONG TIME AGO, okay?
I'm currently in search of a new scent as it's been years since I've found anything I like for more than a week or so.
Oh, perfume. What a bunch of memories! I too had the cK One, cK Be, Exclamation. Ralph Lauren Blue was my go-to fragrance throughout high school, and still takes me back.
As does Abercrombie Woods... they don't make it anymore, but my then-boyfriend, now husband wore that exclusively. I still get a little weak at that smell... he has half a bottle left and wears it once in a while.
I'm on a new fragrance search right now, though. Haven't smelled anything I really liked in a while.
Polo... ah, there's nothing like the scent of that waftin through the hallways after the football player who kept a bottle in his locker, knocked it on the floor shattering not only the bottle but the olfactory nerves of anyone within a 100 yard distance. Good times, good times.
Two words: Electric Youth.
I can't remember what it smelled like, but I HAD TO HAVE DEBBIE GIBSON'S PERFUME OMG. I mean, come on, it was pink, it had a plastic lightning bolt floating in the bottle, and its own choreographed dance routine, how could it NOT be amazing?
OMG, I used to obsess over Sunflowers and stare lustingly at it behind the glass counter of the CVS.
Someone mentioned Electric Youth, and of course Vanilla Fields, Baby Soft, and no one mentioned
CHARLIE!!?!?
And its descendants - Charlie White, Charlie Red?!?!
Now, I have a few: I love my Neroli Jasmine form Body Shop and E lizabeth Arden's Green Tea for most every-day wear(they're light and fresh). But for fancy stuff, I lurve my Vera.
Giorgio will always remind me of junior high. Ralph Lauren's Lauren was huge during high school though I favored Calvin Klein's Obession and Chanel's Coco. Now, I wear Coco Mademoiselle. I also keep a bottle of White Shoulders around b/c that's what my mom wore. Smelling it brings back so many memories.
I wasn't a huge perfume wearer, and still am not, as scents tend to bother me. However, when I was a kid, I remember having this bottle of perfume that was a Jem and the Holograms brand. LOL. Forget what it was called.
The only perfume I can remember wearing in high school was made by The Gap, but I can't remember which one it was. It might have been Heaven, but I don't know.
Whenever I'm in the mood to wear perfume these days, I use Euphoria by Calvin Klein.
i wore ck1 with doc martens too. those were the days. my mother bought sunflowers once and i used to use it secretly, although i never realized that using perfume secretly is impossible.
my very favorite scent is odeur 53 by comme des garcons. it's crisp and cool and somewhat difficult to describe. it always gets mixed reviews and i love it. very pricey and i never splurge on it.
Oh my god, I loved Tribe! I believe that was my middle school scent. Tribe was preceded by Electric Youth and Baby Soft and given up for Exclamation. Apparently I only wore perfumes that could be bought in a drugstore.
I totally wore Tribe. I had forgotten about it till you just mentioned it.
Exclamation
Charlie
Love's Baby Soft
Sweet Honesty (avon)
Electric Youth
Navy
Liz Claiborne
Jovan White Musk (I still like this one)
Nowadays I pretty much go back and forth between TM's Angel, RL's Romance, and VS's Very Sexy Hott
Oh my god, I have worn AT LEAST half of these in my lifetime, including (yes!) Tribe. I had completely forgotten about it (wiped it from my memory?) until I saw the picture on your blog just now. Then some very unpleasant memories involving plaid shirts and Sun-In came rushing back to me.
Did you also, perchance, wear Exclamation? Or was it Ex'Cla'Ma'Tion or something?
(PS: I didn't wear the real CK One, I wore THE KNOCK-OFF CK ONE, you know the one you purchased in CVS that said "If you like CK One, you'll like This Gross Fake Knock-Off With A Name Like CK Two Or Something."
PPS: My two faves nowadays are Coco Mademoiselle and Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker. Yes, I KNOW I KNOW (Sarah Jessica Parker! WTF!) but it truly is lovely.
I'm with you on the Happy. Though ironically, that was the first perfume I ever wore (at 14, but still). Now at my ripe age of 26, I can't handle any scent of perfume on myself or anyone, as I get a severe migraine from the overwhelming scent.
I used to enojy scents that contained vanilla until 8th grade when a friend doused me in her drug store vanill and created a bizarre pyschosematic response that now gives me migraines, 12 years after the fact. I can't even handle vanilla candles. Seriously, makes me barfy.
I had a roomate who wore Cool Water for women and all the men I've ever known have concurred it smells like "stripper parfume."
I am sure I am going straight to hell, or the ghetto, but I tend to like scents in Britney Spears' line, though I admit those are far from mature.
In actuality, I love all things white musk. Yup, drugstore quality! I guess I missed the memo about being white trash! Ha!
I'm also a Light Blue addict, although I wore Armani's "She" forever and ever as well.
xox
1. Tommy Girl (duh).
2. Clinique Happy Heart.
3. Island by Michael Kors.
4. Crabtree & Evelyn's Spider Lily (Current).
I've been very loyal to my perfumes over the years, and I usually only wear one at a time. Maybe I need to branch out...but I really like smelling the same.
I too was wearing Light Blue when Aaron and I started dating.
I have been laughing my ass off at these. I was on the Sunflowers bandwagon in the 8th grade - did anyone else score the awesome! free with purchase! mini backpack when they bought their bottle?
I had a brief flirtation with Bath and Body Works body sprays in college and am still a little embarrassed by it.
I wear Armani Night now and, occasionally, Angel.
You were not the only person to liberally douse yourself in Tribe. I'll leave it at that.
I've had the same bottle of Coco Mademoiselle for about six years. Perhaps the miasma of Tribe put me off perfume forever.
Kate Spade.
I've tried everything else and this is my absolute favorite. I can only find it on the website anymore. Honeysuckle is my favorite smell ever.
I too had the Sunflowers, and the Electric youth, and some Vivid, by Liz Calibourne. So Posh and sophisticated was I in the 10th grade.
I was really, really excited about some goofy Avon product when I was in fifth grade or so. It had a roll on applicator but I can't remember the name.
Started wearing Malibu Musk in 6th grade.
Go really into Navy by... Revlon or something? I hope I still have the bottle somewhere.
Wore Anaya(?) from the Body Shop to see Phantom of the Opera and it still reminds me of being super excited and fangirl-ish about it.
I liked Opium cause I guess I'm an old lady?
Did the CK1 thing for sure, when it was trendy.
As a grownup my favorite commercial scent is Michael by Michael Kors, even though I think personally that he is kind of a doucheball.
I've gotten REALLY into Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's perfumes. Like in a sick, sick way. My favorites over there are Fae and Lyonesse. But I have oodles of sample-sized ones. Like um. 60 of them. At least.
Now I'm an Aromatherapist so the whole idea of perfume is kind of funny to me, since fragrances aren't always that good for you. But I still love perfume. Maybe in another life I'll be a perfumer.
My mom bought my sister and I bottles of "Exclamation" probably in the 80s at some point. It was a Christmas gift. We started wearing it, thinking we were cool and was propmtly told BY MY MOTHER, that we smelled like "cat pee".
I currently like L'Occitane's Amber. It's strong in the bottle and upon first application and wears off quickly to a nice, subtle, lasting scent. I also enjoy the solid perfumes from Lush (locations in NYC) such as Go Green.
Thanks for the great read!
Monica
Oh, ex'cla·ma'tion! How I loved that fragrance so... According to Coty's website, ex'cla·ma'tion is "playful and smart, bold...but feminine." I smelled an old bottle at my parents house recently, and it really just smelled like alcohol and cheap fragrance. Which is bold, I suppose. From there I went to concurrent use of CK one or Tommy Girl, depending on the situation, and my scent memory likes to hit me in head with the memory of making out with A BOY (who also wore CK one) in his basement junior year. However, my go-to dress up fragrance was my mom's Jessica McClintock. (Oooh! Adult!)
Now, I'm really just a social butterfly when it comes to scent...I rotate D&G's Light Blue, Juicy Couture, Gucci Envy Me, Kenneth Cole Black, Alfred Sung Shi, Jlo Still and various sprays and splashes.
Wow...sorry I just word vomited all over your comments, but I think you touched a secret passion of mine. I'ma head off to Sephora now...
My husband wears Light Blue and I LOVE it. Wow, it's a winner.
I really loved Happy for like ten minutes when I was about 16 and then several years later I was like "I should buy some" and I tried it at the counter and was like "wait, this reeks. A lot." It was a sad moment.
You so completey hit it on the head with the CKOne description (hmmm, do I wear my black maryjane Docs or my go-to brown ties?). I went through an old-lady stage with Red Door, that was horrible.
I wore Heaven from the Gap for my later years of highschool while I am pretty sure every high school boyfriend wore Draakar.
I still have Light Blue but the apple part gets a little too apple-y for me now. I wear Chance if I am feeling very fancy and Honey I Washed the Kids solid for my jeans and t-shirt kind of days.
Coolwater makes me run and find the tightest nose clamp I can find. Horrible!
Oooh, such a fun topic!
My first perfume around 5 or 6th grade was Liz Claiborne, you know, the one in the triangular bottle? Now when I smell it, I kinda want to hurl. Blech.
High school for me was all about Eternity. Oh how I loved it and thought I smelled so sexy. For the boys, I'm with you on the Polo Sport, but also Drakkar Noir. I loved when my boyfriends would wear it. My dad still wears it sometimes (kinda weird that the way my dad smells reminds me of making out in the back of a boy's car.) Needless to say, the scent of Drakkar Noir makes me feel sick now.
Sunflowers! That was my freshman/sophmore in college scent (am I really that much older than you?!). Anyway, loved it so much then suddenly one day, I hated it. Still do.
After college I LOVED the W perfume from Banana Republic. I should see if they still make it.
Nowadays, I rarely wear perfume. I can barely remember to brush my teeth. Actually I only have one perfume now and it's Lovely by SJP. I got it as a gift. It's...meh..okay.
I don't have time to read everyone's answers, but I wore...
Exclama!ion.
I saw in in the drug store the other day and was all, "THEY STILL SELL THAT SHIT?"
I still love the scent of CK One, though I never wore it. And is it sad that I'd never heard of that french-sounding one? Yes? Well. Oh, well.
I've been wearing Carolina Herrera 212 for several years, and I love it.
I was hoping you had some suggestions for a good new go-to scent, because I've been looking unsuccessfully for one for a while now.
I've tried Thierry Mugler Angel. I have a friend who swears by it, but I think it's one of those that works on other people but doesn't smell good on me.
I have never heard of Issey Miyake L'Eau D'Issey, so yes, there IS someone out there who didn't wear it, even for a little bit!
I DID wear "Tribe" in high school, though. I remember loving that one way back in the day. (That and Colors de Benneton, which also smells awful to me now.)
Oh, Electric Youth! Exclamation! Navy! Georgio! How it takes me back. That Benneton fragrance was also really popular when I was a teen, but I was never cool enough to have it (either that or I was spending all of my money on pegged jeans and white Keds and had no room in the budget for Benneton).
One fragrance I have always worn and I keep going back to is L'Air Du Temps by Nina Ricci. I know, I know, your Grandma probably wears it or your great-great Aunt Beatrice, but I still adore it.
(And I'm with you on the Clinique Happy. My daughter and I tried it on at a makeup counter years ago and we were both of the opinion that we smelled like a walking cantalope who had a heavy smoking habit)
I love the Demeter line too - Laundromat is my favorite!
Here's my two cents...
I SWEAR by Juicy, by Juicy Couture.
Now that I mention it, I need to go buy some more...
Did anyone wear the GAP scents? I rememember the little metal spray tubes like it was yesterday....
My favorite perfume is Ralph Lauren Romance. I don't wear it too often though, as I forget to put it on. Thanks for the fun topic!
I LOVE Tommy Girl. I also weirdly loved "Grass" by Gap.
I wore Light Blue by DG, too.
My biggest mistakes? Gorgio and Chanel no. 5. Somehow I craved smelling like a 60-year-old when I was 16. Shudder.
I used to love sunflowers and CK1, but I loved Noa or Noe I can't quite remember. But I ended up being allergic to it!!
I broke out in hives!!
Now I wear SJP Lovely! How original I know!
I love Dirt by Demeter as well. I found it in 2001 on a trip to San Francisco and I felt so cool when wearing it. "You smell good, what perfume is that?" "Dirt!"
I should be very embarrassed to admit this, but I wear Britney's Fantasy now. And sometimes SJP's Lovely. My nose has always been really sensitive to strong perfumes and it is awful now that I'm knocked up. Yet, for some reason those two don't bother me yet.
Delurking to post! Now as I'm in my late 40's you probably won't recognise half of these! 4711, Aviance (had a great ad where the housewife stripped off her marigolds and proclaimed she was going to have an aviance night) The original Charlie, over this side of the world (Ireland) we had the impulse sprays. In my late 20's I wore Obsession (way too strong for me now) and Samsara. I also loved Eternity for men. I now alternate between Miracle by Lancome and Light blue. I also collect perfume bottles - love the different shapes. I also went through a period where I would have an everyday perfume which I would quite happily buy myself and a 'good' perfume which had to be a present. I've gotten over that!
I had to do it! It's on youtube - google aviance ad and it comes up! We used to recreate it in school. Just remember I was in my early teens!
B
Oh man. I also wore Exclamation (Make a Statement Without Saying a Word!), but one perfume that really brings me back to my youth is Liz Claiborne. You know, the one in the triangle-shaped bottle, in various primary colors? I wore that CONSTANTLY.
I also used to wear Angel, but now I absolutely hate it. HAAATE.
I TOTALLY forgot about sunflowers!! Thanks for the reminder.
How about Debbie Gibson's Electric Youth?? Wow, that was potent!
I was also really into the gap scents-dreams and heaven. Anyone?
Lord almighty... I was totally into Sunflower too. And those ridiculous body sprays that you can buy at Wal-mart that are knock-offs of other perfumes. goo
My high-school/college boy memory cologne memory is Nautica. YUMMY. I still love the smell of it!
You started with Tribe? I started with Love's Baby Soft. Hmmm...who's the good girl in that scenario? Oh, ME!
I can't even listen to Dave Matthews' Before These Crowded Streets CD, because the sound of it makes me nauseated. Thanks, pregnancy!
I totally was a CK One girl in the 90's - also Tommy Girl (although I'm not ready to say that was a mistake).
WELL. I thought I was SO unique and different with my Light Blue. Apparently I've been living under a rock!
I also wore Sunflowers (shudder), Tommy Hilfiger in high school, that Ralph Lauren scent in the round turquoise bottle -- the one that's spawned 16 spinoffs of the scent since, Gucci Rush 2 in college (memories!), and now I wear Light Blue, along with at least 25% of our nation's female population!
Uhm. The worst thing ever was Loves Baby Soft. God, I can't believe I wore that- or that it is still sold places.
All though I guess the absolute worst would have been when I was five and my grandma gave me all her left over perfumes and I had the great idea to put them all in one bottle so I'd have a lot and I wore it everywhere. I'm pretty sure I made people throw up.
Now I wear Marc Jacobs Daisy, and I'm in loooooove with it.
Does anyone else remember Verve Body Spray?? That was popular when I was in high school.
In college it was Lauren by Ralph Lauren, Anais Anais and Liz Claiborn in the triangle bottle.
These days, I hardly ever wear perfume. I can't seem to find one light enough.
Oh, god, memory lane.
Starting in 5th or 6th grade, I wore White Shoulders. I also had a brief flirtation with Love's Baby Soft, but my mom stole it and never gave it back.
High school, I seem to recall some nasty shit called "Babe," a gardenia perfume and a lily of the valley perfume.
College, I too succumbed to CKOne, also Georgio Wings, Perry Ellis 360, and some of those body sprays from The Gap. I also discovered Bath and Body Works, and I STILL love Seaspray and Flowering Herbs (which you can order online!!!!)
After college, I think I tried every scent at B&BW, and also discovered "Shi" (Alfred Sung) - still like that one too. I had brief tries of Ralph Lauren Romance, Tommy Girl, and Lucky You...none of which I liked.
Now, I pretty much stick to Cherry Blossom from Bath & Body, because it's pretty neutral. A lot of perfumes change on me - I think my body chemistry rejects them.
I too lusted after Ex'cla'mat'ion in junior high.
I am older than you are, so back in the day (aka the 70's) every girl started wearing scents with Love's Baby Soft. I still love the way it smells...ahhh childhood. Then you got a more grown up perfume from your mom...White Shoulders. My aunt sold Avon so there was a lot of Sweet Honesty and stuff like that going on. After the bath you might splash on some Jean Nate'!
Then in the 80's I went to Giorgio (GAG). My grandaddy would bring me samples from the mall. I would hurl if I smelled that now.
I picked out my own scent and went with Navy by Cover Girl. My high school boyfriend wanted me to wear what his ex wore (UH...yes...really), Sand and Sable. GROSS. My dad said it smelled like "A bowling alley hooker". I don't know if they smell different than other hookers, but I don't want to find out.
College brought Obsession and Poison. CKOne came during a bad relationship so no more smelling THAT one.
Now I wear Coco Mademoiselle, Coco, Lovely and Covet (by SJP) And my current scent...I am ashamed to say it but I am hooked on Baby Phat Goddess. Damn you Kimora Lee Simmons!
What a fun post. I haven't worn perfume in years. I work in a hospital in very close quarters, so perfume is a no go. But I miss wearing perfume, so the hunt is on. I like Origins ginger scents, but I think I need something a little more exciting.
My youth was all about Liz Claiborn, I liked the red triangle bottle. I could never wear enough of that stuff. Not to mention Liz Claiborn purses. They were like Coach when I was in high school.
totally fun post! a long time lurker de-lurks.....!
i used to wear loves baby soft, and bonne bell 'skin' though my favourite was bonne bell skin musk. loooved it! for sure bought exclamation and electric youth but those were pretty much headaches in a bottle. packaging was cool, but i'm pretty sure i never wore them! moved on to vanilla fields, navy, and eventually obsession, which i wore for YEARS.
only recently moved on to gucci rush, chanel allure, and hermes elixir des merveilles.
but i miss obsession.
oh yes, and i had a big thing for shalimar as well.
yikes.
Late to the party, as usual...
My "signature" scent in my youth was "Ruffles" by Oscar de la Renta. I would still wear it now if they still made it- I always got compliments on it. Beyond that I just wore gardenia oil or yukky vanilla stuff.
Now I tend to lean towards masculine scents- my favorites are Aveda for men, Chanel Antaeus (mens- can't get it in the US anymore-boo!), and Youth Dew amber Nude. When I lean towards more "feminine stuff, I like Rose Attar from Aveda, Chanel #5, and Chanel Coco.
My all-time favorite scent is Chanel 19, which has become increasingly difficult to find, if not discontinued altogether. It's kind of English-y/horsey, but works on this Midwestern girl better than anything else I've tried. Most perfumes give me migraines. I'm *experimenting" with Fracas now. My mom wears it beautifully; I may not be so lucky. (I have to go really light on it or it smells like motor oil.)
I wish I could wear Angel, but it just smells like B.O on me.
Oh yes, Issey Miakye or however you spell it. I wore it for far too long and the smell still irritates me now. The men's version smelled MUCH better though. One of our players on the 49ers used to drench himself in it and it just worked and mmmmm, I used to love to stand near him and smell him.
Man, I miss working with hot, half-naked men every day.
Right now I wear Clinique Happy Heart. It's not nearly as yucky as the regular Clinique Happy. I swear!
Sunflowers! One of my best friends would liberally douse herself in Sunflowers most days in high school, so you could tell when she had been in a room recently.
I started out with Love's Baby Soft in 6th grade. I moved up to the triangular bottle of Liz Claiborne for junior high and then to Estee Lauder's Beautiful for high school.
When I went away to college, I needed an all new signature scent to reflect my sophisticated, adult life (spent living in a dorm or a sorority house) and switched to Dazzling Gold by Estee Lauder. I should find Dazzling Silver or Dazzling Gold to see if I still like them.
When I was in Europe after graduation, I switched to some solid perfume I found in a shop just so I could be all, "Oh I found it in Europe" when people asked only to find that the shop, L'Occitane, was basically in every mall in the U.S. So I wore Lotus Flower from L'Occitane until they discontinued it, switching to some lemon verbena thing from L'Occitane at that point.
The last few years I've become hooked on Jo Malone. Red Roses for winter and Verbenas of Provence for summer. I can't really handle a lot of perfumes anymore, but citrusy smells and relatively light, simple florals still smell good to me.
Oh. My. God.
We were like scented twins. Except you'll have to add some Excalmation! and Electric youth to the Tribe era. All nestled snugly in my purple Caboodles totel
I swear I did a blog on my junior-high purchase of Electric Youth perfume, but I can' find it right now...here's a pic of the bottle, though. Still stanky after all these years:
http://conventioncostumes.asyoulikeitkc.com/gallery/PersonalPics/100_0049
I never wore Tribe, but I did have Malibu Musk, which was almost as pungent.
Is it wrong that i STILL wear Heaven? I've worn it since I was in high school (am 29 now) and I still love it just as much! I think the fact that my husband is a picky smeller has a lot to do with it. I get a lot of compliments on it though...and it's inexpensive! Maybe I should branch out, but the thought is overwhelming, lol!
I LOVE Jo Malone! I wear Blue Agava & Cacao most days.
Origins Spring Fever Body Souffle was THE BEST lotion ever! They have discontinued it and I am so depressed! Been wearing it for 13 years and never tired of it (even during a pregnancy and there is a lot to be said for that). People would stop me everywhere I went and ask what it was and where they could get it. The Spring fever perfume and soap is nothing compared to the lotion. Oh how I wish they would bring it back!! My husband loved it too. Not big into perfumes so lotions are my thing. So glad I found this Blog post, I needed tips for new scents!! ;-)
I am also devastated by the discontinuation of Spring Fever body souffle by Origins! Srsly--feel depressed about it. This post and comments have inspired me to try new scents. And also made me realize how unoriginal my scent history is--hahaha! Love's Baby Soft, Jean Nate after a bath, White Shoulders from my aunt (gag), Jontue, lots of musk, then (sniff sniff) Spring Fever lotion every day.
why dont we start calling origins and make them bring back spring fever body souffle? i need it!
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