Tips for that nostalgic true feminine smell..!

[CherryRed]

I just checked to see what perfume was on mother's dresser these days and found a little bottle of something called Lady Stetson.

Lady Stetson came out in the late 1980's as an answer to the men's version Stetson. I used to wear it all the time. It is still readily available in drug/discount stores. In fact I saw a woman in Wal-mart with a gift set of it and Preffered Stock in her cart, just the other day.

 

[ITG]

haven't purchased anything of hers since White Diamonds debuted some years back, and that one I gave to my mother.

karol

Same here. My mom used to wear White Diamonds as well. I love E.T.'s Gardenia. It's a fresh scent that I enjoy spritzing on before I go to bed.

 

[AllaboutEve]

favourites

I used to use Shalimar but it's so popular now that you just smell it everywhere you go. I like to stand out from the crowd instead. I also used to find it a bit too powdery for me.
My other favourites are
Guerlain "Nahema"
Penhaligon's "Violetta" and "Bluebell" I don't know if there are Penhaligons stores in the U.S but there is an international website that is well worth a look for the bottles are gorgeous. http://www.penhaligons.co.uk/ishop/1/
Guerlain "Mitsouko"
Kent Cosmetics "Apple Blossom"

 

[HistWardrobe]

My two scents worth....(ok, three, actually...)

1. The perfume that most evokes for me the "golden era" is Guerlain's L'Heure Bleu. Even though it was developed much earlier (1912), it nonethless remained very popular for many decades. More to the point, it was my late grandmother's signature scent and my grandmother had STYLE -- throughout all of her 87 years. Although she kept up with changing fashions, the way she put things together still retained some vestige of the classic 30's-40's look that was the standard when she was a young woman (b. 1910). She was one of those people who just naturally wore hats well and could have probably worn a burlap bag and made it look stylish. (note to self: MUST post pictures of her in her cool 1930s clothes...)

2. My great-grandmother's signature scent (b. 1889) was Elizabeth Arden's Blue Grass (1934). One little spritz on a linen hankie, and it sort of brings her back. She had style too, but of a different sort than her daughter's -- different generation. My great-grandmother was the sort of lady who wore a hat and gloves and pearls to go downtown" to go shopping with her sisters. Back when there was a "downtown", before the malls killed off. Back when shopping was still an Event -- punctuated by luncheon at the department store's restaurant.

3. OK - here's a third one that always smells very "golden era" to me -- any of the older scents put out by Royal Hawaiian Perfumes (1947): Pikake (jasmine), white ginger, plumeria (pretty heavy, but this one but very 40's). Their gardenia is also period, but is rather heavy (downright stinky, in fact - avoid) They used to make a tuberose - but other Hawaiian perfumiers do now. Any of these vintage Hawai'ian perfumes make me "Remember Pearl Harbor". Although the era of my Hawai'i childhood was much later (late 60's) my grandparents would constantly regale us with stories of when they'd first been stationed there with the Navy in 1938: tea dances at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, cocktails at the Halekulani....

PS - For those looking for a good gardenia scent, I highly recommend the Annick de Goutal Gardenia, reputedly the favorite perfume of the late Princess of Wales. Strong, but not overpowering.

 

[magneto]

Blue Grass, "Florida Water" etc.

...My great-grandmother's signature scent (b. 1889) was Elizabeth Arden's Blue Grass...

Wow, excellent post HistWardrobe!...What are the dominant notes in Blue Grass, do you know? I'm thinking of ordering one of the 'vintage' perfumes from Vermont Country Store, Blue Grass is among them.

In old novels people are always dousing themselves with Florida Water, or gratefully receiving gifts thereof. I see you can still buy this also. Has anyone tried this perfume?

At an antique store I recently bought a full, cork sealed and capped, mini perfume bottle labeled "Hollywood Eve Perfume...New York City Chicago Hollywood" with a lady's head silhouetted; the haircut looks '30s. Curiosity got the better of me and I opened it...and it's not rancid! Does dimestore perfume age like a fine wine?! I wear it often. (Oh, for the days when "Hollywood" evoked innocent glamor not degeneracy.)

 

[Hiram]

White Shoulders makes my pulse quicken, so does Est?ɬ©e Lauder Cinnabar. Does Coty still make Skin Musk? Had an enormous infatuation for a woman who wore it as a signature fragrance years ago. For years, any time I smelled it I was useless.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

White Shoulders makes my pulse quicken, so does Est?ɬ©e Lauder Cinnabar. Does Coty still make Skin Musk? Had an enormous infatuation for a woman who wore it as a signature fragrance years ago. For years, any time I smelled it I was useless.

Yes, Coty still makes Skin. Its sometimes a bit hard to find, but I go on the search each year because my mother adores it.

 

[MissQueenie]

While we're on the subject of signature scents, what do you ladies think makes a perfect signature scent? Is it something you'd wear on all occasions, or just special ones?

My trouble is finding a scent that I won't get bored with, and one that compliments my mercurial temperment.

 

[Deleted member 259]

I'm very Picky about scents - i don't like anything too fruity, pungent, flowery or musky! I know that knocks out just about everything, but I like subtle scents the best.
I stick with a basic Vanilla for most occasions, but I have a bottle of perfume labeled "Ruby Persimmon" for special days - and I adore it.

 

[BixChix26]

scents

want authentic vintage scent? Can't beat Evening in Paris in that distinctive cobalt blue bottle. My mother always had that and Chanel #5 on her dressing table. I haven't smelled Evening in Paris in years, it might well be yucky. It's also hard to find now and expensive, some mail-order places carry it.

"My Sin" and "Tweed" are other vintage smells I remember mom wearing.

And want '60s nostalgia? "Heaven Sent" and "Yardley's Oh! De London." You probably can't get either one anymore.

Laura

 

[fibi]

I adore Chanel Gardenia, which I am lucky enough to be bought by a very generous boyfriend. I also have a real passion for the Chanel Cuir de Ruisse, a more sophisticated and sultrier version of No 5.

 

[Tourbillion]

I adore Chanel Gardenia, which I am lucky enough to be bought by a very generous boyfriend. I also have a real passion for the Chanel Cuir de Ruisse, a more sophisticated and sultrier version of No 5.

Chanel's Rue Cambon collection are great. Check out Bois des Iles too, if you get a chance. I just wish that they weren't so expensive. At least they are now available online at chanel.com.

Guerlain has lots of lovlies, try Vol de Nuit (I love the deco bottle), also Apres L'ondee, L'Heure Bleu and Shalimar (my first perfume, a gift from my aunt).

I also like to wear Bandit, since I am a secret bad girl. Creed's Angelique Encens is good too, it was created by Marlene Dietrich.

However, the Grand Duchess of perfumes is Caron, they are $$$$$ and hard to get--but try Tabac Blond, here is stuff from their site:

TABAC BLOND

THE STORY

When the US arrived on the world?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s political stage in 1918, Europe stared with eyes wide open: freshly arrived in France to find their husbands, American women proudly showed the old, astounded continent that cigarettes were no longer the privilege of men, and that the difference between smoking room and boudoir had been erased?¢‚Ǩ¬¶

Negligently to place those long ivory and mother-of-pearl cigarette-holders to their lips and swathing their femininity in a typically masculine veil, became the height of Parisian elegance.
To mark the dawn of female liberation, in 1919 CARON dared to dedicate the deliberately provocative Tabac Blond to these beautiful androgynes.

THE PERFUME
Mild and powerful, coppery overtones combined with a floral heart note. True to type.
Oriental leather


THE PERSONALITY
Troubling sensuality of a woman in a dinner jacket?¢‚Ǩ¬¶
A touch of masculine nonchalance.

It is my current favorite (subject to change at whim).

 

[Miss Brill]

Yves Rocher has some pretty single-note fragrances. My favorite is Mimosa, which reminds me of Stella in The Uninvited. They also have gardenia, lilac, and rose, and a few others. I think Joan Crawford wore gardenia, and Lana Turner wore tuberose. I've always wanted to try Guerlain's Jicky, which is said to have been a favorite of Jacqueline Kennedy.

 

[certainlyred]

It's not truly vintage, but Marc Jacobs just put out a new fragrance called "Daisy" that I am absolutely hooked on. It's slightly musky, but still very feminine with undertones of violet. It's quite classy, in my opinion.

Why is it violet ever went out of vogue?

 

[NoirDame]

What I Wear

I love Chanel's

Allure Sensuelle

No. 5 (which was the first fragrance to blend multiple notes in 1921) No. 5 has May Rose and Grasse Jasmine, grown by a family in Grasse, France that has worked for Chanel for generations. I prefer the Eau de Parfum that has more Bourbon vanilla in it.

and somedays, I like Coco Mademoiselle.

I used to wear Dior Addict, but no longer wear Dior. I tend to like more mysterious/exotic/spicy things.

I saw someone mention Chanel #19...that is the fragrance that Chanel made for her closest friends and actually wore herself.

 

[Miss Brill]

I love Chanel's fragrances, but they don't mesh with me,

 

[fernande]

Chanel's Rue Cambon collection are great. Check out Bois des Iles too, if you get a chance. I just wish that they weren't so expensive. At least they are now available online at chanel.com.

Guerlain has lots of lovlies, try Vol de Nuit (I love the deco bottle), also Apres L'ondee, L'Heure Bleu and Shalimar (my first perfume, a gift from my aunt).

I also like to wear Bandit, since I am a secret bad girl. Creed's Angelique Encens is good too, it was created by Marlene Dietrich.

However, the Grand Duchess of perfumes is Caron, they are $$$$$ and hard to get--but try Tabac Blond, here is stuff from their site:

TABAC BLOND

THE STORY

When the US arrived on the world’s political stage in 1918, Europe stared with eyes wide open: freshly arrived in France to find their husbands, American women proudly showed the old, astounded continent that cigarettes were no longer the privilege of men, and that the difference between smoking room and boudoir had been erased…

Negligently to place those long ivory and mother-of-pearl cigarette-holders to their lips and swathing their femininity in a typically masculine veil, became the height of Parisian elegance.
To mark the dawn of female liberation, in 1919 CARON dared to dedicate the deliberately provocative Tabac Blond to these beautiful androgynes.

THE PERFUME
Mild and powerful, coppery overtones combined with a floral heart note. True to type.
Oriental leather


THE PERSONALITY
Troubling sensuality of a woman in a dinner jacket…
A touch of masculine nonchalance.

It is my current favorite (subject to change at whim).

I had an old boyfriend take me to the Caron Boutique on Madison Ave and I was given a few of their perfumes. French Can Can , Alpona, & Narcisse Blanc.
The perfumes are dispensed into different bottles. Mine even came in a faberge' style egg! quite the grand romanic gesture.
But............ I wasn't crazy about any of them! (so I gave the whole lot- and the pricey egg- to my mother!) They were MUCH too strong for me, and dare I say had that "old lady perfume" smell to them- (not the good "old lady smell")

Needless to say the experience at the boutique was quite special. They also sell many beautiful powders and jeweled compacts, brushes-

I have posted in another thread encouraging anyone, if you are in NYC to pay them a visit. Its fun to just go and sample and see it all. (decorated very Marie Antoinette-esque style)

I'm a big fan of Penhaligons "Ellenisia" and "Lily and Spice"


I love the smell of the "Cleopatra" body creme by TOCCA.
Its so luxurious and generously scented that you don't really need perfume after using it.

I love Fracas as well. I wore it on my wedding day and it gives me such great memories when I smell it. I only put it on now at special occasions, it instantly puts me in a festive and happy mood.

 

[fourstarbanner]

Yes, Coty still makes Skin. Its sometimes a bit hard to find

Target carries it.

 

[Miss Retro]

I'm a Chanel No 5 girl, i love it

 

[Miss 1929]

Jungle Gardenia!

Chanel Gardenia is definitely on my list of favorites! It's been a while since I've worn it, however. Coty, that notorious drugstore brand, also makes their own rendition (called Jungle Gardenia) that is rather nice.

My current scent is Guerlain Shalimar-- it's an oriental scent whose spiciness is toned down with a subtle powdery scent. I bought the entire gift set (shower gel, lotion, fragrance). I find it a little too strong if I use all three products. In fact, the shower gel is so powerfully scented that I can get away with just wearing that alone.

I also love Cacharel Anais Anais and Chanel Coco. I guess I'm just a fan of stronget scents!

Is actually a 30s fragrance! And Shalimar is from the 20s. So if you want authentic...you're there.