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Friday, December 22, 2006

Spirits of the Scents Past - My First Five Perfumes

There is something so nostalgic about the Holiday Season…I always find that I miss my past, my home, my childhood and my long-lost loved ones the most during this time of the year. So today, Ina of Aromascope and I decided to have a séance of sorts, to evoke Spirits of the Scents Past and to talk about the very first five scents we have owned and loved. According to the family legend, I began to stick my curious nose in my mama’s perfume bottles back when I was still a wee Soviet toddler. I am not quite sure through what, undoubtedly black market, channels my mama managed to obtain the kinds of scents she had, but her vanity table featured quite a collection: Madame Rochas, Climat, Magie Noire, Paris, Anais Anais, some others I cannot remember and, from the late 1980s, Poison…

The moment I laid my eyes on that green box and that purple bottle, the moment I was allowed to take a tiny, careful sniff…I gave my heart to Poison and has loved it ever since. The creaminess, the “roundness”, the robustness and the headiness of that gorgeous juice are incomparable. For an awe-struck little me it was the epitome of Luxury. Twenty years later, I still find Poison to be one of the most, if not the most, striking and opulent perfumes that I know.

After years of being loyal to Poison and Poison smell-alikes (like, for example, Jeanne Arthes Cobra), I was given as a present a perfume called Marina de Bourbon. Created by a real French princess (natch!), it is the only fruity-floral scent I have ever passionately loved. We’ve been through so much together, Marina and I. She was with me when I was the happiest; she was with me when I was in hell of misery and despair. Eleven eventful years later, we are still going strong. If that is not true love, if that is not a real Holy Grail perfume, than I don’t know what is. Oh, and to address the question of how Marina smells…I am not sure if I could even tell you…she smells so familiar, she became a part of me…I perceive her to be shimmery, exquisitely-sweet, soft-golden.

If you found my affection for a fruity-floral scent being rather out of character, then have I got an even bigger surprise for you…when I was twenty, I fell in love with White Linen Breeze by Estee Lauder, and I still love it, the aquatic undertone and all. It smells fresh, airy, gently feminine, a little melancholy…the way this painting by Don Seegmiller looks.

1996 has truly been a fateful year in my life, in bad ways more than in good ones…and it must have been the year when I first realized that I could not be satisfied anymore by owning just one or two scents. It was in 1996 that I first got to know Sotto Voce by Laura Biagiotti. A soft, velvety, subtly-woody, gently-powdery, delicately-sweet, the scent, as the name suggests, has a hushed quality about it. It is understated and incredibly charming. My then-boyfriend liked that perfume so much, he actually wrote a little poem about it…something about whispers and violins…a year later, actually right around this time of the year, the said boyfriend, a temperamental, if not to say rather mentally unstable character, left a huge bouquet of white roses and a bottle of Arden’s True Love (a scent I will not discuss here, because I dislike it intensely) under my door, as a means of saying sorry for something or other...but I digress… ah, those were the days…

At twenty-one, I met Coco. Many bottles later, she is still an important and deeply beloved part of my perfume wardrobe. She is my “go to” perfume when I need to impress, seduce and feel really and truly dressed-up. She is so chic, so warm, so enveloping. She speaks in a soft, husky voice, her trail is spicy and sweet. And, perhaps because she is such an old friend, I find her extremely soothing. Glamorous as she is, she does not complain when I wear her with an old sweater, sans makeup; when I feel sad and lonely, she never fails to comfort me.

Please share your First Five Scents. And then please go to Aromascope to read about Ina’s dark, aquatic past.

76 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just as you pointed out earlier, how is it even possible we're total scent twins today? ;D I guess I've undergone quite a transformation. Coco is now amongst my very favorites, and I acquired a bottle of Poison a few months ago (somehow it escaped me back then). The only scent I used to love by Laura Biagiotti, though, was *ding-ding* Laura! Ah, the good ol' times...

12:10 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Ina,
Of course you loved Laura...goes without saying, you secret aquatic-lover, you!

12:12 AM EST  
Blogger tmp00 said...

Gee, I think I've already written about a couple of these: in my teens I had Habit Rouge, Royal Bain du Champagne (now Caron) and Eau Sauvage (Pierre Cardin was literally preteen: does that count? Good lord, could you tell I was gay from space or what?). I do remember discovering Annick Goutal Eau d'Hadrien at Bergdorf Goodman when I moved to New York, and being brutally forced to spend a what seemed a fortune at the time to have it. How goofy I must have seemed in my East-Village finest counting out my bills, and how nice they were to me. I lived for those wonderful "buy one, get a back-up" AG freebies that I got at Bergdorfs and later Neimans

Oddly, the only one that has fallen by the wayside is the Cardin, for reasons I have covered.

12:39 AM EST  
Blogger tmp00 said...

Of course, that's not mentioning anything on my Mom's night table. Or for that matter, my Dad's, and the internecine poaching that went on...

1:16 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Let's see, I think my first five were Love's Baby Soft, Poison, Colors de Benetton, Gap Day and stolen sprays of my mom's Emeraude.

3:01 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

My mother wore Blue Grass, and I love it to this day - provided it's not on me (she's deserted BG and moved on to Boucheron in the meantime). Dad was an Old Spice man. And me.... in my teens I wore Pino di Silvestre, which started a life-long love for pine notes and men's scents (at the time it was available in mini key-ring bottles which I could afford. And as long as it was affordable and smelled nice it could be labelled "Juice from Hell" for all I cared and care). I still like that, even if I wear it rarely. Then came the Granny Smith-scent of Factor's Green Apple (bear with me - I've moved on since) and Guy Laroche's citrussy Eau Folle (in a billard ball bottle). Calèche, Cabochard (both loved to this day) and Castelbajac's Première (where did that go?) were next until the day Biagiotti's Roma arrived on the scene and I haunted the perfume counter for weeks before taking the plunge and finding my first real perfume love. Roma was the first perfume (after Pino) I really identified with. Roma took me from being a girl to being a woman and introduced me to the idea that perfume doesn't only smell nice - you can express yourself with it. And with its help find out things about yourself you never knew were there...

3:03 AM EST  
Blogger carmencanada said...

Oh dear, I did not start out in the best of tastes... Max Factor's Green Apple for me too, Elizabeth Arden's Cabriole (fruity floral), Chloé... Then Rive Gauche (getting better), Van Cleef and Arpels pour Homme (radical departure: a masculine leather chypre) and finally, Habanita for 10 straight years! This is between ages 13 and 19. Growing up quickly.

3:23 AM EST  
Blogger Caitlin Shortell said...

I love this post idea! I just added mine to Aromascope (No. 5, Joy, Diorissimo, Bluegrass and Sublime) but I must admit that most of those were cribbed straight from la mama (who would never have tolerated being referred to as "la mama" btw). I still love these five more than most other perfumes. But in letting my tastes evolve, I've learned how to spend a lot more of my income than I ever imagined possible on perfume!

This week I've rediscovered how much I adore the bar soap for No. 5.

4:24 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great blog :)

Hmm, my first 5 scents? Well my first ever was Sunflowers, which I bought on a school trip to France when I was about 14. Guess the sweetness pleased my nose.

After that, I wore YSL Baby Doll. Followed by Angel, Stella, Very Irresistible and Boucheron Trouble (what I'm currently wearing, though I feel it's a bit too mature for me and won't be repurchasing).

Actually I've just written a blog entry on a similar(ish) topic, though just for fun - I'm not as clued up as you :)

5:01 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Blue Stratos (present from grandparents, bless 'em)
Paco Rabanne pour Homme
Obsession
Fahrenheit
Eau Sauvage
Not too nasty, really.

Funnily enough, I've not sniffed Obsession for years. Will do that soon.

5:55 AM EST  
Blogger chayaruchama said...

I've just posted w/ Ina-
Mine are still favorites, to this day.
Casaque- I loved for the flirtation that patchouli played with rose;
Mitsouko- the peach w/ chypre;
Femme- peach and spice;
[to be added, would have to be those I adored, but didn't buy- Sortilege, and Scandal]

7:31 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

what a lovely and nostalgic post!
I must admit I always had a passion for perfumes, even in elementary school. I would always get a bottle from a Duty-free shop when our family was abroad for a holiday or a shopping trip to Italy or Austria.
I *think* (although I wouldn't bet on it) my first 5 perfumes were:
-Les Belles (the one in a green bottle) by Nina Ricci
-Deci-Dela by Nina Ricci
-Benetton Tribu
-Lalique Nilang
-CK One (I remember smelling this one for the first time on my cousin. it was so *different* from every other perfume I ever smelled, I knew instantly I had to have it. I got my first bottle of One from Italy and have gone through quite a few in the next year or two. I also remember receiving numerous compliments on it from my girlfriends. it must have suited me and my then slightly androgyne look-I wore dark Levi's 501, dark wool turtlenecks and Dr. Marten's boots. I was 13 and 14, by the way. ah, funny times, funny memories...)

7:55 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Tom,
I think your list was fantastically refined, for a teen. I mean, Royal Bain! Habit Rouge! Respect!...although I did read your admission on Ina's blog :-D Having said that, for some reason the dreaded aquatics smell much horrible to my nose on men's skin. They sort of lose that cold metallic edge somewhat.

8:08 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

PS. Goutal BOGO offers?? Wow. Every line should do it. Buy Fleur de Narcisse, get one free...*sigh*

8:09 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Amy,
High five on Poison! Would you believe I still have not smelled Love's Baby Soft! I must.

8:10 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Dina,
You have such an interesting, unique taste, it was fascinating reading your list! And as for Roma, I've been going back and forth for over year, debating whether I need a bottle...you just pushed me over the edge :-) Roma, you'll be mine today. :-)

8:12 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

D,
I am so glad we did these posts, it's such a pleasure reading the lists...like picking into people's pasts :-) From Green Apple to Habanita- yes, that is a lot of growing up done in short 6 years!

8:13 AM EST  
Blogger marchlion said...

Ack, I'm going to skip the early years of Love's Baby Soft and Avon, and list the first five I'd have gotten at a real store. I had to rack my brain to remember...

Tatiana (cringing)
Poison (gad, I loooved it)
Paris (ditto)
4711 (not sure this counts?) so I'll add
Coco
Niki de St. Phalle -- wow, I need to get a bottle of this for a re-sniff, I thought it was a wonder.

8:14 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Cait,
No. 5, Joy, Diorissimo, Bluegrass and Sublime - what an elegant, refined list. Wonderful. Of all the products that accompany perfumes (there is a word for that, but it slipped my sleepy mind), I love soaps the most. Oh, and shower gels. Oh, to have soap scented with Cuir Ottoman.

8:16 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Dilettante,
I love Angel and Trouble. Never bought either, don't know why. I must finaly get a bottle of Angel Rose.

8:17 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Leopoldo,
You said the magic word. Let me shake your hand...no, please let me hug you for liking Fahrenheit!

8:18 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Chaya,
What a list! So you! So chic, so lush. Oh, Scandal, I love it so much. Damn Lanvin! And no, I don't want them to attempt reissuing it. Can you imagine what they'd do to it? Oy.

8:20 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Tina,
When you said you wore CK One, dark Levi's 501, dark wool turtlenecks and Dr. Marten's boots, I though, no, no, no way...I can't imagine T. in that. But then I read the age you were. I remember the phase very well :-) I was something along those lines too, at that age, but slightly more with a goth inclination...although at that time I had no clue what "Goth" was :-)

8:22 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

March,
You were my scent twin from an early age :-) High fives on Poison and Coco! Do you still wear them?

8:24 AM EST  
Blogger lilybp said...

Well, when I was a teenager, I used to douse myself in Jean Nate (yes, it's true:). My mother bought me Muguet des Bois, Shalimar, and Miss Dior.
And, when I began to buy, I remember buying
Halston
Lauren
Opium (my first true love)
and Hadrien (jean nate redux??)

8:52 AM EST  
Blogger elle said...

I honestly can't remember my exact first five since I was that wierd (very)first grader who was wearing her mom's Ma Griffe, Miss Dior, Shalimar, etc. In teen years I rebelled somewhat and wore an awful lot of street vendor woodsy or resinous scents (especially sandalwood and amber). And I'm w/ you on still loving Poison. It has such great memories for me and I totally loved that bottle and their ads for it.

8:59 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

J,
I have got to try Jean Nate! So Opium is a long-term love for you, and Miss Dior.

9:08 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

L,
I would have expected nothing less from you :-) Big high five on Poison!

9:09 AM EST  
Blogger lilybp said...

I wouldn't recommend trying Jean Nate. It was very much a teenage thing (pure lemon). I can't believe I liked it now, as opposed as I am to heavy citrus; I wonder if my skin changed or I did! But yes, Opium has remained constant. I don't think I fully appreciated the wonders of Miss Dior when I was young, although I remember loving the houndstooth box/bottle (I think my mother bought it for me b/c of the "miss" in the name:)

9:19 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

J,
I wonder how many mothers bought it for their daughters for thats ame reason :-) I know that I intend to push it on my DD when he grows up a little.

9:20 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Man, I LOVED Fahrenheit. I need to resniff this too. It's been years (my last bottle went off).

9:32 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Leopoldo,
I always keep a tiny bottle, mostly to sniff, although sometimes I wear it too :-)

9:34 AM EST  
Blogger elle said...

I should add that I'm w/ J is still loving Opium as well. My dad *adored* it and bought it for me when it first came out. As I said on Ina's blog, my mom never wore those scents or cared about them - sniffing and buying scents was a way for my father and I to bond from my earliest years. I can't imagine having a straight father. We had *such* great times sniffing scents together and since he was my scent guru and didn't care for pure white florals, I think that's why it took me so long to appreciate them.

9:35 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love your list, Marina. My first love was Diorissimo, one of my mom's scents. The first five I owned were Shalimar, Laguna, Navy, CK One (I hate citrus now!), and Romance. A nice mix of the good and the mediocre, I think, but nothing truly atrocious, right? :)

9:36 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

L,
I hope my deeply beloved straighter than straight papa forgives me when I say I envy you so much :-)

9:37 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

M,
Love Diorissimo!
Weeeeell...Laguna (Dali, right?) is sort of on the edge of being atrocious for this marine-hater, but not really :-D It's not really as atrocious as, say, Cool Water. :-D

9:39 AM EST  
Blogger Gail S said...

Good morning all. My first post, so please be kind! At the risk of making an enemies right away, I have to say that Poison is the first perfume I remember hating. Maybe because everyone I smelled wearing it, I could have smelled from approximately 10 miles away. Moderation was in NO ONES vocabulary!

Now we'll see that my young favorites weren't any better. Please keep in mind that I had no income. I too was thrilled by Love's Baby Soft. It was just so ...nice. Then I did actually get my mother to buy me some perfumes that were out of my baby-sitting money range. These were Chanel No. 19, Aliage by Estee Lauder and L'Air du Temps. It's hard to remember back that far, but I can't think now what these perfumes had in common that I liked except that I didn't smell like everyone else. I do remember that Aliage smelled like a field of weeds when first applied :) And then my very first major perfume purchase with my own money...... Opium! I don't wear this any more, but I still love to sniff it anytime I walk by a display in the store. Ahhhh, memories!

9:54 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Gail,
Welcome! You have such a lovely list. I adore No 19.

9:57 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I posted the same on Ina's blog, you both made me nostalgic of the 80s!

Here are my first 3 perfumes (I was an 80s teenager!), before I became a serial perfume-addict and start buying perfumes by dozen:

Paloma Picasso
Ysatis
Poison

Oh, no, I forgot Anais Anais which was the very first perfume I ever wore, when I was 10 or 12.

10:52 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

M,
I love your list! Paloma! Poison! What a wonderful taste you have, my dear :-)

10:53 AM EST  
Blogger tmp00 said...

Columbina-

I wish AG still did this! Basically twice a year you could go in and buy anything over a certain amount and you would get a smaller but still quite generous bottle of Hadrien or one of the others. I always got the Hadrien, naturally.

Gail-

I didn't like Poison either, for the exact reason. People in the 80's seemed to think the way to apply it was to spritz the chest and when they were standing in a puddle of it, stop (The scnet dept at Bloomingdales was like a minefield: the toxic cloud of Giorgio alone could fell a strong man at 50 paces). Now that I've smelled it in more moderation (and not on every woman in a 10 mile radius I appreciate its beauty.

11:17 AM EST  
Blogger IrisLA said...

Like others here, my first scent was Diorissimo. It was the favorite of the women in my family. In my late teens, I discovered Guy Laroche Fidji and wore that for many years. Another fave was Jacomo Silences.

11:45 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Iris,
I love Diorissimo and Silences. I have to re-visit Fidji.

11:47 AM EST  
Blogger marchlion said...

Okay, I still love Poison, but I don't wear it any more. I do, however, still love and wear Coco (although I think they were doing something bad to it for a few years, and now it's better). I've never smelled Coco in the parfum; I bet it's wonderful.

Joining in here with everyone who loved and still loves Opium. And adding that the Opium PH is delicious as well.

12:02 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

March,
Coco in parfum is so heavenly...you can practically hear angels sing when you wear it :-)

12:27 PM EST  
Blogger katiedid said...

Magie Noire was the one I first fell REALLY HARD for, but before that I also wore Exclamation and Laura Ashley No. 1. Still love the Exclamation, but haven't smelled No. 1 in years.

Poison was the fragrance I aspired to have some day. All the cool girls had it, but there was no way my parents could or would ever afford it. Glad to know that I'm not alone in finding it a marvel after growing up :)

5:45 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think I may have the cheesiest list on here, so here it is from humorous purposes. My first five scents that were not borrowed from my mom, weny something like this:

Elementary school: Chloe Narcisse
In middle school: Sunflowers, Ocean Dream (!), since I liked the bottle. I don't remember it smelling like much. And my mom didn't like Calvin Klein's advertising, so no CK1 for me!
In high school, Curve, and some stuff from an herb farm that smelled a lot like Lush's Karma.

All of these smell "bad" as I recollect them, except the last one. My nose has definitely changed--today I'm wearing Tabac Blond so I've been redeemed!

I love your writing and the blog!

5:56 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Katie,
I feel like a cool girl...for the first time in my life...thank you for that! :-)

6:03 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Jenny,
Thank you very much for your kind words! I got to re-smell Chloe Narcisse recently, and it is such a rich, beautiful scent! That is so funny about your mom not liking CK ads, but you know what, I don't like them either, especially those for CK1, be and Obsesion. :-)

6:05 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

My first five perfumes were,
Katia by Vakko (I still love the smell)
Benetton Tribu
Dolce Vita by CD
Kenzo Flower
Escape CK

7:00 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

nez,
Katia by Vakko? I've never heard of this one. What is it like?

7:01 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

When I was 17 my father and mother traveled to Turkey. It was my perfect gift from there (I think it is a Turkish brand , but recently I saw same brand at Neiman Marcus), and I was fell in love. Top notes were rose, jasmine and white flowers...

7:08 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

By the way, sorry for my grammar mistake(I fell in love).

7:14 PM EST  
Blogger katiedid said...

It's called Katia? I NEED this! After the crazy holidays are over, must look for it. Cool!

7:40 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great topic, and it got me thinking as those first perfume purchases were nearly 35 years ago (ouch!)
1. Max Factor Green Apple: more sour than sweet, and vrey green
2. Revlon Ciara: sweet 'n spicy powerful amber- I loved the solid version that came in the tiny jewel compacts.
3. Gloria Vanderbuilt in the swan bottle: seems very powdery to me now but at one time I loved this stuff (maybe the way it mixed with the smell of cigarette smoke and Lipsmakers?)
4.Halston Couture: smelled like cedar and violets to me, then it was discontinued and was an obsession of mine. It's back and I smelled it recently. Either it has changed or I have.
5. Dolce Vita: Loved it. Still own it but not to wear.

10:14 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Nez,
It sounds lovely (and I always wanted to see Turkey!). Katie of Scentzilla needs this scents (see her comment below) :-) Is ti available anywhere else?

11:26 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Camilla,
I like Vanderbilt too...and that commercial, you know, with the woman sort of turning into a swan or visa versa? When I was a child I thought it was THE most beautiful ad in the whole world :-)

11:27 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Colombina,
I have an interesting story about Turkey:) My grandmother is from Russia, grandfather is from France.They met in Turkey, and they decided to have their first child (my mother)in Turkey. My other grandpa :)is from Italy, my grandma is from Spain. My father was born in Turkey. My father and mother met in England. I and my husband met in the USA. Guess where my husband is from??? Turkey...They all said, Turkey is a beautiful country:)
For Katie,
Unfortunately, it is available only in Europe. Yesterday, I ordered it from one of my friends. If he find miniature size, he will buy three, and I will send one of them to Katie. If he buy 50 ml size, I will send a sample to Katie:).

10:04 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

nez,
Wow! that is such a fantastic story! Thank you for telling it!!

10:09 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just can't keep silent: wonderful idea on recollection the first scents (my own were: Magie Noir, Miss Dior, L'Air Du Temps, Youth Dew, Courreges - apparrently all of them from my mother's night table. Oh, and Miss Dior was my parents' gift for my 16th birthday). But there's the other point: may be mistaken, but White Linen Breeze - is it Elizabeth Arden? Was quite sure it's Estee Lauder - have to check the bottle when back home from the office:-))

7:10 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I actually vivdly remember your bottle of L'Air du Temps, and when and where you showed it to me. But...I don't see L'Eau d'Issay and Laura on your list :-)
Of course you are right, it is Lauder, the very memory of True Love, which is by Arden, must have confused me :-D

9:44 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Joy, an old fav.
and one vintage perfume , i found in an old shop.
The perfume was based around old oak forests, and the label of the perfume was already gone. I remember it cost $15.00. Not much for an old perfume and one that i still miss.
The perfume was so small and i kept it for years.

But one of my house moves , the tiny bottle of perfume disappear.
But i am not unhappy about it.
I will find it again.
Maybe in a different label or form but it is going to be a happy reunion.

6:04 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Anna,
Wow, I wonder what the scent was.

6:05 PM EST  
Blogger katiedid said...

Nez, thanks for your kind words on my Seldom Nice Nowadays blog, and I would love to try "my" namesake perfume... if this works out, do let me know, as I would be seriously over the moon to have a "Katia" perfume!!!!!!! (My email is just katie @ scentzilla.com, btw.) I am just so tickled by the very idea of it, though! How marevelous! Thank you so much for sharing your comment about it :)

6:33 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear Colombina, thank you for the news about the new Chanels. I will be like a flash at the Chanel shop.

Two top five lists: 1. My mother's perfumes which I of course spritzed generously and my own first five.

- Lanvin Arpege, Hermès Amazon, Yves Saint Laurent Y, Chanel 5, Chanel 19

- Nina Ricci L'air du Temps, Oscar de la Renta Signature, Paloma Picasso, Chanel Coco, Laura Biagotti Roma

5:54 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

R,
What a wonderful list! I see at least 5 huge favorites of mine there!

9:16 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm not sure I remember my earliest scents. My mom wore Chanel No. 5 so I never liked that one. The earliest ones I remember wearing are Blue Grass in high school, then Nina Ricci Bigarade in college, and Bellodgia by Caron.

12:25 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Celia,
I have never tried Nina Ricci Bigarade, it sounds wonderful!

1:08 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear Colombina,

Would you know where to look for still usable Arpege and Amazone in the old concoctions/versions?
Or rahter, would you be able recommend some reliable sources?
It would be lovely to be able to relive those childhood scents the way they were.

many thanks,
Rowanhill

8:21 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Dear Rowan,
I would try ebay. There is always lots of old and new Lanvins and Hermeses listed.
Bestest of luck!

9:18 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Happy Holidays everyone. I've been out of town for a few days, so am just catching up now.

The women in my family were always fragrance devotees, so I had the benefit of a smorgasbord of scents to experiment with as a child. I still recall my grandmother giving me a little bottle of Muguet de Bois and several hand-embroidered handkerchiefs to sprinkle it on. These were to be kept in my purse, so that a pleasant aroma would emerge every time I opened my handbag. I don't remember exactly how old I was, but I know I had one of the hankies with me when I made my 1st Communion at age 7.

The first fragrance I remember owning all to my self was Coty's Elan which my first boyfriend gave to me for Christmas when I was 14.

At 16, in a purchase that was evidently de rigeur for women of a certain era, my mother bought me a bottle of Miss Dior.

For my 17th birthday, my grandmother bought me a Lalique 'bird' bottle of L'Air de Temps perfume. I adored carnations, so I loved this gift. I still have the bottle, long empty now.

My freshman year in college, I met my fragrance soulmate, Faberge Tigress. It was my signature fragrance until they stopped making it. I still mourn its demise. It will be the first fragrance I have reissued when I'm elected Empress of the World!

I've had many dalliances with fragrance amours since then, but these were my first five darlings.

12:13 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Teri,
I hereby elect you to be Empress of the World :-) I love your list!

2:15 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I became a fully fledged perfume addict in my teens but it started long before that when at the age of 7, I somehow scraped together enough money to buy my mother a bottle of Blue Grass for Christmas (her chosen one at the time). However, she was really a Guerlain devotee and the smell of Chamade and later on, Shalimar, are my earliest fragrance memories.

I had very different taste however...Ma Griffe was my first obsession. It was to be comprehensively eclipsed by Chanel 19 (at the ripe old age of 17) and it had to be the perfume not the edt. I remember also a tiny bottle of something called Krizia which I adored and carried with me everywhere.. Never faithful to one perfume, there was a brief flirtation with my mother's Opium but it wasn't meant to be; far too intrusive for my clean-green thang. From YSL though, I discovered Paris, of which the body lotion I was especially enamoured. During an extended stay in the South of France I found another true love; Paco Rabanne's Eau de Calandre (you can see where I am going with this..) and then a couple of years later (and after much spraying of testers) Mitsouko. There were many brief flings along the way. Since then, my taste has shown a decidedly schizophrenic aspect.. Having spent an absolute fortune on perfume over the years, I decided to take evasive action some years ago and these days I am capable of amazing restraint; I confine myself to 4 fragrances..although I could fall off the wagon at the slightest provocation and indeed have done (Cuir de Russie, Fracas, Coco de Mdmselle to name but three...most wind up on ebay).

10:48 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

...must not forget to mention Givenchy III; a handbag staple of the 80's; just the sight of that big bottle was enough...

11:12 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh brother, this is going to be fun! I'm sure I'll be dating myself but here goes.

Always got a little set of Evening in Paris or Desert Flower (I believe they alternated, and I don't recall ever opening either of them!) for Christmas. I swear every girl in my neighbourhood got one. Bulk buying at its finest!

Fast forward to the 70s, Ma Griffe is my first real perfume memory, which I bought for my mum. I ending up using the entire bottle myself, setting off a life-long love affair with this unparalled perfume.

I remember Calandre, then Cerissa (Ciara's equally uber-noxious sister). Chanel No. 19, of course.

And last but not lease, someone mentioned Green Apple - I can still remember that necklace. A fantastic scent, which I don't imagine held up too well over
time ;-)

Thanks for the stroll down memory lane!

12:35 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Everyone wore Lauren when I was in high school...
I liked, in chronological order: Miss Dior,
halston, rive gauche, chanel 19, calandre by paco rabanne. i tried youth dew when I was 13 for a while, but it didn't work. i think it was a free sample, was old, and had turned. i am thinking of trying sisley's eau du soir next, as I've heard it might suit my tastes.
I love this list idea...

12:38 PM EDT  

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