Evocative scents. Disappointed.

Smell is so evocative and can be mood enhancing (or the opposite.) So many memories wrapped up in scent.

That’s kind and thoughtful of you Aveline

My Mum always has Imperial Leather soap and it gives me a comforting sort of feeling, am told it’s sandalwood.
I bought her a bottle of Sunflowers a couple of years ago as she said she used to like it, but she says it has no scent at all!
I thought maybe it was her, but after trying it I realised it was nothing more than coloured water ( bought online) so only buy fragrances from Boots now.

Just a side issue but I always try to wear nice perfume for my hospital volunteer shifts. This was after a patient said it was so nice to have a change from 'hospital' medical smells. I could see her point. I collect small samples of nice hand creams to give patients for that reason too.

I wore Je Reviens when DH and I first met and he always loved it. I was given a bottle of cologne for Christmas that instantly reminded me of one that he used to wear, so now that is my go to for everyday.

I’d love to find some Je Reviens that smells exactly like it used to.

“You’ll be a little lovelier each day
With fabulous pink Camay”.

Takes me back to schooldays!

Astral soap reminds me of being in hospital in my late teens. I don’t know if it exists any more. Probably not.

Wright’s Coal Tar soap = my grandmother’s bathroom.

BRUT after shave or cologne from the 70s. I still seek it out and buy it for my husband.

seadragon I bought the original Fragonard perfume from their factory in Grasse and it was lovely and, kept in a dark drawer, it lasted for ages. O wonder if the one you ordered on line was a cologne rather than the perfume? I was delighted when M&S started stocking some of their products and I'm currently wearing Grain de Soleil.

When it comes to nostalgia I chiefly remember Old Spice which was very big with teenagers in the 60s, Tweed which I wore because I thought it would make me sophisticated, and the smell of Max Factor make up which my mother always wore. Sadly Max Factor doesn't seem to have much scent at all now.

Erm.... She not I!

Pears for me too, amazing smell

I cared for a lady for a long time that used it and I bought it after I passed away

When I was little (1920s) my mother used Evening in Paris. (In a blue bottle) and one called Phul Nana which had a picture of a lady in eastern dress on the label.

The mention of Camay brought memories. 1953 there was an ad in the local paper inviting people to go to the town hall and help test new products. We were given three bars of toilet soap, three boxes of washing powder(a product not available then) three bottles of washing up liquid. labelled 1, 2 and 3 and go back after a month with results. The soap turned out to be Camay. I think the powder was Ariel. One of the soaps was not good for my three year old sons skin.

Does anyone else remember Bronnely Rose geranium soap?

Pears started to make liquid hand wash but it smelt truly awful.
I think my father used Imperial Leather aftershave.

What an interesting thread! Yes, fragrances are a strong link with the people of the past. I've been disappointed, too, by finding that perfumes don't smell the same. They may have cheaper ingredients, artificial ones as PinkC says, but also the chemistry of the person who used to wear it has disappeared. Even our own skin's chemistry changes. This will affect what we put on it.

Does anyone remember the pink soap, Camay? It claimed to have expensive perfume in every bar — was it nine guineas an ounce? Mum loved it.

I loved Chloe in the 70s - the new version is completely different now. Chanel No 5 is awful now due to a change in formula.

Am guessing the scent part of a product is the most expensive bit. So cut backs I think. All cost saving, same as the bland food we're being sold, in smaller packages but for more money! Scents are very important to me, but they're definitely weakening.

Clawdy

Ooh, the smell of Old Spice on boys back in the late sixties! Loved it! I remember my dad saying in disgust "What?? Lads wear scent now?"

I was a teenager in the 70's. Brut was the aftershave of choice then.

A few years ago I found an old original bottle of it when I was clearing an old relative's house out. The smell took me straight back to my first boyfriend who I am sure used to bath in it . The new version doesn't smell the same at all.

Sawsage2

I once won Clarins 'Eau Dynamisant', loved it and will treat myself to some on my birthday in Oct.

I buy that every now and then and love it. I like the original one best but have tried the blue one and the summery one too.

My grandmother’s favourite talc was Helena Rubenstein’s Apple Blossom and another smell that summed up their house was Grandpa’s Gold Leaf pipe tobacco.

Ooh, the smell of Old Spice on boys back in the late sixties! Loved it! I remember my dad saying in disgust "What?? Lads wear scent now?"

I used to buy Red Door years ago , loved the bottle shape and the gentle perfume … I was given a new bottle for Mother’s Day, oh my goodness it’s nothing like the “old” one I used , very disappointed I won’t be using it , it can go to the charity shop.!
I remember we always had Imperial Leather soap at home loved the little label on it , if anyone was poorly and the doctor came to visit she would always have a new bar in the bathroom and a clean towel for our doctor to use after examining whoever was ill ..
Those were the days !!

Maybe I am losing my sense of smell but Pears soap and Imperial Leather soap have lost the intensity of smell that I remember from my younger days.

Also, some of the perfumes from years ago no longer smell the same in their new version. I have a new bottle of Eternity and, though it smells similar, it is not the same as the one I had thirty years ago.

I think this is because they used to use whale oil or similar things in the old perfumes.

Understandably, these are now banned. The man made/chemical substitutes are not a patch on the them.

As I have lost my sense of smell and taste , miss out on lots of memories.

For some reason my mum would always bring Imperial Leather if I was in hospital.
Pears soap reminds me of childhood hot baths in winter
I used to like cuticura talc and soap and of course Johnsons’ baby talc.
Nivea crème in the blue tin reminds me of seaside holidays. Mum would slather it on wind and sun burned face while we tried to eat our sand sandwiches 🥪
I cannot find an antiperspirant deodorant that I like the smell of. They all have a sort of cat pee-ish aroma to me and many shampoos too.