Do you remember owning a bottle of this? Or giving one to your mother perhaps?
And hey, boys. Do you remember buying these?
Do the names “Jade East” and “Hai Karate” ring any teenage bells?
When was the last time you forked over your allowance for one of these?
And girls, I haven’t forgotten about you. Remember when you wouldn’t be caught dead going out on a Friday or Saturday night without a spray of these?
Now take a look at this old commercial and see if it brings back any fragrance memories.
(That’s my girl, Ali MacGraw, in case you didn’t recognize her.)
It all seems so retro now. The idea of perfumes, colognes, sprays, toilet water. I can’t think of the last time I put some on before I went out.
But the names bring back so many memories.
It might have all started with L’heure Blue.
Created in 1912 by Jacques Guerlain, it beautifully combined orange blossom with vanilla, iris and incense.
Is it any wonder that it is Catherine Deneuve’s signature fragrance?
Guerlain also came up with another classic- Shalimar.
For generations, no well-appointed dressing table would be without a bottle of this knockout.
Then there were the Big Three.
The story is that Number 5 was so named because Mademoiselle Chanel had turned her nose up and her thumb down at the first four creative olfactory attempts. The story also goes on to say that she sold 70% of the perfume company to businessman and racehorse owner Pierre Wertheimer in 1924. In exchange for 10% of the stock, Coco licensed her name to “Parfums Chanel” and agreed to remove herself from the business.
But in 1935, Mademoiselle sued to get the business back. Her suit was unsuccessful but she didn’t give it up. She tried again to regain control in 1941.
Using the “Aryan” laws that prohibited Jews from owning businesses, Chanel petitioned the Nazis to legalize her right to sole ownership.
However the Wertheimers had forestalled this. Prior to fleeing France for New York, they had legally tuned over the business to (Christian) industrialist Felix Amiot.
At the war’s end, he turned it back over to the Wertheimer family.
Now it was Chanel’s turn to flee.
Branded as a “collabo,” she spent the next ten years in Switzerland.
Back to sweeter smelling topics…
At New Trier High School in the 60’s, lots of boys I knew bathed in Russian Leather.
I, on the other hand, spritzed Casaque on strategic pulse points.
It was my secret weapon and I wore it on all my co-ed close encounters until one fateful day in 1967. I had strolled into a parfumerie on a mission.
I wanted to “blind” spray test all the fragrances and find out which one whispered
“me.”
I didn’t want to be influenced by the name, the packaging or the hype. I just wanted to find a scent that smelled enchanting.
I tried many beauties that the saleslady proffered.
And then I struck gold.
One fragrance simply transported me. I knew that I had found my signature scent.
“I’ll take it,” I said rapturously. “What is it?”
It was this.
It was called “Forbidden” because for many years, it was only worn by my idol herself.
I still have it. But I never wear it.
Too afraid to stir up other people’s allergies, I guess.
Besides, I’m saving it for a very special evening.
With a very special someone.
(Sure hope he’ll be wearing English Leather.)
Makes scents, Ellen. When I was still in graduate school, I invested in a quart-size bottle of phenethyl alcohol. A pretty simple chemical structure, as the linked article will attest. Smells like rose oil. I divided it into numerous small vials, maybe half a cc per vial, and gave it to young women as a first-date present. Sometimes there were even second dates, and beyond.
Wow! I didn’t realize that you invented Love Potion Number Nine. You’re in good odor. Very very impressed.
Old habits die hard I guess. I remain a regular user of Royall Lyme and still think it is the best after shave I have ever found. It is difficult to find but I consider it a treat whenever I can find a bottle.
As an old advertising lawyer, I consider smart, attractive packaging critical to the marketing of fragrances and have been fascinated over the years at the end variations of glass bottles used to sell these products. The distinctive green bottle and paper packaging for Royall Lyme remains as unique as ever. Thanks for reminding me — I need a new bottle.
Thanks, Jack. Glad I could help out here. Yes, the packaging is the key. And you’re right about the packaging. In some cases, it costs more than the product.
How canoe forget canoe? Put it on before opening that well aged bottle of Lancers Rose
I never dated a man who wore it. I get I’m up a creek without a paddle. Thanks for correcting the oversight, Jess.
In High School it was Old Spice for me. My Grandfather used it, my Dad used it so I used it. First time I tried it was when I was around 10 and my Grandfather had taken me to old Covenant Club to go swimming. Getting dressed in the locker room he splashed so Old Spice on himself them lightly slapped some on my cheeks. Wow I felt so grown up. I still think of my Pop when I smell it.
You are a classic, Mitch. My father wore something called Vegetal. I haven’t smelled it years. Thanks, my sweet-smelling friend. Love to your prettier half.
So did my grandfather. Lilac Vegetal. The only scent for him. Bought it for him for every occasion every year as a kid. Funny!
I never knew that. That is a small world. Thanks for sharing that after-shave tidbit, ML. And see you later. (Is there a dreidel emoji?)
🕎💜
Nice! 🇮🇱
I still use Brut and my wife still uses White Shoulders! The good news is they are much cheaper relative to other colognes and perfumes today. Of course back in my college dating days, in the words of the English Leather commercials, we wore English Leather or nothing at all…mostly we chose the latter. Made perfect scents to us.
A very classic couple. I’m impressed. The sweet smell of marital success. Thanks for sharing your secret, Steve.
Morning Ellen and thanks for another trip down memory lane. My dad used Lilac Vegetal as an after shave but for cologne it was always Stork Club. It came from the legendary NY nightclub and when they went out of business in, I think the early 70’s, he stocked up. He ran out before he died and actually had a chemist try to duplicate it for him. He never was able to get it right though. Last year I googled Stork Club cologne and learned the whole story about it. I also saw that an original bottle was on eBay at the time so I got involved in the bidding but dropped out as it approached $300!! This stuff always was my first thought about my dad. Thanks, as you so often provide, for the memory.
Another member of the LV club! And yes, Sherman Billingy- owner of the Stork Club and brother of “Leave it to Beaver’s” Barbara- used to give away bottles of that and perfume in his Cub room. A very exclusive scent. Thanks, my friend. Glad this bright back happy memories.
What little I did in the way of enhancing my natural scent involved Royall Spyce, in my Tom Jones Period. Smelled like mince pie. No idea what the ladies thought, if anything, but they didn’t run away.
Very suave, John. That was a very sexy choice. But what else would I expect from a teen-about-town?
Who? Me?
Yep. I bet the girls never had a chance.😘
Casaque. Never will forget your special fragrance. Too bad it still isn’t available.
It is still available. In new- and vintage- formulas. You can bring me a bottle any time.
I also was a fan initially of Canoe. Later graduated to Aramis. And my Joy loved Shalimar. This blog brought back many memories. “The nose knows.”
Thanks, Doc. You two came out smelling like a rose.