Perfumes ( and aftershaves ) from our youth.

My mum was an Avon rep when we where young and we had all the samples to try my favourite was always Topaz and Black Lace.Avon perfume's all smell the same to me now and I haven't bought any for years.
The first perfume I bought for myself was White Linen,I now use CK One for daytime and Oscar de la Renta for special ocassions but it is getting difficult to get.I always try and get the body lotion to layer with and keep the smell as long as possible.

In my teens: Primitif by Max Factor, Aquamanda and Aquacitrus, Muguet des Bois by Coty, Patchouli, Tweed.

Later: Charlie, Moondrops.

At the moment I have Youth Dew, Azuree (Estee Lauder), Blue Grass, Coco, Anais Anais, Prada Candy, La Perla, Fidgi.

My fall-back, go-to perfume is Ma Griffe.

All these bring back so many memories, I too loved to wear Charlie, Anais Anais, White Linen and Youth Dew, Ysatis which I still use in the summer, and I also loved Laughter, by Yardly (I think) The tv advert used to be a couple riding a bicycle and Sacha Distel singing Raindrops keep falling on my head, if my memory is correct - and I liked Sasha Distel . I also confess to going through a stage of wearing Brut aftershave too!

No Bien you're not going mad, I remember the little black bottle of Styx cream perfume. It had a little spatula attached to the inside of the lid and you spread it on with it
Anyone remember Hypnotique and Electrique? I think it may have been by Lentheric

Wow - Moondrops, Flair, Pagan, Gingham, Intimate, Cachet - forgot all about them! Bought all of them in my teens/twenties. Pretty Peach was my first perfume, then Tabu, moving on to Youth Dew, Rive Gauche, Blue Grasse and then all of the above in the 70s. When I was 17 I treated myself to quite a large bottle of Chanel No 5 at the airport (I must have been flush, which was really unusual for me) and I still have it (half empty, smells weird now, but can't bear to part with it) ?My favourites now are Estee Lauder's Private Collection and White Linen, Dioressence and my all time favourite, Clinique Wrappings, which unfortunately is really hard to get hold of. I don't really like any of the 'new' perfumes now on sale - they all seem to be very floral and sweet.

Loved reading all these posts, lots of great memories! Mum loved Tweed, also an Avon perfume 'To a Wild Rose'. 'Femme' by Houbigant was my teenage favourite, Dad bought me some. Now it's Chanel No 5 for me all the way. Good memories of L'Air du Temps - Nina Ricci, also Courant by Helena Rubinstein someone mentioned. Elizabeth Arden 'Red Door', and Rive Gauche, but hubby ca n't stand these last 2!

Jolie Madame by Balmain, still my favourite.
I was given a HUGE bottle of No 5 (must have cost my boyfriend most of his wages) - unfortunately it smelled like old lead pencils on me, I gave it to my Mum.

I can't remember name but it was in tinybottle it was red glass with a good top i loved it wish I could remember the name !

Oh yes, Ma Griffe too Anno.

Does anyone recall a perfume called Gingham? It was in a brown and white checked box? I used to love that one.

I'm another fan of aquamanda - and Fleurs Fraiche by Worth - and Blue Grass!

We lived with my grandparents when I was small and I remember having a touch behind the ears from Grannie's 4711 or Evening in Paris. Of course she asked ' have you been touching my perfume?' No of course not I would reply, but silly me everyone could smell it!
Teenage years I loved Avon Topaz in a little cream filled pot. Then Apple Blossom in my twenties.
So I've always loved perfumes, but Dune and Beautiful are favourites now.

Mitsouko is still around, or a type of Mitsouko is.

I bought some a little while ago when I chanced upon it because it used to be one of my mother's favourite's and I was missing her somewhat at the time.

It doesn't smell the same at all.

I found out it is because one of its main ingredients was oakmoss and, apparently, many people these days are allergic to that so they use a synthetic substitute but it's not the same at all, sadly.

My older sister used to wear Youth Dew all the time, We didn't get on at all, hence I hate it with a vengeance!

Never been much of a perfume wearer myself.

And was it 9711? In a retro blue and gold bottle.
Remember all of the above perfumes. They were all terrible! And the way men powered on the Brut, Aramis, considered classy!, and Old Spice for the dads. 70s!

4711

I was given a perfume called Somewhere when I was 13 - I felt so grown up! Then it was Soir de Paris at 14 or 15, and all the boys I fancied wore Old Spice - such a heady scent which I can still conjure up to this day.

I loved L'Aimant but preferred another Coty one, Imprevu. For my wedding I wore Infini by Caron, and my DH had Nine Flags - Aromatic Tabac by Colton, which was his aftershave of choice for a long time.

I used to love Blue Grass by Elizabeth Arden, but for some reason it always smelt like gin on my skin grin.

Does anyone remember the Mary Quant perfume oils, in tiny black bottles with bright yellow lids? I had one, I think it was the honeysuckle but not certain. It lasted on the skin for so long!

Erm, that should have read "it always smelt like gin on my skin ." I pasted this from my clipboard after refreshing my browser - completely forgot that the square brackets disappear when you copy and paste ?. Why is that, I wonder?

When I was about thirteen,I used to drown myself in my mothers Intimate perfume. It was powerful stuff. A dear friend bought some for me last Christmas. Memories ,eh?
A lovely thread.

Reading these has reminded me of Houbigant (?sp) Quelques fleurs and Hermes Calèche which no one has mentioned. Now Diorissimo and Jo Malone Mimosa. But can't really smell scents on myself any more, which spoils he fun.

Shared many of these old favourites, but does anyone else remember the powdery scent of Goya’s Ballet and the wonderful, lasting aroma of Bronnley’s lemon hand cream?

A couple of you mentioned Styx perfume which I think was made by Coty. I had a bottle of this when I was about 14. It was supposed to be a sort of love potion if I remember. I dabbed a few drops onto my Ziggy Stardust album cover, because a boy I really fancied wanted to borrow it. He returned it a few days later saying - "What do you clean your records with? It doesn't half stink!" Needless to say we never got together!

I loved Aquamanda. I also liked Pagan and Stevie B from the 70s

Just remembered, Mum had a liking for Anaïs Anaïs and we had a difference of opinion about it's pronunciation.

The sales lady had said 'Annay-annay' but I, who was trying to learn French, disagreed, saying it was more like, 'Anna-ees - anna-ees. '
I still don't know for sure who was the nearer

And wasn't there an Avon fragrance called 'Daisies Won't Tell'? So much more romantic than the one word titles of today.

Coty l'aimant, love it until an ex-boyfriend told me it made him feel sick. I did like the smell of Avon's Topaz cologne too.

Yes, Femme was gorgeous and it was made by Rochas.