Evocative scents. Disappointed.

Pears is another. My mother always used it.

DM and DGM always wore a distinctive combination of Evening in Paris perfume and Johnson's Baby Powder!! The perfume became unobtainable at some point but was 'relaunched' in the 80's/90's. Rushed out and bought it for DM but not only did it smell completely different...it no longer lingered for long... So disappointing. DD bought me 'Fragonard' back from France. It smelled gorgeous, lingered all day and people frequently commented on the 'lovely scent' I was wearing. I ordered a refill on line but it was not the same at all - ?fake. Tried all the Fragonard options when M & S brought in a range under that name but no luck there either. "Tant Pis"

Imperial Leather reminds me of my Dad using it to shave with which insisted on doing in the kitchen despite having a bathroom.

Imperial Leather reminds me instantly of Mrs, H*******'s sewing lessons, every Monday afternoon; her hands were spotlessly clean and she spent a lot of time unpicking my work. I hated her and she hated me and I still can't sew.

My Mum loved Sunflowers by Elizabeth Arden and even specified in her end of life care plan that she wanted to wear it and she did.

Another evocative perfume is Tweed. When I was still at school I worked weekends in a gift shop. A retired lady came to work there too as she had too much time on her hands. She must have been about 70 and I was probably 15 and despite the huge gap we got on really well and she taught me so much about life in general and we had some good laughs. She was very chic and always wore Tweed. Not popular now but very occasionally I get a whiff and I think of her.

Another one here where Pears soap takes me back decades. I worked with a woman who had bad BO, which she tried to camouflage with Apple Blossom perfume (Helena Rubenstein?). It was the worst combination ever and even the mention of it now makes me want to retch!

I used to love the smell of HaI Karate aftershave. I wore it as a perfume for a while, and people often asked what perfume I had on. It reminded me of Cuticura ‘medicated talcum powder’, but I have no idea what it smells of!

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

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.

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

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.

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 !!

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?"

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Does anyone else remember Bronnely Rose geranium soap?

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.

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.

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