I lost my mother a long time ago, but I will always remember her scent. Coty L'Aimant, Yardley Freesia, and her special one, Worth Je Reviens that my father brought back for her when he returned from service in WWII, before they were married.

I realise that there will be vastly differing age groups on this board so perfume memories will be hugely differing, but would be interested to hear from you all.

My mother was very unglamorous, but she did always have a bottle of something that she received as a gift. Most of my childhood it was White Shoulders or Cotillion by Avon. Both smelled fantastic on her.

Hi, Fiordiligi. Ages are all over the place on this board, I believe. I'm 58, so some of you may be shocked by how old -- or young -- I am. No big secret, since I frequently allude to events from the 1950s -- my favorite decade so far!

My mother is 80 and still with us. I remember her wearing My Sin when I was small, then moving on to Shalimar, Intimate, Primatif, Maja, L'Air du Temps. Now all she wants to wear is.....um.......I can't think of the name of it. Yep, I'm 58 all right.

My Mama wore Je Reviens too, fiord. The good stuff in the pretty little blue, round bottle.

Chanel No. 5. The fur on her collar smelled of it.

Emeraude, before they ruined it.

Tweed by Lentheric.

Mom is still here BTW. She still likes No. 5

Scent is such a powerful thing, isn't it?

My mother wore Emeraude (back when it was rich and beautiful) and Je Reviens. She had a solid compact of Emeraude that I used to take out of her purse and sniff; I thought it was the most beautiful scent in the world. I remember it combined with the smell of coffee and cigarettes, which appalls my mother (who no longer smokes) but appealed to me at the time. It was The Mom Smell.

I remember my mom had on her dresser was Miss Dior. I bought a vintage Miss Dior last year and it just brings back memories of me sitting on the dresser and taking a whiff of it.

Emeraude was really beautiful, IMO. It does seem very changed nowadays, though.

My mother is 60 and she has been wearing Opium for the past 20 years. She alternates with Shalimar (which smells heavenly on her) and she's been wearing that for about 10 years.

Oh yes, Emeraude - I can still remember that one. The "proper" Coty scents were so beautiful, weren't they? Such a shame that the company is so totally debased these days.

Hi Fiordiligi, nice topic!

My mother is 79. When I was a child I she wore lots of Avon mostly - Occur! (with the exclamation point!), Topaze, Here's My Heart, Moonwind. Jean Nate; she always kept a big bottle of the splash around. L'Air du Temps, once in a blue moon. They all smelled beautiful on her.

Nowadays she likes White Linen, and that's lovely on her too.

Funnily enough, my mom now wears entirely different scents -- Oscar, White Linen. Although recently when she came to visit, she fell in love with Shalimar Light and is pondering buying Shalimar Heavy now, too.

Shalimar Heavy...haha

My Mom has never ever worn perfume. I literally can't imagine her wearing any scent, not even when really dressed up. Heaven only knows how she had a daughter who is so crazy for perfumes.

My mother never wore any perfume that I know of at all - my father claims to be severely allergic to "Avon" by which he meant anything that smelled like perfume. But she did always have a little bottle of Tabu, which I enjoyed sniffing. More than anything else, she smelled kind of funky - like dirty hair and mild body odor. Not that she did not wash - she washed very frequently and took extremely long and I presume thorough baths on a regular basis. But you know how that is - there are some people whose humanity you can and do smell, and that is the primary scent I associate with my mother. Sweetlife used the term once "slightly unwashed Woman stinky smell" in discussing another topic, and I think that's a pretty accurate way to describe my scent memories of my mother (who is still very much with us). I also associate the smells of frying bacon, spray starch, bleach, and plastic flowers with her.

I'd like to tell you that's a romantic thought and that I love her all the more for it but I did not get along with my mother at all for most of my life until the last couple of years, and I find that an odd relief because there are no perfumes that are "off-limits" to me simply because of associations with my mom. For that, I had grandmothers.

Yeah, what happened there Ellen?????? lol

What didn't my mother wear would be my question. I think I inherited my love of perfumes from her. Mama looked lovely, a bit Judy Garland mixed with Ava Gardner. I'd be lucky if I looked more like her.

When I was very little she wore Femme, Schiaparelli Shocking, Shalimar and a couple of Patous. She didn't draw the line at expensive fragrances. She very much liked and wore Tigress and Woodhue, both of which were drugstore fragrances. Later in her life she always said I 'kept her in perfume.' I knew her preferences and would pick up fragrances I thought she'd like. Birmane by Van Cleef and Arpels she liked as well as Glamourous by Ralph Lauren.

I can relate, Heather, only my ma had some mental health issues and didn't keep herself up as she should have. And, what's more - most perfumes that I bequeath to her smell great on her...much better than they do on me. How's that for ironic?

Today is my mother's 77th birthday. I adore that big-hearted woman so very much!
:-)

My mother is, for the most, a fragrance hater.
She came to the US, from Germany, in 1953...and had one bottle of 4711 with her. It was a going away gift from her brother.
That is the ONLY fragrance she EVER wore -- maybe buying a bottle of it every three years, and sadly, it's a fragrance which almost takes my breath away...and probably initiated my aversion to citrussy scents.
She really doesn't wear it much anymore...and that makes me a little grateful...and a little sad.
When I was little and had a headache or slight fever...she used to soak a hankie in 4711 and lightly touch it to my forehead...temples.
I loved being snuggled up close to her...and loved having her take special care of me...so I never had the heart to tell her that while the hankie touching me felt oh-so-wonderful...the smell of the 4711 was making me feel like I was suffocating.

I think I really think of my mother smelling of food, which isn't a bad thing.
I loved to snuggle with her during the Christmas season when she was making spicy gingerbread cookies.
The mingled smells of the spices clinging to her smelled a million times better than any bottled scent.
:-)

I'm 38 and my mom had me when she was 20. She used to wear Wind Song and Timeless (Avon) to go out, but never for everyday. Now she wears fabric softener, and then Vanilla Fields if she's really getting gussied up. My mom is NOT a glamour queen.

Who knows? My Mom doesn't really care for jewelry either, aside from her wedding ring and an occasional pin, and I LOVE jewelry. My older sister loved 'fumes though, and I recall very clearly being transfixed by a small bottle of L'air du Temps she had, when I was very small. She still likes perfumes but has multiple allergies (as I do too, but hers give her a reaction to all but a very few perfumes).

My Mom's mom was extremely girlie, though I don't recall what 'fumes she may have worn, but I'll bet she did wear them. And she loved dressing up, makeup, jewelry, high heels, the whole bit. So maybe my Mom was going the opposite way from her Mom, as I did from my Mom, re: scent (?)

FWIW, I have one brother who wouldn't wear any scent if you held a gun to his head, and another brother who enjoys fragrance. And my Dad never wore any fragrance either; I associate the scent of shaving cream with him.

Happy Birthday to Catie's mother!

My mother wears Jessica McClintock right now. She wore Charlie for the bulk of my youth. She speaks of a perfume called "Me" that she once wore but is now discontinued. In fact, she rhapsodizes about it. Has anyone ever heard of this one?

-Noelle

When I was very little, my mother wore Shocking and Evening in Paris. Later, she wore something by Avon, I think, that came in an aqua bottle, or maybe it was the label or lid. Even later than that, she had a fling with Opium, but that was when she was retired and living in Florida, so I don't really associate it with her. She's been gone more than 15 years.

My mom is 68, she always wore Shalimar, Bal a Versailles and L'Air du Temps. She occasionally would use Secret of Venus and Jean Nate bath products. Now her scents run along the lines of whatever she finds in my closet - she loves shopping in my perfume closet! I think her current favorite is Cartier Panthere.

This might explain your affinity for L'Air de Rien.

Old snaps of my mom, who was a Homecoming Queen, Prom Queen, cheerleader, and a model.





I look like my dad. :-D

She wore White Shoulders until I was about 7, when she started selling Avon, during which time she wore Occur and Topaze. Then she wore Madame Rochas, Femme, and Woodhue. Then Shalimar. My dad died. She met someone and married him and she was wearing Shalimar when they met, and he loves it, so she has worn nothing else for the past 25 years. She's still alive and kicking.

She has worn perfume every day of her life that I know of. I always keep a mini of White Shoulders and one of Shalimar, for when I need to smell the mom smell.

Aw, thank you for that wish, Noelle! :-)

My Mom is 69 and she rarely wore fragrance when I was growing up. She liked Persian Wood from Avon, and when they quit making it, she pretty much quit wearing perfume until about 20 years ago, when she started wearing EL's Beautiful. It smells absolutely gorgeous on her and she frequently gets compliments on it. It's the only perfume I've ever bought her that she asked for more of. Still, she doesn't wear perfume that often, and I wonder if she would ever buy it for herself at all if she ran out what she received as gifts.

Can't make out mom's face enough to see if there is a strong resemblance, FTR, but I looove that pic of you in the tropical outfit! All hand on the hip and sassy. Cute, cute!


Mom poses like a model with the front foot pointing forward.

That was when we lived in Hawaii. She made our bathing suits.

She was a model. She did runway for the John Robert Powers agency. Dig the tiara! :-D My mom cracks me up.

http://www.johnrobertpowers.net/Adults.html

That's true! Kind of a frenchified mom-smell.

My mother wore three scents, No. 5, Vivara and Crepe de Chine.

I have never been able to wear No. 5, but I have a reasonable supply of vintage Vivara (and a pox on the new version!). As for Crepe de Chine, my mother loves the LLP version which I also like, but which I think is missing some of the floralcy of the original. It's too green and sharp. The nicest LLP version which I have tried is the sadly discontinued bath oil. Has anyone tried the LLP version parfum?

Happy Birthday , Mama Catie !
How wonderful to have a mom like that.

Heather, Sharil, I 'get' your moms.
We must have had parallel ones...

Estelle was also a glamorous woman, but had that funk.
Going out, it was Sortilege, Arpege, Scandal.

Later in life, I bought her Shalimar, Jardins de Bagatelles, and she favored Bill Blass...

I think it's hard for a girl to have a mom as gorgeous a FTR's, or mine was.
We can never live up to that standard.

As I am the Crazy Perfume Lady, my mother was the Crazy Curtain Lady. Window treatments were her passion. She wore Chloe (original Lagerfeld version) for sometime but when I was a teen (in the late 80's) I had an extensive collection that she would use.
It's a sweet memory for me of my mom knocking on the door in the mornings all dressed for work and asking if she could have a spray of something. She would stand in awe at the bottles for a few moments before picking something out. She always left my room looking so happy.

She is a stunner. I keep Old Spice around to get a "Pop Pop hit".



You are quite welcome. :-)

-Noelle

Mom wore Shalimar in the 1970s, Anne Klein II in the 1980s, Navy in the 1990s, and now usually wears Pleasures. She has also taken up wearing Giorgio Red, which burns my nostrils, so I gave her a bottle of Opium to substitute. Recently bought her L'Occitane's Feu d'Orange as a cheer-up present, and she loves it.

She recently came over to my house for a visit, and saw my vial of Guerlain's La Voilette de Madame on my coffee table. She put it on and fell instantly in love. She was raving about it, and asked me where she could get it. I said, "In Paris. I think it costs something like 1200 euros." She dropped the vial like it was on fire. So much for her new signature scent!

My mum is 60. I can remember her wearing mostly Avon, Moonwind, Unforgettable and Occur, she also used to have a bottle of 4711 on hand most of the time. I know she has mentioned Arpege before now.
Now she wears Sublime, Paris, Ch No 5 also a few others. Like me she adores Apres L'Ondee.

Lovely topic, Fiordiligi!

Happy Birthday, Catie's mom!

FTR, your mom is a stunner!


Ellen, I think we have the same brother moonlighting in two roles! To give my bro his due, however, although he wouldn't wear scent himself, he's very supportive of my interest and will go perfume shopping with me and discuss it as long as I want.

My mom wore L'Air du Temps, Paloma Picasso, Le Dix and Fracas, among others over the years, and she loved Eau de Charlotte. Of those, the one she bought for herself or my dad would buy for her was L'Air du Temps. The others would be gifts from other people. She enjoyed perfume if it was around but it was not something she would pursue. She too was very supportive of my hobby, as was my dad.

My Mom loves perfumes, although she's not as maniacal about them as I am. :)

Some of her past (and current) loves off the top of my head include Private Collection, Clarins Eau Dynamisante, Maja, Organza, and (to my chagrin) Angel. She probably wears Private Collection the most, that is the one that I identify most with her.

Edit: Forgot to add Shalimar to the list. And the Halston years--how could I forget those! But honestly I think she liked the bottle more than the perfume itself.

BTW, my mother looked like Jackie Kennedy when she was younger. I love photo books of the Kennedys for that reason - makes me remember mom in her youth.

She did not have the collection I do ( being from the fumes are only gifts school ) however she always has some Avons on the go , Emeraude ( what is is about this scent?) and Jean Nate , currently Shalimar and L de Lolita .

Thanks, Noelle, for removing my brain fog. It is Jessica McClintock that Mom wears these days.

And Catie, happy birthday to your mother. I've been thinking about her dabbing you with the handkerchief all afternoon. What a good mom.

My mother wore L'Air de Temps, mostly, with some Chanel No. 5 for variety. When she went into the nursing home, she had too many "visitors" who wanted to smell nice, too. So I hid the L'Air, substituted WindSong and brought in some of my rejects for the other residents. I also kept a good supply of BBWs Moonlit Path in her room. It was quite popular. A bottle would be used up in 7-10 days. She had lots of help. LOL

My mom, who is still with us, sold and used Avon, so there were all sorts of bottles and decanters on her dresser. Hawaiian White Ginger, Honeysuckle, Roses, Roses, Raining Violets cologne gelee were some of my favorites. I was into all of them.
I remember borrowing the Sweet Honesty, and thinking it smelled like our powdered laundry detergent. I borrowed the Timeless in high school and liked it the best. I have been meaning to pick up some of this someday.
She had so much Avon that I can't remember one specific one to associate with her, unless it was maybe Candid, or it could have been Moonwind. I remember the tall blue bottle. There was also a tall white bottle, maybe Cotillion? Field Flowers was green with a purple lid, and Elusive came in a purple bottle.
She had so many figures that she may have bought them for the bottles. I know that she bought my Dad all these bottles shaped like guns and cars, but all I can remember him wearing is Wild Country and Old Spice, which was in our bathroom all the time and of course is not an Avon fragrance.
My grandma (my mom's mother) had the red bottle of Charisma in her bathroom. I picked up a little bottle of this at a thrift store and put some on my wrist when I think of her. The smell of Charisma and Dove soap reminds me of my grandma, who passed away of breast cancer about 22 years ago. I loved her very much and still miss her.

Happy Birthday, Catie's Mom! Many happy returns!

What classy mothers everybody has....and what sharp memories all of you have.

I remember that my mother had a bottle of My Sin on her dresser, but I don't remember her smelling like it, exactly. My mom smoked like a chimney so I think she probably smelled like cigarettes. I remember when we were on long car trips, we (the un-seat-belted kids in the back seat) would be begging her to roll down the windows....

But my mom had very good taste in clothes, and good taste in perfume, too. I wonder if the perfumes like My Sin and Chanel No. 5 and Arpege were considered exclusive or high-class in their day, or whether perfume was expensive and considered a luxury then (meaning the late fifties/early sixties). I'm so sorry my mom isn't around to ask -- she died in 1979.

I'm bowled over there really was a perfume called Occur! Occur! -- like a command, isn't it? That really cracks me up, for some reason.

I love this thread!!! Glad you asked. My parents were WWII Depression-era folks. Dad never wore scent.

Grandma J. used to wear Tabu, and used to buy it for me too.

Grandma P. wore Chanel No. 5 and Angelface powder. She used to give me the half-empties.

Mom always wore: Soir De Paris (the original from Woolworth's), L'Air du Temps, Cashmere Bouquet dusting powder, Indiscret Lelong, Youth Dew (original), Wind Song, Jontue, Jean Nate, Golden Autumn Prince Matchabelli, and White Shoulders, which was her signature.

Sometime during the 1980s she started wearing Shalimar, after a relative recommended it to her.

Sometime after Liz Taylor introduced her perfume lines, mom started wearing Passion and White Diamonds. Mom had always looked like Liz throughout her life, and people used to ask for her autograph. I think that was why she wore those scents so well.

I didn't start wearing my mom's scents until after she died. Now I wear them as often as I miss her.

My mother turns 79 this year, which means she was a child during the Depression and it did affect her family adversely. So she retained the frugality that many members of her generation did/have.

She had perfume gifts, usually from my father, that would sit on display on her dresser for years. Thus, to me perfume always smelled "off" whenever I sniffed from the bottle (which I didn't do often, we were taught not to touch things that weren't ours). But her furry-capped bottle of Tigress smelled divine on her on the few special occasions she used it.

In the 80s, she somehow discovered Giorgio and insisted that it was the fragrance for her. She viewed it as a kind of rebellious extravagance on her part, but my father was only too happy to get it for her. Then, in the early nineties, she mentioned in conversation a small bottle of perfume she used to wear in the late 1940s -- daphne. I searched and searched and finally discovered the Laboissiere makes a daphne "soliflore." The look on her face when she first sniffed it I will never forget.

I keep her supplied with Giorgio and the Laboissiere Daphne. Giorgio is easy enough to find on the Web and will be my Mother's Day gift to her this year (Daphne was last year's gift, so she will still have some). The Daphne I special order from Andre in SF.

My mom used to wear L 'Air du Temps all throughout the 70's and the 80's, she would just spritz the fragrance in the air and walk through it, perfume gave her allergies. She never wore those cult masterpiece perfumes like Narcisse Noir or Mitsouko, these had too much character for her, it was just not her style.

My Mum is still with me and she is not a perfume nut like me but she does wear - Jessica McClintock (her fav) , Vol du Nuit when she can find it here and she has really fallen for Rosine de Rosine after Teacake gave her a sample!!!

You mom wears fabric softener? LIL

The only thing I remember my mom ever wearing was White Shoulders. I think she started wearing that when I was about 11. Before that, I don't think...or at least I don't remember her wearing anything.

My mother was decidedly anti-glam, I suspect as a reaction to her own beautiful grand dame type mother and as a consequence of being some sort of a hippie. Neither wore perfume though; somehow it was perceived as plebeian, and from my mother's perspective as 'trying too hard'. My grandmother did go through litres of lavender and citrus cologne when cruising the Mediterranean and living in yacht harbors, but that is (or was) de rigueur in these areas, rather as a hygienic practice than a cosmetic one.