Like many people it was my mother’s perfume, Opium. Then it was the cologne given to me by my first love – Mûres et Musc de Laporte – when I was 13. Later I was going to the boutiques – the only places where one could find rare perfumes of that time, like Jicky or Mouchoir de Monsieur de Guerlain …
— Gérald Ghislain of niche line Histoires de Parfums, talking about his first memories of perfume, at the Histoires de Parfums blog.
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That’s actually a pretty cool topic for open thread – what was your mother’s favorite (or only) perfume. In my case, L’Origan.
That’s a fun poll idea, thanks!
I second the idea!
My mother wore L’Air du Temps for years. Now, she wears Daisy (and too much of it, at that)!
Can you wear too much Daisy?? I think of it as so light!
My mother does! It’s quite sweet on her, too. It’s not one I like.
I guess you can overdo anything
lol that’s the first thing I thought, I swear I could barely smell it on the paper strip… but to be fair, I had just sniffed Poison.
a wide range of Avon fragrances would make an occasional guest appearance but Shalimar and Chanel No. 5 were always on my mom’s dresser.
ooh and Catherine Deneuve – she loved Catherine Deneuve – that was her all time favorite – sorry for the double post -had a memory lapse!
Lots of people loved that one! I never got to smell it.
Well I never! – I have actually read the book on his nightstand – LEcume des Jours by Boris Vian. I am even more minded to investigate his perfumes further…
I haven’t read it either.
It’s an amazing book.
I think L’Ecume is overrated but the Loup Garrou short stories are cool.
Loup Garrou short stories? By Boris Vian? I haven’t heard of them.
Hi, this is my first post – finally I have something to say! My mothers perfume was L’Aimant. I used to steal dabs of the cream when she was out and always wondered how she knew I had been in it as soon as she walked into the room – the magical mystery of perfume as seen by a six year old! Also for years I assumed that the name meant The Lover – disappointed to find it meant The Magnet and so odd for such a polite, ladylike scent.
What a lovely memory! Hope you’ll find more things to say
Hm? It works now… couldn’t log in and see comments before?!
Okay – my mom never had perfume. Nor make-up. Then she got Diors DUNE – which disappeared misteriously in her daughters room
Then she had Chanel No. 5 – from my dad which thinks of it as the best scent ever. And his wife deserves of course just the best. I never liked it, so she could keep it.
My mom used to smell like handcream, that was the only cosmetical stuff she used. Or soap.
Glad she found a perfume you wouldn’t steal
My mom’s all time favourite is Van Cleef & Arpels First. Her new favourites are Comme des Garcons 2 and Tauer Incense Rosé. Trésor and Paris are also regulars on her nightstand. Yep, she’s a bigtime rose lover!
By the way, my mom wears Opium too. And so do I.
Nice that you share one! For years, my Mom & I both wore Paris…
Paris is lovely… that it also one of those perfumes I really associate with my mother.
We share more than one though, we also both have bottles of CdG2 and Jil Sander No. 4.
When I was small, and my mother was in her twenties, she wore Evening in Paris, when she was about 35 she switched to Revlon’s Intimate, and then in her forties, she wore L’heure Bleu. She died of lung cancer when she was in her early fifties, but I still remember her trying to put on some make-up and dabbing on a little fragrance up to about a week before she passed away.
Filomena, I am very sorry that you lost your mom when she was so young. She sounds like a great lady with impeccable taste and spirit.
My mom passed a few years ago now, she was 67 I am so grateful that scent truly lingers in your memory because whenever I smell someone with “her perfume” on it just makes me think of her immediately. It’s really quite lovely.
Thanks for sharing your memory of your mom with us.
Oh and you definitely missed a good one with Catherine Deneuve, Robin. It’s a shame its not distributed any more. I loved it too but because it was “mom’s scent”, I didn’t want to wear it too.
Thank you for you kind comments. I’m sorry for your loss too. Our mothers are irreplaceable, but the memories linger on, as do the scents they wore.
Filomena, so sorry about your loss — that was very young. Do you have any of your Mother’s perfume?
My mother wore L’Interdit and L’air de Temps. L’Interdit was completely ruined in subsequent reformulation, but the most recent version is actually quite good. I also vaguely remember No 5 making appearances on her dresser, but not so often. L’Interdit is the one that reminds me of her.
And have you smelled L’Air du Temps lately? Occurs to me that I assume the new version is not so good, but I’ve never smelled it & never hear anyone talk about it any more.
My mother was a soap-and-water, no-makeup kinda gal, but she did have a bottle of Diorissimo that she busted out for special occasions. She also had a humongous bottle of Ma Griffe in her bathroom closet, but that was never opened (probably a good thing, since she was decidedly NOT a Ma Griffe kinda gal!).
LOL — wonder where that Ma Griffe came from? A bad gift?
I’ve wondered that too — definitely not my father. Perhaps a torrid affair… not! Actually I think it must have been her MIL, my impossibly chic grandma.
My mother wore Youth Due and Paloma Picasso, both of which smell amazing on her, but when I wore them gave me a pounding headache. I recently tried both to see if now they would be good for me. But, nope…they’re still a no go.
You might still grow into them one day!
My mother wore L’air du temps for years. I also remember her having a bottle of Rive Gauche; when I smelled it again recently, it didn’t smell at all like her bottle. A French exchange student brought her a bottle of Diorella once, which I snuck on occasion.
The other women in my life I also recall through their perfumes: one of my aunts wore White Linen, another wore Giorgio. The first time I smelled Fracas, I thought at once of an old friend of my mother’s; that must have been her scent! It always makes me think of a certain kind of genteel Steel Magnolia of the South.
Rive Gauche has changed to the point where I hardly recognize it
Hi Everyone,
I’ve been reading this blog for some time, but this is my first post. My mother hasn’t worn perfume in years. However, when I was a child, I remember that she wore “My Sin”. This discussion has started me thinking that I should give her a bottle for Mother’s Day. Any suggestions?
You could probably find her some My Sin on ebay. Or you could give her a big grab bag full of samples – perhaps starting with scents that are the same type as My Sin, or have similar notes, so she could pick out a new scent. OR, you could take her sniff-shopping, if you have access to a good perfume shop or department store, and if she likes something in particular, buy her a bottle of something new.
Hi and welcome! That would be a nice gift if you could find a vintage bottle!
This is my first post too. My mother and I are still sharing the same obsession to Sikkim. It was my very first perfume when I was 16-17 – so long time ago. My husband bought re-issued one 3 years ago. It’s nice but it’s not what it was 20 something years ago. Not much leather notes which I liked a lot. And my my 5th one ( and first gift from my husband) was Cabochard. I need to add that my mother bought this one too before she knew that I own it (21 years ago).
Hi Maha! Do you keep an eye out on eBay for vintage Sikkim?
Don’t tell anyone else. LOL
Good luck!
My mom always put on a drop or two of her Chanel No. 5 eau de cologne when she dressed up, so that’s always been “her” scent, to me. Later, as her No. 5 dwindled and money got tight (kids in college!), she wore Coty’s L’effleur. When THAT ran out, she didn’t wear any perfume at all until recently. For her birthday I bought her a mini of No. 5 Eau Premiere and a small bottle of Jo Malone Red
Roses – but the Elizabeth Arden warehouse in town had had a big sale the week before, and she’d already bought herself a bottle of 5th Avenue. I had to send the Jo Malone back… “I have plenty of perfume, honey, I don’t need more…” but she kept the Eau Premiere. Thank goodness!
The grandmother who lived with us loved all things girly, lacy, velvety, beribboned, and decorated – including perfume, though she didn’t really have the money for it. She wore Avon’s Cotillion, which I despised, and some other nasty thing she bought in the 40’s and continued to wear, although it smelled spoiled to me. She gave up perfume when she was in her 80’s, saying that nothing smelled good to her anymore, and I always associate the scent of Nivea cream with her. She’d probably have loved some of the modern, big fruity vanilla gourmand scents, though. She died 3 years ago, and I miss her. Wish I could have spritzed her with some Hanae Mori!
So glad your Mom liked the Eau Premiere! My grandmother wore Jean Nate…probably not so nice as Avon Cotillion…
When I was little my Mom had the black bottle of Joy Parfum on her dresser, and I kind of associate that with her, and she has also given some to me, but I more think of her with certain vetivers. She wore Kiehl’s Vetiver when they had one, back in the 70’s/80’s. Also their Black Narcissus, which she passed on to me and is divine. although the bottle is fairly empty now. She says she had a bottle of Femme she bought in Paris, but I don’t think she wore it much. She finally just got rid of it (urk!!).
Wish Kiehls would bring back more of their old scents — course, they probably wouldn’t smell the same now.
My mom didn’t wear perfume when I was growing up. A few years ago she admitted to me that the only perfume she really loved was Chanel No. 5. I bought a bottle for her that Christmas. I’m pretty sure it was her first bottle of it. Though she never wore perfume, my sister and I both agree that Hermes Hiris just smells like her!
Wow, wish my natural smell was Hiris!
I share my mums obsession with perfume and always buy her a new bottle to try on her birthday, christmas and mothers day. This mothers day she will be receiving a bottle of Samsara- not a new smell for her just one we both love and she has only a small amount left in her bottle.
I cant remember a specific perfume that she has worn more than any other but she does wear Yvresse quite a lot. Not a favorite of mine!!!
That’s sweet that you always buy her a bottle! Hope she’ll be happy to get more Samsara
She did “hint” for a new bottle of Samsara so I know she will like it.
I just hope my son caught the hint I threw at him-he can be vague-and I get a bottle of perfume too. I dont even mind which perfume, as long as he puts some thought into it and it isnt too awful.
LOL — hope your son will step up to the task!
My mother wore Opium too. She also had, among others, Magie Noir, Fidji and Clandestine by Guy Laroche. The last one was my favorite! Some time ago i found a mini on ebay, it’s vintage (the fragrance has been discontinued), but it doesn’t smell as rich and sweet as i remember it.
Funny, lately my mom doesn’t like “all these heavy perfumes the old aunts wear” (her words), so some two years ago i bought her one of L’Eau D’Issey flankers (with green leaves on the bottle), and she loves it. She also wears Petit by Guerlain now.
Lenika, I never smelled Clandestine! Surprised nobody else has used that name for a perfume.
http://www.fragrantica.com/perfume/Guy-Laroche/Clandestine-2687.html
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My mother has only, and vowed only to ever, wear Mitsouku EdT. I’m going to purchase a sample of the Parfum from TPC for Mother’s Day, to see what she thinks of it!!
Oh, will be surprised if she doesn’t like it!
For years and years my mum has worn White Diamonds and even though it’s a bit brassy and obvious it actually smells quite good on her! Just recently though I got a heap of samples from the local chemist (has a limited range) and told her to choose cause I was sick of smelling the same goddam thing on her all the time. She decided that she liked Chanel Allure so I got that for her but oddly enough Allure is my wife’s signature scent so that was all a tad weird!
We both didn’t like the Eau Premiere however, I thought it was a bit ‘thin’ smelling – really light with no presence. I’m surprised it’s selling so well.
Yeah, wife & mother wearing the same perfume is not always good. Have either of them tried the Allure Sensuelle? That one seems very popular too.
My mum’s current signature scent (it has been for quite a few years, actually) is Coco EdP. It suits her like a glove, soft as a kitten’s paw.
I also associate her with Roma, because once, years ago, when I asked her which fragrance was her favourite that’s the one she named. Romantic, fleeting, reminds me of the dusty red city Ferrara rather than Rome.
She’s quite adventurous though, and does try out new things frequently (though not much exploring goes on in niche territory). She came to visit me a few weeks ago and was wearing Iris Nobile EdT, layered with the matching body cream (which I also have, it is paradisiaque).
I should say curious rather than adventurous..
I need to try that body cream!
My mom never wore much perfume.
She did however work at the perfume counter of a department store before getting married. A box of perfumed blotting paper cards (WAAAAAAY before the testing strips of today) found it’s way to our home (she swears that she doesn’t know how!) It was Chantilly by Houbigant (original, not the rereleased Dana version). Those cards were in every drawer of the house and featured a picture the original bottle.
My mother loved two fragrances – No 5 and Nahema. Nothing else would do. I have grown into them as well and the scent memory is very special. I read somewhere that Nahema is to be discontinued? Can anyone confirm this ?