The Tova Collection TSV 03/12/24

My mum had Youth Dew and as a teen I decided to spray it one day. Made my neck itch also it marked light coloured clothes.

merryone said:

Me too, and I was presented with a bottle of Youth Dew when I was a teenager but I never actually got to wear it because the even though the pack was sealed properly the bottle inside was damaged and all the perfume bar a tiny little drop left at the bottom had evaporated. At that age you don't have the confidence to say anything. so I just popped it in the cupboard and sniffed at it wistfully and of course at that age I didn't have enough money to replace it. Having smelled it since, I know it's definitely not to my taste! There are so many perfumes I used to love back in the day Anais Anais, Giorgio of Beverley Hills, Amarige, Ysatis, Obssesion but now to me they smell horrendous. Funnily enough a few years ago I think Superdrug were selling a range of retro perfumes. I was going to an 80's music festival so I picked up a pack of Le Jardin and Le Jardin nuit and surprisingly they had stood the test of time and were still wearable. I've still got a soft spot for Charlie which was pretty much every woman of my age's first perfume.

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I remember saving up my money when I was a teenager to buy a small bottle of Youth Dew. I think it cost about £1 and 10 shillings and I bought it in a Department Store in Eastbourne whilst on holiday.

The Estée Lauder factory is near to where I live. If you were lucky enough to have a friend who worked there they could get you stuff at discount price unofficially. Unfortunately, I didn’t know anyone who worked there.

I must’ve been the only one who hated Charlie. Being stuck in traffic on a packed bus commuting in London and all the world and his wife wearing it. Good job the driver was in a separate cab or he’d pass out with the fumes.

I remember the ads for Charlie, but cannot remember what is smelt like.

Revlon Moondrops, I remember a friend going nuts over it. But I cannot remember what it smelt like.

I used to wear Moondrops, although I can’t remember it. Anyhoo, and this is many years ago, two male ex colleagues of mine met at a do and were discussing previous colleagues. One said do you remember Mazza? And the other one just said Ah, Moondrops by Revlon!!!

In 1986 I was working for Boots. Poison was the latest popular perfume, the whole store stank to high heaven with the stuff! Everyone seemed to be wearing it, and the perfume counter was enveloped in a Poison cloud. I was pregnant at the time, and the smell really made me feel quite ill. I remember going out for a meal, the waitress serving us was drenched in it, and I had to leave the restaurant!

Clothescloth said:

In 1986 I was working for Boots. Poison was the latest popular perfume, the whole store stank to high heaven with the stuff! Everyone seemed to be wearing it, and the perfume counter was enveloped in a Poison cloud. I was pregnant at the time, and the smell really made me feel quite ill. I remember going out for a meal, the waitress serving us was drenched in it, and I had to leave the restaurant!

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I did like the smell of poison but it reacted on my skin - and smelt like cat p*ss

There was a perfume, sorry, cannot remember the name now. I smelt it in the street a lot and liked so in town with a friend went into Superdrug to try, this was early to mid 00s. Sprayed it on myself, and it smelt rank, even my friend said that is bloody awful on you.

When I worked in the passport office back in the early 90s. A woman drowned herself in Calvin Klein Escape, no fun sitting across from her. She had family in the US and her mum went over every few months and must have brought Escape back by the gallon for her daughter.

Then there was Guerlain Samsara, I bought when it was released loved it then again passport office young woman sitting across from me wore it every day. I just grew to hate Samsara and had to give my bottle away. If someone out and about was wearing it, I could spot it on a busy street.

When Chanel released Coco in the 80s I remember going around counters and getting free samples. Chanel were very generous with them, I mean 5mls EDP in the mini bottle and even the parfum as well. I bet people could smell me coming for miles away. But that was the era of the big powerhouse perfumes. Poison, Coco and Opium. I did wear the latter and even got my bottle in 1980 in France.

It just shows from your comments how intrusive our choice of perfume can be to others! I have bottles which are kept in a dark box, goodness knows what they are like.If I do wear some perfume it is something very light like Clarins Eau Dynamisante.I have been to Japan & they are careful when they wear perfume so not to offend anyone else, but hey I am back in Britain & didn’t I know it!

My first perfume was L'air du temps when I was a young teenager. There was also another perfume my parents bought me which was called Fiji and later on I also had Chanel n.5 and n.19. I did have Charlie, Smitty and something in a green bottle by Faberge (Aphrodisia??) when everyone else was wearing the perfume from them that came in a yellow bottle - Kiku?

Also loved Opium and the Calvin Kleins; Obsession, Eternity and Euphoria but didn't go down the Giorgio of Beverley hills route though I loved it on other people. Also liked Angel and Alien and had a bottle of Black Orchid (Tom Ford?).

Now I try to find perfumes that are not available everywhere and have just finished my second bottle of Made in Heaven by a company called A Lab on Fire but I think it's discontinued now, so am going through some samples from a company called Byredo.

I didn't realise how many I've gone through and there are more that i can't remember the names of.

Silver Fox said:

It just shows from your comments how intrusive our choice of perfume can be to others! I have bottles which are kept in a dark box, goodness knows what they are like.If I do wear some perfume it is something very light like Clarins Eau Dynamisante.I have been to Japan & they are careful when they wear perfume so not to offend anyone else, but hey I am back in Britain & didn’t I know it!

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I seem to remember reading some restaurants in Beverly Hills banned the Giorgio perfume,yellow packaging, due to the overpowering smell.
I did have some but didn't like the smell.

My late aunt used to wear Poison. It was ghastly and very “clawing” and you could smell her coming at 100 paces. Mum used to open all the windows when she went home to get rid of the smell/pong and that was absolutely wonderful in the middle of winter - not.

My first perfume was Coty Wild Musk, the oil version. I saved my pocket money and bought it in Boots.

When I started work, I bought Femme by Rochas. I was able to get a vintage bottle from eBay a few years back. They reformulated it back it 1989 and it was not the same. Then I discovered the classic Guerlains, Shalimar, Mitsouko, L'Heure Bleue, Jicky, Vol de Nuit and Apres L'Ondee.

Almerinda said:

My first perfume was L'air du temps when I was a young teenager. There was also another perfume my parents bought me which was called Fiji and later on I also had Chanel n.5 and n.19. I did have Charlie, Smitty and something in a green bottle by Faberge (Aphrodisia??) when everyone else was wearing the perfume from them that came in a yellow bottle - Kiku?

Also loved Opium and the Calvin Kleins; Obsession, Eternity and Euphoria but didn't go down the Giorgio of Beverley hills route though I loved it on other people. Also liked Angel and Alien and had a bottle of Black Orchid (Tom Ford?).

Now I try to find perfumes that are not available everywhere and have just finished my second bottle of Made in Heaven by a company called A Lab on Fire but I think it's discontinued now, so am going through some samples from a company called Byredo.

I didn't realise how many I've gone through and there are more that i can't remember the names of.

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I'm sure you will love Byredo perfumes, not cheap but beautiful scents. ( I love Gypsy Water). They give you two free perfume samples with each order too. Their Suede handwash is divine, lasts forever as you only need half a pump. No comparison to Molton Brown imo.

donna255 said:

My first perfume was Coty Wild Musk, the oil version. I saved my pocket money and bought it in Boots.

When I started work, I bought Femme by Rochas. I was able to get a vintage bottle from eBay a few years back. They reformulated it back it 1989 and it was not the same. Then I discovered the classic Guerlains, Shalimar, Mitsouko, L'Heure Bleue, Jicky, Vol de Nuit and Apres L'Ondee.

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donna255 said:

My first perfume was Coty Wild Musk, the oil version. I saved my pocket money and bought it in Boots.

When I started work, I bought Femme by Rochas. I was able to get a vintage bottle from eBay a few years back. They reformulated it back it 1989 and it was not the same. Then I discovered the classic Guerlains, Shalimar, Mitsouko, L'Heure Bleue, Jicky, Vol de Nuit and Apres L'Ondee.

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Wow they sound wonderful

I tried a squirt of Marc Jacobs Daisy a couple of years ago in our local Boots. Oh gosh I wish I hadn’t. Fortunately it was one of our regular drivers in the taxi home. Had to explain why I smelt like I was covered in cat’s pee and we’d need the windows wide open on the way home. Journey home takes about 5 minutes and don’t think I stank the taxi out. Clothes straight in washing machine and me in the shower for a good scrub to get rid of the stench.

Revlon’s Intimate and Max Factor Hypnotique had the same effect.

donna255 said:

My first perfume was Coty Wild Musk, the oil version. I saved my pocket money and bought it in Boots.

When I started work, I bought Femme by Rochas. I was able to get a vintage bottle from eBay a few years back. They reformulated it back it 1989 and it was not the same. Then I discovered the classic Guerlains, Shalimar, Mitsouko, L'Heure Bleue, Jicky, Vol de Nuit and Apres L'Ondee.

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Femme, in the black lace patterned box! I loved it and wore it for years! My sister in law wore Mitsouko.

I like many on perfume formulas, test new perfumes with caution. Always spray on the spill or card, then walk around for 10 mins plus before deciding it is safe to try on the skin. The worry if just spraying straight away is you get a scrubber. Yes, the scrubber is one you spray on yourself, and it is bad, really bad. You try to wash it off, and it refuses to go, and it hangs on you for at least 2 to 3 hand washes with plenty of soap.

The other week I tried the new Hermes sprayed the card it smelt lovely, went back to try on the back of my hand. It wasn't awful, not as nice as on my skin walked away.

I wish they would bring back Dolce & Gabanna in the red bottle, that was gorgeous.

I don't like LE perfumes.

I got my Shay & Blue fragrance club spray yesterday. Chose the Violet Tabac this month. Thought it might be a “heavy” scent like MB Tobacco Absolut. It’s not it’s a floral powdery scent. Really like it as it’s similar to a Lolita Lempicka perfume I used to wear.

donna255 said:

I like many on perfume formulas, test new perfumes with caution. Always spray on the spill or card, then walk around for 10 mins plus before deciding it is safe to try on the skin. The worry if just spraying straight away is you get a scrubber. Yes, the scrubber is one you spray on yourself, and it is bad, really bad. You try to wash it off, and it refuses to go, and it hangs on you for at least 2 to 3 hand washes with plenty of soap.

The other week I tried the new Hermes sprayed the card it smelt lovely, went back to try on the back of my hand. It wasn't awful, not as nice as on my skin walked away.

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I have a bottle of Hermes Au Jardin sur le Nil. On me it's different to most scents I've got and had. I didn't think it would last on me as it is quite a light scent but it does, I also like the Sunna Musk oils.