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Giorgio Beverly Hills Red ~ fragrance review

Posted by Angela on 10 August 2010 183 Comments

Giorgio Beverly Hills RedGiorgio Beverly Hills RedGiorgio Beverly Hills RedGiorgio Beverly Hills RedGiorgio Beverly Hills Red

Along with the usual suspects — Tabu, Old Spice, Jean Naté — drugstores in the United States these days seem to carry a few fragrances also found in department stores. In the drugstores I visited, they're an odd collection. In the Rite Aid downtown, I found minis of Britney Spears Curious and Calvin Klein Escape, but also a 50 ml bottle of Christian Dior Dune Eau de Toilette for $35. I thought Dior had tightened up its supply outlets. What is Dune doing in a store known for its deals on multipacks of Pringles? In my neighborhood Walgreens, Guerlain Shalimar sits next to Elizabeth Taylor White Diamonds and Coty Emeraude. Shalimar? For real? How did that happen?

Continuing this week of drugstore fragrances, I picked up a mini of department store fragrance I'd never tried: Giorgio Beverly Hills Red "extraordinary Eau de Toilette spray." It seemed emblematic of some of the other mid-level perfumes I saw at drugstores in that it was an old favorite that still had a following but didn't have enough cachet to regain its lost seat at Nordstrom.

Giorgio Red was created by perfumer Bob Aliano and launched in 1989. Jan Moran in Fabulous Fragrances lists its top notes as osmanthus, ylang ylang, orange blossom, peach, bergamot, spices, cassie, tagetes (marigold), hyacinth, cardamom, aldehydes; its heart as jasmine, carnation, Bulgarian rose, marigold, May rose, gardenia, tuberose, orris, lily of the valley; and its base as amber, musk, patchouli, sandalwood, oakmoss, vetiver, tonka bean, cedarwood, vanilla, and labdanum. Jan Moran adds that "each drop contains a blend of 692 ingredients." Whew! I need a from the nap from just thinking about all those notes.

Giorgio Red is yet another horse in the 1980s race of gigantic oriental perfumes kicked off by Yves Saint Laurent Opium. On first sniff, I thought of a combination of Estée Lauder Cinnabar and Dolce Gabbana (the one with the red cap.) I smell cinnamon, labdanum, amber, clove, sweet wood, and musk. Giorgio Red is aldehydic, but has barely enough lift to get its spice-laden derriere off the ground. Like Cinnabar, it is a rounded whole without many surprises.

But unlike Cinnabar, which is as ageless as velvet and tapestry, Red feels dated. Red screams for an Ungaro blazer in lime green, large houndstooth. It wants shiny lips and sheer black panty hose. It wouldn't mind Duran Duran playing in the background, and it has a framed Nagel poster in its hallway. Giorgio Red is also loud. If you seek its comforting, warm spices — and I surely understand if you do — take care to put on just a tiny bit at first or you will be the one who inspires your office's policy banning perfume.

Red's day in the sun was short. The soon-to-be coolest kid on the block, the lean, aquatic Calvin Klein Escape, was just two years off and a world away in terms of style. Still, Giorgio Red can be had for a song (my .33 ounce bottle was $4.50), and its predictable spicy, chewy, aldehydic scent makes a cheap and easy pleasure.

My guess is that many Now Smell This readers, after sniffing their way through scores of sample vials, will pass up Red as a sort of Yankee Candle of the oriental perfume world. But it wouldn't hurt to have a mini in your glove compartment if the dog does something unfortunate in the car on the way to the vet. And for the many people who don't know Serge Lutens from the Jolly Green Giant, Red is a lovely, easy, delicious (and inexpensive) perfume.

Possibly of interest

Cra-yon Art Life, Snif Natural Talent & Maison Millais New York Nostalgia ~ short fragrance reviews
Quick Sniff / Cheap Thrill ~ Fragonard Bigarade Jasmin fragrance review
Fragonard Verveine ~ fragrance review

Filed Under: perfume talk
Tagged With: cheap thrills, giorgio beverly hills

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183 Comments

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  1. maggiecat says:
    10 August 2010 at 12:52 pm

    Oh gracious. This was one of my first great perfume loves. I sniffed a magazine strip, fell in love, and hunted it down. I was a broke single mom, but didn’t even care about the cost – and it remained on my birthday/Christmas lists for years. It was my signature scent for a long, long time, and the one by which most people recognized me. I wonder if I’d even like it now? Thanks for the memories!

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    • Angela says:
      10 August 2010 at 1:42 pm

      I’d love to know what you thought if you smelled it now! I can totally imagine being smitten with it. It’s easy to like. But it’s also easy to get bored with once you’ve smelled things more complex.

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      • Joe says:
        10 August 2010 at 6:46 pm

        Angela, it’s funny how you write “something more complex” considering the list of ingredients seems to make this a real Kitchen Sink Perfume! But I know what you mean — number of aromachemicals doesn’t equal complexity.

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        • Angela says:
          10 August 2010 at 7:50 pm

          I had that thought, too, after I pressed “enter”, but really it doesn’t smell very complex to me!

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    • Daisy says:
      10 August 2010 at 1:59 pm

      I’m really hesitant to go back and sniff those old teenage to college and beyond loves—-I have memories of feeling like I smelled great, being told I smelled great….what if I revisited Ralph Lauren or Liz Claiborne and GAGGED! Would my memories be tainted? tough decisions….

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      • SmokeyToes says:
        10 August 2010 at 4:07 pm

        Yes Daisy, some things are best left as originally remembered. But then there are great loves such as Safari in it’s original formulation that can be revisited again and again-and the deep love is still there.

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        • Daisy says:
          10 August 2010 at 4:20 pm

          I should find an old bottle of Rive Gauche….I wore that thru the mid 80’s while everyone else was wearing Opium.

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          • RusticDove says:
            10 August 2010 at 4:31 pm

            Gosh – I go all the way back to the 70’s with Rive Gauche. The packaging seems so ahead of it’s time, doesn’t it?

          • Daisy says:
            10 August 2010 at 5:11 pm

            yes, Rive Gauche was so different from everything else at the time…made me feel pretty darn sophisticated for an 18 yr old! I discovered it thru a girl in my dorm who was a “mature senior” , as well as beautiful and she sang Opera for goodness sake! And she smelled fabulous….I was pretty much in awe of her all year. No sooner had she graduated than I dashed out and bought my first bottle of Rive Gauche (I couldn’t in good conscience ‘steal’ her signature fragrance while she still was at school, right?) By the beginning of sophomore year it was MY signature fragrance! Ha!

        • Angela says:
          10 August 2010 at 7:51 pm

          Safari–another one by Ralph Lauren.

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      • Angela says:
        10 August 2010 at 7:51 pm

        Oh Daisy, Lauren is still nice, right? I hope so! I haven’t smelled it in a long time, though.

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        • mals86 says:
          10 August 2010 at 7:59 pm

          Reformulation City, babe.

          Luckily, I snagged an old partial bottle on teh bay for about $5, and it smells wonderful.

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          • Daisy says:
            10 August 2010 at 8:01 pm

            awww, reformulated? rats.
            I’ll have to zip over to evilbay to see if I can find any of the old stuff.

          • Daisy says:
            10 August 2010 at 8:02 pm

            oh, forgot to say—isn’t that dark red chunk of glass bottle just wonderful? love it.

          • Angela says:
            11 August 2010 at 2:49 pm

            Boo hoo for Lauren, but I’m glad there’s still some of the good stuff out there.

  2. miss kitty v. says:
    10 August 2010 at 12:54 pm

    Spice-laden derriere is right. I had a bottle of this when I was in high school, and even I, the Queen of the Massive Teenage Sillage, was overwhelmed by it. My aunt bought it for me, and when I wore it around her she turned her nose up at me and asked why I wasn’t wearing “that lovely light perfume” she got me. She then argued that it couldn’t be the same thing, and I was the one who had it all wrong. (She is not the most pleasant person.) In spite of it being a bit much on me, I really did like it, although I ended up giving it to a friend. I wonder what I would think of it now.

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    • Angela says:
      10 August 2010 at 1:44 pm

      What a story! Too bad about your aunt–I always think of aunts as supposing to be like Auntie Mame (the aunt I aspire to, personally.) If you do smell it again, I’d love to know what you think!

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      • miss kitty v. says:
        10 August 2010 at 1:57 pm

        Well, my aunts (both of them) are eccentric, so they have that going for them. And the unpleasant one did at least share my love of perfume, and always bought me a bottle for Christmas. (Back when I was on better terms with her, and she still sent me gifts.) Every now and then I toy with finding vintage L’Air de Temps and Coty L’aimant for her, since those used to be her favorites that I would buy for her. But I’m sure she’d be appalled that I bought her something “old.” 🙂

        B. and I were going to watch Auntie Mame on Sunday, but decided to watch Grey Gardens instead. Now that I think about it, both are about offbeat women, although I’d want to be Mame, and not either of the Edie’s.

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        • LaMaroc says:
          10 August 2010 at 2:48 pm

          Miss Kitty, did you watch the original Grey Gardens documentary or the newer biopic with Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange? I have seen the latter, so I’m curious to know what it was like, how it compared. I’ve seen the doc. numerous times. Love it, but sometimes the Edies’ relationship comes too close to resembling my sister and I!

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          • LaMaroc says:
            10 August 2010 at 2:49 pm

            Sorry – mean’t to say I “haven’t” seen the one with Drew & Jessica.

          • miss kitty v. says:
            10 August 2010 at 4:16 pm

            We watched the movie, and it’s been years and years since I last saw the documentary. My memory is therefore hazy, but I would say the filmmakers did a really good job. I was amazed at how much Drew Barrymore managed to not be Drew Barrymore. She didn’t look exactly like Little Edie, but she had the mannerisms and the voice down. It covers the time before and after the documentary was made, so it fills in a lot of gaps and gives you a better idea of where they both came from.

            I need to watch the documentary again, and it actually just came in at the library for me. It was hard for me to watch because I just felt so bad for them. (And ok, I worry that’s going to be me and my mom someday.)

          • Jillie says:
            11 August 2010 at 2:55 am

            LaMaroc – I saw both the documentary and the movie in one sitting! Thought that the film was actually an amazing recreation of the documentary, perhaps so true a copy that it was almost superfluous in a way, except that, as Miss Kittie says, you understand more about why they ended up as they they did. Again like Miss K says, I reckon that my mother and I could have turned out that way, but for the grace of God! I don’t think I would ever want to see either film or documentary again, as they were both heart-breaking, but I am glad I have seen them once and am full of admiration for Drew’s and Jessica’s performances.

        • Angela says:
          10 August 2010 at 7:53 pm

          Miss K, I wonder what Auntie Mame would have thought of the Beales? I have a feeling they’d have lots in common.

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          • miss kitty v. says:
            11 August 2010 at 7:03 pm

            I wonder what perfume they would have worn. 🙂 I feel like Mame would have been Mitsouko, but can’t pin down Edie and Edie.

        • LaMaroc says:
          10 August 2010 at 10:20 pm

          Good, I’ll rent it then. I was most worried about Drew Barrymore. She is very “Drew” in everything else I’ve seen her in. It is kind of a sad, painful story, but then they also seemed to be enjoying themselves in their delusions too, so I loved that, and the fact that they were probably pissing off all of their snooty neighbors. lol

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      • Rappleyea says:
        10 August 2010 at 4:04 pm

        Auntie Mame is in my DVD player right now! I watched a bit of it at lunch. It was the very first play I ever saw on B’way years and years ago.

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        • Angela says:
          10 August 2010 at 7:53 pm

          I hope it’s the Rosalind Russell version (my favorite)!

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          • mals86 says:
            10 August 2010 at 7:57 pm

            I’m putting that on my Netflix now.

            I think I’ve sung all the hit songs from Mame at one time or another (my HS choir director was a huge Broadway fan), but I’ve never actually seen either the production or a movie version.

          • Rappleyea says:
            10 August 2010 at 9:30 pm

            Of course! 😉

          • Rappleyea says:
            10 August 2010 at 9:31 pm

            Mals – definitely watch the Rosalind Russell movie that Angela referred to. It’s a classic!

    • Joe says:
      10 August 2010 at 5:30 pm

      Love the story about the aunt mentioning the “lovely, light perfume.” HA. And I really do need to see ANY of the Grey Gardens!

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      • Angela says:
        10 August 2010 at 7:54 pm

        I think seeing the documentary first is the best way to go. Love that movie.

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  3. elise says:
    10 August 2010 at 1:15 pm

    I JUST asked a woman at Bingo (I work the money room at bingo for my kids’ school) what lovely perfume she was wearing! Giorgio Red! It is lovely when she walks by and smells much more expensive than it really is! I was surprised!

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    • Angela says:
      10 August 2010 at 1:45 pm

      Perfect!

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  4. Bear says:
    10 August 2010 at 1:15 pm

    This fragrance always reminded me of EA Red Door, nice but always talking too loudly. Plus, no can do osmanthus – like a big punch in the nose.
    A quick aside, if I don’t comment for a few days, I get logged off even though my password is saved. Does this happen to anyone else?

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    • Angela says:
      10 August 2010 at 1:46 pm

      I haven’t smelled Red Door in years.

      It logs me out from time to time, too. I’m not sure what that’s about. I use Safari–I wonder if that’s it?

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    • Daisy says:
      10 August 2010 at 1:55 pm

      I use Safari too…and I get logged out at the weirdest times. Doesn’t seem to be related to gaps in commenting as sometimes I’ve commented only moments before…reading, go to respond and suddenly I get: “log in to comment”! Might not happen for weeks….then happens a couple times in a day or two. It’s weird.

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      • boojum says:
        10 August 2010 at 2:05 pm

        I use IE at work and Firefox at home… so it’s not a browser thing.

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        • Julia says:
          10 August 2010 at 4:03 pm

          Me, too. I think it has something to do with logging on to the same account via multiple computers. I also log on with my blackberry sometimes when I’m out and then it logs me off on one of the computers. Maybe?

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          • boojum says:
            10 August 2010 at 5:04 pm

            That was my first thought, but then I noticed that I’ll be logged in at home, on the weekend, and then I’ll refresh the screen or something and be logged out. No matter, my sn and pw are pretty easy for me to remember.

          • 50_Roses says:
            10 August 2010 at 8:02 pm

            It isn’t a multiple computer issue–I have only one computer at home, no Blackberry or iPhone or whatnot, and I don’t log in to this site at work or anywhere except home, yet I also get logged out randomly sometimes.

    • Tamara says:
      10 August 2010 at 2:01 pm

      Hi Bear, just wanted to say that yes it does happen to me too and it’s really annoying to have to get a new password through my email and such. I even tried to change it to a easier password, one I could remember instead of letters and numbers but it messed with that too. I practically panicked at not being able to log on here. 😛 ha

      And I guess I am not sophistcated enough to appreciate these 80’s drama queens Angela because I can’t even put them to my skin much less huff them. Just not my thing I suppose. My Aunt Sonia wore these heavy hitters with so much flair when I was young, I always think of them as hers alone -especially Giorgio!

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      • Angela says:
        10 August 2010 at 7:56 pm

        T, that just might work to your advantage! I bet you smell subtle–and marvelous.

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    • ScentScelf says:
      10 August 2010 at 2:24 pm

      Just had to log in to reply, LOL.

      I’m using Safari; anytime I shut down completely, I have to re-log in. (I am the queen of not fully closing down, just going to sleep, and the Reigning Poobah of the Universe when it comes to having oodles of windows open at a time. Which OS-X doesn’t like. Hence, I am rather crash-prone around here. Darn video and flash apps.)

      Were we talking about Red?

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      • Bear says:
        10 August 2010 at 2:35 pm

        Thanks everyone for the responses. I use Internet Explorer, just glad to see I’m not alone in the purty-smellin’ boat.

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      • boojum says:
        10 August 2010 at 5:06 pm

        I only shut down when I crash… oops. This past week, that’s been often. Think my laptop is telling me something… like, get a new one. 🙁

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        • ScentScelf says:
          10 August 2010 at 5:11 pm

          This is going to be like one of those “choose your path” novels. Choose…

          PATH 1: I am an enabler
          My response: But of course! Silly old laptop, doing its best to creak along, but just not ever going to perform as well, only going to get worse as more updates come along.

          PATH 2: I encourage reusing
          My response: Oh, but it could just be clutter, especially in working memory. (Just like my own brain, lol.) Extra cookies and such could be slowing things down to the point your system says “pfffft,” and enforces a time out.

          Pick whichever one makes you happy / makes you like me. 😉

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        • mals86 says:
          10 August 2010 at 5:35 pm

          E – throwing advice at you: back up EVERYTHING. NOW.

          Just last week, my sister called me in tears because her Mac had been cranky and slow for several days, and just after she called the only Mac computer guys in town to schedule a checkup, her hard drive died… along with “only copy” photos and video and certain tax documents. She’s in a world o’ hurt at the moment.

          It did not help for me to remind her that *I* don’t have videos of *my* adorable children as babies, either. But that’s my Big Sister failing, to disagree with her plaint that her life is the most wretched, horrible, disastrous thing ever, and all the bad stuff happens to HER.

          (Digression. Sorry.)

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          • ScentScelf says:
            10 August 2010 at 6:08 pm

            Oh, good heavens; you are right, of course. Excellent advice. Worthy digression.

            Here, let’s bring it around; back up now, in order to avoid being RED in the face later…

            🙂

          • Joe says:
            10 August 2010 at 6:53 pm

            Mals: Unless that hard drive’s really fried (and I mean, literally fried/smoking/melted), a computer professional should be able to recover your sister’s data files off of the disk. Encourage or help her to look around for a good service for that.

          • mals86 says:
            10 August 2010 at 7:55 pm

            Thanks, Joe – the Mac guy told her the hard drive was recoverable… for about $900. Which she doesn’t have. (And I love her, but I’m not shellin’ out them kinda bucks for her ‘puter. At least now she’s not making fun of me for owning a dinosaur PC…)

          • Angela says:
            10 August 2010 at 7:57 pm

            Time Machine, sisters. That’s all I have to say. That and a roomy external hard drive.

          • Daisy says:
            10 August 2010 at 9:22 pm

            $900 to recover her stuff? That’s robbery.
            she should hang on to that hard drive—all she needs is a nice computer geek who is willing to retrieve her stuff for a fee. might want to swing by a best buy or something some day and chat up some of the resident techies…mention that she has this fried hard drive that she’d be willing to pay someone a couple hundred bucks to get the files off of….

          • Jillie says:
            11 August 2010 at 3:08 am

            I was about to tell you about going to a geek or nerd, then saw that Daisy has already done so! When our computer died we were told by a huge company that sells/fixes pcs that it would cost us £1,000 to get a small amount recovered by a “specialist” firm. A friend told us about a little workshop run by two geeks (like the ones in Buffy?), who not only loved their work but retrieved everything for us for £30! So tell her to ask around – there must be some chaps there who do this.

    • LaMaroc says:
      10 August 2010 at 2:57 pm

      I used to wear Red Door when I smoked Marlboro Reds in high school. I don’t know what the “red” thing was, but I know I could only tolerate that perfume because I’d deadened my senses with cigarettes, so I had no idea the monster sillage that was roiling in my wake. (I think the only reason I was tolerable was that everyone else I knew smoked, too!) I smell Red Door now and whether freshly sprayed or hours into the drydown, it is nauseating to me.

      Giorgio Red, on the other hand, I still kind of like. It’s more spicy/incensey but I’ll agree with Angla that Cinnabar is far more better. The company Parfums de Couer still produces a version of Giorgio Red that I used to buy when I was too poor to buy Cinnabar. I don’t remember the name but they also had their own version of Opium that I believe was called “Samurai”? lol I bought that when I needed cheap thrill/car air freshener, too.

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      • Bear says:
        10 August 2010 at 3:30 pm

        I love Tabu, a really tremendous and underappreciated perfume, that smells even more fantastic with cigarette smoke. Fortunately, nobody I know smokes, but I will always be reminded of Aunt Evelyn with her Chesterfields (!!!!! unfiltered!!!!) and Tabu!

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        • LaMaroc says:
          10 August 2010 at 4:02 pm

          Unfiltered! Yowza – I haven’t seen anyone smoke unfiltered cigarettes since the last time I was in Europe! That’s hardcore.

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        • Angela says:
          10 August 2010 at 7:59 pm

          I know a drag queen who wears Tabu exclusively, and it suits her perfectly!

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      • Angela says:
        10 August 2010 at 7:58 pm

        LaM, you’re making me think it would be a fun game to take all the names of dupes and see if people could match them to their real counterparts! Samurai=Opium? I’m not sure I would have got that straight off.

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        • LaMaroc says:
          10 August 2010 at 10:10 pm

          Lol! I know, I have a hard time remembering them. I can’t even remember the Red knock off and they still carry it in the stores! Now I’m questioning “Samurai” but I know it had some Japanese connotation. Kabuki? Geisha? Parfums de Couer still makes “Fairchild” apparently, which is the Oscar knockoff. I guessed wrong, I thought it was Vanderbilt. But then Vanderbilt was about as cheap as the knockoff so that’s kind of redundant! 😛

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          • AmyT says:
            10 August 2010 at 10:25 pm

            It was Ninja. 😉

          • LaMaroc says:
            11 August 2010 at 10:24 am

            LOL! Yes, that was it! Thanks, AmyT. It was driving me crazy.

    • lilydale aka Natalie says:
      10 August 2010 at 6:41 pm

      I’m the last person in the world to give anyone computer advice, but I *think* this has something to do with cookies — the various Web sites you visit send cookies to your computer so it will remember the site the next time and not take so long to load, but eventually they expire, and you have to log in again. Please take this with a big huge grain of fleur de sel, however, as I know next to nothing about computers!

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  5. JeninDC says:
    10 August 2010 at 1:18 pm

    This was my signature scent in high school and a great deal of college. My high school boyfriend LOVED it. I definitely don’t care for it now but it does bring back a bit of nostalgia whenever I sniff it.

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    • Angela says:
      10 August 2010 at 1:46 pm

      It’s easy to love! I understand that. I also think it’s easy to get tired of.

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  6. Tiara says:
    10 August 2010 at 1:23 pm

    I really gotta get back to my local Walgreen’s….while not a Red fan, I am now wondering what I’m missing in their fragrance case!

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    • Thanna says:
      10 August 2010 at 1:29 pm

      And they have a BOGO this week.

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      • Angela says:
        10 August 2010 at 1:47 pm

        I’ll have to look up BOGO (perils of not being a texter–I don’t know half these acronyms.)

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        • miss kitty v. says:
          10 August 2010 at 1:52 pm

          Buy One, Get One (free). I used to be a big Payless Shoes shopper, and that was their big thing. So I know all about BOGO.

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          • Angela says:
            10 August 2010 at 8:00 pm

            Thanks!

    • Angela says:
      10 August 2010 at 1:46 pm

      Check it out! You never know. I’m toying with going back for Dune.

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      • AnnS says:
        10 August 2010 at 2:20 pm

        They have Dune at all the drug stores around here, and even a few bottles of the disc Ralph Lauren Turquoise which I am always so tempted to buy. I used to wear Dune, but I’m not sure if i want to go back….

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        • Angela says:
          10 August 2010 at 8:01 pm

          It’s so strange to me that Dune is the Dior they picked up.

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      • SuddenlyInexplicably says:
        10 August 2010 at 4:09 pm

        If you want a partial bottle of vintage Dune, I’ve got a bottle that needs a new home. Email me at: nina at wanderingmind dot com

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        • AnnS says:
          10 August 2010 at 4:49 pm

          Wow – OK – we’ll have to swap then!

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        • Angela says:
          10 August 2010 at 8:02 pm

          In the off chance that comment was directed at me, I’ll shoot you an email and we can negotiate!

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  7. sweetlife (ahtx) says:
    10 August 2010 at 1:56 pm

    Well, hey, you know we’re in the middle of a big 80’s revival right? I’ve seen Fidji mentioned several times on the fashion blogs I follow. Giorgio can’t be that far behind. Maybe. (But I’m voting for Fidji.)

    Dune and Shalimar have been at my drugstores for ages. Right next to Oscar de La Renta, Nina Ricci, Grey Stetson, and many other former greatest hits…

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    • Julia says:
      10 August 2010 at 4:08 pm

      Yeah, mine also has things like Kenzo Amour, L’eau D’Issey, Angel, the Poisons, etc. Future greatest hits?

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      • Angela says:
        10 August 2010 at 8:05 pm

        Nice drugstore! I’m kind of nostalgic for the olden days of cheap soliflores and chestnuts like Sand & Sable.

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        • Rappleyea says:
          10 August 2010 at 9:35 pm

          And Woodhue! That was always my favorite. It would probably be too expensive to produce now even in niche!

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          • Angela says:
            11 August 2010 at 2:52 pm

            I have a sample of that, and I love it. I’m always keeping an eye out for it at thrift stores, but so far Tigress shows up a lot more often.

    • Angela says:
      10 August 2010 at 8:04 pm

      A, I think I’ve been underestimating drugstore perfume offerings. I went to three drugstores today in search of the fragrance to do for Friday (finally ended up with Babe) and I had a hard time finding all the cheap oldies but goodies I wanted!

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      • Joe says:
        11 August 2010 at 2:46 am

        I was crossing fingers that you’d do Ciara sometime…

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        • Angela says:
          11 August 2010 at 2:53 pm

          O.K., well that seals it! I’m definitely doing Ciara soon.

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  8. rosarita says:
    10 August 2010 at 2:02 pm

    Loving this series, Angela!

    The 80s were My Time, and I have the pink & black striped mini and lightening bolt earrings to prove it. That being said, even I couldn’t handle Giorgio, the original in the yellow and white box. A friend’s mother wore it at that time and I couldn’t handle how heavy her perfume was. So, I’ve never given a second thought to Giorgio flankers but this doesn’t sound awful in small doses, altho I’m not interested; after all, I keep a mini of Obsession on hand, ha! I really like it, too, just a spritz on a winter scarf is great on a very cold day.

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    • Angela says:
      10 August 2010 at 8:07 pm

      I think sweetlife was right above, and we are definitely experiencing a return to the ’80s–at least a little bit. There was good ’80s for sure, but there sure was a lot of bad ’80s. Giant prints, blinding colors, wicked eye shadow? Not for me.

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  9. platinum14 says:
    10 August 2010 at 2:15 pm

    Ah! The 80’….
    I used to be an avid reader of Town & Country mag. Among all the glamour, adverts for Red–and testing strips–felt so glamourous and so far removed from the poor, kd eating, student life I was living….

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    • Angela says:
      10 August 2010 at 8:08 pm

      I have a superstition that Town & Country has the most accurate horoscopes. Now I’ll have to scope out the scent strips while I sneak a peek at Aries.

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  10. AnnS says:
    10 August 2010 at 2:23 pm

    Angi – your vintage/classic reviews this year have all been like a walk down memory lane! Now all you need to do is a review of the original Salvador Dali and Deneuve and my fragrance memory circle will be complete!

    My older sister used to wear Red for many many years when we were in our early 20s, so it is a fragrance I associate with her. About 9 years ago she off-loaded a half used bottle that I took. I tried wearing it, but it not only made me think that I smelled like my sister, but it also couldn’t compete with my first major oriental love, Coco. So I gave to to the Salvation Army. But it really is one of the old powerhouse fragrances. It is fun to remember.

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    • Angela says:
      10 August 2010 at 8:09 pm

      I haven’t smelled Deneuve for ages and ages, but I remember liking that one!

      I bet someone got that bottle of Red you gave away and is loving it. So you can feel good you’ve done something good for the world.

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    • miss kitty v. says:
      10 August 2010 at 11:32 pm

      I am still kicking myself for giving away my bottles of Deneuve and Dali. This was back in the day when I would get rid of some bottles if I got over ten, so I could give myself permission to buy more. My, how that’s changed. And now I want all my old bottles back. (Even if I’m pretty sure that my bottle of Deneuve had turned.)

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      • Angela says:
        11 August 2010 at 2:55 pm

        Argh! Well, let’s just assume the Deneuve was completely fried, unsalvageable. That makes me feel a lot better.

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  11. ScentScelf says:
    10 August 2010 at 2:26 pm

    This tale has parallels to the descent of Norell, doesn’t it? Which ended up available “exclusively” at K-Mart?

    It is interesting to watch the retail trail…sloooowwwwwly squeezing out every retail dollar as they nonetheless slooowwwwly kick it to the curb…

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    • AnnS says:
      10 August 2010 at 2:39 pm

      Last year I found 3 “older” bottles of the original Fendi at our Kmart marked down to $9.99. Especially after it’s been discontinued, they seemed like a real bargain! I kept one for myself and fascilitated the other two for Smokeytoes who loves the stuff. It is always good to watch the local low-end shops. You just never know what comes in and will end up hiding behind the Brittany Spears fragrances of the world!

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      • abirae says:
        10 August 2010 at 3:19 pm

        It’s true! I snagged Joy EDP for under $20 at my local Rite Aid when they were clearancing out all the “old” perfumes to make room for the new stuff. I should have snapped up more stuff.

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        • AnnS says:
          10 August 2010 at 3:47 pm

          Good score!

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        • Daisy says:
          10 August 2010 at 4:22 pm

          Holy cow! good shopping done by you!!

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        • ScentScelf says:
          10 August 2010 at 5:13 pm

          Well done, both of you!

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        • Angela says:
          10 August 2010 at 8:10 pm

          Very sweet! Almost legendary!

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      • Angela says:
        10 August 2010 at 8:11 pm

        I do love Fendi. I have a friend who wears it, and whenever I smell it I think fondly of her.

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    • Angela says:
      10 August 2010 at 8:10 pm

      Interesting! I hadn’t even thought of that comparison, but you’re right!

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  12. crowflower says:
    10 August 2010 at 2:40 pm

    At least 3 times when I’ve asked someone what delightful perfume they were wearing, the answer was “Red!”
    Once it was “Tabu!”

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    • Angela says:
      10 August 2010 at 8:12 pm

      I think it’s one of those fragrances that’s easy to like at a distance–and smell at a distance, too! Same goes for Tabu.

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  13. scarlett_flesh says:
    10 August 2010 at 3:32 pm

    I used to work work with a woman that would layer red red door and burberry. -cringing with the momory- It was not pleasant. -still cringing-

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    • Daisy says:
      10 August 2010 at 3:58 pm

      Oy! I’m cringing just thinking about it! I remember Red as being kind of a sillage monster and just can’t imagine feeling the need to ADD something on top of it! Good lord, RUN! SAVE YOURSELVES!

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      • scarlett_flesh says:
        10 August 2010 at 7:11 pm

        I always knew she was coming well before I could see her.

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        • Angela says:
          10 August 2010 at 8:13 pm

          And she wondered what this odd fashion was for wearing turtlenecks up over the nose.

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          • Daisy says:
            10 August 2010 at 9:27 pm

            hmmm….new turtleneck trend maybe….but how to explain all those crossed, bulging eyeballs….why, it’s almost if everyone can’t get any oxygen….

    • Angela says:
      10 August 2010 at 8:12 pm

      Holy smokes! Was there any hair left in her nostrils?

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  14. Dzingnut says:
    10 August 2010 at 3:35 pm

    I always check out the frags at Walmart and Walgreens, although Walmart seems to always be heavy on Paris Hilton “fragrances”. But I found a bottle of Tatiana there once – that took me back!
    My local Walgreens has Dune and Shalimar also – and Fahrenheit, which I keep thinking about buying because I don’t know if I love it or hate it.

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    • LaMaroc says:
      10 August 2010 at 4:06 pm

      If you have a Gordman’s in your area they get in some odd random perfumes along with their overflowing stock of JLo, Paris Hilton, Celine Dion, etc. I’ve found a cheap score now and again. My mom loves the original Paul Smith Men on my dad and I got three large bottles of it on clearance for somewhere around $10/piece.

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      • Angela says:
        10 August 2010 at 8:16 pm

        Great deal!

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    • Angela says:
      10 August 2010 at 8:14 pm

      I went to the Walmart in Billings today and was disappointed at their offerings. I was hoping for some good, cheap perfume, but the most interesting thing I found was a bottle fo White Diamonds gift packaged with a teddy bear.

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      • Joe says:
        11 August 2010 at 2:50 am

        White Diamonds with a teddy bear sounds really wrong. Like a sad kernel of an idea for a short story.

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        • Angela says:
          11 August 2010 at 2:56 pm

          Yes. A short story involving a mobile home park and pack-a-day smokers and a TV going all day long.

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  15. Absolute Scentualist says:
    10 August 2010 at 4:42 pm

    Oh Red…

    There was a very unpleasant girl in my junior high class who used to practically take a bath in the stuff, so unfortunately the rather brazen (and potentially lovely) Red remains linked with the extremely brazen and *not* lovely young lady who wore enough of it to hit you like a truck whenever she was nearby.

    My often reviled “drugstore perfume” would have to be Ciara. I never smelled it until my mid-twenties as the clean/oceanic/Sunflowers (I have to put that one in its own loud category) seemed to be waning. Mr. Ab. Scent smelled it on a lady while shopping, asked her what it was and then bought me a tiny bottle to see what I thought.

    It didn’t grab me at all so I left it and a bottle of VS Amber Romance, which I bought since he liked it but I couldn’t stand to wear, in the laundry room of our first apartment before we moved out and assumed someone would like one or both enough to take them.

    A couple years later as I started to more seriously explore perfumes and wore Obsession and Angel after discovering my love for gourmands and orientals, I snagged a bottle of the most intense form for a song off a frag discount site and loved it. It doesn’t get a lot of love from some who remember it from back in the day. But for me, it was a new fragrance experience since I didn’t really give it a fair shake a few years back and I find wearing it quite softly makes for a lovely and snuggle-inducing perfume. So I love my little $14 bottle of Ciara 100% and still get nostalgic when I pick up a bottle of the original Charlie since it brings back memories of my mother from my early childhood. Charlie always smelled so soft, sweet and nice on her since she was good about not over-applying, and though I don’t think I’d ever wear it, it is pretty.

    And of course, I’ve already professed my love for Malibu Musk… 🙂

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    • Angela says:
      10 August 2010 at 8:17 pm

      Great story! I had a stepmother once who wore Ciara. I keep seeing the bottle around at thrift shops, and I think it’s time I picked one up.

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      • Rappleyea says:
        10 August 2010 at 9:38 pm

        I haven’t smelled Ciara in about 100 years, but I seem to remember thinking back in the day that it smelled like a poor relation to Bal a Versailles. I’d be interested to hear your opinion, A. if you do get that bottle.

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      • Joe says:
        11 August 2010 at 2:53 am

        My mother wore Ciara in the late 70s. I’d be curious to smell it now to see if it would take me back.

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    • Tama says:
      11 August 2010 at 12:46 am

      I used to like Ciara, but it was definitely a fragrance that suffered from over-application by the masses. Whew.

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  16. tarsmom says:
    10 August 2010 at 5:13 pm

    Hi all!

    Ah, yes, the 80s! I wore and still wear Red from time to time. Now I spray it about 2 feet away and walk thru it – no spraying directly on the body! But after it dries down, it really is a lovely scent. I haven’t found anything quite like it. I also wore Ciara and Cinnabar. A guy once commented about Amarige which is a huge floral oriental and I just had a sample of it. Couldn’t really stand it but he thought it was awesome! I think I will always like Red as long as it’s just a faint scent, not a full blown spray of it!

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    • Angela says:
      10 August 2010 at 8:18 pm

      I think you have the right philosophy: apply with caution!

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  17. Daisy says:
    10 August 2010 at 5:20 pm

    I just love it when some of the ladies here refer to their hubby as Mr. fill in NST name : Mr. Aparatachick, Mr. Ab.Scent…etc. I think my CEO would hit the roof if he were referred to as Mr. Daisy….maybe I’ll try it later just to experiment…:-D

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    • miss kitty v. says:
      10 August 2010 at 6:55 pm

      Daisy: He doesn’t have to know. We won’t tell him.

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      • mals86 says:
        10 August 2010 at 7:53 pm

        I think I’m going to start referring to The CEO as He Who Must Be Obe– um, Kept Ignorant.

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        • Rappleyea says:
          10 August 2010 at 9:38 pm

          LOL! I call my boss – She Who Must Not Be Named.

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    • Angela says:
      10 August 2010 at 8:19 pm

      “Mr. Daisy” sounds like a cartoon character! Maybe a cranky donkey or something like that.

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      • Daisy says:
        10 August 2010 at 9:30 pm

        oddly close…. lol just kidding. 😉

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        • miss kitty v. says:
          10 August 2010 at 11:33 pm

          Snort out loud. 😉

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  18. Joe says:
    10 August 2010 at 5:33 pm

    Angela, you’ve made me want to get a little sniff of this as well as EL Cinnabar.

    I think one of her cousins gave my Mom a small bottle of Red a couple Christmases ago, but I’ve never smelled it and likely won’t, now that I’ve gotten my mom hooked on Angel & Coromandel. Haha.

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    • mals86 says:
      10 August 2010 at 5:39 pm

      Your mom likes patchouli, Joe?

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      • Joe says:
        10 August 2010 at 6:43 pm

        Oh yes. She still says her favorite was Ava Luxe Sweet Patchouli, which sadly isn’t made in the EdP formula anymore.

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    • Angela says:
      10 August 2010 at 8:20 pm

      Good work with your mom! How nice to go home and smell Coromandel.

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  19. Rappleyea says:
    10 August 2010 at 5:45 pm

    I never wore Red but it was one of those fragrances that I always stopped to sniff at the perfume counter (back when it was actually sold at decent perfume counters) and debated about buying. I probably never bought it because at that time Red and Giorgio permeated the air at the big balls held around the horse sales. So at one time, women with far, far more money than I had, loved it!

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    • Rappleyea says:
      10 August 2010 at 5:46 pm

      Wandering down memory lane I forgot to say – great series Angela! Thanks!!

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      • Angela says:
        10 August 2010 at 8:21 pm

        I’m glad you’re enjoying it!

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    • Angela says:
      10 August 2010 at 8:21 pm

      I bet Red smells pretty good in the stable, really. Maybe better than it did at the balls!

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      • Rappleyea says:
        10 August 2010 at 9:41 pm

        So true! I can remember one particular occasion in a big tent in Saratoga, NY on a hot, humid night in Aug. and the entire place smelled of Giorgio!

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      • Seraph says:
        10 August 2010 at 10:36 pm

        Angela, that comment reminds me of a comedy sketch I saw on tv years and years ago set in a Swedish chemist ( I think that would be called a drugstore in the US) where they spoke English but with heavily caricatured Swedish accents…

        Customer (on entering store): “I would like a Deodorant”
        Sales Assistant: “Ball or aerosol?”
        Customer (slightly baffled and taken aback): “No, it is for my armpits.”

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        • Angela says:
          11 August 2010 at 2:59 pm

          Yes, some of us read the word “ball” and our thoughts go elsewhere…

          In 10th grade biology, some cheerleaders came to class late. They said, “Sorry Mr. Douglas, we’re late because we were painting our stools.” Mr. Douglas said, “Never say that to a biology teacher. It means something different.”

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  20. alliecat says:
    10 August 2010 at 6:22 pm

    I wore Red when it first came out in 1989, and it was my winter scent for several years. I really enjoyed it then, but when I’ve tried it recently, it’s just too, too much! My current winter perfume is Black Cashmere (the original) which I absolutely love.

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    • Angela says:
      10 August 2010 at 8:22 pm

      I can definitely imagine loving Red then burning out on it. Nice choice with Black Cashmere!

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  21. teri says:
    10 August 2010 at 7:52 pm

    awwww…. 🙁 Really makes me sad to see one of my all-time (still) favorites getting so little affection. I love this stuff. It is the only scent I ever stalked someone to get the name of. I literally sniffed my way down the mall trying to find the person wearing that lovely scent. I know it’s old, and big, and dated, but then so am I, so I suppose we fit well together.

    I rarely tell anyone what I’m wearing when I put this scent on, because when I do, I get that funny look people give you when they wonder if you’ve escaped from the loony bin. But like any addiction, I may be somewhat ashamed to admit to it, but I can’t quit it.

    Luckily for me, I work in an office with 35 guys (I’m the only woman). And they appreciate a scent with ….shall we call it ‘body’? lol I suppose in an office full of women, I couldn’t get away with my big, sillage-monster favorites.

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    • Angela says:
      10 August 2010 at 8:24 pm

      I’m glad it suits you so well! I bet lots of people compliment you on it, too. Don’t quit Red!

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    • CynthiaW says:
      10 August 2010 at 10:09 pm

      Don’t Quit! I still have days when I throw on Obsession or Youth Dew – wear your Red proudly. I’m thinking that I need to snag a mini and bring back some memories of the early-90s when I wore Red.

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      • Tiara says:
        10 August 2010 at 10:49 pm

        My mother told me today about having a manager at the grocery store follow her to ask what perfume she was wearing. Youth Dew, of course, the only thing she wears.

        However, she did admire Femme Jolie on me a while back so I may surprise her with a small bottle for her birthday. I’d like to add some variety to her scent wardrobe.

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        • annemarie says:
          11 August 2010 at 4:25 am

          Oh do get her Femme Jolie! Share the joy! If plenty of us buy it, maybe Laurie will keep it on her list. She has taken it off once before. Love it bits. I’m thinking of getting a purse spray in addition to my 17mls, once Laurie is back on deck. That, and a few others of hers …

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        • Angela says:
          11 August 2010 at 3:00 pm

          What a great gift! She’ll be one of the proud and few (compared to everyone who wears Youth Dew.)

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  22. L says:
    10 August 2010 at 8:06 pm

    Red was my signature scent in college. Even then, I recognized it was a little much, but I didn’t care. I thought it was perfect for me since I am a redhead. My best friend wore Cinnabar and another friend wore Ysatis. This is turning out to be a fun week of drugstore reviews!

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    • Angela says:
      10 August 2010 at 8:25 pm

      Wow, you guys made quite an aromatic posse!

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    • Daisy says:
      10 August 2010 at 9:33 pm

      you all must have created your own fragrance-force-field…..I can appreciate that, I like a fragrance-force-field myself some days. 🙂

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      • L says:
        11 August 2010 at 2:36 am

        No kidding. It’s so interesting how the collective consciousness changes its taste and tolerance. There just aren’t many places today where three women could show up scented like that and not gag people. But in the 80’s more was more.

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  23. NinaraPoll says:
    10 August 2010 at 9:48 pm

    I *loved* Red back in the day; in fact, Red is one of the scents I recall stopping to sniff every time my mom and I went to Dillards’ or (later) Belk’s. I never was brave enough to spray it, though… especially now, since I KNOW it’s been reformulated; to me, it now smells a little too sweet and not spicy enough.
    Does anyone remember a short-lived flanker named Red 2 (or perhaps Red2 or Red2)? I believe it’s from the late 90s, and all I recall is that it was nice. I’ve been wondering for years what notes were in it. (My mom’s been wanting a bottle of it for years, also, since she loved it back when it was released, so I’m also looking for a bottle)

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    • Angela says:
      11 August 2010 at 3:01 pm

      I hope you find one, and I hope it smells as good as she remembered!

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  24. CynthiaW says:
    10 August 2010 at 10:07 pm

    I used to love this in the early 90s – I wore it exclusively until it got thrown over for Spellbound. I’ve been afraid to smell it – thinking that it had probably been reformulated and ruined and I didn’t want to tarnish my memories of it. I might have to grab a mini and check it out now though.

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    • Angela says:
      11 August 2010 at 3:02 pm

      It’s cheap enough to pick up a mini for old time’s sake.

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  25. pyramus says:
    10 August 2010 at 10:18 pm

    Red has definitely been reformulated. I used to wear it back in the day, and if you could put a category to it (what with those 692 ingredients) I think it would have been an floral-oriental chypre, very oriental and VERY eighties-huge. I smelled a new bottle a while back and it has been destroyed: it has that fresh-synthetic top note that appears to be in just about everything these days, however inappropriate (it was also used to ruin the once-glorious Tresor), and it casts a pall over the whole construction.

    Speaking of Cinnabar, I got a coffret of old-school Estee Lauder miniatures today, and tomorrow I’ll see if any of them has been seriously reformulated. Lauder is usually pretty good about keeping their classic scents the way they were, but if they’ve messed with Knowing or White Linen I am going to go on some kind of rampage.

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    • Angela says:
      11 August 2010 at 3:03 pm

      Lauder usually does such good work. I don’t want to hear about you rampaging!

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      • pyramus says:
        12 August 2010 at 12:33 am

        Not to worry. White Linen is pretty faithful to my eighties memory of it–it might even be a bit louder than it was, but the basic idea (brilliant aldehydes, indeterminate flowers, sunshiny warmth) is intact. More than any other house I know of, Lauder seems dedicated to the idea that scents are memories and worth preserving.

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        • Existentialist says:
          14 August 2010 at 8:27 pm

          Glad to see some Lauder-love. I am a fan as well – I always cringe when people dis Youth Dew, and the original Private Collection never fails to impress me. I wear it when I want to come across as distingue (sorry, I don’t know how to do the accent mark here).

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  26. 734elizabeths says:
    11 August 2010 at 12:35 am

    Ah, the 80’s. I’m remembering my high-heeled ankle boots – hot pink with black Hermes-type wings covering the Velcro closures. I danced many a night away in those, that’s for sure. While wearing Opium, of course.

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    • L says:
      11 August 2010 at 2:47 am

      Wow! Those boots sound amazing! Though the 80’s influence is evident in current clothing collections, I don’t expect we’ll see the same influence in fragrance.

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    • Angela says:
      11 August 2010 at 3:04 pm

      Wow! Boots with their own soundtrack and accompanying perfume! Perfect.

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  27. Tama says:
    11 August 2010 at 12:59 am

    I could never wear the big orientals back then – Opium and Cinnabar had something going on that suffocated me. Some kind of cooking spice-ish smell. I don’t think I ever smelled Red.

    I would love to revisit Tatiana and Jontue.

    I did revisit Dune recently, and although I liked it, I couldn’t quite go back. Maybe I could for $35, though…

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    • Angela says:
      11 August 2010 at 3:04 pm

      I used to love Tatiana, and my mother wore gallons of Jontue. Need to smell that one again.

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  28. Celestia says:
    11 August 2010 at 3:00 am

    I, too, experience the random timing with the “log-in” disappearing.
    As for Red, I liked it which is interesting because I’m an ozonic/aquatic lover. I also liked Cinnabar and Spellbound. I have a bottle of Boudoir. Liking all these orientals is unusual because they have ingredients that I can’t stand but they are so well-blended that the things I do like must be predominant. I remember liking Wings by Giorgio too, but my absolute favourite was Ocean Dream!

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    • Angela says:
      11 August 2010 at 3:05 pm

      An oceanic! That makes sense. I wonder if there’s an oceanic oriental? Maybe Dune is the closest.

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      • Celestia says:
        11 August 2010 at 9:43 pm

        Yes, Dune is an apt choice for an “oceanic oriental”. (Don’t like it; too heavy.) How about Un Lys Mediterranee? I don’t hate it but also find it heavy and very long-lasting.

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      • nozknoz says:
        11 August 2010 at 11:11 pm

        Stephanie Saint Aignan Embruns d’Ambre is an oceanic amber, very unusual and lovely.

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  29. flittersniffer says:
    11 August 2010 at 10:57 am

    LOL at “Yankee candle of the oriental perfume world”!

    : – ) Our drugstores have a similarly eclectic mix, though I have yet to find a Guerlain nestling amongst the multipacks of Pringles,,, And this despite my local dept store directing me to the dump bins of Savers the Chemist’s at my mention of Guerlain “because they carry a lot of really old stuff like that”.

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    • Angela says:
      11 August 2010 at 3:06 pm

      Did you find any Guerlain in the dump bins (Maybe I should be asking “do pigs fly?”)? Do you guys have Yankee Candles in Britain? I sure hope not.

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  30. Rick says:
    11 August 2010 at 7:32 pm

    They bought the name “Red” from Geoffrey Beene, who had a fragrance called Red back in the 70’s and early 80’s. My sister wore it, but I can’t remember what it smelled like. Does anyone remember this?

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    • Angela says:
      23 October 2010 at 11:55 am

      Gosh, I seemed to have missed a bunch of comments on this post–sorry it has taken me so long to respond.

      I vaguely remember Geoffrey Beene Red, too, but I couldn’t tell you what it smells like.

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  31. nozknoz says:
    11 August 2010 at 11:09 pm

    This is such a great post, Angela! I was reading through all the comments at lunch time and almost forgot to get back to work – was quite embarrassed when a colleague dropped by and there I was just sitting there looking at the screen and thinking about 80s perfume, LOL!

    I wore spicy orientals at an earlier point – high school – when it was Youth Dew, Secret of Venus Zibeline, and Corday Toujours Moi. By the 80s I was into big florals: Chloe, Calyx, and Rochas Lumiere. It’s funny, I liked the scent of Giorgio, Red Door, Rive Gauche, etc. well enough, but I don’t think I ever bought them. Those were the days when I thought I needed just one signature scent and only wore perfume to go out. Hard to imagine that now! 🙂

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    • Angela says:
      23 October 2010 at 11:56 am

      Toujours Moi! I smelled some recently, and it was nice. I bet back in the day it was fabulous.

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  32. Dreamstress says:
    12 August 2010 at 2:05 pm

    I used to work as a beauty advisor at Walgreens. And we really did have such a strange array of perfume. Most of the customers I dealt with bought the usual celebrity fragrances ugh. But as mentioned we carried Dune and Shalimar. I remember Shalimar being a huge seller, even though I hated it. I remember putting out warehouse and a bottle of Opium had broke, it took me a day to get the smell off me. Maybe I was just too young to appreciate the scent, but even now, I wouldn’t jump for those perfumes.

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    • Angela says:
      23 October 2010 at 11:57 am

      You were lucky it only took a day to shake the scent of Opium! Overdosing on Opium like that would turn someone against it for life, I’d think.

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  33. pigoletto says:
    13 August 2010 at 8:24 am

    This one is burned in memory – I still love it. The first time I smelled it was not terribly long after it came out in the 80’s – it was my freshman year, I slept over at a friend’s house and watched Mystic Pizza, there was a fuss going on because her younger sister got a round barrel brush stuck in her hair, and the next day we went to Target and I convinced her that she should buy Erasure’s A Little Respect tape rather than the Bangles’ Eternal Flame. I smelled this at Walgreen’s and marveled at how adult and sophisticated it smelled next to the testers of Xia Xiang and Intimate Musk (remember the original blue boxes with the red/yellow couple figure?). I remember loving the Paulina Porizkova print ads too. In my head, the big 4 80s scents were Red, Poison, Coco and Escape (although strictly speaking wasn’t Escape the 90s?).

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    • Angela says:
      23 October 2010 at 11:58 am

      That’s hilarious! You paint a great picture–I see the whole evening, stuck brush and all.

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  34. Existentialist says:
    14 August 2010 at 8:30 pm

    Angela, I can’t believe no one responded to your remark about the Nagel print. I had a coffee table book of his work. Not a print on the wall, but close.

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    • Angela says:
      23 October 2010 at 11:58 am

      I still shudder when I see them.

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  35. Jess36 says:
    22 October 2010 at 10:58 am

    I would put this down as one of my top favourite perfumes ever!!! I absolutely adore it and at the moment I wear it just about every day! I’ve got the body cream as well, and spray the perfume not only on my myself but on my clothes overnight to wear next day, and as this stuff lingers for EVER I smell gorgeous all day long!! I will never let myself run out of Red, I’m learning I like the deep, warm spicy smells more than light florals.

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    • Angela says:
      23 October 2010 at 11:54 am

      It’s so nice to find a fragrance you really love! And at a decent price, too. You’re lucky.

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