For my last review during Drugstore Week, I wanted to track down an old drugstore classic, like Coty Sand & Sable, Jovan Jungle Gardenia, or the fragrance I eventually landed, Dana Classic Fragrances Love’s Baby Soft. You’d think this would be easy, but no. Drugstores have really classed up their fragrance offerings.
At Walmart, my first stop, a half ounce bottle of Coty Exclamation was $14. Forget it! Doesn’t that defeat the whole purpose of a cheap thrill? Nine-tenths of the fragrance display was celebrity fragrances and perfume you can find in a department store. I moved on to Walgreen’s. A friendly SA with virulently blue contact lenses attended the locked display case. “Among the older ladies, the Elizabeth is popular,” she said, nodding toward Elizabeth Taylor White Diamonds. “The younger ladies like Jessica, and I absolutely love Dare Me,” she said, referring to Fancy Jessica Simpson and a Baby Phat fragrance. “Have you smelled the Hilary? It’s quite nice.”
For a moment I wondered if Hillary Clinton had fronted a perfume, then recalled Hilary Duff. “Do you have anything cheaper? You know, a small bottle of something older, like White Shoulders or Exclamation?” I asked.
“I personally can’t stand White Shoulders,” she said, “And I’ve worked here a year and we haven’t sold a bottle of Exclamation yet.” She leaned forward. “Once I smelled Tabu on someone, and it was awful!”
The fragrances were relatively pricey, except for some Jovan musks I’d already reviewed, and more Parfums de Coeur fragrances. On to the next drugstore. At CVS I hit the jackpot. My niece begged me to review something called Bod Squad, but it was another fragrance by Parfums de Coeur, and I'd already covered two this week. For old times sake, my choice was Love’s Baby Soft. I remember clouds of Love’s moving down the halls of my high school, and I desperately wanted a bottle of the pink liquid with the domed top. (When it came down to it, I chose Babe, instead.)
That night, I settled into bed with a copy of Dashiell Hammett’s The Thin Man and a pillowy coating of Love’s Baby Soft. Talk about cognitive dissonance. I was sure I’d dream of Hello Kitty gangsters guzzling bootleg scotch. The copy on the back of the Love’s Baby Soft canister reads: “As soft and gentle as a kiss…It speaks in a powdery whisper…It’s the fragrance of first crushes, innocence and cherished new memories. Everyone loves Love’s.”
Does everyone love Love’s? If you like candied violet and rose snowed under by powder made of recycled plastic bags, by all means get yourself a bottle. I love a good powdery perfume and often turn to Molinard Habanita and Lorenzo Villoresi Alamut. I wouldn’t say no to bottles of Cadolle No. 9 or Lorenzo Villoresi Teint de Neige, either. But there’s a chilly, butane-inflected plasticity to Love’s that makes it a no go for me. After a little while, the butane and plastic does fade, and a faint powder hugs my skin. This stage is nice, but could be accomplished by a shower with rose-scented soap or a dusting of bath powder.
I like powder fragrances that are warm and if not subtle at least elegant. I can appreciate a powder fragrance that’s supposed to be youthful and cuddly, as I suspect is Love’s Baby Soft's goal. I don’t know if Love’s has changed over the years or my taste has become more discerning or both, but for me Love’s Baby Soft was a disappointment. I guess cherished memories die hard. I don’t dare search out Babe.
Dana Classic Fragrances Love's Baby Soft is $12.50 for 30 ml Cologne Spray, and is also available in a wide variety of other sizes, formats and flankers.
Angela, I love powdery fragrances now and I never thought I would.
I also used to wear Loves Babysoft back in tha day!
My favorite powderpuffs now are: SSS Opal, Keiko Mecheri’s Loukhoum Eau Poudree, vintage Benjamin’s Khus Khus, and my beloved URC dries down to a amazing powder on me.
I just know that I love others as well and it irks me that I can’t recall them right this second, but these are the first ones that popped in my head!
I love SSS Opal too – it is one of her few musk scents that I can actually smell. And you are right – it is a total powderpuff! Warm, cozy, soft, puffy – like a great sweater.
Ann, it is delicious isn’t it?
I do really hope the reformulation is not so different!
I cannot wait to snatch it up when it comes back, I’m totally splurging on a bigger FB this time around. 😉
I loooove Keiko Mecheri Eau Poudree too! I haven’t tried Opal, will have to put that on my “powder” list.
K-Scott, I know right? I bought this unsniffed and it was not love at first sniff. But it grew on me and now I wondered what’s not to love- white roses, heliotrope, orris, vanilla, it’s a dream upon waking when you smell it in the morning after putting it on before bed.
Yum!
T, powdery fragrances are so often beleaguered, but I love them too!
Angela, we can be powderpuff girls together! 🙂
O.K.–that sounds perfect! We’ll have to make our own tee shirts or have a secret handshake or something.
Love’s Baby Soft has been mentioned here at NST many times as a first loved fragrance from adolescence to high school. I don’t remember much about it really. I think i must have been about 11 o12 and had a friend who doused herself —I remember she wore it all the time and I remember thinking I hated the way it smelled yet I can’t seem to dredge up the scent memory. Of course this was about the time I discovered Chanel no5 and sunk every last dime of babysitting proceeds into a very small spray of the edt……she probably thought that was just as horrible as I thought the Baby Soft was!
You were a couple of steps ahead of me fragrance-wise! It took a while before I was able to appreciate No. 5. But now there’s no going back….
well, I had no idea that Chanel no5 wasn’t the most appropriate for a 12 yr old —no one in my family wore fragrance and there I was dying to sniff anything! When I came across Chanel no5 I was instantly mesmerized.
I can understand that!
Aaaaggghh! L’Artisan’s Verte Violette, that’s another fave!
How could I forget her?
Tamara, I think I may have a couple of vials of the Vert Violette that I can send you if you’re interested. Send me an email…
Hi OperaFan -oh thank you sweet pea but I have her already.
I appreciate the offer very much 😀
Have you tried Laurie’s Voile de Violette at SSS? I think you may like that one, too.
Aha why yes that is another favorite violet of mine!
Such a jammy sweet , cedar violet that is huh?
I actually need more , I can’t wait for Laurie to put her FB back up for sale. Hopefully she’s on the mend. SSS is lovely, Tabac Aurea and Opal are my other fav. from her.
Well, there’s Voile de Violette and then there’s Wood Violet. I think you may be referring to the latter. Voile de Violette is the lighter, greener scent of the 2.
a:)
Voile de Violette is my fav of her two violet scents – perfect, natural, green, very very lightly sweet in a natural violet way. It is perfect in the spring or on hot days in the summer. Wood Violet has more of a sweet plum thing like her Vintage Rose has sweet plum.
Nope I meant VdV. 🙂
I do get the green in the beginning, I suppose I was talking about the drydown of it on me. But WV is good too, though not my fav.
T, Verte Violette is a gorgeous one!
Aaaaggghh! L’Artisan’s Verte Violette, that’s another fave!
How could I forget her?
I’m sticking to my story that they’ve reformulated it.
Just the name brings back memories of junior high. I had a bottle of Love’s Baby Soft, but Love’s Fresh Lemon was my favorite. I just googled and found that LFL can be had for $49.99 in **bay or $11.99 at Amazon. For $11.99 I’m very tempted ….
Fresh Lemon was my favorite too!
Thanks, I might check it out on Amazon though with all this talk of powder I will probably buy a backup bottle of Habanita instead.
They have the lemon at the fragrancenet sometimes. And I have seen it much cheaper on the bay before. But since I have yet to cave on buying the Rain Scent, I’m certainly not the one to talk you into anything.
I forgot you posted about finding it on Fragrance.net earlier – thanks for not enabling me to much with these multiple buying options . . . ha ha ha.
Let me know if you do break down and get the Rain scent, I’m curious to see if it’s changed. I’ll let you know if I succumb to the Fresh Lemon.
I’ve been figuring it’s a cheap thrill, but then cheap thrills ad up. (Says the person stocking up on vintage Emeraude on ebay…)
A, I haven’t even smelled the Love’s flankers. I remember all the different colors, though: yellow, lavender, maybe pale green?
Oh, Angela! I too had a bottle of Babe in my teens. I loved it, but gave it up years after leaving most of it unused. Still kicking myself and wishing I could re-live the beautiful (I recall a spicy floral) scent.
Now you practically have to pay an arm and a leg to win a bottle used on the’bay…. Lots of girls used Love’s Baby Soft, I was not among them.
Someday I’ll stumble across a bottle of Babe, I just know it. When I do, I’ll have to send you a sample.
Oh yes, please…. I’m sure that if ANYBODY can “stumble upon” a bottle, it would be you! Please look me up if ever you do! (so many exclamation points…. middle-aged sigh…)
Habanita is fantastic. On my skin, YMMV, it is all vanilla powder and leather. I have both the parfum and EDT, I love sillage, so the EDT is my choice.
Had to run to the drugstore and sniffed LBS – the synthetic vibe of its ingredients was annoying. They could do better for a scent marketed to young women, and still be profitable.
I definitely got the synthetic part, too, although it did wear off after a little while. But give me Habanita any day!
A couple of months ago, while perusing a local wholesale store, I picked up a bottle of Balmain’s Eau d’Ete for $8usd. This scent really reminds me of Love’s Baby Soft but, of course, I’m going off on memory here. I’ve been meaning to pick up a bottle just for a little comparison experiment. So glad you’ve reviewed it. I plan to pick up a bottle of Loves today!:) I’ve really enjoyed your drugstore posts. Thank you!
Balmain Eau d’Ete? How could I have missed that one? I’ll keep my eyes open for it.
The Original Love’s was a favorite of an 8th grade buddy, but I liked the Lemon scent flanker much more and went through several bottles.
Our Walmart has tons of mini bottles hanging on the end caps of the cosmetics aisle- White Shoulders, Gloria Vanderbilt, Red Door, Tabu etc.
Just one of the many cultural perks of living in Ohio.
The Lemon flanker seems to have been popular!
On a recent cross-border shopping trip into Detroit I found that Meijer is still flyin’ the cheap drugstore perfume flag. Lots of Jovans and Parfums de Coeurs and Danas to be had. OTOH, most of the Shoppers Drug Marts over here are aspiring to become Sephoras and carrying lots of high-end scents.
Love’s Baby Soft? Loved it in 5th grade, but I don’t think it’s quite the same now.
Nice! I’m glad to know some drugstores still fly the drugstore perfume flag high!
A very enjoyable review as usual, Angela! (I love the idea of Hello Kitty gangsters guzzling scotch. 🙂 ) Love’s Baby Soft reminds me so much of fifth or sixth grade. We all wore it for some reason! I remember giving it to a friend for what I think was her 11th or 12th birthday, along with a copy of Judy Blume’s “Deenie”. I’d love to try it again and see if it’s what I remember.
Judy Blume!!
Awwwwwwwww<3
"Are you there God, it's me Tamara?"
ha
My mama didn't want me to read that , I snuck it at the library.
And Deenie, and Tiger's Eye. So good….
Yes, weren’t her books good? I loved them. I think my mom would not have let me read some of them if she knew what was in them, but she didn’t!
Very precious memories those stories…
Books were my friends growing up- I loved books and animals more than my peers.
I was one of those nerds that would sit in the library at lunch reading ‘Watership Down’ with coke bottle glasses to boot. ha!
I still love to read- my mama just gave me ‘The Poisonwood Bible’ to read- very sad from the gate. But she knows if she hands me a story, any story really, that I will finish it.
Hey, Tamara. I just started another of Barbara Kingsolver’s – Prodigal Summer. I’m only a few chapters in, but so far I’m hooked.
L, I love how that happens.<3
I have not read that one yet,
I will look for it now after I finish this story.
Okay, I have to fess up. NPR this past week had a writer/commentator talk about a guilty pleasure – Judy Bloom’s “Forever,” which was mine in my early teen years. I don’t recall reading any other of her books, but that was an important one for me.
“Forever” was special too. <3
Hello Kitty gangsters are not afraid of anything! 🙂
Isn’t it a scary thought?
That’s right! Plus, Batz Maru is there in a pinch.
Jill, Love’s and Deenie are a match made in heaven! Lord, how that brings back memories of ‘you must, you must, you must improve your bust”.
Bahahahaha! I think it was ‘increase’ my bust though and that was from “Are you there God, it’s me Marguret’ but you were close.;)
Loved that one! <3
I admire your knowledge of Judy Blume!
I am 53, and I remember Loves’s Baby Soft in a clear light green bottle with domed top (same color as UJSLN), and the scent was kind of a fruity citrus. But Love’s Fresh Lemon – oh yeah. I put that on with a heavy hand, while blasting Traffic’s Low Spark of High Heeled Boys. Maybe that’s why I love M. Balmain so much – it’s Love’s Fresh Lemon for adults. Thank you for a wonderful week of reviews Angela!
D., maybe you’re thinking of the Rain Scent? That was the one that was in the pastel blue-green bottle.
Miss Kitty – that must be it. At such a tender age, I was unaware of the concept of flankers. Thanks!
I don’t remember the green bottle. The lemon sure is getting a lot of love!
Oh, how the mighty have fallen, Angela! From the streets of Paris in April (I think it was), to the CVS for Love’s Baby Soft just a few months later!
Seriously though, I thoroughly enjoyed this look at what else is out there–thanks!
😀
It really isn’t fair, is it? All this glamorous travel just for me?
I had a whole set of Love’s but never wore them. In the clean, powder phase of adolescence I instead chose Avon’s Sweet Honesty which seemed much the same but at least a little more put-together. I still have a bottle which I occassionally use direct from the shower. It’s gone within minutes but makes me feel well groomed.
After Sweet Honesty it was, however, Tommy Girl for years, which was both young but more grown-up than the “drugstore” fragrances. And that, I’m afraid, I still often carry in my purse on a hot day.
Sweet Honesty was my first scent as well. That was elementary school… and then I think I was about 12 when my grandmother gave me a bottle of the original Chloe, so for years that was my scent.
Hi becca b, I was a Sweet Honesty girl too! I remember loving it and wore it constantly but can’t remember what it smells like at all now. It was always in my stocking for Christmas! Now after reading about Angela’s experience with Love that ended up putting a damper on some cherished memories for her, I think I want to remain blissfully ignorant. 🙂
Thought it’s dubbed an “ambery floral” in the catalog, Sweet Honesty is pretty much baby powder in a bottle, straight up, but at least, to me, there is no odd “artificial” smells along with that one!
I smelled Sweet Honesty not long ago, and wowee! what a room clearer it was. I forgot how darned sweet and pungent that scent was.
Baby Soft was my first “signature” fragrance, before I moved on to L’effleur at age 13. I remember it as being… soft. Powdery and sweet, like pink baby powder. I must have gone through at least ten bottles between the second and seventh grades.
My mom would douse herself in Ysatis, or a vetiver oil that she had, and Love’s was my tiny act of rebellion towards her taste.
I have since learned that, at the time, her taste was better than mine 😉
Love’s v. Ysatis is truly a match with a quick end–at least in sillage!
Angela – what a fun week of reading your reviews! First of all, it just tickles me that they still make LBS! It never was a favorite of mine, but I did have a bottle along with the Lemon one and wore them on occassion. And every once in a while, I think of Babe fondly and would love to find some again to revisit. It cracks me up to realize that I had these fragrances along with Chanel no 5, L’Air du Temps, Fidji, etc. What eclectic taste and a varied collection I had, and still do.
Equal-opportunity sniffage, Rustic…
Absolutely Mals. I’m a perfume snob, but then again, I’m not. I really appreciate the choice ingredients, artistry, etc. of fine perfume – but in the end, I like what I like and love to smell good.
Sounds like a well-rounded collection to me!
I never liked LBS back in the day, and when I smelled it at the drugstore a few months ago I thought it was worse than ever: synthetic powdery gunk.
I liked Exclamation!, but never owned any because that was another fragrance, along with Sand & Sable, that my mother thought was “too much” for me. (And she let me wear the Chloe? go figure.)
I still haven’t smelled Exclamation. Maybe for the next drugstore week–whenever that is!
It’s a lot like YSL Paris done on the very cheap.
Hopefully the two fragrances won’t converge one day.
I had a friend who wore LBS when we were 11 or 12. It ‘fit’ her, somehow, but I could never pull it off. I wore Colors, instead….and someone gave me a bottle of Electric Youth for Christmas one year but…well….that was pretty rough stuff.
Jill, I love it that you gave your childhood friends books and perfume!
And, Angela, I have really enjoyed the drugstore posts this week. I would love to see a review of Sand and Sable someday…
Just chiming in to second that request for a Sand & Sable review, I remember it being a great summer scent.
I have a friend that has been desperately trying to find a bottle of Electric Youth! LOL! I don’t think I ever smelled it, but can’t imagine why she would want it. Of course, she also snatched up a bottle of Beverly Hills 90210 (yes, the show) perfume when we were at the mall one time, so there you go.
If your friend is desperate for some Electric Youth, she might be happy to know that she could get it from the ‘bay for a premium. I checked, out of curiosity, earlier and it’s selling for $24.99 and up….quite a price for bottled horror.
Wikipedia describes it as being “…composed of a blend of citrus and other fruit essential oils, rendering a fruity scent…” Yes….sort of like hoiked-up hunch punch.
I used to have a small bottle of Sand & Sable but gave it away–clearly a mistake! I’ll put it on my “to review” list.
Oh wow – I just saw that Dana Classic Fragrances also markets Chantilly. I remember my Mom always telling me that my Dad used to buy it for her and she would always switch it out for Emeraude instead. She used to say Chantilly was the worst and that it was horrid on her for some reason but don’t tell your father! oh my! LOL!
Good family history with that one! Chantilly and Emeraude are worlds apart…
Cover Girl Navy! that was my first *real* perfume.
I haven’t smelled that one yet. I’ll look for it!
I used to love Love’s Baby Soft. I have some still – it makes great room freshener! It is in the body spray style bottle. It’s all super baby powder and that soapy rose, and it only lasts for about 5 minutes on me. I do prefer my more sophisticated powders these days, lol. One of my fav’s is the Montale Powder Flowers – a powdery almond floral. But I like tons of aldehyde fragrances, and I think technically they are all “powders” so that’s that as well. Aside from No 5, another great aldehyde powder is the Lancome’s La Collection Magie. It has a great warm aldehyde opening with a sunny jasmine amber drydown. I don’t wear it as often as I should.
Magie sounds wonderful!
This week’s drugstore themed reviews has been so much fun, Angela. Thanks for the walks down memory lane!
I first bounced between Love’s Baby Soft and Avon Pearls and Lace when I was ten. I still love LBS, but it doesn’t seem quite as anamalic in the musk department as it did back then. But it still retains a bit of its former self so I put a bit on before bed now and then.
I love Alessandro for my powdery/almond fix, or Harajuku Lovers Baby if I want straight up childlike powder. But after reading all the comments, I’ve got loads more to try.
Oh, and I was one of those girls who wore Exclamation in early junior high while my friend found and fell in love with a bottle of Electric Youth at Big Lots. I think both our signature scents drove one another crazy. 🙂 But Sand and Sable is gorgeous and I’ve been really tempted to pick some up, along with Revlon Xia Xiang, which I wore my Freshmen year of high school and thought was so complex and sexy. 🙂
I forgot about Alessandro! A good one, but it makes me hungry.
Angela, I’ve enjoyed this week. Some of the fragrances sound a little scary, but your writing is so much FUN! I did have a bottle of Love’s Baby Soft. Must have been around the time it first came out. I loved it then, and who knows – I still might! Thanks!
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
When I was a young teen, it was the in thing to use those horrible deodorant body sprays and I did too. Then we all used Lynx, oh the shame. I don’t remember coming across LBS. My first fragrance was a Max Factor that I won when I was 8 in a drugstore-run kids’ poetry competition for Mother’s Day. I remember ripping open the wrapping in front of everyone – it hadn’t occurred to me I was meant to give it to my mum! Mum said it was ok – she didn’t want it anyway (this is the woman who threw away her chanel no 5!!). So that’s what I wore – just on very special occasions like Christmas and the 15ml bottle is still half full 😉
What a great story!
Yes, I like that. And I didn’t know that Max Factor ever did fragrance. What was it?
Didn’t Max Factor do Maxie? And maybe one packaged with a little black cat with a flower collar?
She THREW AWAY her No. 5?? Horrors.
I have really enjoyed these drugstore reviews, Angela – good/ shudderworthy memories! Also, as I live in England, I am hardly ever in a CVS or Walgreens and Boots is filled with other people’s teenage memories. I used to wear LBS in the 6th grade or so ( inspired by those adverts in Seventeen and Young Miss about a guy loving loaning his girlfriend his varsity jacket because it came back smelling of Love’s) and have fond, powdery memories. Think I will avoid a
Redbuds so I won’t have them tainted by plastic
Atrocities. I also
Used to love Jovan Eau
I’d love to wander through a British drugstore and see what’s offered!
I have to admit a deep and unabiding love of baby powder. Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Lotion is on of my favorite scents (the Creamy Baby Oil was FANTASTIC but suddenly having trouble finding it, so thinking they might have discontinued it). But somehow I never got into Love’s Baby Soft. I do, however, have Harajuku Lovers Baby, which might not be too far off… she was just too cute not to buy.
Have you ever tried Montale Sweet Oriental Dreams? It’s sort of a grown-up baby powder smell, IMO.
That actually sounds good, Miss K. Thanks for the rec. I’m going to have to try it!
K-S, those Harajuku things are so darned cute.
Aargh .. Safari occasionally loses the text so you cannot see what you are typing!
I also loved Eau Fresh particularly in the
Summer.
Also had Navy, Sand and Sables (a bit older than when
LBS) and
Aargh .. Again! Sweet Honesty in the powder
perfume stick, California and something in
a bottle with a Victorian -looking label of flowers and maybe a gold cap?
Nice to wander down memory lane!
That Victorian thing sounds awfully familar, but I can’t quite place it. Not Anais Anais?
Victorian label with a gold cap – wasn’t it just called Le Fleur by Coty? (Or L’Effleur?) I remember a girl getting it for Christmas would’ve been around early 1990s? I remember cause I was so jealous? Idk. I also remember wearing Exclamation, it was kind of spicy, probably pretty strong. And my Mom wearing Navy, also kind of spicy. Probably wouldn’t cut it for me now.
My mother wore L’Effleur (this was after her bottles of No. 5 edc and Anais Anais went dry) – she loved it because she said it smelled like “soap and flowers.” It really did.
L’Effleur does ring a bell. Didn’t it have a tall neck? I bet that’s the one she’s thinking of.
I would have to smell this again for a clear memory of it to come flooding back. Powdery, in perfumery, doesn’t necessarily intend to smell of baby or dusting powder but I seem to recall that was mostly the point of LBS. I bet it was less chemical back then. Thirty years ago Emeraude still smelled like perfume, I seem to recall.
I’m sure it has changed since back in the day. How could it not? Emeraude has definitely suffered. Sigh.
Hmm….. Dana was making Ambush, Tabu and 20 Carats (I think that was the name) when I was in jr. high and high school. I guess that means I’m older than most on here. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever knowingly smelled LBS.
Great week, Angela. Many thanks!
I have some vintage Ambush, and it’s marvelous! Lots of lavender and patchouli.
The first time I ever smelled Obsession, it reminded me of Ambush, although that was many years after wearing Ambush and I never smelled them side by side.
There were two versions of Ambush that were really different: one old one (1950s maybe? early 1960s?) and one from the early 1990s. I’m not sure what the ’90s version smells like, but the old one has a big lavender punch. I’ll send you some sometime and you can tell me what you think.
My mother wore Ambush when I was in junior high! Just before she switched to Youth Dew, which became her signature for years. I never did get to try 20 Carats, though I remember loving the name.
LOL! I’ve got to be about your mother’s age as we *all* switched from Ambush to Youth Dew!
No – you are certainly NOT older than most! I for one think you’re in very good company!
😉
Exactly! 29, right?
Thanks for such a fun week this week Angela.
Where I live, drugstores (chemists, as they are called, or pharmacies, if you want to be posh) have gone quite classy in their fragrance offerings. I’ve even seen things like Samsara, and one of my locals has some YSLs, including a huge bottle of Yvresse going very cheap. (I’ve nearly fallen, but what on earth would I do with 100mls of it? Good grief.)
For the really cheap stuff you have to go to the cheaper department stores – K-Mart, Target and Big W. I cruise them sometimes to see if there are hidden treasures or forgotten classics. (Not so far!) Lots of gift sets of Tabu, and some Lentherics and Yardleys (maybe), as well as some celebuscensts of course. I’ve nearly bought Tweed a few times because it was very popular when I was growing up among women of good taste (who could not afford Lauder etc). But for ‘research’ purposes I bought Tabu once and it was awful, so I hesitate over Tweed, even at rock bottom prices. Anyone know what it’s like these days?
Yardley used to be HUGE when I was growing up and my mother wore April Violets for about 50 years, even tho she swore it had been reformulated in the 1980s. Yardley seemed to go down market over the course of her lifetime and now it’s getting harder to find. The decline of that once great brand like that makes me really sad, sadder even than Lentheric or Coty.
I don’t even think you can buy Lentheric in the US anymore! I have some vintage Tweed and Tweed bath powder I like, though.
You can get Tweed from the Vermont Country Store (no affiliation), $30.00 for 50 ml. I have never smelled it, either vintage or the current formula, so cannot comment on how it may or may not have changed.
Thanks. I’m in Australia and while it is possible to get stuff from VCS, it’s a bit complicated. But I love browsing the site, so thanks for the mention.
Sorry, meant to say that at my (very strict) school perfume and jewellery were banned so I don’t have high school perfume memories but my father bought me Lentheric’s Panache as a talcum powder when I was about 15. He (or my mother) must have judged that a safe choice for a young girl. Must try it again some time, if it’s still around. Oh dear, Angela has dug out so many memories this week.
Panache is the perfect name for a perfume. I wonder what it smelled like?
Aaaah Love. Takes me straight back to high school. There were originally four flankers that I can recall – the Lemon, the Baby Soft, the Rain, and the Musky Jasmin, which was the one I wore.
I bought little .5 oz bottles of both the Rain and the Musky Jasmin when they started showing up on the ‘bay, not knowing what my reaction would be, but eager for the nostalgia involved.
As we all know, olfactory memories are strong and long-lasting. And wow, one sniff of those little bottles and I was back in high school. I’m sure they’ve changed, or perhaps I have, because although they seem familiar, they don’t seem identical. But then a lot of water has gone over the proverbial dam since my high school days and my tastes have changed dramatically. But for a fleeting moment, when I uncap those little bottles, I’m 15 again, and that’s a precious commoditiy indeed.
I love it that you bought Love’s plus the flankers to try for old time’s sake! You’re right–those memories are (as the credit card commercial says) priceless.
i don’t think i’ve even seen a bottle of this in real life. i only see people mention it here.
i think bath&body works was more the ~*thing*~ that people were wearing.
but speaking of candied violet…i desperately want a perfume that is candied violets, leather, black tea or coffee (i can’t decide which), and smokey notes. maybe some spearmint too. I wish Annick Menardo would come up with it ~*just for me*~. (just thought i’d sneak that in just in case she’s reading?)
Jolie Madame is leather and violets, so that’s 2 out of 3!
One of my faves.
If you get Menardo to make you a fragrance, be sure and send me a sample! It sounds like you’re well on your way to a good one.
I also remember a Debbie Gibson fragrance called Electric Youth after the album of the same name? Clear, rectangular bottle with pink juice, I want to say the frag smelled very sweet and pink! LOL but I can’t really remember.
If you read earlier comments, you’ll see references to Electric Youth. I hadn’t heard of it, but apparently it had a following!
I think LBS has definitely been reformulated…I loved it, though I loved the jasmine flanker even more. I’d go from Baby Soft, to some little hyacinth perfume I had, to Devon Violets, then to my Joy, if mama would let me…she knew it was expensive, and didn’t let me wear it every day!
And I know my grandma gave me Sweet Honesty, but I do not remember what it smelled like! Does anyone remember one called Jontue, or somehting?
Yes, I remember Jontue. Revlon made it – you can pick it up for a song these days.
I adored Jontu! It was among my favorites of the drugstore scents, and I actually had a small bottle at one time (along with Babe, Coty’s Wild Rose, and Cachet). Speaking of which, for a fleeting moment, the opening of AG’s Rose Absolute reminds me of Coty’s Wild Rose…
I think my cousin may have worn Jontue. I remember it as being very soft and floral.
My mother wore Jontue by the quart. I’ll have to smell it again soon. I’ve seen it around, so I know it’s still out there.
I was not of the LBS crew during my high school days. I wore Valentino. A friend’s older sister wore it all the time and one summer on a vacation trip to Barbados to see family I purchased a bottle duty free. I wore that perfume all the time. There was a group of girls that wore Giorgio or should I say bathed in it. Oh the memories of the eighties, plastic bracelets, leggings and over the top grand fragrances…and yes really big hair.
My niece was just telling me about how she dressed up for retro day–1980s style. I wish I would have known. I could have really helped.
I’m stuck on imagining a Hillary Clinton perfume…something about as far from Love’s Baby Soft as you could get, for sure. Something tough, but sophisticated and with a soft edge. L’Heure Bleue?
I think I read somewhere that she actually wears Angel… somebody chime in if I’m totally wrong here.
If so, she needs a fragrance intervention! If any of Hillary’s aides are reading this, send me an email. Your boss needs a fragrance that is approachable but strong, memorable but not overwhelming, and intelligent but not obscure. We can help.
I could see her in Bulgari Black.
When I was about 12 I was given my first fragrance of Avon’s Here’s My Heart. I don’t remember wearing it at all (but must have a few times). The fragrance I bought at about age 16 was Youth Dew! Yikes, I even wore it on dates. Wonder I was ever asked out more than once. Oh, now I remember buying Jean Nate and loved it too. I was all over the map.
Did you get the Youth Dew in the little bath oil bottle? I love that bottle with its gold foil label.
I just found y’all, so I’m waaaay behind on posts. . .
I had a bottle of LBS in middle school in the mid-80’s. Maybe that’s where my inclination toward powdery florals comes from.
My aunt (who I still think hung the moon and introduced me to Led Zeppelin and David Bowie) used to wear Love’s Fresh Lemon. I used to sneak some of that, too. . .
I love this story! What a great memory. I bet sniffing Love’s Baby Soft now would bring back all sorts of memories.