Smells of yesteryear.....

[Linenspots]

My most prominent ones are:

The delicious smell of the bottle of Coppertone that Mum used to plaster us in for our annual holiday at one of the many Pontin's sites. Does anyone else remember Coppertone?

I also have really vivid memories of the smell of the turkey cooking at the crack of dawn on Christmas Day, right after we opened our presents, and being excited for the arrival of various family members. Am I imagining it, or does the aroma of turkey cooking these days not seem as strong as I remember?

Mum's perfumes - for best, she wore Estee Lauder's Youth Dew or White Linen (although she always called it Dirty Sheets). For everyday, it was Coty L'Aimant. My first bottle of perfume was Smitty...I felt so grown up!

Those smells...treasured memories.

My DM used to wear this perfume, which would take me back

The smell they used to pump out in our local Dorothy perkins store in the 90s. smelt a bit cucumber ish but was a lovely smell.

Does anyone remember Cremolia moisturiser? In little glass jars from Boots. I loved the smell of that.
And Harmony hair dye in a triangular box that smelt a bit like violets.

@begonefoulclutter

I remember them being called Gestetners too!

My best friends' Mum had one in their front room. Amazing.

Oh my, the school glue to be picked off your fingers! I was straight back to being 7 right there! Wow.

Many of mine are soap based- Shield, Imperial Leather and Pears all remind me of childhood. I have Pears soap in a dish by the kitchen sink as it reminds me of my lovely mam. Mam was very much a 'Cleanliness is next to Godliness' person. 😀Carbolic means I'm 7 again at school.

Traditional black shoe polish reminds me of dad: 5 pairs of school shoes polished to within an inch of their life & lined up on a Sunday night. Swarfega too- the green one you scooped out of the tub. DP has a fancy shmancy orange pump one now, & it's nothing like it.

Someone mentioned Badedas. DP has always used it & I love it! DS21 & DS19 also love it, strangely!

Rose petals were indeed so strong we popped them in water to make 'perfume' when very young. I remember my mam smiling beatifically when I dabbed it on!

Avon talc, any kind, transports me right back. There was always one in the bathroom, mam's room, sister's room. I've not smelled one in years, but I know they still do them.

Yes to creosote, Flex and Vidal Sassoon.
My dad sawing fire wood on the circular saw on a Sunday, the sound of the saw and smell of cut wood.
Givency Ysatis, my Mum getting ready for a night out.
The sound of my Dad sharpening the blades on the old fashioned mower, I knew summer was coming - getting ready for hay making.
The first smell of cut grass for hay making.
Then the smell of the bales chugging out of the baler.
The smell of my Dad when he came in
from a days work, sweaty and dirty but in a good way.
Liz Arden Red Door, my lovely Grandma.

ETA Vosene shampoo.

This was my first hair mousse for a school trip in 1985 (I was 13). It was so distinctive & I felt SO grown up. I had a 'Choose Life' Wham tshirt & a tube skirt & thought I was the boss of life🤣.

Later down the line, Delial sun lotion in the early 90s when it was all about being tanned & hip & snogging boys wearing CK1 & Jazz, working summer seasons in Greece .You still get the brand, but it doesn't smell the same.

Gloy gum. It was in a triangular bottle with a rubber angled applicator with a slot in. You had to cut open the slot to get the glue out. Used to 'set' on your fingers

My Mum wore Evening in Paris perfume in a blue bottle. I can see the bottle but sadly, the fragrance is no longer with me. I'd love to smell it now. Sadly, my Mum died when I was a child. I wonder if there's anything similar now?

Mothballs
Brasso
Candles without scent and the paraffin heater during power cuts.
Bread baking and yeast rising.

Baby rusks.

That white school glue and the clear paper mache glue.

Tippex and Uhoo?
Nivea, Pears soap, baby shampoo, body shop fruity lip balms, Anais anais.

Tinsel.
My rabbits freshly made up hutch with newspaper and hay.

Fish and chip newspapers, something about hot newsprint.
Scented rubbers.

Dolly mixtures in a paper bag.

Tarred string
Less nice the smell of wooden school desks where rancid milk had soaked in, one teacher would make us rest our heads on them for 10 minutes after particularly manic hot playtimes.

Yes to Vidal sassoon hair products.

Yes to creosote and that purple ink.
I used to love an Avon perfume called ‘Elusive’ and the effect it had on my university boyfriend -would love to find that same formula! He wore Eau Sauvage which had a similar effect on me.

I loved the smell of Gloy gum!

My mum wore it too!
Soir de Paris (Evening in Paris) by Bourjois is a classic, romantic fragrance originally launched in 1929, famously housed in a striking cobalt blue bottle. It features a powdery, floral scent profile with notes of violet, iris, rose, and amber. The iconic scent was relaunched in 1992.

Oh, Eau Sauvage, yes I had a boyfriend who also wore it, this would be around 1974, he was in the Navy and I used to nearly swoon whenever he wore it.

I have a bottle I inherited from my dad when I cleared out his bathroom cabinet and every now and then I have a sniff or dab a bit on a tissue and it takes me right back to those days of discos, Bacardi and coke and Eau Sauvage. 😆

Nulon hand cream, it was pink and smelled like my Granny. Does anyone remember this ?

Eau Sauvage - now that is a smell I had forgotten! My first serious boyfriend wore it and I thought it was absolutely divine! I wore Shalimar at the time so people must have smelled us approaching, as both were so strong!

"style your hair any way you like it"
got that studiolines jingle in my head now! and also "salon selectives"

Brown bottles with white writing I think. It is much missed, I don’t know why it hasn’t been replicated by someone. It came out late 70s I think ? Didn’t last for long though, under a decade.
I also miss the smell of Creme Silk conditioner.
M&S Peach soaps.
Eau Jeune lemon perfume .
And all the lost perfume greats, Chanel no 19, Mitsouko, Diorella . Still in existence but changed for the worse.

My DH wears this as it’s my favourite men’s cologne.

@bungobungobungo and @thebeautifulsky - my DD bought me a bottle from E bay a few years back, but sadly the smell was not as I remembered it.
I’ve seen quite a few examples on the site, all claiming to be “genuine/ original/vintage” - but the bottle shapes seem to vary and none are like the one Mum had.
The attached photo is from a US site and is the small, flat bottle I remember.
The stopper doesn’t look the same, though - the pointed shape is ok , but Mum’s definitely had a silver-coloured stopper.

Boys in my class used to eat it ! I think it was actually made from animal skins .

I think the silver paint has flaked off that bottle lid maybe ?

Avon Quick Touch hair conditioner, in a pink bottle
pears soap (the old one before Unilever took it over and made it smell like shit)
Nivea cold cream

Yes!!!!!!! The shape, of course!

I was lucky enough to be given an old banda machine when I first started teaching. It always missed the top inch and a bit!
I kept it at home for years. It was extrememy useful as I could run off worksheets on a Sunday for the following week. I continued to keep it for emergencies once we got the all singing repographic suite but no technician. One staff photocopier for a large High School.We were not allowed to print anything using the school office machine.
Loved the smell.