I want a scent that smells like baby powder... or something

[TressiliansStone]

I bought a second hand coat and it has THE most glorious scent on it.

Wearing it is like being snuggled up in a warm towel after a bath when I was three. Or maybe being hugged by some warm, glamorous mother figure (definitely not mine!) who sweeps in from a cocktail party, engulfs one in her fur stole and says "Hello darlings, did you have a lovely day?"

I can only think it must be similar to some common product of the 1970s... but I can't really say what, and I wouldn't know where to begin describing perfumes.

The scent seems to be all over the coat, so probably hasn't come from a personal perfume.

Um, with that hopelessly vague brief, might any kind perfumista please have suggestions for something lovely and cosy so I and my wardrobe can smell like a glamorous snuggle!

Yes! I had that one years ago. It was lovely.

I had the tin too. My favourite product was Flamingo fancy though. A sparkly wash off fake tan. I used it all the time.

@TressiliansStone It was the 1970s not the 1870s

Tart’s Knicker Drawer by 4160 Tuesdays would fit the bill.

Really enjoying reading the descriptions on here, the nostalgia, and thinking about scents I might like to try.

Philosopy’s Pure Grace evokes something extremely nostalgic in me - it reminds me of bath time at my Grandmother’s house when I was very young or being in her bathroom (it’s a v v specific memory, almost a snapshot really) - I think perhaps she had soap which smelt just like it to me, so I absolutely adore the bubble bath version of it, it’s one of my perennials for a long bubble bath - essentially it just smells ‘clean’ to me (which kind of seems like a given for a bubble bath/soap!) and very comforting.

To my mind from the OP’s description it may be that the baby powder scent is being taken slightly too literally, i.e. it’s not a completely and solely a clean baby powder scent as if you’re wrapped up in a warm towel, but more that you might have been in a towel having just had bath time at the same time as your glamorous mother wafted in to kiss you good night before going out for the evening - so a combination of the two - a glamorous mother scent with the powdery note too. I’ve not smelled Shalimar or the Frederick Malle scents but they sound in that vein, as is Chanel No.5 (quite a lot of the Chanel scents have that powdery note). Either way it’s making me definitely want to spritz some Chanel No. 5 today even though I won’t be doing anything remotely glamorous, just wfh in jogging bottoms and a jumper.

We use groom professional baby fresh, smells of talc but good grief it’s strong

Me too

I used that too. Loved all that vintage feel of the things they did
I did buy some Tommy girl last year which did take me back but felt too "young"

Yes, you could try Next cashmere perfume as mentioned by a PP or Donna Karan’s cashmere mist.

Narciso Rodriguez’s For Her scent always reminded me of baby powder, too. It has that warm, cocooning sort of smell.

I think this is a good call tbh, it might not be a perfume if it smells all over.

The 1970s when we and many of our neighbours had solid-fuel boilers and the tang of a coal fire was an annual sign of autumn.

"Someone's cracked and lit their boiler," we'd say, lifting our noses to snuff the air, and scanning the neighbours' chimneys.

We used to dry the laundry on an airer in front of the boiler in the kitchen – but only after cleaning up the the crunchy black trail from my dad carrying a hod in from the coal shed morning and evening.

Clearly one of my neighbours in 2025 still has a coal boiler, as I caught a waft a few weeks ago. Took me right back.

I agree with pp's that both Shalimar and Chanel no5 leave behind a powdery smell.

Talco by New Notes, smells 100% like baby powder and lasts well. https://www.thefragranceshop.co.uk/new-notes/new-notes/eau-de-parfum-spray/p/63985?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=tfs-pmax-tier-5-very-low&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22353046967&gclid=Cj0KCQiArt_JBhCTARIsADQZayk0QWoXVW-kptSGxsEKrmV2iiul96oa6VT4R03mnox6UQVBgc97RUkaAryxEALw_wcB

(I scrolled so apologies if already mentioned)

Repeat mentions welcome! The more votes, the higher up my list to try it goes!

It's a dry clean coat, so not a washing powder or conditioner. I don't know if it's been spritzed with something or stored with something or just lived in a house with that scent.

Definitely not any of the usual Febreeze suspects my secondhand treasures arrive with! I usually have to quarantine them somewhere well-ventilated till the chemical stench has diminished.

Whereas this one has been deliciously scenting my bedroom since I hung it up to air. Every time I've opened the door I've gone "Ahhhhh" and felt comforted and at home. It's dying down now, alas.

I won't mind if I don't get an exact match. I shall try out lots of these clever suggestions and see what I like!

YES!

A sudden very clear snapshot of sitting on the blue rug on our bathroom floor enveloped in a giant, cosy bathsheet! I have no idea how the glamorous, fragrant mother figure fits in at all!

Ohhh, but hang on. My granny died when I was little; she lived far away but occasionally came to stay. Now she's a person I can well imagine wearing Chanel!

Well this is all very exciting!

You can buy sample size bottles of expensive perfumes on ebay

You can buy sample sizes from perfume shops …

Les Senteurs
Bloom Perfumery
Sainte Cellier
Perfumer H
Frederic Malle

etc.

Though don’t expect them to have much stock this close to Christmas.

This might entertain you, @TressiliansStone:

https://bloomperfume.co.uk/products/powdery-nuances

This. Or Blue Grass.

What is the vintage of the coat itself?

If the scent is all over and not just concentrated on the collar or cuffs, do you think it might have been wrapped in scented tissue paper and stored inside a box for many years? I’m thinking of my grandma’s best clothes which she would keep wrapped like that inside the wardrobe, especially a coat that needed to be cared for until the following winter. I’ve bought vintage clothing before which has had a lovely, powdery incense smell where it has been wrapped up with a box of Nag Champa or jasmine, rose incense sticks.

Could it be something by Estée Lauder or Lancôme?

Me too!

Issey Miyake's "Flower" has baby powder tones.

How about the Prada one . Almond infusion one.

I wear Estée Lauder’s White Linen. That might work. Give it a try!