I was feeling a little old when my sister inlaw and I were discussing perfumes and body sprays (Girls talk about that stuff – don’t hate.) and she did not remember Love’s Baby Soft Perfume. Love’s Baby Soft was the acceptable body spray for young girls to wear when I was a … young girl. (Although when I look at the old ads from back in the Stone Age, they were quite provocative and a lot creepy….Holy Geez!)

This conversation got my crazy train of thought rolling about the progression of my personal scent profile. (You like how I just made that sound sophisticated and cool?) These are the things that I think about sometimes. (Oh shut up. It’s fun. Let’s play!)

LET’S PLAY!

As we have already established, as a young girl, I wore Love’s Baby Soft (more like bathed in because I was not skilled in restraint or moderation). It was beautifully pink and powdery, and a super big deal if you got a gift set for your birthday or Christmas.

As I matured through junior high school, I started to dabble in the, dare I say, musks; Wild Musk to be exact. Can you say Signature Scent? Yep – all through high school. But then my eyes were opened to the designer world of the late ‘80s that was smacking us all in the face in a full frontal assault with their acid washed jeans and must have fragrances.

Oh, you heard me. I had moved on to fragrances (said with jazz hands). What fragrance you ask?  (You’re dying to know, I’m sure.) I was a Calvin Klein Obsession girl. If one was lucky, their best guy would wear the corresponding men’s fragrance. (‘Cause we all know after watching that Happy Days episode when The Fonz thinks he’s allergic to women, the lady’s perfume should compliment the man’s cologne or DISASTER! – Or is it marketing genius?!).

Once I started down this road, I couldn’t get enough.  I started experimenting with other designer fragrances. I went through Christian Dior Poison, Esprit’s Esprit, Estee Lauder’s Beautiful, Pleasure, and Knowing. There was also Giorgio Beverly Hills Giorgio, and Red. It was clear, I had a problem. (But I was super easy to shop for!). The madness had to stop, especially discovering some of the perfumes made me sneeze.   (Awesome.)  I finally enrolled in perfumes anonymous and settled back to Obsession…for years.

When I was finally lucky enough for a super guy to see through the sweet cloud that surrounded me, and propose, it was time to get serious. I had read in one of the 1400 wedding magazines that I was reading that a newly engaged woman should select a special perfume to wear to all of the prenuptial events and especially to The Big Show. Through this form of trickery one was to plant a scent “seed” in the unsuspecting groom. A seed, or scent memory of happy feelings, that the cunning bride would be able to reactivate at will, by simply wearing the perfume again.

It worked! For our wedding I chose Givenchy’s Amarige. I still wear it for our anniversary every year and to weddings. Without fail, my husband will always ask, “Is that the perfume that you wore for our wedding?” (Shhhh. Don’t tell him about my nose control tactics. Our little secret.)

I have since simplified my life in this arena. I usually wear my fav, Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker, but only when getting fancy. Day to day, I like to layer seasonal scents from Bath and Body Works; Honeysuckle or Rain Kissed Leaves in Spring/Summer, something spicy and warm in the Fall, and something that makes me smell like cookies for the holidays. (Why not? And YUM!!) And don’t forget my mad love for my own scent creation that I made at DIY Scents Perfumery!

Whew! I’m exhausted from that trip down memory lane. I hope this sparks some sweet smelling memories for you. And I pray that at least one of you out there remembers Love’s Baby Soft. Maybe you and I could hit up an early bird special for a Geritol cocktail, a nice piece of fish, and a parting gift of some Crepe Erase. Call me!