Remembering Mom

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I lost my Mom on February 12, 2001, when I was 35 years old. She had suffered with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus for many years, but her death was still a huge shock. I had gotten married only 4 months prior and was barely settled in my new life and my new home when my world was shattered. Though my Dad--with whom I had always gotten along and loved very much--was still alive, with the death of my mother, I considered myself an orphan.

Mom was my best friend when I was a kid, but after I became an adult, we didn't always get along. I was out and about, living my life, seldom considering that she must have been in constant pain. It didn't help that she expected us to be mind-readers rather than communicating her needs, but I should have been more sensitive. Still, I had led a rather sheltered life, preferring books and music to activities with friends, when suddenly, in my late 20s, I had become Miss Popularity. Rather than spending time with Mom, re-re-watching our favorite movies--Evil Under the Sun and The 12 Chairs among them--I was going to multiple parties every weekend, hanging out with newfound friends (some of whom turned out not to be friends at all). What's the big deal? you're probably wondering. Everybody goes through this. That might be true. It's more than fine for able-bodied parents who have supportive spouses and friends to lose their children to their own adulthood. But Mom really only had my brother and me. And I could have done better.

Mom liked perfume, but she wasn't into it nearly as much as I was. She didn't wear it every day, except in the summer when she'd have a splash from the giant bottle of Jean Nate that she kept on the top of the toilet tank. If she went out anywhere nice--which was very rare--she'd apply some Wind Song. She kept its charming crown-shaped bottle among the various toiletries and bath products in a drawer at the bottom of the linen closet. Once in a while I'd dig through the treasures and pull out the small round orbs filled with multicolored bath oils, occasionally squashing one through my fingers and making a greasy mess. I also liked playing with the little rose-shaped guest soaps, though I thought they stank. Actually, I thought all of it stank, especially the strong-smelling stuff in the curvy pale blue bottle: Youth Dew, which I called "Youth Pee-yew" or "Youth DooDoo." But as the cliché goes, "the apple doesn't far from the tree." Little did I know that similar spicy amber scents like Obsession and KL would become my signatures in my 20s. I particularly loved Germaine Monteil Bakir, which I discovered in a catalog offering discount beauty products. Mom and I would pore through those mailings and order a bunch of various necessities, like lipsticks that changed color depending on one's pH, bars of Magno black soap, and vintage perfumes like Jean Couturier Coriandre and the aforementioned Bakir. 

Later in life, Mom gave up on her old fragrances and started to wear different things. Back in the early 1990s, when grown-ups wore Victoria's Secret lingerie, they released their first fragrance--Victoria. That was my mother's name, so it called to her. It came in a classy and expensive-looking fluted bottle with a blue faux gemstone on the cap and smelled gently of raspberry and rose and other things that I no longer recall. After the success of Victoria, Mom tried their next scent, Rapture, a floral amber that was a bit sweet. I hated it, referring to it as "Rupture." Mom didn't like it as well as Victoria, but she wore it anyway. Around that time, she also discovered Guerlain Jardins de Bagatelle, a heady white floral from the 80s. I have never been a fan of gardenia, tuberose, or jasmine, but somehow I liked this one, especially on my mother. She called it "Bagels," because she thought calling it by the French name was pretentious. One of my cousins gave her a fresh bottle of JdB every Christmas, though she didn't wear the scent frequently enough to use a bottle a year. After Mom died, I found three unopened bottles in her closet, and I regret now that I sold all of them on eBay. For a time, Mom also wore Gap Heaven, a light white floral musk. I wore it too, and we both thought the juice in her bottle smelled better on me, though both bottles were of the same vintage. I still have them, but I would rather have Mom.

I got my hands on new bottles of Jean Nate and Wind Song and have reviewed them below. A couple years back I bought a used bottle of Victoria on eBay, knowing that there was a very good chance that the scent had turned. It had, and not just the top notes. The only thing salvageable is the pretty fluted bottle. From what I remember, this fragrance smelled lightly of raspberry and more strongly of rose, but that could be a false memory. As for Jardins de Bagatelle, I only remember it being a bold white floral, elegant and complex, and like nothing else. It's a little spendy for a blind buy (for me...I try to stick to $50 and under if I'm throwing my money away), but I might try to get a sample or decant in the future and write about it.

Revlon Jean Nate After Bath Splash

Lemon, Bergamot, Lavender, Geranium, Spicy Notes, Rose, Lily-of-the-Valley, Jasmine, Musk, Sandalwood, Virginia Cedar, Tonka Bean

This doesn't smell anything like I remember. Back in the 70s, to my nose, it was an in-your-face kinda citrus fragrance with some lavender. It's much more subdued these days, still citrussy, and far more soapy than I recall, even a tad spicy. Something about it smells stale and dusty, but only briefly, like a ghost of fragrances past. And then, surprisingly, the dry-down is musky and a little sandalwood-y and quite pleasant. If this stuff were only the drydown, I might love it. I wish I had been able to try the cologne as well as the much lighter and more fleeting "after bath splash" concentration--what Mom always wore--to see if there's a difference, but I'm not curious enough to hunt down a bottle.

Prince Matchabelli Wind Song

Coriander, Tarragon, Neroli, Orange Leaf, Bergamot, Mandarin Orange, Lemon, Carnation, Cloves, Ylang-Ylang, Rose, Brazilian Rosewood, Orris Root, Jasmine, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Cedar, Musk, Benzoin, Amber

I really had no recollection of the smell of Wind Song, only the memory of disliking it. Going by the notes, I should love this stuff: a spicy citrus-forward floral with a musky amber drydown. The opening is quite mid-century vintage-y, cold-cream-like, with lots of smooth, not sharp, citrus notes mingled with muted florals. It's far more pleasant than I remember, but I'm sure what I disliked about it so much was the soapiness. I enjoy a rooty iris note these days, and there are glimpses of  that in Wind Song, along with a good amount of spicy, clove-like carnation. The drydown is gently woodsy, with persistent carnation and orris. While I can't say my mother smelled exactly like this scent during my childhood, Wind Song is definitely the smell of a mother from my parents' generation. And if one is into vintage-style scents, this one is still well done and totally wearable.

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Posted by theminx on Minxstinks
Note: this post is my opinion. I am not affiliated with the companies mentioned in this post or any other companies.