Ack! There are so many! I have a pretty good sense of smell (both a blessing and a curse), so my head is filled with memories that are tied to scents.
El Hub
Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue for Men. Now, he’s not a big fragrance guy, but he will wear this every once in a while…to make me happy.
Tabs
Pizza dough. Yep. I have no idea why or how (maybe he orders pizza when I’m not home), but every once in a while I catch a whiff of raw pizza dough. It’s so weird! Not bad, but weird.
My mom
Christian Dior Poison. She’s been wearing it since forever!
My dad
Romeo Gigli Eau de Parfum. Okay, it’s actually a women’s fragrance, but somewhere along the way my dad bogarted a bottle that originally belonged to my mom. And he loves the stuff. I guess the green notes in it do give it a kind of masculine feel.
My brother
Incense and Axe Body Spray. LOL! When I moved back home for a while after college, my brother’s room always reeked of both of these.
My BFF
Kenzo Flower. She likes light, clean scents.
All of my aunties in the ’80s
Estée Lauder White Linen. Apparently, Estée Lauder White Linen back then was THE fragrance du jour if you were a Filipino woman in your thirties. If it wasn’t White Linen, then EL’s Beautiful would also do.
What scents remind you of the people in your life?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Juicy Fruit gum reminds me of my grandma. I wish she was still here. Certain rose scents remind me of my great grandma, she wore a perfume from Avon called Roses Roses. 🙂
That’s so sweet, Denise. Powdery scents remind me of my granny.
Ooh, fun question! Let’s see … first serious boyfriend wore Obsession for Men. He had no sense of smell (literally) so remember always having to figure out nice ways to tell him “uh, honey, I’m gonna need you to tone that stuff WAY down!”. Most recent boyfriend was an Old Spice guy (yeah, I know…)
My Mom wore 4711 when I was a kid. Not the American version, but the original German version. She had our relatives in Germany send it to her. Then she wore Halston for awhile, and finally settled on White Linen. Lately she’s liking Pacifica’s French Lilac.
One other memory: One of the executives where I used to work wore straight up patchoulli oil, and lots of it, all the time. It made most of us gag, but the good thing was that we could always tell way in advance that he was approaching, so we had lots of time to start looking professional and busy!
I think we all have an ex who wore Obsession (or at least some Calvin Klein scent). I dated a guy who doused himself in the stuff too! It always gave me a headache.
Does Missy have a scent? 🙂 Maybe Eau de Princess Cat?
My Dad = saw dust, wood worker don’t cha know…..
My Mom = J’Dor, even though she is currently wearing Vera Wang’s classic perfume.
X-BFF = Design, can’t smell that without thinking of her
MIL = Estee, evokes a sad reminiscent reaction, damn I miss her
DH = Quattro, long forgotten mens fragrance from marykay, it really was nice to me.
Funny… I had a roommate (who I eventually had a falling out with) who wore Design. The same thing happens to me, too. Whenever I smell it I remember how she would never, EVER change the toilet paper. DROVE ME NUTS!
Issey Miyake Cologne for Men L’Eau d’Issey Pour Homme reminds me of my late father-in-law
Issey Miyake Cologne for Men L’Eau d’Issey Pour Homme reminds me of my late father-in-law and Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker reminds me of my mom
Mom – she wears a lot of different perfumes, but she has been wearing so many different Bulgari ones for so long, so I always think of her.
Dad – my mom buys all his stuff for him, sooooo he also wears Bulgari stuff 🙂
BF – he’s not big on cologne but he smells like Old Spice Fiji deodorant after he showers, and after work he smells like food since he manages a restaurant. He doesn’t like how he smells, but I have to say, smelling like a sandwich is not bad at all.
Sis – Flowerbomb. That’s her favorite.
Hah, and I also had an ex who wore WAY too much Eternity.
Also, my old dog used to smell like Fritos. I read an explanation about that once and now I can’t remember the reason 🙁
Oh, this is fun!
My hubby isn’t big on perfumes either, but he wears L’Eau D’Issey Pour Homme from Issey Miyake most often. He even sprayed a plushie he gave me back when we were still dating long distance.
My mom loves all of the Estee Lauder Pleasures perfume. I thin over the years she’s collected all of them.
For my dad, it’s always been and always will be Drakkar Noir. Even to this day, I find that scent comforting, like a hug. (Yeah, big daddy’s girl here)
My brothers had each of their own “signature scents”. One rocked CK Be for the longest time while the other had bottles and bottles of Davidoff Cool Water.
My sister hates perfumes; she doesn’t like strong smells. So the scent of baby powder is what reminds me of her the most. 😀
Aww.. now I miss all of them. Great post! 😀
PS. I know what you mean about Estee Lauder’s White Linen. Blindfolded, you wouldn’t know who’s who!
Ohhh forgot – best friend – Britney Spears Fantasy. Just thinking about that bottle makes me happy 🙂
I love that Be-Dazzled bottle to death!!!
Hahah, me too 🙂 The color is great too!
It looks like something Brit-Brit would actually make in art class… all crazy and purple and sparkly. Not gonna lie, I actually REALLY like the scent too. It has this blackberry note that’s just so yummy!
I can only think of two
Elizabeth Taylor’s Diamods for my mom
Coolwater for my dad
🙂
Hmm. 🙂
LouLou (Cacherel) reminds me of a couple of my bffs. One wears it and the other says it reminds him of me. 🙂
Escape (CK) reminds me of an ex. He wore it all the time and I’ll always remember one of his friends stopping on the stairs and saying “Dude, you smell like a little slice of heaven”. HAHA!
Drakkar reminds me of the brother of an ex. He swam in the stuff, but mostly to cover up the smell of booze and cigarettes. Sometimes it’s hard to be home from college. 🙂
Those are the easily definable ones. Many others will take me to a certain time or place or person but they’re things like “hockey jacket” or “bff’s basement”. Once in a very rare while I’ll catch a whiff of the exact scent and POW, right back there. 🙂
Ahh! Drakkar is so eighth grade for me! I remember all the boys practically swam in the stuff!
I know, right? That and Polo. I can spot those 2 scents from like 43 miles away. 🙂 And don’t get me started on Obsession!
Ooh, or Eternity! That was another popular one.
Yeah, I don’t know what it was about CK, but a little went a LONG way. At least they weren’t skimping on the oils.
Btw, Poison used to be one of my faves, too. It smelled like grape on me. Props to your Mom. 🙂
This is so fun! ok…..
Boyfriend = Antonio Bandera’s Blue Seduction or Calvin Klein’ s One!! I love these two fragrances on him, and CK One I also use in the summer!!
Mom = Dolce Vita from Dior……she loves really sweet and strong fragrances!
Dad = deodorant hunf!
Brother = 2and2 sexy men from Carolina Herrera…..I hate it! It gives me headaches as soon as he sprays it :-S
Baby (my cat) = peppermint! I don’t know why!
Me = Right now I’m loving Pivoine Flora from L’Occitane!
Aww! I love that your kitteh is named Baby. 🙂
“Nobody puts Baby in the corner!”
Lol!! When we found him in the street he was so tiny tiny tiny that the only “unisex” name I could think of at that time was Little Baby lol, so that’s why we call him Baby…..he looks like Tabs, only with longer furrrr!
Adorable! When we first met Tabs we thought he was a girl, too. 🙂
Does Baby have an orange tum like Tabs?
Hope you’re having a great week so far!
Baby has an orange tum too!! Sometimes it looks a little more yeloow!! I’m having a great week Karen, thank you for asking! Hope YOU are having the greatest week!!
Burberry reminds me of my college friends group we went to HongKong together it was one hell of fun trip.
Pleasure by estee lauder m grown up around this fragrance my mom wears it all the time 🙂
the hubs — kenneth cole reaction. he is very resistant to change LOL.
my mom – estee lauder pleasures. i miss her everytime i catch a whiff of this scent.
my sister — another person resistant to change — lancome tresor.
our furkids — temptations LOL!
current scent for me flora by gucci.
Estee Lauder Pleasures is a good one. I love that scent, too — comforting, feminine and just plain beautiful.
Funny that you mention Temptations… Tabs is a HO for the turkey ones! What flavor do your baby cats like best?
the lurve the chicken flavor, and will go insane over it! so much so that the sound of rustling plastic in the kitchen has them bounding over to see what is happening. i call it their “elephants in flight” run … LOL!
i do love pleasures as well … i remember sneaking spritzes of it from my mom’s bottle!
Ooh, I’ll have to get the Chicken ones for him. I totally know what you mean about the rustling of the bag. The second Tabs hears it he starts going cra-zay-zay!
I swear that stuff is like crack for cats!
thats what we call em! srsly, better than catnip!
What a fun post!
My mom – just cavalli
My dad- Safari Ralph Lauren
My boyfriend- ferrari black and Givenchy play
My nonna (grandmother)- Elizabeth Taylor’s Red door
My scents – I tend to ‘stick to the tried and true’., so my scents rarely change. Lacoste Pink and the Jennifer Aniston perfume.
My Boyfriend: Degree Adrenaline in Adventure
My Dad: Jovan White Musk and leather
My Mom: Elizabeth Arden Red Door
My Stepmom: Avon Timeless
My Brothers: Stinky feet ewwwww
LOL re: your brothers! I’d like to officially add stinky feet to my bro’s scents!
My grandmother wore White Shoulders and every blanket she’d knit for me smelled like it.
My mom is Guerlain’s Champs Elysees and Estee Lauder Beautiful.
My little sister is Burberry Brit and Chloe.
My best friend is Chanel Mademoiselle.
My dad doesn’t wear cologne; he just smells of soap and aftershave, but I have no idea which one. Boyfriend doesn’t wear a fragrance either.
I’ve gone through phases–Clinique Happy screams “college”–and I have seasonal scents. Right now it’s turning to summer in South Africa so I have broken out my Burberry Summer and Ralph Lauren Cool!
My Mom: Egyptian Goddess, some no-name perfume we found at a mall when I was in 7th grade
My Nana: Rosewater scented anything
My College Roommate, Lindsay: Dolce & Gabbana Blue
Every Bad Boy I Ever Dated: Curve for Men
My Mom wears Donna Karan Cashmere Mist. It’s so nice!
what a great poll!!
My mom: Chanel Coco. It is HER signature scent. Love the way it would linger in the house.
My sister: Opium and Eternity. She once spilled the Eternity bottle in her car and wiped it up with a cloth, then proceeded to throw it in the washer and EVERYTHING smelled like Eternity for months! lolol!!! My dad cannot to THIS DAY smell the dang Eternity!
My Dad: Drakkar and Old Spice.
My hunny: Tom Ford- Tuscan Leather and Ou Wood.
My Grandma: Jean nate!
My Dad used to wear a Versace Dreamer, too bad it’s been discontinued now…
My Mom used to wear D&G Light Blue, but she has been changing perfumes these past few years.
My bro: Davidoff Cool Water (always!)
My mom has worn L’Air du Temps since as far back as I can remember. It’s the only one she wears. And I’ve never actually encountered anyone else who wears it so in my mind it’s exclusively hers.
An ex boyfriend used to wear Le Male by Jean Paul Gaultier and I don’t carry a torch for him or anything, but the scent reminds me of him and of a fun time in my life. We had to break up because I was moving a zillion states away. It has nice memories tied to it.
My mom has always worn crispy or rose-ish fragrances all her life. So Benetton Tribu and Wild Lagoon by COTY always remind me of her. I’ve never remembered someone always wearing crisoy scents like her.
An ex-boyfriend used to wear CK One and the scent is stuck on my mind I always turn my head when I pass someone smelling like him (or his fragrance).
Elizabeth Arden Green Tea reminds me of two close friends of mine.
Benetton Paradiso Inferno Pink is so my sister–it smells cute and girly at the same time. My sister had worn it for a long time before passing it to someone else.
My mom- moonlit path , my bff hand sanitizer( shes a germaphob)
My dad – Hugo Boss. It’s been his favorite for as long as I can remember!
My mom – B&BW Enchanted Orchid. She was obsessed with it for a while. Chopard Brilliant Wish also reminds me of her – it’s technically hers, but both of us love it so much we actually share the bottle. 😀
And my grandma has always loved Guerlain Shalimar. She has so many empty bottles of it on her dresser back home in Bangladesh…so Shalimar always reminds me of family. My favorite aunt has worn Flower by Kenzo for quite some time, so the same goes for that one!
I always thought I was a fresh/fruity/floral kinda girl, but as it turns out, my ultimate weakness is a nice oriental floral. I need 50 bottles of Chopard Brilliant Wish, ASAP!
Shalimar: my dear grandmother
Individuel: My husband, even our daughters call this perfume: Daddy’s smell
My mon: Bulgari
My mother wore Chanel No.5 Dad wore Old Spice Grandmother wore something violet
One of my sisters wore Estee Lauder Aliage. The other wore Dior Poison
My husband wears Serge Lutens Chene or People of the Labyrinths Luctor et Emergo…both of which he confiscated from me!
Writing this list is making me nostalgic…
Mom: Emeraude. It used to be HE and it’s incredibly hard to find now. She’s worn it for 20 years.
Dad: Barbasol shaving cream and unscented products.
BF: Tom Ford Black Orchid…which I gave him.
BFF: Burberry The Beat.
Sister: Betsey Johnson with the bright pink cap.
Puppy Davey: Oats and fresh cut grass.
Grandma: Coty Airspun powder. Very powdery and sweet.
That’s not weird at all about Tabs! I swear my cat Maya smells like waffles most of the time.
My husband…Drakkar Noir, because he wore it when we first started dating. He has more modern cologne now (which he hardly ever wears), but that Drakkar will always be nostalgic for me.
Dad…Scope mouthwash, because he always used to tuck me into bed after using mouthwash!
Mom…cinnamon, because she always chewed regular Dentyne gum when I was growing up. She does Dentyne Ice mint now, but that cinnamon sticks with me.
Grandpa…Cheetos and cigar smoke! You can guess what his favorite things were. I don’t even like the smell of cigar smoke, but ever since my grandpa passed away, it makes me smile and remember him.
Grandma…any time I get a whiff of a really heavy, musky and woodsy fragrance, I’m reminded of these pearly bath beads she kept in the guest bathroom. I don’t think she ever even used them (and I used to poke them with needles and watch the juice ooze out), but that scent reminds me of her.
My boyfriend smells like lacoste essential mixed with the smell of his cat (who smells like old couch and wood). haha It’s ironic because her name is Apple. She definitely doesn’t smell like apples!
Mom…Palmolive soap. Yea, super boring, but that’s what reminds me of her when she’s left the dirty pans to soak in the kitchen after a massive meal. She rarely wears perfume.
Stepdad…Old Spice and tea. He was from England and he loved tea. He always smelled like a mix of tea and Old Spice soap that he shaved with.
Grandpa…A strong musky cologne and sweat. He would always go ride his bike and come back sweaty. He used to bike fairly regularly into his 80s. He’s 96 now 🙂
Grandma….Baby powdery and floral perfumes. I remember she wore Cacharel Anais Anais at one time. She also used baby powder a lot! She would go through bottles fairly regularly.
BF….Bulgari Aqua and Paco Robanne 1 Million. I melt when he puts on 1 Million. It’s one of those scents that can wear the person, but very few like him can wear the cologne.
Cousin Char…. A sweet floral scent, there was something from Versace.
Booker….My mom used to wash my dog with Revlon Outrageous Shampoo and Conditioner. He came out all fluffy with an extra strut after his bath. He was so cuddly and soft 🙂
My SO – Although now he wears Clinique Happy for Men, Dior Farenheit always makes me think of him because thats the scent he wore whan we first got together 10 years ago.
My Mum – Estee Lauder Cinnabar. It takes me back to when I was a little girl watching her apply her make-up before a rare evening out with my Dad.
My Dad – He has always worn Aramis.
I have to agree with Filipina women in the 80s wearing Estee Lauder White Linen. My mom (who’s also a Filipina) probably finished half a dozen of those back then. 🙂 She’s just never over it and totally owned *my* Estee Lauder Pure White Linen Light Breeze last month.
YES! I remember going to parties and all the aunties were practically swimming in the stuff. Estee Lauder Beautiful was also a big deal!
Since growing up my mom had awful allergies to perfumes there aren’t any perfumes that really remind me of them, however:
Mom always, always, always smells like damp clay. She’s a potter so after 40 years so much has made it into her pores she always smells like earth. And when she hugs you she leaves dust handprints on dark clothing no matter how many times she’s washed her hands.
Whenever I smell lilies it reminds me of my Dad. He lives to work outside in the garden and has over 30 varieties of lilies. He’s always orange from brushing up against them.
My sister really doesn’t have a smell. Unless you count her starbucks breath.
And kitties always smell funny. I have three, one always smells like soap cause she licks my bar soap constantly (it’s all natural soap made by a friend of mine, I’ve tried to stop her but if I do she switches to licking the top of the dish soap bottle, and I know that’s not good for her!),
One smells dusty all the time since he’s very poofy and a scaredy as well so he spends most of his days under things. And the last one is nicknamed “Little Miss Poo Paws” which I believe explains itself.
How funny that your cat smells like dust! And LOL re: Little Miss Poo Paws. How long have your fur babies lived with you?
My oldest was 7 in the spring. She’s the queen of course. And the soap licker.
I have a great big fluffy blonde boy named Big Dee Snider who is 6. He’s so big when I hold him under his arms at my chest, his toes tickle my knees, and since I’m 6 feet that’s a lot of kitty.
And I have a little teeny siamese who is 2. She’s also quite severely handicapped so she’s a bit of a handful.
All are rescues, my big boy was actually a highway dump that I found while driving to my parents. I actually saw his people pull over ahead of me, put him down in the ditch, and drive away. If I hadn’t been worried about him I would have followed them home to yell at them.
Hubs = Gucci Pour Homme (yum) which was a gift from moi.
Mom = Lauren by Ralph Lauren….I can always remember that dark red square bottle sitting on her dresser. And her sweaters smelled like it. She was crushed when they stopped making it.
Dad= Old Spice and shaving cream. Soap-on-a-Rope was a go-to Christmas gift for him.
Nana = Shalimar. I always thought older ladies received a bottle on standard issue once they turned 65.
Too funny about your aunties perfumes…my MIL, who is Filipino, wears EL Pleasures =)
LouLou reminds me of my grandma! She has been wearing it for as long as i can remember. But it’s being discontinued so she has a stock of them in her bathroom lol 😀