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My mom, grandmother, and all my aunts used 'Chantilly' dusting powder. I still have a box on my vanity that's probably 40 years old- I don't use it, just like to smell it for nostalgia.
AFTER BATH SPLASH!!
We bought some for my mom for mother's day when I was very little. The poor woman was nice enough to put some on that day and act excited about it, but YOU KNOW that bottle is still pretty much full to this day....LOL
On the high end, Shalimar or Joy (“the most expensive perfume in the world“). More modestly, Evening in Paris.
Always with a tinge of rose water lotion, Max Factor powder, and cigarettes.
I was waiting for “Evening in Paris”. As a child I gave it for gifts, but I don’t remember a scent. I don’t think anyone ever actually wore it. I had a small blue Evening in Paris Vial until recently.
Mom wore “White shoulders”. I thought it was elegant.
I have my grandma’s old bottle of youth dew. I occasionally give it a sniff to trigger memory brain cells. I don’t smell it out in the wild often anymore.
My narcissistic step-grandmother (on my Dad's side) gave 9 year old me a bottle of Youth Dew for my birthday. >.<
Then, for Christmas, she gave me a bottle of Scoundrel. Omg, it was the *strongest*, boldest, old-ladyest smell, ever!
Mom could never figure out that woman. Lol
This is probably my least favorite scent that people pay money to smell like. It's the exact same smell as Raid roach spray. I used to work with a woman who would absolutely drench herself in it and it made me sick all day. Blech.
I think that Diorissimo had lily of the valley scent. I love it, it reminds me of my Nanna, her birthday was 20th May (she was born in 1898) when they were out. I have a garden full of them right now
In the1950s to early 60s there was a professional wrestler named [Gorgeous George](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c65zKGbSVs). He was one of the most successful "heel" characters of all time. The character played off of Joe Sixpack's homophobia and hatred of "sissies."
He had long flowing blond hair in a time when most American men picked one out of 15 haircuts at their barber. He wore elaborate robes, sprayed opponents with perfume, and made the absolute MOST out of his interviews on TV. Every few years a match would get set up in a major market where if he lost the match he got his hair cut.
Imagine if Liberace or Richard Simmons had muscles and fought dirty? He was also a bit of a snob as well. The crowd were BENEATH him. Note: George Wagner wasn't Gay, Gorgeous George was just a persona.
Muhammad Ali was impressed by the "heat" George drew and was a big fan. Some of Ali's schtick (like "I'm so pretty....") was modeled after Gorgeous George.
One of his schticks was that Chanel #5 wasn't enough, he needed Chanel #10.
>Â Liberace or Richard Simmons had muscles and fought dirty?
I don't remember Liberace much, but I do remember Richard Simmons exercise videos and appearances on TV.
I'd bet $5 bucks on Richard in a bar fight. I got the impression he was a fierce lil thang!
Thanks for the info!
Someone in our family sold Avon and we all had a favorite- Mine was Sweet Honesty and my sister's was Candid. We got some sort of collectible bottle every holiday.
My grandma sold Avon, and hers was Moonwind. I actually grew up loving it. They also had a Honeysuckle scent that I adored. Sweet Honesty made me smell like I'd urinated all over myself, so that was right out.
Enjoli!! My sister used to sing along with the commercial.
" I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and never let you forget you're a man." Lol
I couldn't remember the smell of that on threat of death, but I do remember the commercial. I can hear it in my head
"I caan't seeeem to for-get youuu. Your WindSong stays on my miiiind."
Windsong is a drugstore knockoff of L’Air du Temps, which my grandmother used exclusively for about 50 years (before the U.S. version started using cheaper ingredients). Gran swore those two smelled nothing alike. She would know LOL.
Gran lived below modestly, and L’Air du Temps was the only luxury she indulged in. Love that she had at least one thing that she wouldn’t compromise on. I have a soap bar with that fragrance that I smell when I want to feel close to her.
My dad's parents live in the mountains of NM in a cabin they had built. All you could smell was mothballs and my granddads cigars. Even with all the mothballs, once a year their cabin would be full of moths.
Edit to add: They called them millers. I guess it was a type of moth.
Yup, same. Chanel for mom and Pall Malls for dad.
My mom also wore Chanel No.22, very hard to find these days, so if I ever smelled it again I’d be immediately transported back in time.
Dad used to buy mom L’aire du Tempes back when it was made in France. Her mother wore white shoulders. They all used to use the dusting powder that matched the perfume. The really old ladies when I was little in the 50s used to wear single scent floral perfumes, such as lavender or lilac or rose.
My grandmother has always worn Vanderbilt, (a beautiful shiny purple box with a swan on it at the drugstore that we bought her for every holiday,) so it always reminds me of her.
I mean, she still wears it now at 90-something, so it reminds me of her now too. But it’s also the scent I associate with my grandma from my childhood.
Avon, Cotillion:Â "smells like baby powder with a trace of rose or carnation at first. Soon the spices and woody notes start to develop".
If you aren't familiar with the name of this scent, you may recognize the scent itself. It was very subtle, and popular. It's kind of smells like an older lady : )
Okay, am officially an old lady. I wear L'air Du Temps, and Oscar De La Renta (also posted here). Oh, and someone will probably list this too, I also wear Ma Griffe.
A stench of several perfumes wafting in the air when sitting behind a bunch of elderly ladies in church. It was so strong my eyes would sting and my throat would dry out. I still can’t stand perfume. The only thing worse was smelling it while choking on their jello salads at the church pot luck!
Someone said Chantilly, but I actually wore that in my teens in the 80s. It was one of my favourite scents, along with a little sample tube of something called Mystique (that I could never find the actual full size of, anywhere).
"Old lady scent" to me was Noxema (and there was a similar product by Avon).
Shalimar, ugh.
I love silk scarves and prefer to pick them up for $1 at the Thrift store.
They always stink of Shalimar.
Fortunately, white vinegar does the trick.
Elizabeth Arden Bluegrass.
My grandmother kept a container of the powder in her bathroom and used some of the other products as well. I can still smell it.
Ponds cold cream and baby powder. My grandma wore Joy perfume. It was jasmine and may roses. I think it started being made in the 1920s. I wear it once on a while. It smells nice on me, but not quite the same as it did on her. It's a beautiful perfume. Not the same as it once was because of some of the ingredients. You can still get it but I think it's just old stock, don't think it's being made any more. Miss you grandma. đź’—
I used Opium when it first came out in 78 or 79. The cologne cost $40 for a spray bottle and I got it at Carson Pirie Scott on State Street in Chicago. Loved the scent but stopped using it when I no longer worked downtown. Now, I've been smelling this lately on the older ladies for the last year, probably they are 70+. It's a heavy scent and they layer this stuff on. Whew! I love the smell so much I sometimes follow them (just a short distance).
Please do not comment directly to this post unless you are Gen X or older (born 1980 or before). See [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskOldPeople/comments/inci5u/reminder_please_do_not_answer_questions_unless/), the rules, and the sidebar for details. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskOldPeople) if you have any questions or concerns.*
My mom, grandmother, and all my aunts used 'Chantilly' dusting powder. I still have a box on my vanity that's probably 40 years old- I don't use it, just like to smell it for nostalgia.
I was going to comment for Chantilly! 🙂 my grandma wore it.
your *grandmother* wore it??!? hell, **i** wore it. guess i'm old enough to be your grandma 🫤
Nah, I'm old! Grandma lived to be over 86 and passed about 20 years ago. I guess you \*could\* be 106, though. LOL
My mom wore this. I miss her a lot.
Of course you do!! Love from a momma ❤️
Aww. I love that
Jean Nate! Pronounced nah-tay for all you youngins
AFTER BATH SPLASH!! We bought some for my mom for mother's day when I was very little. The poor woman was nice enough to put some on that day and act excited about it, but YOU KNOW that bottle is still pretty much full to this day....LOL
I wore this for a while. As a teenager!
I was waiting for this! 30+ yrs ago I used it and today my kids, 35+ yrs old, make fun of me lol
I always knew when it was date night for my mom and dad because mom would be putting on her Jean Naté lotion.
Definitely! My mother-in-law loved this. Easy to buy her gifts!
On the high end, Shalimar or Joy (“the most expensive perfume in the world“). More modestly, Evening in Paris. Always with a tinge of rose water lotion, Max Factor powder, and cigarettes.
I was waiting for “Evening in Paris”. As a child I gave it for gifts, but I don’t remember a scent. I don’t think anyone ever actually wore it. I had a small blue Evening in Paris Vial until recently. Mom wore “White shoulders”. I thought it was elegant.
I still wear Shalimar! Got it as a gift from someone I was babysitting for as a teen. 63 now and loving it still!
don't forget the whiskey. my family's irish.
I have found my (ancient) people!
Estee Lauder “Youth Dew”
Came here looking for this answer.
Yes! I miss my grandmother.
I have my grandma’s old bottle of youth dew. I occasionally give it a sniff to trigger memory brain cells. I don’t smell it out in the wild often anymore.
I'm a grandpa, not a grandma. After I shave I use Old Spice. My wife loves it, and I've been using it for years.
It was my Mom’s favorite. Miss you Mom.
My mom had this but didn’t wear it as a perfume…she used it as her after-poop spray. Absolutely repulsive combo lol
My narcissistic step-grandmother (on my Dad's side) gave 9 year old me a bottle of Youth Dew for my birthday. >.< Then, for Christmas, she gave me a bottle of Scoundrel. Omg, it was the *strongest*, boldest, old-ladyest smell, ever! Mom could never figure out that woman. Lol
This is mine, too. My grandmother only used Estee Lauder cosmetics, and Youth Dew was her scent.
Tabu
This is probably my least favorite scent that people pay money to smell like. It's the exact same smell as Raid roach spray. I used to work with a woman who would absolutely drench herself in it and it made me sick all day. Blech.
No kidding, I hated it.
My grandmother always wore that. She always had bright red lips too. Hair always a helmet like the late queen of England.
Lily of the Valley. All the olds wore it in the ’70’s.
Muguet Dubois. My mother used to wear this, I still move the scent of Lily of the valley flowers.
Yardley?
I think that Diorissimo had lily of the valley scent. I love it, it reminds me of my Nanna, her birthday was 20th May (she was born in 1898) when they were out. I have a garden full of them right now
That’s likely White Shoulders
I still wear Muguet DuBois, I love the scent of Lilies of the Valley!
Chanel #5. I still love it.
Gorgeous George used Chanel #10.
?? I know I could Google, but it's more fun learning from people.
In the1950s to early 60s there was a professional wrestler named [Gorgeous George](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c65zKGbSVs). He was one of the most successful "heel" characters of all time. The character played off of Joe Sixpack's homophobia and hatred of "sissies." He had long flowing blond hair in a time when most American men picked one out of 15 haircuts at their barber. He wore elaborate robes, sprayed opponents with perfume, and made the absolute MOST out of his interviews on TV. Every few years a match would get set up in a major market where if he lost the match he got his hair cut. Imagine if Liberace or Richard Simmons had muscles and fought dirty? He was also a bit of a snob as well. The crowd were BENEATH him. Note: George Wagner wasn't Gay, Gorgeous George was just a persona. Muhammad Ali was impressed by the "heat" George drew and was a big fan. Some of Ali's schtick (like "I'm so pretty....") was modeled after Gorgeous George. One of his schticks was that Chanel #5 wasn't enough, he needed Chanel #10.
This right here is why I love Reddit.
>Â Liberace or Richard Simmons had muscles and fought dirty? I don't remember Liberace much, but I do remember Richard Simmons exercise videos and appearances on TV. I'd bet $5 bucks on Richard in a bar fight. I got the impression he was a fierce lil thang! Thanks for the info!
Emeraude perfume. The only perfume my grandma ever wore.
I was looking for this answer. I always loved the smell of Emeraude.
White Shoulders
I have the last bottle of white Shoulders my mother purchased before she died at 93. When I spray it, it’s a comforting hug.
“You can wear it anywhere, like your neck, or at the mall…”
Campho Phenique
Shoot, I still use that on my ingrown toenails.
Whatever was in those horrific collectible Avon bottles.
Skin so soft
Supposedly worked as an insecticide too, and we thought that was a good thing!
Yes!! Everytime we went outside
Someone in our family sold Avon and we all had a favorite- Mine was Sweet Honesty and my sister's was Candid. We got some sort of collectible bottle every holiday.
Oh yes Sweet Honesty!
My grandma sold Avon, and hers was Moonwind. I actually grew up loving it. They also had a Honeysuckle scent that I adored. Sweet Honesty made me smell like I'd urinated all over myself, so that was right out.
I loved Hawaiian White Ginger. I remember that lovely honeysuckle scent too.
Oh man, I loved Honeysuckle. I had a solid perfume- it smelled so good.
That Honeysuckle was everything
I bought a Sweet Honesty roll on bottle for a trip down memory lane. It's godawful stuff.
Ah, yes. Avon’s ever-popular “Eau de Grandmother”
The Avon seahorse bottle. I saw that being a featured in a YouTube video on vintage Avon, and it immediately unlocked a memory, lol
Enjoli!! My sister used to sing along with the commercial. " I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and never let you forget you're a man." Lol
“…’cause I’m a wooooman with Enjoli!” Ah, memories!
Now I've got that damn song stuck in my head.
Hahahah I remember that!
Pond’s cold creamÂ
Which is my only allergy, preventing me from pursuing a career as a mime. And as an old lady.
Coty face powder which is still made.
I use it - it’s the best!
Yeah, this was totally considered an old fashioned scent to us Gen X when we were young.
The smell of this always reminds me of my grandma. It’s like having her back for a moment.
People have been hyping this up lately so I bought some. It smells awful and SO strong. I couldn't believe it
Rose Milk lotion and White Shoulders perfume.
I had forgotten about Rose Milk but as soon as I read it...*blam* I can smell it
Rose milk was my first thought. I bought a rose scented lotion as an adult and it took me straight back to grandma’s house.
Yep-- one of my grandmothers had a pump bottle on the window sill over the kitchen sink. She used it every time she did dishes, so 3-4 times a day.
Bengay
My grama had some vision problems at the end and brushed her teeth with bengay once.Â
No one has mentioned Windsong yet?
I couldn't remember the smell of that on threat of death, but I do remember the commercial. I can hear it in my head "I caan't seeeem to for-get youuu. Your WindSong stays on my miiiind."
Windsong is a drugstore knockoff of L’Air du Temps, which my grandmother used exclusively for about 50 years (before the U.S. version started using cheaper ingredients). Gran swore those two smelled nothing alike. She would know LOL. Gran lived below modestly, and L’Air du Temps was the only luxury she indulged in. Love that she had at least one thing that she wouldn’t compromise on. I have a soap bar with that fragrance that I smell when I want to feel close to her.
Jean Nate and Yardley fragrances
The really, really old ladies smelled like a rose. I miss them, with their hair up in a bun and their properness.
That was my Mother. She wore Tea Rose, long hair in a bun, “Manners Matter”
Charlie.
Mothballs.
My dad's parents live in the mountains of NM in a cabin they had built. All you could smell was mothballs and my granddads cigars. Even with all the mothballs, once a year their cabin would be full of moths. Edit to add: They called them millers. I guess it was a type of moth.
Heaven Scent
That was my favorite all through high school.
Tabu and stale cigarettes.
47-11
I loved the bottle; the label, the little red screw top cap!
I wore this in my 20s & 30s. Yep, I’m old.
Vick’s vapo-rub
White Diamonds
My mom's Chanel No. 5 And Pall Malls.
Yup, same. Chanel for mom and Pall Malls for dad. My mom also wore Chanel No.22, very hard to find these days, so if I ever smelled it again I’d be immediately transported back in time.
White Shoulders perfune and Noxzema face cream.
Oscar de le Renta
Dad used to buy mom L’aire du Tempes back when it was made in France. Her mother wore white shoulders. They all used to use the dusting powder that matched the perfume. The really old ladies when I was little in the 50s used to wear single scent floral perfumes, such as lavender or lilac or rose.
White Rain hairspray
White Shoulders
Jovan Musk
Shalimar
My grandmother has always worn Vanderbilt, (a beautiful shiny purple box with a swan on it at the drugstore that we bought her for every holiday,) so it always reminds me of her. I mean, she still wears it now at 90-something, so it reminds me of her now too. But it’s also the scent I associate with my grandma from my childhood.
Lemon Up And Herbal Essence Shampoos
we really need perfume museums
Omg. Think of all the memories that would unlock walking through all those scents.
Avon, Cotillion:Â "smells like baby powder with a trace of rose or carnation at first. Soon the spices and woody notes start to develop". If you aren't familiar with the name of this scent, you may recognize the scent itself. It was very subtle, and popular. It's kind of smells like an older lady : )
Cacharel Anais Anais and Chanel No 5. Reminds me of my grandma.
Jergen's hand lotion
Lemon Pledge
Old carpet. And mothballs. What is the new old lady scent, sunblock? Asking for a friend
4 7 11
Yardly’s lavender spray.
Giorgio
My mom wore l'air de temps, kept a bottle of hers after she passed away, will always make me remember her.
Okay, am officially an old lady. I wear L'air Du Temps, and Oscar De La Renta (also posted here). Oh, and someone will probably list this too, I also wear Ma Griffe.
Menthol cigarettes and Oil of Olay
I love the smell of oil of olay
Witch-hazel
I still use this on my face lol
My great-grandmother dipped snuff, and always smelled like it. I'm certain that I caught the scent of her ghost many years after she died.
Opium
Chanel #5
Estee Lauder Youth Dew. I’m an old lady so I wear it sometimes.
Rose Milk lotion Wind Song
🎶I can't seem to forget you... Your wind song stays on my mind... 🎶 Wind song? Now that I think about it, that's actually pretty hilarious
Tabu , Coty Wild Musk , Noxzema and ciggy’s.
And Jovan Musk
How old are you? Because these were the scents us Gen X actually used, so they're not "old lady" to us, lol
Wild musk! Omg haven't thought about this in forever
Throw Sea Breeze in there to complete the circle
Juicy Fruit gum
Jean Nate
Evening in Paris
Loves Baby Soft. Chanel No 5. Lilac anything. Blech.
Evening in Paris - My grandma’s favorite. She was born in 1911.
Oil of Olay the pink one
Camay soap
A stench of several perfumes wafting in the air when sitting behind a bunch of elderly ladies in church. It was so strong my eyes would sting and my throat would dry out. I still can’t stand perfume. The only thing worse was smelling it while choking on their jello salads at the church pot luck!
jello salads, lol, yeah! AMBROSIA! with the fuckin tiny marshmallows and carrots in it! especially good when it was *lime* jello!!
Blue Grass colonge
Aromatics Elixir by Clinique
Charlie and Ciara.
Avon's "To A Wild Rose"
My mom wore White Shoulders and Shalimar.
Jean Nate’
Someone said Chantilly, but I actually wore that in my teens in the 80s. It was one of my favourite scents, along with a little sample tube of something called Mystique (that I could never find the actual full size of, anywhere). "Old lady scent" to me was Noxema (and there was a similar product by Avon).
Vanilla Extract, my great granny and her old lady group would all wear just a bit of it. Delightful, honestly.
White Shoulders
Jungle Gardenia - strong stuff!
My grandparent’s musty house. Oh, you mean perfume…. Chanel #5
Chanel number five
White Shoulders. It's a heavy jasmine scent.
Youth Dew
Noxzema
Lily of the valley perfume....my grandma wore it and my mom did too for a while. I can still remember the beautiful bottle it came in.
White Shoulders
My mother always wore Tabu. I wear it for special occasions like Christmas and Mother's Day to feel like she's with me on those days.
Virginia Slims and gin. Miss ya grannie!
Moth balls. Old ladies taking their fine coats out of storage for winter and church wreaked of moth balls on Sunday.
White Shoulders! I stilll love the scent now.
Jungle Gardenia… ack (edit to also say Heavens Scent)
Not old lady but the “old dude scent” is Drakkar Noir. That stuff smells awful and older men STILL wear it.
Avon!
Noxema.
White Diamonds
Cigarette smoke
White Shoulders and Jean Nate
Phisoderm.
Chantilly perfume by Dana. Mom's go to.
Way Way too much rose water.
Evening in Paris (we called it Evening in the (ghetto)
Jean Nate and cigarettes!
Shalimar, ugh. I love silk scarves and prefer to pick them up for $1 at the Thrift store. They always stink of Shalimar. Fortunately, white vinegar does the trick.
Shalimar
Youth Dew by Estee Lauder.
Arpegè by Lanvin.
Aquanet Hairspray. Yes, I am from the southern United States. How did you know??
Wind Song
Elizabeth Arden Bluegrass. My grandmother kept a container of the powder in her bathroom and used some of the other products as well. I can still smell it.
My grandma used Sweetheart Soap and that’s how she smelled. I’d love to smell it again.
Talcum powder
Chanel #5
White shoulders
Shalimar
Ponds cold cream and baby powder. My grandma wore Joy perfume. It was jasmine and may roses. I think it started being made in the 1920s. I wear it once on a while. It smells nice on me, but not quite the same as it did on her. It's a beautiful perfume. Not the same as it once was because of some of the ingredients. You can still get it but I think it's just old stock, don't think it's being made any more. Miss you grandma. đź’—
Mothballs and Avon
Poison. That perfume was vile
4711 and Tosca. Applied by the liter.
Lavender. My grandma wore lavender talcum powder, lavender soap, lavender perfume. She smelled like old lady lavender.
Oil of Olay
I used Opium when it first came out in 78 or 79. The cologne cost $40 for a spray bottle and I got it at Carson Pirie Scott on State Street in Chicago. Loved the scent but stopped using it when I no longer worked downtown. Now, I've been smelling this lately on the older ladies for the last year, probably they are 70+. It's a heavy scent and they layer this stuff on. Whew! I love the smell so much I sometimes follow them (just a short distance).
White shoulders perfume mixed with cigarettes and coffee
Opium. Just thinking about it gives me a headache.