The Old Lady Scents

[Altaira]

When I say "old lady smell" I'm not talking about powder or roses or anything that really means "old fashioned scent." I ofte like those things (I'm in my late 30's for those keeping track.)

 

I'm talking about the sour smell that very old people (usually 80+) and the very sick often have. This, mixed with the floral perfumes (or room sprays) sometimes used to mask it equals "old lady smell." I associate it with my grandmother who died of cancer.

 

And for me, it is anything with carnation.

 

I don't think it's being overly sensitive to cringe at derogatory remarks, no matter what group they are flung at.

This is very true, the agreved party always gets to say when things are hurtful and should be stopped.

 

 

I do believe that ageism is actually against Federal laws, yep that is correct.

Unless you are being denied a job, housing, or are being physically attacked for your age, this is completely untrue. There is no federal law in the US against being an asshole. For any reason. In fact, the first amendment guarantees our right to offend anyone we please.

[blu°]

There's some scent types that I associate with women of certain ages, and it's not necessarily the powdery rose ones - which I tend to like myself.

 

One type reminds me of our neighbour when I was a kid in the early eighties. She was in her fourties then, I think, but might have been about my age now (37). The scent type makes me think of her and all-inclusive hotel trips to mass tourist places. It's very weird how all those associations get crammed in there. These are usually tropical-fruity-bold florals (angel's trumpet etc). Think bathing costume with built in pointed bra and big floral print in screaming colours. And big sunglasses.

 

And then there's the type of scent that I often smell on the bus. It's a kind of white musk gone bad thing, where I can really make out the mature woman body scent intermingling. It must be a very popular perfume type because I smell it a lot, and most wearers don't seem to notice that they put on too much of it and that it doesn't work with their skin chemistry. (Of course, I might be the only one who thinks it doesn't work, scent perception and preference being as subjective as they are.)

 

Personally, I got the impression, that this type of scent might smell good in small doses on a teenager and turns horrid on more mature women. That might be wrong, though, and the reasons for this scent-skin chem reaction might not have anything to do with age. It's just the association I get. Whenever I test a scent that does that thing on me, I am tempted to label it "old lady" scent, although I don't usually use that description when I do reviews on forum. Actually, the label in my mind is not really "old lady", but "old lady who doesn't know that that perfume doesn't work on her and is over-dosing". So, for me, too, it's more about the reaction of scent and skin chemistry that triggers that idea (but it got nothing to do with carnation).

[TheFrenchWaffle]

For me, old lady scents are linked to the concept of old age by association (for instance my grandmother uses rose soap and some kind of rose scented face powder) and are not necessarily meant to be disrespectful or derogatory. That saying here are the scents that were "old lady-esque" to me.

 

-Salome (one of my grandmothers used to collect those Avon perfume dolls and this reminds me of that perfume)

-Black Cat (reminds me of my great aunt and the soap she uses)

-Darkness (reminds me of those classic perfumes that I think I am just a tad too young to carry off in a classy way)

-Moscow (" ")

-Casanova (it reminds me of my grandfather's old library, I love this scent but an unfortunate mental link between Casanova and my grandfather kind of ruined the "sexiness" of the scent)

[stellamaris]

Lucky for me there are no laws against sarcasm, however I find many sadly often do not recognize this beast when it wanders into their radar.

Yes, I know that you cannot be indited for being an asshat, the point I was trying to make clearly not very well, was that it is so egregious to be ageist that it is indeed, against the law, as it is to be racist, and therefore comments of this nature can go right into the Really Truly Offensive box, along with racist jokes, misogynist comments and all other hurtful tacky junk.

[Monday]

'Old fashioned' is a better term I must agree. I love this thread because I love the 'old fashioned' scents of Bpal (Haunted, Brisingamen, Dance of Death) and there are many great recommendations here. Keep them coming .

[jizatt]

my personal thought is that we remember older people in our lives wearing certain styles of perfumes, same as clothing, same as names. Gertrude and Florence and Chastity And Agatha and Dorothy and such will one day be the new hotness And grandma will mean Emily and Makenna and Bailey and Madison, as well as the perfumes like Angel and Pink Sugar (or whichever!) will smell like grandmas eventually. I think the mainstream trend will soon swing back to whats considered a natural, pure or even a single note scent. All that is pure speculation of course =)

 

Back on topic, the perfumes that have gotten the strongest "old lady" reaction from my husband have been Nuit and Spellbound.

[sharkdiver]

You may want to try Grandmother of Ghosts

 

I haven't actually skin tested it yet, but it did smell like a light floral - and to me, I associate floral perfumes with older matronly women the most. I tend to wear very resiny/incensy or creamy blends, and if I wear something that has florals, they are VERY light. Only Rose red I can get away with. A lot of the teas rose, or damask rose blends, smell of the kind of rose scent I associate with old ladies who used to wear rose scented perfumes. This is also why I just cannot like LUSH's Turkish Delight cream soap. I makes me feel frumpy...and I'm 32, and don't want to purposefully make people think I am older than I am, I am so not in a rush!

 

ETA: My Grandma is 81 years old, and she always wears Estee Lauder Pleasures, which I think smells VERY similar to La Bella Donna Della Mia Mente. The funny thing, is when she was younger, probably in her 60's, she used to wear the kinds of scents I classify in my mind as "Old Lady" smells - She had that Lily of the Valley perfume, which I used to love to smell when I was a kid, because it smelled like Gram! I like her perfume choices SO much more now though...LOL

Edited December 20, 2011 by sharkdiver

[MuskWitch]

My own "take" on the "Old Lady" scent is that it smells like an old lady. Here's how that happens. Older ladies sometimes have very dry skin, so they don't bathe every day. I'm not saying they smell like B.O. What they DO is apply their perfume every day. So, what you end up with is staler perfume, overlayed by stale perfume, overlayed by fresh perfume. UGH! And more times than not it is not the right perfume, and it is applied WAY too heavily multiple times.

 

It isn't necessarily the notes that make it smell old lady, it is the application?

[stellamaris]

My own "take" on the "Old Lady" scent is that it smells like an old lady. Here's how that happens. Older ladies sometimes have very dry skin, so they don't bathe every day. I'm not saying they smell like B.O. What they DO is apply their perfume every day. So, what you end up with is staler perfume, overlayed by stale perfume, overlayed by fresh perfume. UGH! And more times than not it is not the right perfume, and it is applied WAY too heavily multiple times.

 

It isn't necessarily the notes that make it smell old lady, it is the application?

You must have met some Ladies of a Certain Age with Really Bad Hygene Habits

 

I have to add in Ave Maria Gratia Plena, one of my personal favorites, but I have to be in a certain mood to wear it, as it is very heavy, and feels a lot like Guerlain's Mitsouko to me.

[dreamingjune]

When I tested out The Caterpillar for a bit I was told that it has an old lady perfume about it-- Heavy incense notes waft lazily through a mix of carnation, jasmine, bergamot, and neroli over a lush bed of dark mosses, iris blossom, deep patchouli and indolent vetiver. I would guess that it was the floral notes mixing with the incense to create a powdery old fashioned scent.

[Gold Dust Kitten]

There is a certain kind of rose that reminds me of a perfume my great grandmother wore. Whatever rose is in London is the one I mean. I actually like rose in some blends, as long as it's with resins or leather, such as Spellbound or Vamp.Goth. I can't stand rose with other florals at all...or many florals for that matter. The one note that makes me think "ack! old lady" is violet. It's a combination of it being powdery + floral that is positively nauseating. I also get the same reaction to bpal lavender, which also makes me think of how diapers (and possibly Depends undergarments) smell.

 

ETA..some of the scents that others may classify as "old lady" such as Black Lace, Haunted, Event Horizon...to me, are "sophisticated". I love heavy stuff, some of my favorite classic perfumes are YSL Opium, Guerlain Samsara, Must de Cartier. I've loved these types ever since I was a teenager, and I'm still nowhere near "old".

Edited December 29, 2011 by mxtine

[MuskWitch]

My own "take" on the "Old Lady" scent is that it smells like an old lady. Here's how that happens. Older ladies sometimes have very dry skin, so they don't bathe every day. I'm not saying they smell like B.O. What they DO is apply their perfume every day. So, what you end up with is staler perfume, overlayed by stale perfume, overlayed by fresh perfume. UGH! And more times than not it is not the right perfume, and it is applied WAY too heavily multiple times.

 

It isn't necessarily the notes that make it smell old lady, it is the application?

You must have met some Ladies of a Certain Age with Really Bad Hygene Habits

 

I have to add in Ave Maria Gratia Plena, one of my personal favorites, but I have to be in a certain mood to wear it, as it is very heavy, and feels a lot like Guerlain's Mitsouko to me.

 

Well, I don't think they had bad hygiene habits, it's just that older folks (I'm talking 70's and 80's, since I'm in my mid 50's ) usually only bathe every other day because soap dries out their skin. There isn't any BO,just layers of old perfume. Kinda hard to describe. Oh, and it is usually icky perfume to begin with. And there is the "My Grandma/Old neighbor/Old maid teacher/etc used to smell like that".

[tziporra]

Found a new one!!!

 

Bottle art notwithstanding, I think L'Inverno is the ultimate representation of the crone in scent form. When I put it on, I can feel my power shifting to something wiser and more independent. Sooooooo awesome. As someone else mentioned here, it is an incensey floral, so maybe that is why I am getting the association. But <guh> LOVE.

 

Tzi

[Monday]

Found a new one!!!

 

Bottle art notwithstanding, I think L'Inverno is the ultimate representation of the crone in scent form. When I put it on, I can feel my power shifting to something wiser and more independent. Sooooooo awesome. As someone else mentioned here, it is an incensey floral, so maybe that is why I am getting the association. But <guh> LOVE.

 

Tzi

I may just have to try that one.

[mermaidsdream]

"Death Embraces a Young Maiden" -- not sure what it is, but at least on me is a cross between "old lady" and "diaper wipe" *blech*

[Dark Alice]

b340 is my favorite "old lady smelling" perfume.

[Dani87]

I noticed most people refer to rose or powder scents as old lady. I love a lot of the old lady scents mentioned darkness, event horizon, and grandmother of ghost. I really like rose too, but I don't like powdery. So I find snake oil, follow me boy, and stuff like that to be the most "old lady". However, my mamaw loves hairy toad lily, and sin. So maybe you could try those.

[i3luebyrd]

My favorite scent I've ever gotten from BPAL is schlafende baigneuse. It's delicious with buttery monkey flower and other creamy florals. I adore it, but it reminds me of a grandma. Like an awesome grandma who wears only couture and eats madelines.

[Dissendium]

Hey deary! I'm not sure if your still looking but Whitechapel might be the sort of scent you like

 

It came as a frimp from the lab with one of my orders and the GC describes it thus:

A gentlemen's blend, possessed of dignity, charm and refinement, but in truth masking a corrupted, hideous, soulless core. White musk, lime, lilac and citron.

 

Some of the masculine scents work interestingly well on me (I's a laydee ) and it's name alone caught my attention so I was intrigued and gave it the old test. It came out citrus at first but as the day progressed It boiled down to something much more classic, vintage and refined exactly how you described the old-lady note you love so much haha so maybe try that. I do know everyone's skin is different though <3