A few of you may recall a post I did last year about how a field trip and a school bus situation helped ignite my love for perfume. If you’re curious, here it is:
But to make a long story short, I had gone on an elementary school field trip to a Seminole Indian reservation, and as we were leaving, I stopped by the gift shop and bought some orange blossom solid perfume. It was love at first sniff!
In all my ‘fume travels since then, I’ve smelled some wonderful variations on that theme, but nothing ever exactly re-created the scent wafting from those little silver tins. Until now. A kind and generous Posse reader sent me several neroli and orange-blossom-based samples a while back, all quite lovely. And one of them happened to be Ava Luxe’s Neroli Blossom.
One whiff and I was nearly jumping up and down shouting, “That’s it! That’s it!” And you know I used up that sample in record time. So you can imagine how thrilled I was to find a bottle of the perfume oil recently on eBay. So I’m happily wafting my favorite childhood scent as I type this.
Don’t you just love it when the past and present come together in “happy accidents”? (Incidentally, the title of a favorite movie of mine, an adorably quirky time-travel romantic comedy starring Vincent D’Onofrio and Marisa Tomei.)
What about you? Have you ever sniffed something and it was a dead ringer for a perfume or other scent you once loved?
What a great find! I tried to revisit a past scent favorite by getting a decant of Paco Rabanne Calandre, which I’d loved in college. I hadn’t smelled it in about 20 years, I’d say. And when I did–yikes! I couldn’t fathom what I’d loved about it back then. My tastes had clearly changed too much to enjoy that particular walk down memory lane. Glad your stroll down said lane had a much better ending!
The Ava Luxe Neroli is beautiful, isn’t it?
Several years ago I sampled Garden Botanika’s Honey Citrus. Holy Recovered Memory! It was as if I was sitting at the breakfast table at Grandma’s house eating toast with honey butter. Exactly the same scent. I hadn’t thought about it in decades, but she always made honey butter when I came to visit because I liked it so much. Ah, the power of scent.
Glad to see yet another Ava Luxe fan. I love your scent memory of being at Grandma’s house — priceless! Hope you got a bottle of it to enjoy for a long time.
Oh! I almost bid on that bottle, lol! Glad it went to someone who adores it. 🙂 Still might buy it from Ava Luxe, along with her Fleur d’Oranger. Has anyone tried that one?
My fave neroli (and I am a neroli/ob freak) is Annick Goutal’s. It is pure, bright happiness.
My recaptured perfume is Shiseido Zen black. My mom gave me her freebie sample when I was 13 because she didn’t care for it, and I was swooning over it. When I tracked it down on Ebay a few years ago, I was sure to get it in every possible version. It still smells like magic to me.
I have not tried her FdO, but it sounds lovely — will have to be on the lookout for it. Also need to re-try the AG; think I had some sinus issues when I sprayed it and didn’t fully experience it, so will give it another go.
I, too, loved the original black bottle Zen. Then over the years they kept changing it and the bottles and I kind of lost track of it. Sounds like a refresher is in order — thanks!
I have the same issue with the font, since The Switch. Browser is firefox. It’s really difficult to read.
Scents which ignite (and are connected to) memories are absolutely the best part about fragrances! I haven’t ever had quite the same experience as you, but years ago while living in Paris I accidentally came across Eau d’Issey. Thought it smelled good, so I purchased it and it became my fragrance of choice while there. I haven’t worn it since and now whenever I get the slightest whiff of that fantastic juice I am immediately transported back to Paris. 😀
How wonderful to have had that lovely fragrant association — and with Paris, no less! Are you tempted to wear it again?
Whoa! Did someone change the font of this web page? Because I can hardly read it. Sorry to be OT, but I have been away for a while and checked in today. The letters are not smooth but zig-zaggy with pixels. Uck!
Elizabeth, I’m not seeing anything like that! hmmm….anybody else? Could it be on your end? Check back later and see if anybody else is having that issue.
xoxo:Devil:
ps. welcome back! hope this pixel/zigzag is a fluke.
Yes, seconding Musette in hoping that this is just a onetime quirk …
Oh, it’s been horrible on my ‘puter ever since the changeover. HORRible. I muddle through anyway.
Could be the browser software. I’m using IE8 (IE9 screwed everything up on this machine, which is 4 years old, so I switched back). I’ve got Firefox on my laptop, and this page is easier to read on the laptop.
I’m using Firefox and a laptop and the font is nearly unreadable for me. 🙁
Thank you, Musette! I use Firefox at home and at work. Strangely, the work computer does not have the weird font issue with this page–it looks fine. The home one however is where the trouble is, and I use the same version of Firefox on both! 8-0
I’m having the same issue – not sure why, but it’s very hard to read now.
The text is barely readable, I agree, and has been for a few weeks now. I’m using Firefox. It looks a lot better using Chrome, but for various reasons Firefox needs to be my default browser.
I use google chrome and it’s ok. I just tried it on firefox, and it’s pretty bad unless you really zoom in and make it *much* bigger. Bigger always works for me, since I’m blind as a bat, lol.
I agree – font has looked very strange for the last few weeks. I use Internet Explorer 8.
WOW! You’re so lucky. Mine is JAZZ, can’t find anything that smells like it used to. I just wear the current bare bones interpretation and pretend.
Much love,
Portia xx
OMG, I just saw 2 vintage bottles of Jazz on Saturday at a charity shop near me! I’ll ring and check if they still have them and if they do I’ll grab em up.
Woo-hoo! Now here’s another one of those “happy accidents”! Hope Meredith can score those bottles for you!!
I am so pleased for you, Ann! I love it when that sort of thing happens, especially as its so rare. I am on the lookout for my own ‘aha’ moment as I have an unlabelled bottle of oil which smells divine but I cannot find. I bought it at a Pheasant Lane Mall kiosk yonks ago, loved it but can’t for the life of me remember what it is! If pressed to define it, I would call it a ‘sinister coconut’. Sounds vile, I know, but it is a dark coconutty/patch/vetiver/smoke creation and it WORKS. I’m sure Black Phoenix would have something very similar but they just have so so many that the idea if hunting it down is daunting , if fun….
Oooh, that oil does sound divine. Here’s hoping that you find out what it is and can get as much as your heart desires!
Hi; thanks for stopping by. Sorry you’ve been unable to find the Katia, but don’t give up hope. Sometime when you least expect it, it’ll show up on eBay and you can snap it up. Glad you’ve found a couple of similar ones, even if they aren’t exactly spot-on; hopefully they can see you through until the real thing comes along. I’ll keep my eyes open for it as well.
Way back when, I had two bottles of the perfume named Katia (sadly discontinued) and promptly used. I keep looking for it on Ebay and haven’t seen it on there in years. The closest perfume(s) that I can find is the Vera Wang for her and Sheer Veil. Sheer Veil is a little lighter and closer to Katia where Vera Wang for her is a little more dense and a little louder.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=katia+perfume
Dont know if this is what u want, but go check.
Was that Ekaterina Gordeeva’s Katia? I loved her and Sergei, and it was both shocking and heartbreaking when he died so suddenly.
I was thinking the same thing, too. Is it her fragrance?
I don’t know the rules about links here, but it piqued my interest since I’d never smelled it, so I did a bit of looking around. Tommy Girl seems to be the consensus for a true match…hope that’s true!