Summertime on the road: Interstate 80, lemons and Kitson 115 S

Love’s Fresh Lemon  

I was on a road trip last week, driving Interstate 80 across the Great American West and somewhere in the panhandle of western Nebraska, we stopped at one of the lovely and conveniently located state-run rest stops to stretch our legs, read the historical marker, grab a drink and shake out the kinks.

I had just come out of the ladies room stall and was standing at the Roman-fountain-like hand washing station, squirting out the liquid soap and playing with the jets of water when I smelled something   intriguingly familiar from long ago: Lemon, but not your average commercial cleaning product lemon/citrus note which has a slightly wrong lemon bent to it.   No, after afew moments it came to me.  It was an old friend from long ago:  Loves Fresh Lemon scent.  Lemon with salt. Not the slick, blah  salt that you find dissolved in soft water and power drinks, either,  it was crunchy, mineral salt on top of a fresh squeezed lemon. What a nice surprise!   And a blast from the past.  1969 to be exact.

This was an interesting find. While I doubt that the Nebraska Department of Roads stocked their ladies room bathrooms with Love’s Fresh Lemon liquid hand soap, I do think  who ever made the decision to purchase their supplies did us all a very nice favor. Apparently you can still find the real thing (I hope it hasn’t been tampered with) from the company Dana who has reintroduced it with a more updated packaging that unfortunately lacks the visual punch of the 1969 products.

Kitson 115 S by Kitson Los Angeles

I discovered this little gem at the Santa Barbara Kitson store and what a marvelous surprise this turned out to be.  It’s a light oriental fragrance that has a touch of patchouli, a bit of sweet berries and what seems to be tea.  However, I found nothing about the composition online and I’m not a chemist, so I have nothing definitive to report about this lovely fragrance.  Except that the patchouli is light it gives it enough warmth but doesn’t bonk you over the head like Angel, nor is it too sweet like Bath and Body’s Dark Kiss.  And somewhere in this mysterious mix is a tea note, which gives it a welcome crispness and lightness, especially in this summer’s heat.

I have to admit that I was skeptical after the first few minute with this one; it has a great opening impression (yawn).  But instead of it turning average or worse, this one stayed true to its opening notes, got a little more depth with time and sailed right on through the afternoon and evening leaving me with that nagging little “It’s the ONE so  you better go back and buy it” voice whispering  in my head.  So back we went before we left town that morning. I’m nearly through my first bottle so I bought another two because, man, it’s going fast. And at $35 for 1.7 oz. of EDP it’s a reasonable price.  The name “115 S” refers to the address 115 South Robertson Boulevard in Los Angeles, where one of their stores is located.

Hint: It’s not carried in all of the Kitsons. When I asked about it at their store near the Santa Monica Place Mall nobody in the store knew what I was talking about and it certainly wasn’t on their shelves.

What unexpected surprises have you found on the road this summer?

  • Eldarwen 22 says:

    The last time I was at a state run rest stop was somewhere near Cedar Point coming back from a Rammstein concert a couple months ago. The rest stop was pretty nice but the soap was utter crap. I don’t ever recall finding anything good perfume wise when traveling.

  • Musette says:

    I spent 10 hours on I-80 last summer, on my way to Ravenna, Nebraska….either we didn’t stop at any State-run rest stations, I am completely clueless…or I am completely unhygienic! Here’s hoping it’s #1 or #2 – ew…wait. That didn’t sound right, either…. :Worry:

    xo :Devil:

  • Poodle says:

    I love finding fragrances on vacations. Lucky you to find a good smelling soap in a rest area. The stuff in my office is awful so it’s nice to know some places actually have good smelling ones. I liked Fresh Lemon back in the day. I still like Love’s Baby Soft.

    • Kay Juricek says:

      Thank you. Oh, Loves Baby Soft! Boy that brings back memories, too! Thanks for the reminder!

  • Ann says:

    Great post, Kay! Perfume adds an even more fun aspect to traveling, doesn’t it? And I love it that you found a scent memory at a rest stop, of all places!
    I, too, enjoyed the Love’s line, but after a few years of heavy-duty babysitting, the Baby Soft scent wasn’t quite as appealing. I did have a fondness for the Rain one, but not sure if they make that one anymore though.

    • Kay Juricek says:

      Hi and thanks. You never know when you’ll find something unusual, or where!

    • Kay Juricek says:

      Hi and thank you. You never know when you’ll find something unusual, or where!

  • Sam says:

    I often return from my travels with little fragrant bottles (or tins of perfume solids). Frankly, they often aren’t that interesting…they’re more simple scents that capture a moment in time on a trip. But that’s okay. I still enjoy them for exactly that reason: one sniff and I’m transported back to Capri, Wales, Wherever. Thanks for sharing your travel scent finds!

  • Farawayspices says:

    I love fragrant finds, particularly of the nostalgia and/or inexpensive varieties. I was pleasantly surprised by Dark Kiss, so I must investigate this Kitson find, this is not a store that can be found in my area, so I’m off to do a little Internet searching! 🙂

    • Kay Juricek says:

      Yes the nostalgic ones relly give a jolt when they’re out of the blue. The Kitson frag is available through decanting sites. It was so obscure in the some Kitson stores (!) that I hope it remains in their inventory!