That scent takes me back: Classic perfumes that spelled pure glamour

If you’ve ever walked through a busy department store, chances are you’ve been ‘assaulted’ by an over-enthusiastic salesperson wielding an atomiser. And what with well-meaning gifts from family and friends, plenty of us build up quite a collection of perfumes.

But there’s almost always just one or two scents that are instantly recognisable as meaningful to you – the perfume or cologne a beloved parent or grandparent wore, the fragrance you were bought when courting that became your ‘signature scent’ or the bottles that crowded your mother’s dressing table, spelling absolute glamour to you as a child. 

But it wasn’t always like this.

On this day in 1921, Mademoiselle Coco Channel changed the game forever by releasing the world’s first ever modern perfume for women. While celebrities aren’t strangers to releasing their own brands of fragrances these days, perfume for women with a uniquely feminine scent weren’t as common at the time.

Coco changed all that with the release of Chanel No. 5. While there are now more than 80 different versions of the iconic fragrance available, the original mix of vetiver, orange blossom, jasmine, Mai rose, ylang ylang, essence of neroli and tonka bean was groundbreaking for the time.

Read more: Choosing the right perfume for over-60s

Of course, the popularity of Chanel No. 5 has always been helped by celebrity endorsements. Those who grew up in the 1960s will probably remember Marilyn Monroe appearing in a number of lavish commercials for the perfume – after all, it was, she said, all she wore to bed! In one, an everyday lady transformed into Monroe after spraying herself with Chanel No. 5.

It got Starts at 60 thinking about some of the classic perfumes and the fancy commercials that came with them.

In 1953, Escapade perfume told women to be lovely is to feel lovely. The black and white clip featured a stunning model and said a fragrance could “express your gayest self”. Of course, at the time, that meant to be happy!

Meanwhile, Estee Lauder’s Youth Dew debuted in the 1950s, as did English Leather by Dana.

A classic from the 1960s was an Ambush ad, also from Dana (the same manufacturer also introduced Tabu in the ’60s). Featuring a pretty model, a male voiceover intoned that a woman “has many tactics” and described the new fragrance as “a woman’s tactic”.

Tigress was another classic in the ‘60s, marketed as “a most female perfume”. In one particular clip, a woman can be seen channelling her inner-tiger as she applies the perfume and eyes up a handsome man.

The ‘6os were also the time of Avon’s Unforgettable, and a whole range of solid perfumes sold by Avon ladies in delicate little tubs. Tweed by Lentheric, although it debuted in the 1930s, was huge for decades, and particularly in the ‘6os and ’70s.

But some fragrance fanatics might argue that the ’70s really belonged to Charlie by Revlon. Described by Revlon as “Madison Avenue at its finest”, the fragrance was sold as being the company’s most different and original fragrance, with an ad featuring Shelley Hack and Bobby Short.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Sn8H42FZcI

There were so many other classics you may remember. In the 60s, Jean Patou’s Joy fragrance was sold as ‘the costliest perfume in the world’, while bargain-hunters turned to Yardley’s Lily of the Valley or Roses or some good old 4711. 

What was your favourite perfume growing up? Has your style evolved over the years or do you stick to a trusty favourite signature scent?