I am dedicating this Valentine’s Day to past (but not lost) loves. If you’ve been in love with perfume for as long as I have, you might recall those young feelings of giddy excitement every time you discovered a new scent at a fragrance store or simply smelled something delicious on someone else.
This happened to me a lot as a teenager, but because I couldn’t just purchase what I wanted when I wanted it, I had to find different ways to satisfy my obsession. Miniatures were a great way to own multiple fragrances at once, but my generous parents and grandparents would buy them for me on occasion.
I was bewitched by so many fragrances that I can’t possibly mention them all. However, I want to highlight three not-as-popular fragrances from the eighties that made an impression on me years ago. They may not be famous, unmissable staples in perfumery, but they still resonate with me today. If you’re drawn to gems from the past, these picks are very different from one another and might still be found on discount sites. Their beauty and evocative power are irresistible to me…
Pikenz The First Arrogance Pour Femme (1982). My classmate wore this for the entire duration of middle school, so I could always identify her through it. Supposedly created for career women, it centers on a cool and ethereal bouquet of white flowers and roses with lighthearted sparkles of citrus and aldehydes. It’s delicate and romantic, yet instantly recognizable. The other distinctive aspect was the memorable commercial that playfully highlighted both Pour Femme and Pour Homme versions. I have no experience with newer formulations of the fragrance.
Top notes: white lily, bergamot and orange
Heart notes: orange blossom, rose, jasmine
Base notes: oakmoss, musk, cedar.
Revlon Xia Xiang (1987). My mom disliked powdery fragrances, so we didn’t have them in the house much. I was, of course, irredeemably attracted to their sultriness and retro character, so you can imagine my joy when I sniffed this smutty, yet sophisticated beauty at my friend’s house. Xia Xiang had been given to her mom as a gift, but she considered it to be too much, so they kept the beautiful bottle just for display. I could have put it to such good use, but I couldn’t just steal it, could I? I’d describe it as layers and layers of powder with decadent fruits, lavish florals, and gilded woods.
Top notes: bergamot, Amalfi lemon, tangerine
Heart notes: jasmine, African orange flower, gardenia, ylang-ylang, rose and lily-of-the-valley
Base notes: sandalwood, patchouli, oakmoss, tonka bean, vanille, peach, plum, chamomile
A by Annabella (1987). This might be the most obscure and shunned out of my three picks today. It is, however, my favorite of the three and, in my opinion, a very elegant chypre fragrance. Created for Annabella, the fur coat store in Pavia, Italy, the fragrance was a complete commercial flop as it had to compete with much more popular creations of the time. I was an oblivious 11-year-old who just liked good smells, so I was very excited when I realized that its miniature was being offered as a free gift with a popular fashion magazine. Forever drawn to the chypre olfactory family, this was instant love for me. Thirty-three years later, I found a fully sealed bottle of A in an old Italian perfume store and I enjoy it just as much.
Top notes: aldehydes, bergamot, coriander, hyacinth, rosewood
Heart notes: carnation, jasmine, iris, rose, tuberose, ylang ylang
Base notes: amber, cistus, musk, oakmoss, patchouli, vetiver
All highlighted fragrances are from my collection and were personally purchased.
Photo is my own.
Enjoy your fragrant loves today. Happy Valentine’s Day!
I’ve never heard or seen any of the three perfumes from your childhood (where I grew up, we didn’t get any of these brands), but as someone who loved perfumes from a very young age I can relate to the feelings you describe. I still have perfumes from my early years, some of them quite obscure.
These were brands that were popular and even reasonably priced in Italy! I am sure there were plenty of wonderful ones you had at the same time. So happy to hear you can relate to these feelings. 🙂