Relationship with parents is a difficult question and, it would seem, is not at all about beauty. But when you start asking your acquaintances about how and from what their ideas about femininity were formed, most remember the scent of their mother's perfume.
The smells of childhood play a big role in our life. They often become a psycho-emotional thread that connects us with loved ones. The warmth of a mother's kiss, the mysterious attraction of femininity, an understanding of what a "special case" is.
My mother used Climat, Lancôme perfume. In the 70s in the USSR, it was a real hit and the most coveted gift. Violet, lily of the valley, bergamot, rose, daffodil and sandalwood - this is impossible to forget. That is why I was so glad when Lancôme decided to recreate this perfume especially for Russia. After carefully studying the source, they released the Climat L 'Edition Mythique, which I immediately presented to my mother. But alas, he no longer made such an impression on her as before, and smoothly moved on to someone from his acquaintances. And the point here is not that “today all the well-known fragrances sound differently” (although in the case of Climat, experts say that it is as close as possible to the original source), but that it has become simply not interesting for mom. This perfume did not evoke any special emotions in her, but I went through a whole adventure: I rememberedhow my parents were going to the theater, how the bottle with incomprehensible letters fascinated me …
So what kind of wave rolls over us at the first notes of the "native smell"?
Perfume is the quintessence: a pure non-material carrier of memory, gestures and moods.
The perfumer and author of several books on fragrances, Jean-Claude Ellena, knows a lot more about this. “Spirits have the power to resurrect the presence of a person who is not with us,” he says. - They can do it much better than clothes that depend on fashion. They have some kind of inviolability. Today, perhaps, this is less relevant, but before women used the same perfume, sometimes, all their lives. And perfume is also associated with happy memories: I wash with my mother in the bathroom, she hugs me, we go to the cinema together, I remember my mother in a beautiful dress … Behind all these pictures is the image of a happy woman. " It is difficult to disagree with this.
But the most interesting thing in this story is that the quality of the spirits themselves fades into the background. Personally, I never wondered how good the composition was. It's my mom's scent, and that says it all. When I began to pester my friends with a similar question, they all answered the same thing as one. Perfumes changed - Shalimar, Guerlain; Diorissimo, Dior; Opium, YSL… None of this mattered, because it was about those moments when we saw a mother and a woman in a dear person at the same time.
“When my mother smothered herself - and she wore Madame Rochas perfume for a long time - it seemed to me that in this way she creates distance around herself. She was no longer quite my mother, she was becoming someone else. This circumstance seemed very strange to me,”recalls Jean-Claude Ellena. Many psychologists today agree that perfumes speak of the border beyond which the parents' personal life, which does not belong to the child, is located.
Jasmine Petyot, Vice President of the Selective Perfumery Association of France, has been consulting for his clients and clients for thirty years. “According to my observations,” she confides with me, “few young women buy perfume as a gift for their mother. Such a gift is more often given by young people, and girls more often buy perfume for their father. " I will say more, today on the Internet you can find bloggers who, during pregnancy, discuss what perfume they will buy after the baby is born. They are already choosing future memories for him. This can be called - "the desire to immortalize oneself in perfume."
One of the "eternal" perfumes that first comes to mind is Chanel N5. Around the world, its sales skyrocket on the eve of Mother's Day celebrations. Professionals call this time "Little Christmas" because in terms of sales these are quite equivalent days. " Other champions in the “gift for mom” category are L'Heure Bleue and Shalimar Guerlain, Miss Dior and Diorissimo, Dior. Mom's perfume is more floral or aldehyde, expressing the classic concept of femininity. They rarely contain amber, musk or woody notes.
Three more modern fragrances that have already become good strong classics - LVie Est Belle and Tresor from Lancome, J'Adore from Dior - also won a place on this list along with retro perfumes. " All three perfumes are advertised by mature women who are quite suitable for the role of a mother. Although most of the named compositions have lighter versions that are quite popular among young people.
A unique place in the collection of status perfumes is occupied by the floral-aldehyde L'Arpege from Lanvin, which always sell well. The hidden irony lies in the fact that the French fashion designer Jeanne Lanvin created this perfume in 1927 on the 30th birthday of her daughter Marguerite. The bottle depicts a mother meeting her daughter, both wearing oversized skirts. From mother to daughter, then from daughter to mother, the roles change, the circle closes. Such is the symbolism.
In the mother-daughter relationship, things are pretty confusing. The renowned psychologist Marie-Magdalene Lessana published the book Between Mother and Daughter: The Tempest, sparkling with piquant humor. There she writes: “In the mother-daughter relationship there is no algebraic logic of the father-son relationship, which are always compared with each other, compete with each other, measure their strength. There is, of course, rivalry between mother and daughter, but here we are talking about the strongest first role model. The scent of perfume is the mother's halo, the zone of contact with her. It includes the ritual of dressing up, vesting, decorating oneself - everything that is so tempting for little princesses. To be attractive - it has something of magic, magic, it gives rise to legends and fairy tales. But in order to free yourself from these magical bonds and become yourself, you need to go through certain moments of rejection,aesthetic detachment. On the day when we ourselves become women, when we begin not only to admire, but also to experience our own desires, a crisis occurs. It affects our skin, our femininity, our reflection in the mirror, our rituals in the bathroom. We need to emphasize unexpectedly realized differences and build our own personality."
Having played enough of the game of “stifling like a mother,” we, in the end, choose for ourselves “real” our own perfume (as a rule, it is definitely not the same one that was on the parent's table). This is already a kind of territory marking.
Mom's perfume is the quintessence of the social code, carefully dosed femininity in a small bottle, a program of happy moments passed down from generation to generation. Memories of them, which seem very personal to us, are actually part of a long bourgeois novel. And as at all times, this novel raises questions about inheritance, individualism and emancipation. But only the most touching and beautiful remains in our hearts - a young mother, applying a few drops of her favorite perfume on her neck.
Opium by Yves Saint Laurent
This provocative scent was the brainchild of Yves Saint Laurent himself. Having entered the world in 1977, the perfume made a lot of noise with its name, frank advertising campaigns, and a rich intoxicating composition. Today, not everyone will remember how the original source sounded, because modern representatives of a fashionable family are completely independent in composition and positioning. Classical Opium had a pronounced oriental character and was remembered for its powerful floral-spicy accord and light “medicinal” trail.
L'Air du Temps by NinRicci
These perfumes were considered a real treasure in the Soviet Union. In addition to the rich composition of carnation, iris, rose and jasmine, they bribed an incredibly beautiful bottle, decorated with a lid in the form of soaring doves. Perhaps they could be called a symbol of the elegance of that time.
Anais Anais by Cacharel
Against the backdrop of the then fashionable perfume "with character", Anais Anais was distinguished by rare delicacy. A delicate floral arrangement and a "blurry" drawing in pastel colors had nothing to do with either aggressive sensuality or ostentatious pretentiousness. It has a light floral freshness and promised eternal youth, scattered with notes of currant, white lily, Moroccan jasmine and moist greenery.
J'ai Ose by Guy Laroche
This perfume appeared in 1978 and enjoyed the same popular love as Opium. By the way, he also had a unique and obvious oriental sound. Still would! After all, sandalwood, patchouli, orris root (a real treasure), vetiver, cedar and rose sounded in the heart of the composition. And it wasn’t too much, because the accords of coriander, citrus and peach softened the situation.
Mon Parfum by PalomPicassо
Pablo Picasso has always been loved in Russia, so we can say that his daughter Paloma came with her perfume to a well-prepared ground. In the 80s, this fragrance was not just trendy, but super trendy. Hyacinth, ylang-ylang, bergamot, angelica, rose and citrus notes together sound extremely emotional and work like a light energetic.
Illustrations: Ekaterina Isaeva
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