Never really getting any for Christmas from my folks or family, I've never been big on after shave and cologne.
In fact it would have been in my late teens when I was most interested in smelling nice socially without the desire to shower regularly. Even back then though, only two scents were in my frequent employ.
Eau Sauvage - or Savage Water was probably the closest I ever got to being fragrant in a sort of blokey way. I used to spray this stuff onto my neck on Friday night's when I went out on the razz and had couple of beers. It had a sort of lemony citrussy smell, which wasn't too bad. My older Sister Rene got me my first bottle.
Of much greater significance was patchouli oil. This was a lifestyle aroma and the lifestyle I had was late 1970's hippy. Patchouli was a dab of Mother Earth and I enjoyed its niff immensely. Dabbing it on was an act of protest in itself and back in those days I was a big protester.
Not only did I enjoy wearing it but I was enticed by the opposite sex who wore it. Like a long-haired pheromone, patchouli wearers would seek each other out in the crowded bars of late night Lancashire like badgers, attracted by the promise of all-night debates on the meaning of existence and heavy petting on beanbags to a soft soundtrack of Camel and Neil Young. How I miss patchouli.
Much later in life in my forties I did dabble with Brut and Old Spice for work, those stalwarts of the Sixties scent industry, clinging on like dinosaur musk and worn by my own Dad and older brothers when I was in nappies. Splashing them all over, as old 'Enery would say, was like putting vinegar on chips. It felt nostalgic.
I sort of gave up on all of it in my fifties as I was convinced it triggered allergies. I now rely on a decent soap like Dove to give me an acceptable nose during the day.
Did you get cologne or toiletries for Christmas in your teens readers?
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For MJ!
The funniest cologne scene ever!
