Classic Males Scents From Memory

My history with men’s fragrance goes all the way back to Dad.

My parents divorced when I was very young and I have early memories of going to weekend visitations and riding with Dad in his work truck. My dad smelled like Brut. I know this because that iconic green bottle is right there with the memory of his scent. With notes of lavender, amber, citrus, and wood, Brut, along with my first favorite Love’s Baby Soft, very much laid the foundation for everything that smelled “good” to me then and continues to smell good to me today.

When I was a teen and into my early 20s, I used to wear the Brut deodorant. I’m not sure my exact motivation, whether to be reminded of Dad or because I just liked the fragrance. Later, Dad wore Polo, another green bottle, but this time it held notes of wood, tobacco, basil, and leather. It was nice, but it was no Brut.

Another classic form my past is Irish Spring soap. Grandpa always used Irish Spring. If I picture the earliest bathroom that I have in my memory it’s my grandparent’s bath in Garden Grove, California, with the red flocked wallpaper and the mirrored walls. Fancy-smancy room and on the shower shelf, a bar of green and white soap. I remember the line from the commercial, “It’s manly, but I like it, too!”spoken by the red headed-hottie with the Irish accent. Good stuff. Forget wanting to look like Barbie, I grew up wanting to look like one of the Irish Spring girls.

When I got a little older, I started smelling other male scents, a little sweat, which in small doses is lovely. If you have no appreciation for true boy-smell, then I feel sorry for you. Not in a pitying way, but rather in a that’s-a-shame way. Some of the boys smelled of cigarette smoke, some of shampoo, some held a whisper of scent from wherever they worked. One smelled of  a combination of soap, french fries from the arcade, and the park because he liked to hike there with his  bow. One boy was all Flex shampoo-scent with his long hair. One boy, a boy that I rarely let go of, probably smelled more like my perfume than anything else.

My ex-husband wore Spice deodorant and after we split, I did the same thing I did with Dad – I wore the same scent. I think I was confused about the split and wanted to somehow keep something that reminded me of him close as I raised our children alone. I loved the clove-iness of it. When I smell it now, it takes me right back to the age of 26.

What are some classic male scents from your past?  If you are a man, what was the first scent that you chose for yourself?

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