By the time I was buying perfume in the 70s, Youth Dew by Estee Lauder had been around for a couple decades and it was absolutely not what anyone thought of as youthful. Nor, contrary to the above ad's claim, was it the sexiest fragrance ever. I could see it if you were trying to score a date with the local funeral director as that whiff of narcissus and aldehydes might feel familiar.Youth Dew always felt like a fragrance I needed to age into, like SAS shoes and carrying butterscotch candy in my handbag. Alright, I had two out of three going, so I gave myself the tiniest spritz from a vintage bottle I'd bought something like 10 years ago waiting for, "The right moment."
I tried, I really did. I know it was a groundbreaking fragrance in the 50s, beloved by so many people but I lasted under a minute before I had to scrub it off. It barely budged, I scrubbed again. By this point I'd sneezed several times, started coughing, and my eyes were burning. I took a couple of Benadryl antihistamines, immediately regretting that I didn't go for the liquid I keep for allergic reactions. I did congratulate myself for recently refilling my expired asthma inhaler and eppi pen, just in case.
After two good scrubs, it didn't smell that bad! I'm sure on the right person it can be lovely, but my reaction does make me wonder where could you even politely wear something like this today? It is, a lot! Perhaps my vintage bottle concentrated into something different from the original, but looking at the listed notes for it, all i can think is, "Yeah, that's in it." I guess a better question might be, what isn't in it?
An hour later (still coughing and developing a migraine) it clung to me, like a younger sibling refusing to go to bed. Most perfumes last about 20 minutes on my super-dry skin, but this baby wasn't letting go. It did, to be fair begin smelling better as time passed and the top notes burned off a bit. I should mention that I have a modern bottle of Youth Dew that smells nothing like the vintage. Well, not nothing of course as the spices are still there, and the overall effect is still in the same category, but much gentler. I will probably get another outraged comment for saying this, but the Vintage Youth Dew is like Divine throwing a tantrum and screaming about cha cha heels in John Waters' brilliant movie, Female Trouble. Youth Dew is bringing down the Christmas tree in a fit of rage. The spices do give it an interesting Christmas vibe.
So what's in it? I had to look it up because after aldehydes, narcissus, cinnamon, cloves, and oakmoss I was at a loss. I also didn't give it enough time, full strength on my skin to try understanding the notes.
Spices, aldehydes, narcissus, lavender, orange, Coca Cola (?), peach, bergamot, cloves, cinnamon, rose, ylang ylang, jasmine, lily of the valley, cassia, orchid, incense, tolu balsam, peru balsam, oakmoss, amber, patchouli, vetiver, vanilla, musk, and Liquid Plumber. I lied about the last one. But it could be in there, along with the kitchen sink.
Full disclosure, I've never been in love with Estee Lauder fragrances. The original formulation of Knowing was pleasant, but so close to Norell, I'd rather wear the latter. The original formulation of Azuree was also nice, and I never minded being given soap/bath oil/lotion my mother would get as a Free With Purchase gift because she couldn't stand it. Aramis was another except I always preferred it on other people. I was never going to be the target audience for most of their fragrances, but I still wanted to try, as I loved the idea of an American perfume.
As it eventually wears off, you will be left with a very scratchy sort of cinnamon. If you like those scented brooms/pine cones sold as holiday home scents, you will absolutely love Youth Dew.
Wear with caution.
