Long story about perfume and doughnuts

Kayso, forgive the backstory, but it's important. So, I'm 16, working at my college bookstore, this is the early-mid '80s, and more than one expensive dame smells like a fabulous high-class cinnamon-sugar doughnut. I want to follow them out of the store and lick them, it's so yummy. I finally figure out that it's Shalimar perfume.
Now, I don't really know who I am at this point. I wear Chanel No. 5 because Marilyn wore it in her famous nude photo shoot and I think that's cool, but whether it works with my body chemistry is something I don't really get yet. So I'm a seeker and quite naive. I buy Shalimar.
Urgh. It's okay on me, a little sweet and Oriental, but nowhere near the upscale cinnamon doughnut scent it turns to on other women. I eventually find Etat Libre D'orange Jasmin et Tabac, which I can only get in their shop in Paris, and I'm happy, because no other woman smells like me and it's fantabulous.
Looking at 50 years old, i tear open my first shipment from Oregon Trail. I've bought their Tonka Bean and Soft Sugar because Tonka Bean is one of the ingredients in Jasmin et Tabac and I'm trying to re-create my perfume in soap form. And lo and behold!
It smells like the most sophisticated, expensive, high-end, lickable cinnamon-sugar doughnut ever. It's not a Shalimar dupe per se, but it performs the same function in my nose that the perfume did on certain women back when I was a naive teenager bagging textbooks.
I poured out a dab onto a paper towel and put it under my pillow. The point is--nice fragrance! Highly recommended.

Cool beans! Thanks for sharing. I'll have to check it out!

IrishLass

Some comments just beg for a back story. It's great when we find easy solutions. Grats.

Have you soaped it yet?

No. I've been making eleventy-billion MP Christmas ornaments and other holiday orders. I'm thinking I should blend it with something. I don't have a lot and don't want to waste it so I'm indecisive about how to use it.
If anyone has any suggestions, I'm open.

That sounds divine. It's going on my to-try list.

It sounds amazing! Love your story too, I can picture it all happening, lol. Cinnamon is one of those scents that gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling. Probably going back to childhood memories of grandma's amazing baking skills. Keep us posted on how it behaves for you in soap. I'm intrigued!

grumpy_owl said:

I want to follow them out of the store and lick them, it's so yummy.

Click to expand...

This! I need this scent in boy form.

Hmmmm......interesting. When I was growing up in the 50s, my aunt always wore Shalimar, and the last thing it ever made me think of was cinnamon doughnuts. Very oriental and exotic, nothing warm and homey and lickable. Not even close. But now I want to order the Tonka Bean and Soft Sugar just to see what it smells like.

I've always been a sucker for a good backstory. Remember the J.Peterman catalogs? I used to love reading those. They created such a mystique around their items that you wanted them not so much for what they were, but for the story in which they were wrapped.

There's a FO supplier (can't think of which one off the top of my head) that always has great backstories in their descriptions. I think they should hire you to write copy for them! I've bought a lot of their FOs because of their great descriptive stories. I'm such a sucker. lol

Love the backstory - thanks for sharing!

Oh no - now I'm going to start ordering stuff from Oregon Trails......!
Great story

Oh my...love the story. I have always been a huge fragrance collector so I understand the need to recreate that fragrance. You will have to update us after it cures.

I want to share my recipe it's very good for Christmas gifts. I made a perfume years ago with tonka bean absolute, Peru Balsam, sandalwood, with a little hint of frankincense, then rose absolute ( any variety mine was Rose moroc ) Palma rosa, rosewood, linden blossom absolute and bergamot, I love this perfume recipe as I called it Scent of the orient.

Thank you for sharing, Biarine! That was very generous of you.

IrishLass

You're welcome Irish my pleasure to share my recipe to someone who passionate on perfume as I am. If you want more I have a lot from complicated to simple.