Each time I smell noxema or ten-o-six cleanser, I'm immediately taken back to junior high. Bonnie Bell, Love's Baby Soft, and Coty provided a scented soundtrack to those years wedged between being a kid and a full fledged teen. The word tween did not exist when I entered grade seven at the unripe age of twelve.Each August, Shoppers would put out a teen pack full of all the things one needed to go back to school. Full size bottles of Gee, your hair smells terrific shampoo, Listerine mouth wash, Close-up toothpaste - always in cinnamon - plus some other stuff all for five bucks. Armed with that and an at-least-thrice-read copy of latest Seventeen magazine, I knew I was ready to face the school halls in September. And the locker rooms. At least I didn't have to go to school with stinky boys, but girls - girls can be the worst critics and one would not want to be labelled grungy.
They say that the sense of smell is the strongest trigger between your brain and memories. Makes me wish I could have somehow rigged up my studying to scratch and sniff stickers back in school. Who knows, I may have done a bit better. Dealing with locker room critics coupled with not exactly stellar grades made for interesting times.
Noxema and all that other stuff, scented the period before the teenage years exploded into a massacre of black nail polish, hair dye, and Anais-Anais.
I love the smell of Noxema in the morning.
20 comments:
Thanks for the memories! Yep, I could have written that post right down to the anais anais. Do they still make that?
oh, just thinking about that smell brings me back!
We DID go to the same high school, somehow, didn't we?
God, I'd forgotten Love's Baby Soft, and now it's right there, scenting my memory...
Nice post, K!
...it smells like...angst.
I got Lady Stetson one year for Christmas and just reading this post made me remember its scent...
ha, Lady Stetson, who did I think I was?
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I had forgotten about Close Up cinnamon. Remember Finesse shampoo and Sea Breeze astringent?
OMG! I am not kidding you when I say I went to Walgreens this week and I opened up jars of Noxema and took huge whiffs off of them! God, I love Noxema.
This post also makes me think of Christmases when I was a geek girl, because I always got the huge tub of Ten-O-Six as one of my gifts. Nothing says love like something that says "Hey, here's hoping you dry up those zits this year, honey!" Truth be told, I coveted that gift every year.
Funny how the sense of smell triggers memories. Whenever I smell Calvin Klein's Obsession for Men I am taken back to memories of making out with my first love in my parents car at the Dingle. (I am 18 again)
I really hope that Mr Imelda is not reading this as I told him the smell drives me wild (but I left out the part about my X)
I know way too much info. Great to get caught up with you MB. We should get together sometime in person. What is your Friday like??
I'm going out to get Noxema today. Love Noxema.
Love's Baby Soft reminds me of 5th grade, that and Jean Nate. LOL. Memories.
Oh, sigh. I heart Bonne Bell. Giant Lip Smackers on a string. I'm allergic to eucalyptus, so the smell of noxzema is completely not a good thing for me. For me it was the smell of phisoderm when it came in this weird green bottle.
& what about Drakkar Noir???
I always loved the Noxema scent - but your post reminded me of my uncle's bakery in Italy - now that is a scent I will never forget! Yum! (was there around the same time I used to use noxema!!)
Scary...I remember ALL of these things. Except, wasn't it BiWay and not Shoppers? ;) Remember BiWay??!!! Oh em gee!
Ahhh, noxema. Remember the smell well... for all those sunburns...
yes I have fond memories of Noxema too. I am think of summer afternoons coming back from paddeling at Senobe. I also think of my Great Aunts in PEI (Lulu, Gladys and Myrtis). We would visit them every summer in childhood and they always smelled like noxema. Sweet old ladies (attractive in their old age too)
Another smell of my teenage years (besides the noxema and obsession for Men) that I remember quite vividly is Clearasil acne cream. It was flesh tone tint and would dry those little zits into oblivian. (I wonder what the long term effect it has made on my skin).
Aqua Net. That's my time machine.
I am off to look for a jar of Noxema.
This is great -- good post and love the comments.
Noxema and Sea Breeze--that was my skin care regimen back then. Hey, remember Prell shampoo? Great post.
Does anyone out there remember the smell of "Toni" home perms (they smelled like neat hair remover) . I was born with pin straight hair and my mother used to give me these home perms. Not sure what was worse. the smell of the perm or my frizzed do for months afterwards.
You and I were separated at birth. Or at age 12.
Finesse shampoo and Camp Beverly Hills perfume.
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