The First Fragrance I Fell In Love With

Elizabeth Arden Fifth Avenue

Do you remember the very first fragrance you fell in love with? Or when it was that you first sprayed perfume on yourself and went “oh my goodness, why haven’t I used this before??” I can’t remember how old I was when I first tried perfume on myself but I was certainly much older than most when I started wearing perfume regularly. I only started using perfume daily when I hit my mid 20s.

Back in school, my classmates and most of the girls in school would be drowning in CK One. There was such much CK One in the air that I didn’t even feel like I needed to wear perfume at all because I would come home smelling like I had that fragrance on all day. To be honest, I really disliked that fragrance, which was why even with peer pressure, I never succumbed to it. In fact, the very first fragrance I fell in love with was a perfume that belonged to my mother.

It was Elizabeth Arden’s Fifth Avenue.

There was a sort of tradition at home with my parents and perfumes. Each time my dad went on business trips, he would always buy my mum a perfume. My dad’s not particularly keen on any particular perfume; he’d get whatever’s the latest and greatest (at least, as promoted by the sales assistants at the duty free shops) for Mum. I didn’t like most of what he chose for Mum back then because the Chanels, YSLs and Diors were too strong for my young nose. Elizabeth Arden’s Fifth Avenue, however, was different.

It was light. It was refreshing. The bottle was sophisticated. Oh it was simply beautiful! Most importantly, it smelled nothing like CK One. In the mornings before school, I’d sneak into my parents’ bedroom, do a very quick spray of the perfume on my wrists and dashed out. I never did more than one spray and it usually amounted to just a tiny drop because I didn’t want Mum to know I was stealing her perfume. 😛

As I grew older, I discovered other perfumes and soon stopped nicking Mum’s Fifth Avenue. Still, I never forgot how lovely that perfume was and how I fell in love with it. When I moved to Australia in 2008, I discovered that Chemist Warehouse still stocked Elizabeth Arden’s Fifth Avenue and I couldn’t believe my luck when I picked it up for just $20.

I wasn’t crushing on any boy when I discovered this perfume. There wasn’t any major events in my life back then when I fell in love with Fifth Avenue. But I shall always remember it as the very first grown-up perfume I ever loved and whenever I have this on, it brings me back to my rather awkward but still incredibly happy high school days of bad hair, bad skin and good friends.

What about you? Do you remember the first fragrance you fell in love with? How old were you back then when you discovered that very perfume?

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14 comments… add one
  1. Kat Ness

    Ah, good ol 5th Avenue! I remember getting this teeny (probably like 10ml or something) bottle of Anais Anais when I was in primary school from a friend’s place and I loved the smell of it. I wouldn’t put it on myself but I would always open the lid and have a sniff. I don’t know why I liked it, as it now reminds me of older ladies. lol
    Kat Ness recently posted..NotD | Smokin’ NailsMy Profile

    1. Tine

      I remember Anais Anais! It was popular among the older girls in school. It’s not really my thing but I understand why they love it. It’s not like the CK One we younger ones wear. Anais Anais to them was more sophisticated. Tee hee! 😛

  2. Aimee

    I can barely remember what my first fragrance love was! I think it might’ve been Ralph by Ralph Lauren as it smells so fresh and clean. I’ve just run out of it and I’m planning to restock as it’s just great for every day purposes. I also love Flowerbomb and Chloe 🙂
    Aimee recently posted..Top 5 Recent Sydney Food AdventuresMy Profile

    1. Tine

      I’ve not tried Ralph by Ralph Lauren but speaking of which, I remember the first time I smelled Romance by Ralph Lauren. It was in one of those folded sheets in a magazine and I remembered thinking omg it smells so good! I actually cut that sheet out of the mag and sniffed it every now and then. Each time I see it in a magazine, I either cut it out or I rub it on my wrists. I did that for quite some time. Yet when the time came when I could actually afford the perfume, I wasn’t interested anymore. 😛

  3. Fieyhash

    Clinique Happy, more than 15 years ago. I still buy myself a small bottle every now & then….

    1. Tine

      Clinique Happy was my second perfume! It’s one of the few perfumes I actually finished an entire bottle (the largest size) and stole another one from my mum. 😛

  4. Catherine

    That quintessential 80s fragrance that embodied the decadent decade -Poison. It still seems so seductive and sensuous now. Never bought it but would dab some on whenever I passed a counter

    1. Tine

      Oooh Poison. Very very sexy. Too old for me back then in school but now … mmmmmm….

  5. Yu Ming

    What a lovely story. I rem Issey Miyake and ckone being the top two most popular scents when I started to notice perfumes in my late teens. They both didn’t smell good on me – was very disappointed but it taught me a lesson that the same scent doesn’t smell the same on everyone. I rem my mum wore Chanel no 5 and no 19 alot and my dad was the same! He would buy her a perfume every time he went away for a biz trip! He would get these teeny tiny 5ml bottles which were so sophisticated in my eyes at the time.

    1. Tine

      Oooooh I’m so glad to hear your dad bought your mum a perfume on each business trip too! I always wondered if it was just my folks. In hindsight, hmm I think it would have been better if he got her a much, much smaller bottle of perfume like the 5ml ones you said because he went on a lot of business trips and mum’s vanity area became so crowded with barely used perfumes!

  6. Rosalind

    I dropped by Priceline immediately after seeing this post to try out the scent of this perfume, and you are right! It is such a lovely scent! I love light, refreshing scent so the 5th Avenue caught my attention 🙂 It was on sales in Priceline, but sadly, was out of stock when I was there so I couldn’t get my hands on it. Maybe another time! Hehe~

    1. Tine

      Haha glad you liked it! Don’t get it Priceline, get it in Chemist Warehouse instead! I bought a new bottle of this a couple of months ago from Chemist Warehouse. It came with a small travel-sized 10 or 15ml bottle and a body lotion and the whole set cost me $25!

  7. Shruti Kapoor

    My first perfume was Intimately by Beckham 🙂 I still own a small bottle of that perfume

    1. Tine

      Thanks for sharing! I’ve had a sniff of Intimately by Beckham. Nice! 😀

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