My Many Scents Throughout The Years

I recently found and purchased a perfume from my past thanks to eBay.  Years ago while living in NYC, I became good friends with a hip, trendy and beautiful girl who worked in fashion. She always wore the latest designers and scents. One particular designer fragrance she often wore was Ultraviolet by Paco Rabbane I was smitten by the scent and had to own this perfume.

The year was 2001 and I was just getting to know my husband whom I met online. I wore Ultraviolet every time I took the bus to visit him in his New Jersey hometown. Whenever I smell Ultraviolet, it reminds me of when we first met. I love this scent more than any other perfume basically because it takes me back to that exciting time in my life. There's nothing like new romance!

It's nearly impossible to find Ultraviolet by Paco Rabbane in stores today, but I will always try to find a way to snag a bottle of this sweet purple potion just to relive those memories of 2001-2002. If I close my eyes, it's as if I'm sitting on that New Jersey Transit bus, my heart fluttering as we inch along Rt. 46 closer to my new guy. I memorized every store, gas station, Jersey diner and strip mall along the bus route that year. Once we passed Target, I would text him so he knew when to meet me at the bus stop by the Wendy's.

As a child, I loved Jean Nate. I adored Jean Nate's fancy French name and grown-up aroma. Every year at least one of Mom's students would give her a gift set for the holidays, which she would let me keep. I loved that it came with fancy dusting powder. I felt so mature wearing ladies perfume. Whenever I drowned myself in Jean Nate, I imagined for a moment that I was rich, famous and powerful and lived in a fancy deluxe penthouse in Manhattan - just like Arnold and Willis Jackson and Kimberly Drummond from Diff'rent Strokes. Did I mention Jean Nate is made by Revlon?

I moved on from Jean Nate and found a perky, pretty scent, Love's Baby Soft. What preteen girl from the '80s doesn't remember wearing this lovely scent? Packaged and successfully marketed in my favorite teen magazines like Tiger Beat, Love's Baby Soft truly was the perfect perfume for a twelve-year-old girlie-girl. The color of the actual perfume was pink and the name was as innocent as the sweet powdery scent.

I don't remember what, if any perfume I wore between ages of 13-14, however, I'm pretty sure 1988 was Red Door by Elizabeth Arden and Poison by Christian Dior. Both are so strong and older-lady-like when I smell them today. That year, my math teacher wore White Linen. I found a bottle in my mother-in-law's room recently and wanted to vomit thinking about obtuse triangles and pentagons. Feel free to read about that here.

Christmas of 1989 was the year of Colors by Benetton. If I were to smell that again, it would be as if I jumped into a freaky DeLorean and shot back to high school only Crispin Glover wouldn't be my dad. Colors was a memorable Christmas gift from my parents. Memories of Christmas time with my high school boyfriend, Joe and our teenage love affair would fill my head. I'd probably feel sad, but in a good way.

Between 1993-1994 I was all about Elizabeth Arden's Sunflowers. I had the shower gel, lotion, perfume, shampoo - you name it, I had it. I was obsessed with Sunflowers. My friend Tarah would often sleep over after pulling an all-nighter studying for midterms or a late night of partying. She insisted on teasing me. After her shower, she'd would always say, "Oh hey, I used all of your Sunflowers shower gel AND shampoo. Hope that's OK." Of course as soon as I got over Sunflowers, they started carrying it at CVS.

I'm trying to remember what scent my mom or grandma wore. I don't think they wore anything really. My mom was always very natural. When I was a little girl, I can remember her often slathering Oil of Olay on her face. She swore that it would keep her skin looking younger and reduce the chance of having premature wrinkles. I wonder if it worked? Though it was most likely her constant use of sunblock, never lighting a cigarette and rarely drinking alcohol that kept her skin looking youthful. I always wished I had taken after her in the complexion department. In my adult life, I still break out and have rough oily/dry skin while her face to this day feels so soft.

Show Me The Money!

This weekend our area was hit pretty hard with snow. The total accumulations range from about 4 inches in Westchester to 2 feet in South Jersey and Long Island. Sure it looks pretty, but yesterday some folks on Facebook and Twitter were commenting about the cleanup. Folks over 30 want to know, "Where are the kids looking to earn a few bucks by shoveling their neighbor’s driveway?"

I've noticed this trend since the late '90s actually. I was still living at home and my brother and I would help shovel my mom's walkway and driveway as well as the old lady next door. I'd moan about how when I was a kid, I'd do the entire block and come home sweaty and beat, but with almost $100 in my pocket. The kids on our block were all grown up and had real jobs now.  Driving by, we never saw youngsters shoveling.

We're left wondering... What's the deal with today's youth? Is it just a New York/New Jersey thing? Is it due to all of the newer tech distractions such as way better video games, the internet and text messaging? Could it be an increase in allowance? I only received about $10 a week and tapped out at $20 a week once I was old enough to earn my own spending money. Could it be an increase in school work? I've heard news reports of students receiving much more homework than we did in the '80s.

When I was a kid, all I ever want to do was earn money. When I was sixteen, I even wrote an article about it for Seventeen magazine. Unfortunately although they paid me for my submission, they never printed it. I was crushed, but what can you do.

For years, I ran lemonade stands in front of our house - it was the only benefit of living on a super busy street. When I wasn't selling lemonade, I was running small book and toy sales on our lawn - again cashing in on the traffic. In the end, I found the lemonade garnered the most income.  There was once a sweaty guy doing construction on the house across the street. He popped over to my table holding a big Tupperware tumbler. He handed me $5 and asked me to fill it up. It was so amazing, I decided to close up shop and took the rest of the "work day" off and enjoyed a swim in our yard.

By the age of twelve, I had a busy babysitting schedule which included most of the little kids on our block and my cousins who lived around the corner. It occurred to me that there were so many small children on our block that I could actually run a daycare program in our basement.

Grudgingly my parents gave me the OK, though my dad was concerned about his home owners insurance. I promised I'd keep the kids in the basement and not allow anyone near the fenced in pool area. He agreed and "Allyson's Day School" was open for biz and survived two successful summers until I outgrew it.

I had approximately ten students, including my little brother and maybe my cousins - I'm not sure. I organized each day to include a drawing hour. I had the kids draw something based on a particular theme, "Today you must draw a picture of your favorite animal" or "Today you must draw something square-shaped." Snack time was every day at 11 AM. I would serve happy youngsters Pathmark brand fruit punch and a handful of cookies or pretzels. I would read them a story and we'd play different educational games. To spice things up, I held special events like "Skit Day" and "Sports Day" which included different obstacle courses and ribbons I made for the winners.

I never charged much, but babysitting and the day school helped support my teen magazine and TOPPS trading cards addiction. It seemed as if I were always collecting ET, Gremlins and The Goonies cards. I swear there were some cards TOPPS either only made one of or seriously made NONE of. I owned hundreds of cards, yet never a full set. There were always a bunch of cards missing.

By the age of 15, I was looking for real cash. I became obsessed with Esprit and J.Crew clothing and my parents were far from pleased with the price tags. Mom felt you could get an equally nice sweater from Sears or Penny's, so it was up to me to get out there and increase my cash flow.

Too young to work legally, I didn't want to deliver papers and sure, babysitting was quick and easy money, it simply wasn't enough. Most people were paying me a $3 an hour at best (according to my diary). Then one day, my dad introduced me to the dirty underground world of catering. Apparently, these family-run businesses didn't always follow the employment laws the way big retail outfits did. They'd sometimes overlook your age and eagerly put you to work. It sounded too good to be true.

Summer of 1988, I gave it a shot and paid a visit to our local wedding hall. The joint has since changed hands several times, but still exists as The Sand Castle. Walking distance to our home, this banquet hall was the best summer job a kid could have. I was too young to drive and didn't have a crazy social life on summer weekends since we were home all week anyway. I figured, what the heck. I could have my fun Monday-Thursday and kill myself Friday-Sunday earning a quick $150, plus tips.

The job sucked, but I kept it up until senior year. I would never recommend this work to anyone I actually like. It was exhausting and newsflash, people do not tip at weddings! At fifteen, I had only been to maybe two weddings. How the heck did I know? I was a sucky waitress, which meant I was often assigned to the band and photographer table. Luckily, those guys tipped. The bands would say, "Here's $20, keep the pitchers of water and soda coming." I thought, "Hey, you got it!" I think I even dropped off extra food "by mistake".

We'd work our asses off all weekend. Long 10-hour shifts that seemed never-ending. A reception is only 5-6 hours but we had to set up, clean up and sometimes set up for the next event. They worked us like dogs and treated us like garbage. It was the first time I was ever referred to by my last name on a regular basis. Dealing with drunken jerks demanding an extra serving of Prime Rib or people complaining that the Bride and Groom were too cheap to offer Fillet Mignon was the worst.

It's ironic that I'm writing this blog post now. Here I sit in my sweats, sipping tea as I delay my daily online job hunt. Laid off and looking to New Jersey to send me my generous $530 check each week to help pay my rent. Trust me, I'm not complaining about that amount either. It's much better than possibly any other state in the country. Just a bit funny when I look back at how hard I once worked at a time when people said to just kick back, relax and be a kid.

As always, thanks for listening.

What's On Your Christmas List?

This year my Christmas list is seriously minimal. Sure, I'd love a laptop of my own or a diamond engagement ring that's bigger than the one I already have. But let's be realistic. You reach an age where your lists are just that, realistic - maybe it has to do with the whole being married your money is my money type thing.


I think most people my age don't ask for much. Does anyone really expect a Lexus with a big red bow on it, sitting in their horseshoe driveway? That's a bunch of BS. Then again, I've never been wealthy nor will I ever be wealthy, so maybe it's just hard to visualize my hubby pulling the blinds open to reveal a brand new silver Lexus with a huge red bow on it.

About two weeks ago, my mom and I were discussing what hubs and I needed for Christmas and what we should get our family members, etc. We both agreed that when hubs or I need or want something, we typically just get it for ourselves. Sure there are luxuries, but I'm not really into expensive shoes and purses. I wanted a BlackBerry this year. Like most people, I waited for my free upgrade from Verizon. When it comes to footwear, I still wear Doc Martens. I won't lie, they run at least $100 on Zappos but I get about three years out of each pair. They're like indestructible.

This year, my list consists of Bath & Body Works hand soap (it's always on sale), anklets for the gym and a mani/pedi gift card. I'd love some Jadite or fake Jadite because I collect it, but I don't expect to actually get it. It's too much work, it has be purchased on eBay and who would bother with all of that? My husband is that guy who shops on Christmas Eve morning so it has to be quick and easy.

I looked back at a diary entry of mine from December 26, 1985. At thirteen, I received a "toasty warm electric blanket," Apple IIC computer and printer and "Summer Games" for the Apple IIC. Another gift which actually made me giggle reading about was... wait for it...  a White Nights soundtrack on tape! White Nights was this movie starring ballet sensation, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines. My childhood BFF Serena and I LOVED Mikhail Baryshnikov! He was so handsome and muscular. We also especially loved seeing him in his tights. Ha ha!

According to my entry that day, Serena got a Ouija board and of course we had to ask which boy in class wanted to be more than just friends with us. I was hoping it would spell out D-A-N-N-Y, but good ole Ouija was speechless. Maybe the spirits were off on Christmas Day?

Sadly, Serena ended our friendship soon after we graduated 8th grade which was devastating to me. Nearly every seventh and eight grade memory involves her in some way. We were inseparable, but her mother loathed me and at thirteen it's basically your parents way or the highway. She was a really good student and her mom was concerned that I was a distraction because I liked to call her on the phone, hang out, meet up with boys and see PG-13 movies.

Anyway, that pretty much sums up Christmas of 1985. It was an awesome year. A year when I had never heard of layoffs and furloughs. My parents were teachers - teachers always had jobs back then. 1985 was an innocent time. Long before September 11th. Long before my parents split up. Long before I lost both of my grandpas. Long before Grandma's memory decided to take an extended vacation. Yeah, 1985 was a really good year.

In case you care to view the White Nights trailer... Here it is.