Guerlain Lime?

[drmoss_ca]

I was just flipping through the last Vanity Fair (last in both senses; my subscription is expiring along with the wonderful book reviews by Hitch) and looked at the article by Anjelica Houston about her childhood in Ireland. She recalls her father, John, smelling of Guerlain Lime. Anyone know anything about this?

Chris

[bernards66]

No, but I'd certainly like to although it would be just another fine classic gentleman's scent that can no longer be procured ( except by Fitch perhaps...he seems to be able to find almost anything no matter how rare or old ). Perhaps Bargepole may have something to share on this one.
Regards,
Gordon

[F.W. Fitch]

I sure wish I did have a chance to own a fresh bottle of that, as I'm certain, it was the finest compounding of perfume-grade oils and all. Just another good one gone no doubt. Another regret would be: I never had a shot at their bath soaps in the more traditional scents. It's all too depressing really. Was still owned by the Guerlain family up until the early 90s. The worst thing that could happen ,at this point, is that these holding companies would bring it back as a wet wipe 'Pour Homme!' Does the world need one more Edt with "Homme" in it's name!? No, the only 'Limes' I have is the Limited Limes by Castle Forbes in (both) the after shave and Edt. No 'Homme' listed anywhere on the label, and I do like it well enough regardless. However, I sense, the Guerlain Lime would have been nicer still. Rats!!

Have a good week, Fitch

[bernards66]

Fitch, Indeed. Well, now that you know that it did exist at one time....see what you can do. I have faith in a chap who was able to obtain in mint condition cakes of Royal Windsor Lavender bath soap! Yeah, I've also regretted that I didn't pick-up on the classic Guerlain bath soaps when they were still available. I was dimly aware of their existence back then but didn't make the effort....my bad. In the '90s I did score one cake of their Habit Rogue bath soap and it was excellent but that was a one shot bit of luck at Marshall's or one of those places.
Regards,
Gordon

[F.W. Fitch]

One tablet is set aside. I'm just a sloth...what? One more thing; interesting to me, about their vintage soaps, is they had Whale & Turtle oils in their blends. If people are agitated concerning tallow today....

[Bargepole]

The soaps - I still have a box of three Habit Pour Homme Rouge Homme Pour un Homme somewhere -- were actually called "Sapoceti" because it was made avec blanc de Baleine which is a polite way of saying "whale blubber". I must find them and use them.

I don't know of anything called Guerlain Lime; I would expect that Miss Huston's Da probably smelt of their Impériale Eau de Cologne which (in my memory, at least; I haven't smelt the real thing for 25 years and it's probably entirely different now) had a lovely lime and tilleul opening, sadly fleeting to us, but to a girl with a young person's sense of smell (and sense of attachment to her father) it would be quite unmistakable.

If there *is* a Lime, I'd be delighted to be proven wrong... and annoyed that I can't get it.

Turtle fat, eh? How very decadent. All the same... no. Mustn't think that way. Quite wrong.

[drmoss_ca]

I had a pair of turtles, once. They lived in a fish tank and eventually grew to the size of tea plates. The process took years and the rewards were small. But as proof of concept, it shows one can grow turtles at home, and thus, presumably, harvest their fat. I'd rather use lard as it works and is cheap and plentiful.

Thanks for all your thoughts on Ms Houston's olfactory memories. It was the thought that Guerlain might just make a lime scent work that did it for me. Now I shall go back to trying to remember the Balmain scent that Françoise sent over (along with her grandfather's WWI epaulettes!) in the late 1960's. A lovely girl, but rather prone to using circles over her i's rather than dots. At least they weren't hearts. A time when Parisian penfriends, Asterix the Gaul and those books I can't quite remember about a retired English major living in Paris with a French wife that were the standard at the time for teaching English schoolboys.

Chris

[bernards66]

Michael, Yes, that possibility crossed my mind also; that she might have been remembering the Guerlain Imperiale as it definately used to have a noticeable lime tinge when it was initially splashed on. I too have not sniffed any in some time. Given everything these days I almost don't want to because I doubt that it's now the same as it was and...well...if not, I'd rather not know if you know what I mean.
Regards,
Gordon