Perfumes for Woodstock 50th Anniversary August 15, 1969 + Summer of Love Draw

                               

5oth anniversary of Woodstock

Woodstock Poster via tmblr

Well, I came upon a child of God
He was walking along the road
And I asked him, “Tell me, where are you going?”
This he told me

Said, “I’m going down to Yasgur’s Farm
Gonna join in a rock and roll band
Got to get back to the land and set my soul free”.

We are stardust, we are golden
We are billion year old carbon
And we got to get ourselves back to the Garden...  ~ Joni Mitchell’s iconic anthem Woodstock

Woodstock perfumes

via wayfair

Who amongst us remembers the summer of 1969, infamous Summer of Love rendered immortal by the Woodstock Festival? August 15, 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of this once-in-a-lifetime musical event which took place over 3 days (August 15th-18th).

Max Yasgur at Woodstock

Max Yasgur via wikipedia

Nearly a half-million people (estimated between 400,000 and 500,000) ‘stormed the castle’ in the Catskills such that eventually it was decided no one need pay: read FREE. The chosen site was dairy farmer Max Yasgur’s 600 acre farm in Bethel, outside of Woodstock, NY.

CaFleureBon Sr Editor Ida Meister

Ida Meister in 1969

In 1969 I was 15 years old, headstrong and a diligent student on independent study because teachers weren’t quite sure what to do with me. I attended high school, worked full time in a nursing home, put money aside for the future as well as little luxuries (yes, perfume – even then).  At home I prepared lovely meals (some things never change), kept the house clean, did the laundry. Enviable grades, accolades counted for naught. Little wonder that when The Festival became common knowledge it occurred to me that I might as well give my mother a locus for justifiable rage – and so I set about hitchhiking. When you’re young and lithe at the height of summer you don’t require much clothing. Overalls, a T-shirt and construction boots will do in a pinch. My hair was long and thick; sometimes I’d forgo the T entirely and simply stuff my hair into my overalls. I didn’t worry about the consequences of my actions or inherent danger, I just went – as did many others, I suspect.  Woodstock was a stone’s throw away from Saugerties, Bob Dylan and The Band’s famous house, Big Pink. I’d always harbored a thing for Robbie Robertson (Canadian singer, songwriter, impresario), Dylan and his then-backup band; it was a shoe-in. I was pumped.

anis Joplin at Woodstock, 1969

Janis Joplin in the performer’s pavilion, Woodstock Festival, Bethel, NY, 1969. Photo By ©Elliott Landy, LandyVision Inc.

What did Woodstock smell like? What fragrances were popular at that time? What a loaded question!

First and foremost, Woodstock smelled like damp soil, mud, cigarettes, weed, patchouli (the head-shoppy sort) and unwashed bodies. Cheapest booze with a bang was on everyone’s breath; fruity fortified wines, hoppy beers. The favorites were American and cloying – Boone’s Farm Apple and Strawberry Hill wines (treacly sweet, each of them), Thunderbird (another sickly-sweet white grape wine with 17.5-21% alcohol content), and Ripple, a low-alcohol (11%) fortified wine favored by the down-and-out. Better-heeled folks drank Mateus rosé from Portugal or Blue Nun Liebfraumilch. Beer was rampant at only 82 cents a can: Budweiser, Schlitz and Rheingold were everywhere. Janis Joplin’s favorite Southern Comfort was drunk straight from the bottle – nectarous, syrupy, redolent of honey, whiskey and spice.

Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock

Jimi Hendrix Playing the Star Spangled Banner, source Morrison Hotel Gallery

Woodstock Fragrances? But of course! Please bear in mind that perfume houses were not in the custom of releasing multiple perfumes or flankers during this era with the exception of Avon and widely-affordable companies such as Alyssa Ashley or Love’s (famous later for Baby Soft) which were sold in drug stores.

Vintage Estee lauder Azuree ad 1969 Woodstock perfumes

Vintage Ad Estee Lauder Azuree 1969

We’re talking Woodstock here, not Bergdorf’s: were you a well-to-do New Yorker, you’d be wafting 1966’s Lancôme Fidji or Miss Balmain, 1968’s powerhouse American chypre Norell. 1969 was a bangup year for classics: Guerlain Chamade, sultry Dioressence, Estée Lauder’s Azurée or Youth Dew, Paco Rabanne Calandre, herbal Ô de Lancôme. The house of Dana produced two marvelous masculines (yes, if there was gender fluidity at play regarding perfume no one discussed it): iconic Canoe (1969), a much-loved fougère stealthily worn by women as well as men – and (now Dana) English Leather Timberline in 1968, a gorgeously butch herbal floral with lots of cedar, pine, vetiver and oakmoss in the base. Hai Karate Lime and Oriental Spice were mainstream heavy-hitters (neither appealed to me, and I wouldn’t date anyone who wore them); – the more soigné gents wore Patou’s Lacoste Eau de Sport, a suave eau de toilette created by the great Jean Kerleo of Osmothèque renown. This is NOT what I experienced at Woodstock at Yasgur’s farm.

Jerry de Wilde photo of John Sebastian (The Lovin’ Spoonful) at Woodstock

In general, men smelled like hot, sweaty men – nothing more, nothing less. Women, however – wore Love’s Fresh Lemon, Alyssa Ashley Musk Perfume Oil and Kiehl’s Vanilla oil perfume.

If we were to scent Woodstock today, we would have so many more options! Let’s play!

Histoires de Parfums 1969

Grace Slick at Woodstock, Harper’s Bazaar and Histoires de Parfums’s1969

Patchouli: nothing screams “Summer of Love” like Patchouli (Unless, of course – it’s Musk. But we’re not there yet.). Today’s choices would most certainly include Histoires de Parfums 1969 by Gérald Ghislain and not simply for its designated name: this delectable solar fruitchouli gourmand would fit right in – all sweetness, sunshine and goodwill. It has a hefty dose of musk for good measure. If raunchier is better, we can dive into Ramon Monegal Mon Patchouly, an intense raw patchouli dusted with jasmine and amber – a real powerhouse. Dusty, earthy, medicinal patchouli lovers crave L’ Artisan Parfumeur Patchouli Patch: a woody soft foundation cradles this quintessential fragrance created conjointly by perfumers Evelyne Boulanger and Bertrand Duchaufour (not unlike many, earlier bottles smell ‘truer’, admittedly). Keiko Mecheri’s Patchoulissime (Yann Vasnier) may serve, a rose-chouli with ambergris and benzoin: potent with a gorgeous drydown. Lovers of softer patchoulis would adore Chantecaille Kalimantan and Bois 1920 Real Patchouly for their suave smoothness and finesse; Ava Luxe Sweet Patchouli translates as easy to love, swathed in an ambery vanillic cloud at a fraction of the cost. Tom Ford Patchouli Absolu veers towards the woody/earthy vein (though few hippies could afford it!), while Nicolaï Parfumeur Createur Patchouli Sublime follows in that vein but is substantially greener. The real deal at hippie-affordable prices? Try Auric Blends Fine Patchouli Oil ($8.95) or Swiss Arabian Patchouli rollerball ($12.95).

Honorable mentions: Montale Patchouli Leaves, Molinard Patchouli, Fragonard Patchouli, Atelier Cologne Mistral Patchouli, Parfumerie Générale L’Ombre Fauve, Von Euersdorff Classic Patchouli Balmy…ad infinitum.

Olympic Orchids DEV 2 review

Sly and The Family Stone and Olympic Orchids Dev 2

 

MUSK!!!!! It was Everywhere at Woodstock.

Beast musks to celebrate Woodstock: Oh, yes – hurrah for those challenging animalics! One of the beastliest is my Ava Luxe Kama: let’s tell you that Sally Taylor (the musician) loves it as much as I do, and I gave her my bottle the day we met. I’ve given away many of them since and never heard a single complaint.  Olympic Orchids Artisan Perfumes Dev #2 by 2 x Art and Olfaction award winning Dr. Ellen Covey is another intensely animalic perfume, created to evoke the Prince of Darkness (brava, Ellen!) and it succeeds admirably. Parfum D’Empire Musc Tonkin is a fabulous little stinker and Serge Lutens Muscs Koublaï Khan (I think it’s a pussycat, personally, but many disagree).  Neil Morris Fragrances Fetish braves skank and leather; how could you lose? This one sells wildly in Deutschland; draw your own conclusions.

Soft musks: Jovan Musk oil, DUH, ubiquitous and reliable! Ava Luxe has many and you can’t go wrong with any: her legendary cult favorite Love’s True Bluish Light – silky, ambery, musky, whisper-soft. Then there’s Oriental Musk, Pearl Musk, and Egyptian Musk. Auric Blends Egyptian Musk for a song, Kiehl’s Original Musk – the icon; Mona di Orio’s glorious Musc, Nishane’s exquisite Muskane, Parfumerie Générale Musc Maori, Maria Candida Gentile Burlesque, DSH Musk Eau Natural – probably my most frequently worn musk in my wardrobe: herbal, resinous, and yes, patchouli too, but SOFT.

Parfums Dusita Erawan review

Jim Morrison of The Doors and Parfums Dusita Erawan (Gail’s photo of Erawan)

Flowers for Woodstock Flower Children: Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair…

The very first scent which comes to mind is CB Experience to see a FLOWER, the quintessence of love of nature, the soil, nascent vernal growth; it’s perfect for flower children of all ages. Next follows Dusita Erawan, so luminously lovely that any sprite would be becalmed enveloped in its aromatic arms. Goldfield & Banks Velvet Splendour takes a completely different turn, burnished sunlight basking upon the Australian wattle, a magnificent relative of mimosa – sundrenched, exotic, joyful. Serge Lutens Fleurs d’Oranger blows indolic and breezy, a floral intoxicant; Amouage Sunshine Woman glories in sunlit jasmine blended with ripe blackcurrants, apricots and a touch of tobacco, a kiss of almond and hay – full of happiness in its bright yellow flacon.

 

Peter Max 1969 Poster

To Flower Children everywhere, of every decade and generation: John Lennon was right. Love IS the answer. Have a little faith – despite these troubling times we find ourselves awash in. I know you’re dispirited: I am, too. If history teaches us anything at all, it reminds us of the cyclical nature of existence. Remembering Woodstock reminds us that accord was possible once, and it could be again.

~ Ida Meister, Senior Editor and Natural Perfumery Editor

Thanks to Ellen Covey of Olympic Orchids Perfumes we have a Woodstock Draw for a 30 ml of Dev 2 in the US or a travel spray anywhere in the world for a registered reader.  There is only one winner. To be eligible please leave a comment with what you enjoyed about Ida’s Woodstock 50th anniversary retrospective then and now, where you live. Draw closes 8/15/2019. Were you or anyone you know at Woodstock?

Follow us on Instagram @cafleurebon  @idameister and @olympic_orchids_perfume

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS Feed…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

84 − 81 =

43 comments

  • Sue Kucklick says:

    My friend Jim was at Woodstock. He had to hike in because the NY Thruway was backed up for miles and cars were abandoned at the side of the road. Now, what about the multiple iterations of Caswell and Massey musk? Love’s Fresh Lemon was a favorite of mine along with their weird colors of mascara! I lived in the Cleveland area then, as now.

  • My favorite part of this article was the listing and reviewing of beast and soft musk scents. Some real animalic masterpieces were listed! I don’t know anyone who was at Woodstock but Dev 2 sounds like a very appealing creation. I would love to win the 30 ml bottle. Thank you for the opportunity. I live in the USA.

  • I did not go to Woodstock, a little too young, but I wish I did. Saw Canned Heat recently and thought a lot about the festival. Thank you Ida for the fantastic article about her love for Woodstock and all of the fragrances that we sould have smelled at that time. I was wearing Emerade. I love Ellen Covey’s Dev 2. My sample is empty. Thank you for the chance to win more of it. USA

  • Grateful to have been a part of the generation who witnessed Woodstock, albeit on tv, listening to the album and watching the film. How wonderful that the author was able to attend and describe her memories of this iconic event. Thanks for sharing and for the lovely scent suggestions to celebrate Woodstock 50.
    Getting back to the garden. 🙂

  • Sucreabeille has just released the limited edition ‘We Are Stardust’ for Woodstock’s 50th Anniversary commemoration. Notes are daisy crowns, peace lily, sandalwood, vanilla, cream and patchouli.

  • I remember Boone’s Farm, Strawberry Hill, Ripple, patchouli oil and hitchiking!!! Absolutely loved this article, Ms Ida! I miss Janice and Jimi. USA

  • Haven’t been to Woodstock (too young) but this festival has influenced my days at school. It still plays in important role in my life and I would have loved to be part of it. As such I appreciate very much how lively Ida describes the smell of Woodstock. That is my favorite part of her wonderful Woodstock 50th anniversary retrospective. I love musk scents and hope to win Dev 2. I live in Florida.

  • I never knew about woodstock. But I know the feeling, I felt the atmosphere. Near the place I live, every summer there is a festival (smaller, of course) but seems to me very similar. To resume it, is all about good music, cheap alcohool (usually beer) and just feeling good. Everyone forget his worries and enjoys the good vibe. I live in the EU

  • Cami grusuzache says:

    So good to remember old times. Nice music, nice perfumes, good drinks. Everyone’s happpy. Living in EU

  • Never been to Woodstock, but what an iconic festival that was. Loved the part about the Musk, that there was so much Musk during Woodstock. Living in the EU.

  • I really liked her story of how she went to Woodstock it was so vivid the sights sounds and smells. And it feels almost impossible for that same story to take place now which is extremely sad. My father went to Woodstock and hes the best! In the USA. Thanks.

  • Ionela Bulimej says:

    I love the way she would scent Woodstock today.It would be difficult for me to go to Woodstock because I live in EU.

  • I was unfortunately born much too late and too far away anyway, to be able to witness Woodstock. Neither did anyone I know. I would have loved to be there though. There is this stereotype where I live, that rockers and hippies are “dirty, dangerous people” one wouldn’t want to have around. I beg to differ. I have been at many a rock and metal festival / concert until few years ago (I kinda “grew out of it”) and, even though from the outside it might seem like rockers are not the nicest people, they are actually very friendly, generous and will take care of the one beside them, perhaps more than other people would. I loved the serenity and youthfulness in Ida’s article and the taste of what Woodstock was, for those who didn’t have a chance to witness it. Also…patchouli forever! Thanks for the draw, I’m in the EU.

  • Enjoyed reminiscing about the musks and the cheap wine and beer brands.
    Would love to have the Dev 2. I did know people who went to the original, I knew I wouldn’t like to be dirty for days and wonder where I’d go to the bathroom, so I passed. US

  • This is such a great article, Ida! Thanks for sharing your experience and comparing old creations to current ones to describe the smell and ambience of Woodstock. I envy those who were able to enjoy this grand event. Olympic Orchids Artisan Perfumes Dev #2 surely sounds like a scent that embodies the animalistic scent of the event. Thanks for this opportunity. – CA, USA

  • First of all I like the photos very much, a beautiful piece of history. We Romanians were on the other side of the Iron Curtain. All Woodstock related things were no public subject for the communists. But of course, by ”shady” ways, we managed to have access to the recorded songs and movies.
    I know patchouli was a hippie scent, but this is the first time I hear the same thing about musk. Which is great, because I really adore musk perfumes and I am happy to see such a good list of them (my latest acquisition is a bottle of Musk Tonkin).
    I live in the EU, thanks for the draw!
    Greetings from

  • Dear Ida, thank you for sharing with us how your fifteens were lived like in the Woodstock era. It is for moments like this one when I’d like a time machine. I’m in Spain, EU.

  • I have no experience of Woodstock because I wasn’t born then. But I enjoyed reading what it was like back then and what people smelled like. I enjoyed the fragrance suggestions.
    I live in USA.

  • I wasn’t born at that time….but reading the Ida’s review and listening some recorded songs from the festival I really felt the vibes…the smel of the used fragrances…very nice!
    I am from EU.

  • redwheelbarrow says:

    What a fun article! Although born after Woodstock, I remember being young without concept of consequence and this retrospective brought back some happy memories that I have gratefully lived through. I can’t say that I’ve thought of the smells of Woodstock as something I would want to experience but now I’m thinking maybe it wasn’t so bad! Thanks for the draw. I’m in the US.

  • hello, I have never been to woodstock and I have never worn a perfume of Ellen Covey. it is not in France.
    “In general, men smelled like hot, sweaty men – nothing more, nothing less”. I like this!
    I live in France.

  • What a simply fantastic retrospective!! It’s hard to believe that Woodstock was 50 years ago. Those of us who lived at that time went through a truly revolutionary way of thinking and being. It was transformative. I recognized many of the fragrances both current and available at the time. Loved the pictures. I think what touched me the most was Ida’s last paragraph. “To Flower Children everywhere, of every decade and generation: John Lennon was right. Love IS the answer. Have a little faith – despite these troubling times we find ourselves awash in. I know you’re dispirited: I am, too. If history teaches us anything at all, it reminds us of the cyclical nature of existence. Remembering Woodstock reminds us that accord was possible once, and it could be again.” I certainly hope so Ida; I certainly hope so. I’m in the USA

  • Rochette Withers says:

    I absolutely adore this article! Ida brought me back to my childhood. I was 3 when Woodstock happened but I remember hearing about “the hippies” at a big, local concert that memorably-hot summer of love.
    Years later, my husband shared with me how he snuck out of his bedroom to go in a VW van with his friends to hear Hendricks. The flower child in him beckoned.
    Jovan Musk saw me through my own coming-of-age in the early 80’s. So many still enjoy the lush, affordable softness after all these years.
    Thanks, Ida, for this trip down memory lane. Now I want to road trip to Bethel!

  • Awesome retrospective of an important and historic event by Ida from an olfactory perspective. I would have loved to experience Woodstock and I imagine the smell was memorable. Musk and Patchouli which was plentiful at Woodstock like Ida explains and fragrances today are definitely welcomed. Thanks for the draw. I live in USA.

  • Great article lots of cool memories and perfume insight from Ida Meister. I think a fragrance that would have done well at Woodstock(if available back then)would have been Peace,Love and Juicy Couture. The top notes are enchanting and consist of Meyer lemon, Apple, Hyacinth and Blackcurrant. The heart notes balance out the fruits with Star Magnolia, Sambac Jasmine, Linden blossom, Honeysuckle and Poppy. The base notes complete the scent and are Musk, Iris and Patchouli.

  • doveskylark says:

    I loved reading Ida’s memories of Woodstock. It was almost like being there, especially when she describes the smell of the mud, the alcohol, drugs and the scents of the people in attendance. Oh, how I wish I could have been there. I was just a baby and my parents were straight-laced (thank God). I liked the modern evocation through the relation of today’s scents. I love 1969 by Histoires de Parfums.
    I live in the USA.

  • What an article that takes me b a c k! I remember this time so much. In fact, I’m sure I still have the entire Woodstock experience on V I N Y L.

  • Whenever I see video or photos from the original Woodstock, I immediately think patchouli and musks! These were perfect fragrances to describe it.
    I live in the US.

  • Wonderful article! I wasn’t born at that time but i massively listened to Jimi Hendrix when i was 12 in 1992, it was first music record i bought, so the hippy culture is nostalgic for me, too. I had a sample of DEV2 and it reminds me of a paganic ritual with orgies and sacrifice-burning. Would love to win a travel-spray, thank you for such opportunity!
    From the EU.

  • I liked the retrospective view of perfumery in those days. It’s hard to remember the days when there weren’t new flankers released every year.
    Though for patchouli scents, I’d add Tom Ford Patchouli Absolu. It smells like it contains hefty doses of pure patchouli oil.
    Neither I, nor anyone I know, were at Woodstock.
    I’m in the US. Thanks for the draw

  • wildevoodoo says:

    It’s so interesting to think about the fragrances people were wearing at Woodstock, and what the “non-Woodstock” types of New York were wearing at the same time. It had never crossed my mind before to imagine what specifically was worn, but I definitely had assumed there was a great deal of patchouli involved! I recently learned that Jimi Hendrix didn’t even perform until Monday morning since everyone else’s sets ran overtime, so only about 10,000 of those who showed up were there long enough to see Hendrix. Ida, I was born more than 20 years too late to go to Woodstock, but I’m still pretty jealous of you for having gone 🙂 I am in the US!

  • My parents wouldn’t let me go to Woodstock, but watching the movie with my best friend when it came to the theater was consolation. And, yes, the Love Lemon was one I wore, along with Bluegrass, by Elizabeth Arden. Yardley had a lavender scent as well. With a little love and hope the cyclical nature of life will begin the upswing, soon. I live in Connecticut.

  • I loved her list of fragrances. I kept going, “Oh, yes, that one. Yes, that one, too. Love it. Love it. Have it. Want it.” I don’t know anyone who went to Woodstock. My parents were into Doowop and other stuff from the 50s and early 60s, not rock and roll. I am in USA, Ohio.

  • Michael Prince says:

    Ida, I appreciate the Woodstock’s 50th Anniversary tribute. It is interested learning about the types of alcohol consumed and the fragrances used at that time that were heavy with musk, patchouli, and other earthy and animalic notes. I personally wasn’t at Woodstock and don’t know anyone who was there. Dev #2 sounds like a dark and animalic fragrance that I am open to trying. I am from the USA.

  • citizenkage says:

    My mom was at Woodstock, she’s an old hippie and used to tell me stories all the time about being there. Reading this article reminded me of my mom and the wild stories she used to tell me. This was really nostalgic for me even though I personally wasn’t there. My mom raised me on the music of Woodstock and to this day I still listen to the likes of Led Zepplin, the Doors, Pink Floyd etc. I would love the opportunity to win this fragrance. Peace from West Palm Beach, FL.

  • All the hugs in the world won’t do justice: thank you, Ida and Ca Fleure Bon for this article!
    I live in Romania, I was born in 1975 and I don’t know anybody who went to Woodstock. My generation in my country discovered the spirit of 69 in early nineties, when I just felt I am a Flower Child.
    I am all ears when it’s about Woodstock, so I read every single word, but the true emotional impact came in the end and the tears came with “I know you’re despirited: I am, too”…

  • Queen Cupcake says:

    I had two high school friends who went to Woodstock. They had a hard time describing the experience! I couldn’t go, stayed in my conservative Western NY town, ugh.

    I still occasionally wear some vintage ’60s frag’s–Calandre, Jovan Musk Oil, Caswell & Massey Patch. I love patchouli! This article brought back some lovely scent memories.

    I enjoyed this whole article, especially Ida’s reminder that the pendulum of our existence swings back… Trying to hold onto a shred of optimism.

  • I love these kinds of retrospectives because they really bring about the atmosphere and the feelings, which they keep trying to replicate, but it seems that Woodstock is truly one of a kind. I was not there, but I am very curious. And of course, the musks are vital to that experience! I have yet to try KK, but hearing that it is a kitty is still promising, despite the reviews otherwise. Auric Blends is an easy pick for that- I hope to explore them more! I am in the USA.

  • Dubaiscents says:

    I loved Ida’s story of hitchhiking to Woodstock (and her photo from 1969!). I can just imagine the mix of scents that must have been overwhelming with all those people! I love Dev #2, it is a true animal of masterpiece! I could use a backup bottle! I’m in the US.

  • Excellent review by Ida! Unfortunately, I was too young to be at Woodstock and they recently cancelled the celebration. I enjoyed Ida’s memories and appreciated her words. I love musk scents and would love the opportunity to try Dev 2. Thanks for the giveaway and I live in the US!

  • Carole Chappell says:

    I was 17 in 1969. Patchouli oil and French perfumes! I wasn’t at Woodstock, but was at the Atlanta pop festivals in 69 and 70, and one in West Palm Beach with much the same musical line up.
    Incense drifting, scent of sweat and wine and weed. Magical experiences I will never forget.
    My pick from your choices, Ida, is Tom Ford’s Patchouli Absolu, I will add Christian Lacroix’s C’est la Fete Patchouli. An Alyssa Ashley I adored and can find nowhere was Civet Oil. Tenacious with the most wonderful sweet, warm drydown.
    Peace and love!