Youth-Dew-- sexy or sickening?

I'm torn. On one hand, I want to love Youth-Dew! It stands for so many good things. Before it, women relied on their men to buy them perfume. Which is nice and all--perfumes are expensive! But really, can we rely on guys to choose how we smell? If it was up to them, we'd all smell like steak!

So Estee Lauder decided to create a fragrance women could buy for themselves! And she created the bath oil Youth-Dew--which of course caught on quickly. Women now had the power to scent themselves.

It gained popularity faster than Starbucks and Coca Cola and voila! more than half a century later, it is still popular today. (And it's got no caffeine to addict crowds.)

This was Estee Lauder's premier fragrance and boy did it take off--in America, Europe, you name it! It did have a rocky beginning in France. Department stores there refused to sell it but Estee Lauder won. She supposedly-accidentally spilled some of it in one of the most prestigious shops in Paris and the customers loved its scent so much, the store agreed to carry it immediately.

To me, it smells clove-like: warm, inviting, and spicy. I don't detect rose or lavender or jasmine. Nothing but a warm mix of spices. I've got a pretty good sense of smell. So I leave it all to the mysteriousness of the scent.

But do I like it? It is...strong. One spray of it leaves a room Youth-Dew-scented for at least 24 hours. It clings to clothing with the strength of cigarette smoke.

I tried to make it my own. One time, I wore it to work during a gift exchange. I hugged my coworker once and I could see her trying not to breathe in. Just to check, I attempted to give her another hug--and she backed away. And I had only walked through a spray once! Imagine if I had applied it directly to my skin.

So in summary, it is a bold fragrance to wear. I love it in theory, but when I use it, it haunts me for days as it airs out.

I did get a good suggestion--the bath oil! It is supposedly more pleasant, more natural-smelling, less aldehydy. That's the way to go--and it is more reminiscent of the original.

Below is the break-down from esteelauder.com:

Fragrance Type: Oriental/Spicy

Top Notes
Rose
Jonquil
Lavender

Middle Notes
Jasmine
Muguet
Spices

Base Notes
Moss
Vetiver
Patchouli