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

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 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.

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.

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 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 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!

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.

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.

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?

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