Estée Lauder – Youth Dew – Spice laden classic from the 1950s – 10/10.
As I draft this post, it’s the week before Mother’s Day, and if everything goes smoothly, I will post this review on Mother’s Day. Synonymous with many women, including my mum, the ever-enduring Youth Dew, released in 1953, originally began as a bath oil. Coincidently, and for context, 1953 was the year of Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation. Such is the unwavering nature of the scent that, in all likelihood, we’ll still be discussing/wearing Youth Dew in 2093, 70 years after the Coronation of King Charles III. I wonder which of today’s contemporary perfumes will still be kicking around as part of the olfactory landscape towards the end of the century?
Anyway. I digress. The bath product (which doubled as a skin perfume) eventually became so popular that a stand-alone spray perfume version emerged and changed everything. Before Youth Dew, women wouldn’t buy perfumes for themselves, preferring to receive them as special occasion gifts from their loved ones. However, Youth Dew’s relative affordability and availability made it a popular vanity staple for generations of women. As evidenced by the level of perfume left in the pictured bottle, my mum wears/wore it a lot. My memory of the scent takes me back to the 80s and 90s.
Youth Dew announces itself in true vintage style. The unmistakable opening aldehydic flurry isn’t quite as dramatic as classic Chanel, but it isn’t far off. In tandem with the aldehydes, the composition’s heavy, spicy embrace seems from another age. Certainly, something that unsurprisingly eschews modern perfume trends. For contemporary noses trained on sugary fruity florals and shampoo musks, Youth Dew is quite a shock to the system.
Listed in the top notes are bergamot, peach, and orange. However, I don’t pick up much in the way of freshness in the opening or any part of the erroneously named Youth Dew. If there is any citrus here, it’s more of a sharp festive-like spicy orange. Indeed, it’s quite a challenge to unpack everything happening with Youth Dew.
In simplest terms, Youth Dew is a spicy, smoky cola-like scent. Though, there are moments when the cloves and cinnamon evoke spice-infused Christmas pudding and mulled wine. And even though the name Youth Dew isn’t indicative of the perfume, the juice colour certainly is. The name is so far off the mark I’m convinced someone from modern-day Le Labo must have built a time machine and traveled back to work in the marketing department of Estée Lauder in the 50s.
The spices make up most of the framework for Youth Dew. I’d even go so far as to say that one must like cloves to enjoy the perfume. However, there are certainly some balancing floral notes, but they are difficult to distinguish. Undoubtedly narcissus and ylang-ylang make up some of the floral structure. They combine to give the fragrance an opulent, rounded, smooth character. Still, they have some bite, with a slight indolic edge. They are nothing overly dirty, but they unfurl with just enough sass to know they mean business. There are no shrinking violets in Youth Dew’s floral bouquet.
In the end, Youth Dew dries down, leaving behind a memorable dusty ambery, balsamic trail. Smoky ambery vanilla and sticky resinous balsams provide a comforting, familiar blanket of warmth. The rich tapestry of notes works perfectly on cold days around the fireplace, watching the autumn leaves fall from the trees outside the window.
Youth Dew immediately takes me back to my youth and early childhood. The definitive scent lingering in the air of those first tentative days of school when mum would walk me to class, learning to ride a bike, the cosy warmth of her hug ensuring everything would be alright. Time may have moved on, and my mum’s perfume choices may have changed, but the memories always linger. Happy Mother’s Day to all the mums, but especially to my beautiful mum!
Which scents reflect your youth or remind you of your mum?
Note: All images are my own. Thanks to my mum for letting me borrow her bottle of Youth Dew (and sneak a cheeky spritz or two) for the week to take photos and write this review.
Quick Notes:
Launch Year: 1953.
Perfumer: Josephine Catapano.
Top Notes: Spices, bergamot, orange, peach, aldehydes.
Mid Notes: Spices, cloves, cinnamon, ylang-ylang, orchid, jasmine, rose, carnation, narcissus, cassia, lily-of-the-valley.
Base Notes: Frankincense, patchouli, tolu balsam, Peru balsam, oakmoss, amber, vanilla, musk, vetiver.
Longevity: 12-14 hours.
Projection: 6 hours, high.
Season: Autumn, winter.
Alternatives: YSL Opium, Chanel Coco, Estée Lauder Cinnabar, Calvin Klein Obsession for Women.
Love this review. Took me back to my youth ❤️ Beautiful photos ❤️
Thanks so much, Mum! Glad you loved it. Happy Mother’s Day! xxxxx
Oh my goodness!! So much of this post resonated with me! I was literally laughing out loud at your comment about a Le Labo rep and a Time Machine!
First, your photos are glorious and I am tickled pink to see the amount of liquid left in the bottle!
Estée Lauder was the perfume house that was ubiquitous in my family home. My mother instilled within me at an extremely young age love of fragrance. Youth Dew, Aliage Sports Spray, White Linen, Private Collection, Azuree, Cinnabar, Estée… I remember them all and wore them all …. When I was a young ballet dancer I had the Youth Dew body powder and remember applying it after dance class.
There are too many perfumes to mention that remind me of my mom because she was never monogamous and enjoyed variety. But a few that come to mind are Aliage, Calandre, Rive Gauche to name a few.
The fragrances that remind me of my youth besides those of Estée Lauder are all the original Chanel’s… no 5,19,22 and Cristalle as those are the ones I wore in my youth.
Haha. Thanks so much, Brigitte. Those are wonderful scent memories! Thank you for sharing. And your perfume choices are glorious, as are your mum’s. I love all the fragrances you mentioned!
Lovely Mother’s Day post! I can’t name a single perfume from my childhood days, but they were all some kind of amber, at least in color. Spicy floral vanilla type of thing. The occasional lighter floral.
Le Labo may have misleading names, but I wonder if at least one of their perfumes might still be known by the end of the century…
Thanks very much! Yes, I think there will be one for sure! At least for the next 33 years anyway. 😉
That’s the one 😉
Love this post! Shiseido Energizing fragrance and Chanel 19 are some fragrances that remind me of my mom. Wish you a nice Sunday!
Thanks so much, dear Tetê. That’s wonderful. Chanel no. 19 is a classic! Hope you have a wonderful Sunday too!
Happy Mother’s Day to those who celebrate at this time of year.
My mother was not a daily fragrance wearer when I was growing up but for very special occasions she wore pre 89 Rochas Femme.
She tells me that, before getting married she wore Shalimar.
In the 90s she wore Escada by Margaretha Ley & I bought her a vintage bottle a few years ago. It is the only perfume she used from the various scents I’ve bought her in the last 20 years.
I think if someone rebottled Youth Dew & released it as something niche, many perfumistae would pay $$$$ for it. Youth Dew has all the requirements for success, sillage for miles, radiance as far as the next continent & a shed load of complex spices & incense.
Fabulous fragrances! Yes, I agree about Youth Dew. It certainly has all the prerequisites. And I bet if they slapped a “pour homme” label on it blokes would be buying it in droves.
What a lovely review Daniel 🙌🏻☺️, and gorgeous shots👌🏻. I think my mum wore mostly Dior Poison when I was younger and then seems to have been wearing Light Blue for the past 20 years 😁, but no matter the actual scent, the power of fragrance to evoke memories is certainly magical!
Thanks very much, Marcus! Poison and Light Blue are classics. Can never go wrong with the classics. They still hold up after all these years.
Loved the review and photos!
I think I tried this perfume about 20 years ago, and back then it was too far away from my favorite florals to be to my liking. Most likely, today I would have felt different. But I don’t trust modern reformulations from EL, and vintage blind buys isn’t something I would do. But maybe one day…
Thank you, Undina! Yes, I’ve not tried the reformulation, but it can’t be as good as an older vintage bottle.
An eternal classic and such a favourite of mine. 70 years on and still so good, even in its current formulation. The French cologne Bien-etre always reminds me of my mother. Brilliant post, dear Daniel, from your pics to your writing.
Thanks so much, Rich. I agree, it has held up so well over the years. I don’t know Bien-etre, but looked it up and it sounds like a fabulous freshie.