Chèvrefeuille Yves Rocher 1976 Eau de Toilette Fraîche

When my then 70 year old mother visited me in Washington D.C. (a trip for which she actually learned English so well that it was perfectly sufficient for conversation! The most beautiful sentence that came out of her mouth that I'll never forget was, "You know, kid, I think I'm starting to think I'm growing up..." So maybe it just runs in the family that getting older is not usually an issue for me either. But recently I was suddenly struck by the realization that half of my life is already behind me. The trigger for this was, of all things, this simple fragrance. When I was a high school student, I bought Chèvrefeuille with my not very generous pocket money. I have rather fond memories of all the Yves Rocher perfumes that came out at that time, but it was this one that catapulted me back into the past with a vehemence that almost hurt when I unscrewed the cap. Because not only beautiful memories come to light, but also some things that seemed terrible and irreparable in the turmoil of puberty: for example, the first "steady" boyfriend, who then turned out to be not as durable as thought...
Chèvrefeuille was the fragrance of those summers, a constant that accompanied the ups and downs of my feelings. I can still remember that whenever I unscrewed the pouring bottle (I still had the one with the lid turned upwards, which is also here on the page as a reference photo), I first held the bottle directly to my nose and inhaled deeply. There are perfumes you're better off not doing that with - unless you want to make sure you don't smell anything at all for some time afterwards. With this delicate and precisely crafted fragrance, it's pure indulgence! I love the scent of nature: lilac, rose, lavender, daffodils, violets - in fact, anything blooming is just waiting for me to poke my curious nose into it, according to my unshakable conviction. When it comes to perfumes, however, I'm usually more of a fan of complex scents and usually have a problem with too clear a lilac or violet component.
The honeysuckle that lives in this flacon is an exception. The trace of citrus, which provides some freshness especially at the beginning, takes back the usually honey-like sweetness of the honeysuckle and gives the fragrance cheerful lightness. But actually the name says it all here: wonderful real honeysuckle pure from the beginning to the (quick) end. For me, rather than a perfume, but really a natural fragrance that I like to wear even in high heat, when many other fragrances overwhelm me.
For a long time now Chèvrefeuille is a shadow of the past - I had the great fortune to get hold of a bottle here in the souk once again, which gave me this nostalgic trip to my youth. Now that the contents of the bottle is coming to an end, I wanted to dedicate a small tribute to him, the fragrant friend, the soul comforter, the faithful companion of turbulent years...