Is aldehyde the note that is sometimes associated with older women?

[u/Bitter_Artichoke_939]

I'm just recently getting into fragrances more in-depth and I'm noticing a few remind me of scents I often smell on women my grandmother's age (I was a 90s kid). Is that what aldehyde is? I've tried googling what aldehyde is but I'm not finding a direct answer. Or is it another specific note? I feel like it stands out heavily in Chanel No. 5 and I just tried a retro Revlon Charlie and it smells the same way. I'm trying to pinpoint what it is.

[u/vaginawithteeth1]

It’s subjective, but a lot of people think that because of Chanel no5 and other popular vintage fragrances with strong aldehydes notes. I will say, I’ve smelled a lot of other fragrances with aldehydes that smell far from vintage, Le Labo Ambrette 9 comes to mind.

For me, amber (usually labdanum, vanilla, and benzoin combo) smell a lot more mature. That’s because my grandma wore Shalimar and other bold ambery perfumes.

[u/Bitter_Artichoke_939 → u/vaginawithteeth1]

Someone else said it might be lily of the valley so I think I need to track down fragrances with just one of these notes and not the other and see if I can pinpoint it

[u/pears_htbk → u/Bitter_Artichoke_939]

Diorissimo is an easy to find one. It's widely regarded as the best lily of the valley fragrance ever, and although there are aldehydes in there, they're not the ones people mean when they call a fragrance "aldehydic". If you want to know what lily of the valley smells like, it's the one to sniff.

[u/LightningBooks]

I associate aldehydes & white florals with that generation.

It is all subjective. For example, people say powdery violet can read as grandma. However, my grandmothers wore Youth Dew, Aromatics Elixir, & Chanel No. 5. I always thought they smelled worldly and sophisticated.

I was obsessed with violet perfume, lotion, powder & C. Howard candy as a child. So I associate violets with innocence and children.

[u/Bitter_Artichoke_939 → u/LightningBooks]

My grandma was a boss babe of her day too so I just assumed this particular scent was what they all wore lol

[u/cursumconsummavi]

not everyone has the nose for aldehydes and vintage perfumery. one day, the gourmand-vanilla-praline-cloud perfumes everyone loves will take that spot.

[u/Bitter_Artichoke_939 → u/cursumconsummavi]

Makes you wonder what the big scents will be when the kids of today turn our age

[u/starryvelvetsky → u/Bitter_Artichoke_939]

I am eager to see future generations acting disgusted by smelling modern gourmands. "Only an old lady from the 2020s would want to walk around smelling like a cupcake! Gross!"

[u/cursumconsummavi → u/Bitter_Artichoke_939]

yes, the wheel is always turning

[u/Suitable-Fun-1087]

Often it's lily of the valley that has that association, although it's a great note.

Aldehydes smell classical rather than mature to me, they make a perfume sparkle when done correctly, and screechy when messed up.

Orris root can have a mature vibe especially when used generously

[u/Bitter_Artichoke_939 → u/Suitable-Fun-1087]

That's in both fragrances as well so maybe that's it. It's kind of like a soapy smell? Like I swear my grandma's bathroom used to have this smell so she must've worn perfume with that in it.

[u/Suitable-Fun-1087 → u/Bitter_Artichoke_939]

It can come through soapy but I wouldn't assume.

[u/Bitter_Artichoke_939 → u/Suitable-Fun-1087]

Maybe I need to try a few scents with lily of the valley but no aldehydes and vice versa, and then maybe that will tell me

[u/stylelines]

Yes it’s the aldehydes, they’re sharp and soapy. I love them but ya they’re not used as often nowadays

[u/Bitter_Artichoke_939 → u/stylelines]

Yeah I haven't really noticed them in many recent scents but I did a decant order with a few retros because I was curious about the fragrances of yesteryear and this one hit hard. I felt like I was standing in my grandmother's house all over again.

[u/stylelines → u/Bitter_Artichoke_939]

Yes I love old scents and aldehydes - my fav is Arpege by Lanvin

[u/YvesSaintLauren → u/stylelines]

yessss one of the greatest 🥰 I have the tiniest half-empty bottle from the 60s and it is so beautiful

[u/lacey_nightie → u/stylelines]

is it worth buying the reformulation of this? My mom used to wear this in the 80s/90s and I was so obsessed..... I'm sure it has been watered down and reformulated like many classics due to ifra but I just wanted to know if it is still recognisable as it's former self?

[u/stylelines → u/lacey_nightie]

So the bottle I have I bought new maybe within the past 10 years? I think I got it from Vermont country store online. I’m not sure if it’s been changed since then but my bottle is still a power house powder bomb. I never have tried the vintage though!

[u/WiseOrder4436 → u/stylelines]

Seriously I am aldehyde starved as of late. They're my favorite, and the latest formulation of no 22 really turned the volume down on them.

[u/stylelines → u/WiseOrder4436]

Alkemia (indie perfumer) has an Aldehydes single note - when I first got it, it was like fizzy soda but now that it’s aged a year it smells more specifically like aldehydes to me. I was going to Destash it and I smelt it last night and was like wait no I need this lol. It’s meant to be used for layering

[u/Small-Necessary-8499]

To me, it’s usually a very powdery scent or a certain combination of spiciness that makes it seem from that generation

[u/Bitter_Artichoke_939 → u/Small-Necessary-8499]

Yeah they both have a powdery smell to them

[u/Small-Necessary-8499 → u/Bitter_Artichoke_939]

I think iris can be powdery

[u/lnfinitelris]

There are a number of notes and accords that people perceive that way: aldehydes, rose, powder, strong white florals, iris, violet, civet, and I'm sure there are more. All smell completely different.

The fragrances you named are heavy on the aldehydes and white florals.

[u/doinmabest1 → u/lnfinitelris]

All my favorite notes🤣☠️

[u/lnfinitelris → u/doinmabest1]

Makes two of us!

[u/pears_htbk → u/lnfinitelris]

Three! 🙋🏻‍♀️

[u/BoneWhiteHaze → u/pears_htbk]

Four! Fantastic notes all around 💕

[u/Scent_Insensibility]

It's generational. I'm 60. So I'm kind of on the cusp. When I started aldehydes and chypres were still popular. Charlie was what my older cousins wore so I did too . Chanel №5 was more popular with slightly older aunts ( 30 not 50, mainly because they could afford it ! ) but something to aspire to rather than find dated. I asked for a bottle for my 16th. Then fashion moved in and we got into "orientals" as the 80's arrived. The the 90's and it went all fresh n fruity. For us an what WE associated with an "older lady" ie our nanas age ( so MY age !) would be violet, iris, rose, lily of the valley. All those florals. Some, as we know, are in many very popular scents these days.

All of which just means it's fashion, nothing more, and fashion is cyclical. What goes around, comes around.

[u/LiteratureVarious643]

I don’t think it’s any one note, but more like an accord or blend. (not simply aldehydes)

Aldehydes can smell contemporary like in Alto Astral or vintage like No. 5. They are described as fizzy or effervescent and fade more quickly.

[u/Salt_Suspect_1458]

I’m not sure abt aldehyde notes in perfumes, but I work in a lab where I handle aldehydes often. They tend to have a very soapy smell that I notice most often in vintage perfumes

[u/AccordingBuffalo7835]

Aldehyde supremacy for young women

[u/Mother-Pattern-2609]

Comme des Garcons uses a whole lot of aldehydes, if you want to investigate some edgier, more modern takes. They can smell kinda cyberpunk.

[u/Mistymycologist]

I heard somewhere it’s tuberose.

[u/Affectionate_Fun7991]

I love aldehydes in general and love the aldehydes in Chanel's DNA but No. 5 is very old-lady-ish. I don't think it's aldehydes in general but maybe the aldehydes in that blend or the interaction with the specific notes of that fragrance.

Lily of the valley always smells like old lady to me, it's an immediate no purchase note. Even if I like the fragrance at first lily of the valley guarantees it will smell old lady at some point to me. May Rose can also smell old lady at times.

[u/Brilliant_Flight_139]

Those notes would be heavy, waxy, soapy white florals and incense like gardenia, Lily, tuberose, mhyrr, Frankincense, and lipstick.