Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Avon Calling: Occur! (With a Draw, My Door to Yours)


Nearly every American of a certain age remembers the neighborhood Avon lady. Avon, like Tupperware, was a massive Mid Century door to door phenomenon, with millions of dollars exchanged annually, and every home seemed to have at least one Avon item sitting around somewhere, generally in the vicinity of another American mainstay, Estee Lauder merchandise. Avon was famous for its nearly infinite array of collectible bottles - in the shape of owl, telephone, train, auto, peacock, snail, bell, ram's head, et al. My grandmother had a box in her attic full of these bottles. All in their original packaging (NIB as they say on Ebay), they looked as if they'd never been used.

The only Avon fragrances I remember from childhood were twinkly, bonnie type affairs with names like Cotillion, Sonnet, and Field Flowers. Sweet Honesty, which epitomized these, was ubiquitous among little girl tweens I knew, and smelled like something trying to make its mind up between shampoo and seduction. If I did smell any of the more mature fragrances in the brand's line up, I probably lumped them all together under the usual adjectives: powdery, say, or stinky. Years later I moved closer to my grandmother's town and was able to visit more frequently. Scouring local antique shops, I came across what seemed like an endless revolving door of these colorful bottles and perfumes.


I first smelled Occur in one of these shops, in its most recognizable bottle, curved black metal with a gold top. Like a lot of fragrances at the time, it was a "cologne mist spray", which simply feels faulty to someone now used to today's jet stream atomizers. Occur and Timeless (another Avon favorite, related in many ways to Occur) sat together on a glass and gold metal tray in the shop and were more than half empty. They smelled funky to me and I assumed the contents had long ago turned.

That was pretty early on in my renewed acquaintanceship with perfume - long before Habanita, Cuir de Russie, or any number of classics it took me a while to fully appreciate. A lot smelled funky to me; a lot smelled different in a way I wasn't used to and therefore decided wasn't my thing. I smell Occur now and can't believe I didn't love it then, because there's really nothing like it, even now that I've smelled over a thousand perfumes and my idea of "my thing" has expanded to such an extent that I'm just as likely to wear and appreciate an old school animalic as a niche floral. I felt just as turned off, truth be told, when I first smelled Muscs Koublai Khan, but Avon is a lot lower on the totem pole in the cultural imagination than Serge Lutens, so it's much easier to dismiss, and reappraisal is much less likely.


Released in 1962, Occur(!) is, to me, far more satisfying and arresting than Koublai Khan, and really almost every other modern animalic scent I've smelled and loved, short of, maybe, Frances Kurkdjian's Absolue Pour le Soir. There really is no bright up top business happening in Occur. It starts with an odd but well judged combination of indolic, aldehydic florals, spices (cardamom and coriander, both discernible), and, allegedly, bergamot. I challenge you to identify anything resembling bergamot. There really isn't much of an "up top" to Occur in general. It's a basenote enterprise the moment it hits the skin. What I smell, more than anything, or believe I smell, is myrrh, patchouli, civet, oakmoss, vanilla and amber. As with the recently reviewed Epris, by Max factor, Occur's floral components aren't the alpha dogs in this dog park, and they know it.

The secret weapon here is coconut (I'll say that twice. The secret weapon here is coconut), and the combination of coconut, gardenia, jasmine, lily-of-the-valley, and all the above mentioned heavy hitters produces a strange, fascinating effect, fattening up everything with just the right trace of buttery gourmand. Occur is a pretty sultry scent. It's no delicate flower. Yet it isn't exactly a powerhouse either, despite what its ingredients and its initial bombast would lead you to believe, and my praise of its animal hide notwithstanding, it's also incredibly pretty. It soon settles down pretty close to the skin with a leather-infused coconut- and patchouli-centered softness. Like Epris, which is also classified as a floral chypre, Occur seems more like an oriental to me, referencing, among other things, Shalimar, Youth Dew, and another Avon fragrance, released two years earlier, called Unforgettable. With its coconut, almost caramel effect, Occur recalls another of my Max Factor favorites, 1956's fantastic (and, like Occur, fantastically under-appreciated) Primitif. In a wonderful review of Primitif, Yesterday's Perfume called it "deliciously skanky", and the same could be said of Occur. If I were to look for a contemporary kinship I would choose Serge Luten's La Myrrh, which embodies similarly arresting incongruities, and makes them work (nevermind the skank with La Myrrh, which doesn't go there).

Occur is easy to find on Ebay, which has become an online version of the old Avon door to door model. While the black metal bottles are probably the earliest incarnations, their contents are difficult for sellers to judge, generating vague guestimates as to how much juice they contain. The atomizers on those bottles don't always work splendidly, if at all, and vendors don't always test them before listing (and shipping). I've never tried the heptagon shaped glass bottles that come in striped black boxes, with skinny black caps, but they look to date from the eighties or thereabouts (I could be wrong). Most of what lies between will be splash bottles - though the fragrance was recently reissued as part of the "Fragrance Traditions" line up. I've tried the Fragrance Traditions version, and while it's perfectly decent, it doesn't have the full bodied oomph of older formulations, nor their weird piquant high points. What it does have is slightly better longevity, so it's a bit of a six or half dozen kind of thing. If you're lucky, you'll find one of the half ounces perfume oil versions. Whether you opt for boot, bell, candlestick, or bell bottle, look for the vintage, and expect to pay anywhere from 10-30 bucks.

I'm having a good time exploring older, less well known fragrances lately, Avon first and foremost among them. I'd love to hear about older Avon fragrances you've smelled. So far, I've gotten hold of Occur, Timeless, Unforgettable, and Charisma. I'll draw a name from the comments and send off a sample portion of vintage Occur.

Here's a wonderful post on Unforgettable, with some information on the early and contemporary Avon sales model, by Olfacta.

22 comments:

Vanessa said...

Oh funny, I received my first Avon catalogue through the door today!

I don't recall any vintage Avon fragrances but have vivid memories of a moisturing cream in a plastic pot whose lid was a sort of bas-relief representing a basket of peaches. If I ever stumbled across that again, it would be hugely evocative of playing at my friend's house around the time the men landed on the moon.

Carol said...

I wore Odyssey and Imari in the 80s (when I couldn't afford my beloved Opium); I actually sold Avon at the ripe old age of 21 or so just so I could get free samples. And I use the word "sold" lightly. I don't think I sold much at all, and gave up after a month or two realizing that I had absolutely no interest in being a salesperson.

queen_cupcake said...

I think Topaze was a popular one. My sister liked it and she always had good taste in fragrance. I don't remember that one too well--do you know it, Brian?

Brian said...

I do know of it but haven't smelled it. However, a half ounce bottle is on the way. I read it's an aldehydic floral a la no.5 and Arpege. We shall see and I'll report back.

Brian said...

Oh gosh, Vanessa, how could I forget all those perfume cream pots. Avon must have spent a fortune on all those various containers.

Brian said...

Don't think I've run into Odyssey but it sounds like an oriental(?). I think I'd be a miserable door to door sales agent (make that I know I would) - although I'd LOVE getting to be a fly on the wall in so many homes.

Olfacta said...

I wrote about Unforgettable awhile back -- a big stonking orange-blossom floral. Unfortunately the sprayer has stopped working on my bottle. I remember Charisma as pleasant but don't remember what type it was, and Topaze as really strong. For awhile, Avon was into MLM (multi-level marketing) but I read that they are restructuring. They did give women opportunites for independence in a time when there weren't many, and that army of "Avon Ladies" made them the #1 cosmetics company in the world (in terms of sales) for a long time.

Carol said...

I think Odyssey was more of a musky floral. The funniest thing about my stint as an Avon rep was that I was living in downtown Cle at the time, at art school and into underground stuff, no houses to go door to door to (even if I wanted to) It was a set up for failure and all about the samples! ;)

Brian said...

It's funny, Olfacta: I seem to think so many older fragrances are orientals. This might be because they're so different from contemporary fragrances in the same rough category. The least bit balsamic and it flies into the oriental bin with me.

Gwenyth said...

This trip down the Avon Memory Lane has been great. Thanks for helping to bring some nice memories to the forefront of my mind.

I attribute my strong love of perfume to my Mother's Avon Lady. The AL was someone who didn't travel in my Mother's 'set', but who made it a point to visit my Mother and all her friends regularly. I remember her visits clearly: she would spent time in our 'front room', the one reserved for company, and patiently wait until my Mother purchased her allotment for the month. Seriously, she never took 'no' for an answer and there seemed to be a tacit understanding that Mother 'would' be buying something.

As a result of this masterful campaign, our home was surfeit with Avon products of all types. My Father wore Avon aftershave housed in bottles in the forms of cars and horses. And Mother had some of most of the fragrances, either in bottles or the lovely creme perfumes.

That is where my love of perfume had its beginnings, I'm sure. Experimenting and dabbing with the Avon products that were stored in the bathroom cabinets.

My Mother wore some of the Avon perfumes, but she let me know early on that she was really an "Estee Lauder" woman.

I loved Occur and wore it until my mid-twenties, along with Unforgettable and Topaze.

Brian said...

Such an evocative story, Gwenyth. Do you remember what Topaze smelled like? I ordered a tiny vintage bottle but dying to know what it will end up being.

Susan said...

Oh, lord, I'm an Avon junkie. Some of their products (nail polish, lipstick, etc) are as good as Lauder and other brands that cost a lot more. My mom has has the same Avon lady for eons and every time I go home, she hands me the Avon brochure and asks me, "Is there anything you want from Rita?" It's one of my favorite things about going back home. I should really find my OWN Avon lady.

I haven't experimented a ton with Avon perfumes - I have some bottles on my dresser right now, mostly more recent ones... Imari, Rare Pearls, and some Mark fragrance (Mark being their more youthful/on trend brand) that's a fruity floral. I really want to get that first Fergie perfume they did. I know, I know...

Gwenyth said...

After so many years, my memory is suspect....but I seem to remember Topaze as being a rich floral. Possibly lashings of jasmine over a rich sandalwood/amber base. Joy-esque?

Don't hold me to that description however. :)
I know I loved it, however. Especially the perfumed body creme!

Maxman5823 said...

I've never smelled an Avon fragrance--it's easy to blow them off as inferior pieces, isn't it?

Brian said...

Yes - until you smell them.

Patterns (1969) is, true to its paisley packaging, a slightly psychedelic floral aldehyde with some animal thrown in. Persian Wood (1956) is as good, if not better, than any niche sandalwood I've smelled (including Costes, Lutens, and Tam Dao). Charisma (1968) gives Estee (same year) a run for its money, adding crisp, broken twig green to the icy aldehyde theme. Even a throwaway like "Leather", with its straight up true to its name smell, is a keeper. The most recent thing I've smelled is Perle Noire (1992/93), which ended up being my favorite in a crowded group including Teatro alla Scalla, Coco, and Basile. To me, it smells like Coco did when I first smelled it, years ago.

Calice Becker and other known names are doing the current Avon line up, but the authors of most of the company's older frags aren't widely known, if known at all. I do know that Gerard Goupy(of Magie Noire, Magie, and Cacharel Homme) did Tasha, which doesn't typically get listed in his oeuvre.

So yeah, easy to dismiss, unless we're talking about actually smelling them.

Brian said...

Thanks, everyone, the drawing has closed. Gwyneth, Susan, and Carol: please get in touch.

Tania said...

Brian,

I'm not bothered about missing the draw, as I have a fair amount of vintage Occur myself. Four or five bottles, including two of the oil version. I loooooove it!
A few months ago I bought a job lot of Avon from a US eBayer, and a box full of oldies-but-goodies duly arrived. It included many of the usual suspects - Occur, Charisma, Tasha, Timeless, Moonwind, Sweet Honesty - and several new to me, such as Roses Roses, Cotillion, Trailing Arbutus, Rio, Emprise, Bird of Paradise, Facets, Sonnet, Pavi Elle, Brocade, and some I can't even remember. Every now and then I dip into the stash, and try something new. Heaven!
Course, that was before the Royal Mail in their infinite wisdom decided that perfumes could no longer be transported through the mail, cause, health n safety. So my days of ordering perfumes from the US are over....
Bloody Royal Mail!

Brian said...

Tania! I thought of you last week when a vintage bottle of Cachet arrived in the mail. Seems like we discussed that here at one point. It is pretty different from the version now in drugstores, but as often happens with these drugstore scents I like both.

You know what's good? Avon's Persian Wood. Some of these old Avon scents I smell and like/admire. Some I'm downright shocked by. Persian Wood smells better than any sandalwood fragrance I've smelled. Rich, slightly spiced, with a bed of cedar. It's a little bit of heaven. Perle Noire has been the other big surprise.

Tasha is a dead ringer for Madame Rochas/Hermes Rouge.

I'm curious about Emprise. What are your impressions?

Megan P. said...

As a child I used to have a tiny roll on perfume bottle of Celebre or Anais Anais at one time or another. I knew they weren't exactly youthful scents, but I loved how the smelled on me, especially when they've dried down.

Avon products are wonderfully affordable and almost at par with other great products out there. I miss our old Avon Lady :(

Elizabeth said...

I believe Sweet Honesty is still one of the best fragrances of all time. It is just mild and really good for everyday use. I can seriously remember my youth as I see these bottles. Avon has been producing great products for such a long time now. I hope they stay with us for a long long time.

Dolinar said...

I agree with you Elizabeth. I used Sweet Honesty during my teenage years and it just feels so good, being able to have the light yet glamorous fragrance. Just perfect, isn't it? I have been an Avon user for many years, and I am happy that they continue to produce quality and affordable products.

Anonymous said...

Great post! Emprise smells just like vintage Norell! I have it in parfum it is so 1960s chic and looong lasting. They dont make them like this anymore.Thanks!