Lavender. Great word. This is a post dedicated to lavender, the plant and the color. I love both, and had a nice encounter with a lavender soap, recently, which made me remember lavender things I have loved and lost, so here we are.
The first time I recall smelling lavender was in the gift shop of Shaw's Garden, now called The Missouri Botanical Garden, in St. Louis. I had to ask someone what I was smelling, I didn't know, and couldn't imagine a cleaner scent to be found on earth. I'd go back there whenever I could; I loved the gardens. And I had to go into the gift shop now and then to get a hit of that lavender. It had an effect on me as a teenager, going through those ornate iron gates, through the old entrance to the gardens, which was on Tower Grove Boulevard, at that time, closer to Henry Shaw's house. I couldn't wait to go inside and see the unusual, to me, gift items and smell that scent. I felt it brought instant peace and order to my mind. Too bad I couldn't have carried a bunch with me throughout the day to sniff, or had essential oils to rub under my nose; I may have been a better student. Those oils weren't commonly found in shops in the 1970's, though. But lavender was effective for me in an aromatherapeutic way. As an anxious kid, it would have been a useful item for help in falling asleep when concerns kept my mind going late into the night.
Color. I loved the look of lavender eye makeup in the 60's and 70's and it does sometimes cycle around again. I can reminisce about the days when I had Yardley Moody Mauve (I believe that was the title) eyeshadow on my dresser, along with a pot o' gloss (Astral Wine) and some Love's Fresh Lemon perfume. I loved the packaging nearly as much as the eyeshadow, which I probably wore twice.
Yardley is most known for its soaps, and their lavender soap has been a bestseller for many years. Lavender may be derived from the latin, lavere, to wash, and historically it has been used in water and in salves to clean wounds. It is a very essentially clean fragrance, much like lemon, and is mildly antiseptic. It is said that it was carried in salve form by all Roman soldiers. People may have been protected from the spread of germs by carrying lavender wands. Inhaling the fragrance may have provided temporary cleansing of the nasal passages during times of sickness.
Clothes. Years later, I would save money to buy a cotton lavender sweater which I coveted, and finally bought with hard earned babysitting money. Wish I had a photo, but it was thick and ribbed and and had cabling down the middle and a big pouch pocket. More recently, I've wanted a pair of darker lavender corduroy pants when colorful corduroys were back in vogue one year. I could see these pants in my mind, but I never found them. Same with a dark lavender velvet dress....
I was happy to see a resurgence of lavender colors in makeup when I worked in the cosmetics and perfume department at Macy's in 2012. I was not going to use it myself, but loved the colors that came in, and the ads. Researching lavender in cosmetics, I find there is quite a fan base. Like this person:
I should mention that I've never found a lavender perfume I like, not even Yardley's. Nothing beats the fresh or dried flowers, themselves. When my kids were young I used to put what we called 'sleeping flowers' under their noses, just a wee speck of Aura Cacia lavender oil. My nephew would request it when he slept ove
A few years ago, I found a book which I truly regret not buying. It may still be sitting in a stack at Karen Wickliff books in Columbus, Ohio, for all I know, and I think I need to go back and get it.
sundries DEFINITIONS AND SYNONYMS
- 1various objects that are too small or too unimportant to mention separately.
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