A related phenomenon is the “old people’s house” smell. My grandparents had this bad. I finally figured out that it was because they never, ever opened the windows for fear a slight chill would bring on fatal pneumonia. The smell of ointment and Shower-to-Shower built up in there until it was positively suffocating.
My nanny (great-grandma) used to wear this terrible perfume called Youth Dew. That’s what old lady smell is. I just remember that the perfume was a brown color in a clear bottle. Ick.
And the funny thing is that this cashier at the grocery store I frequent wears that same perfume, but she’s not an old lady. I can’t be the one, but someone should tell her she reeks of Au De Grandma.
Please…it can’t be Chanel No. 5…I wear that sometimes (when my Dolce Vita is running out)…I’m only 44…I’m not ready for the old lady smell yet
No, no, no, no, no!
That “old lady house” smell, is, and I 've only heard this, at least partially because of the skin cells aforementioned old ladies must sweep up by the bucketful. Plus body powder, Jergens, Shalimar, et al.
Hmm. I wonder where to look for a yea or nay about that…
Shalimar is an old lady perfume, innit? So is Joy. My Aunt Vicki poured that shit over herself by the ladleful.
I discovered the main ingredients to my grandparent’s house smell was boiling potatoes and Murphy’s Oil soap.
None of my grandparents had a smell, unless you count Grandma’s cigarettes, which I won’t until they make a perfume out of it.
My grandmother smells of perfume and baby powder (then again, she’s pretty young for a grandmother). Not Chanel, though–some other kind.
We’d have to do a poll or survey and see…
What do little old ladies smell like?
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Depends tm 
Well [bvelvet** I hate to be the one to tell you, but Chanel is indeed a part of the old lady smell. Go smell a nice fresh bottle of Ol’ Number five, then sniff any old ladies wondering around Sephora. Trust me, there is no way to deny the truth. I defy you to randomly sniff old ladies and tell me its not true!
Shalimar? Joy? Chanel?
Wow, your grandmas are pretty with it.
In England the old lady staple was a very old-fashioned perfume, or cologne,
called 4/7/11. You could get little handbag sachets, too, to freshen up when you had a bit of a ‘glow’ on.
I’m sure they’re a bit more modern than that now, however. I am sort of going back a few years here.
A lot of LOLs have a hard time showering. That, combined with a LOL’s tendancy to turn the heat waaay up, makes unwashed body a big part of The Smell. The LOLs I meet (my pharmacy services Assisted Living Facilities and nursing homes, so I know plenty) also tend to go for the rose- or musk-scented purfumes.
Also denture odor.
I was an adult before I figured out that moth balls had their own smell independent of old ladies. To this day, every time I smell moth balls, I think of my grandma.
Heh. I love that stuff. It reminds me of when I was 17, and wore it all one summer, when I was dating this cute ‘older’ guy (23!) and we…
No old lady connotations for me there!
Now my late mother wore Tabu, and only Tabu, so that and cigarette smoke brings to mind “eau de mother” (age 63).
My grandmother used to wear this too!
I miss my grandma.