NIVEA: When the blues hit, Nivea to the rescue

/ katesplace356115470

.

Kate Apted

.

Hey APJ community!

Now and then we all get hit by the blues. Life seems devoid of joy and the usual things we do for comfort lose all appeal. It has been one of those months, and worst of all, I have hardly any interest in perfume.

NIVEA 2015

When the blues hit, Nivea to the rescue

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarin, Bergamot, Lavender
Heart: Lily-of-the-valley, Rose, Freesia, Ylang-ylang
Base: Sandalwood, Musky notes

I devote an hour everyday to doing things fragrance related, such as taking a bubble bath in my latest shower gel, researching on my favoured perfume sites, catching up with perfumistas and/or re-sorting my collection. I haven’t even been doing that!

The only things I have been taking little sniffs of are related: my tin of Nivea cream that I never put on my skin, and my little sample of Nivea edt I bough a few weeks back. There is a gentle comfort to the Nivea scent that goes all the way back to when I was 8 years old.

I did try to wear Monsieur by Frederic Malle, but it made me kind of itchy in an internally restless way, so I washed it off. The smell of food has been off putting and actually made my appetite weaker than normal. I am definitely in the midst of something rather unsettling and only time will tell what it is.

Strangely, I am not inclined to sell any of my perfumes, yet a week ago, I put aside a stack ready for me to list on Facebook in various markets. Some bottles are even annoying me. My shower gels are unused and I have taken to using a bar of Allure (Chanel) soap I tucked away  for when I needed a soap with minimal scent.

See? I am not myself right now. I have faith I will come out of this and my zeal for perfume shall return. But in the meantime, I need to ride out whatever it is.

Just yesterday, my eldest, H, sprayed his usual haze of Lynx (or Axe) Australia around his body and I felt I had been gassed with WWI mustard gas. I had to leave the house for frezh air! It is a pretty decent oud-like scent and I have no qualms with him spraying with abandon.

So, back to the blue tin of Nivea cream. There is something so simple, so universally appealing about the vibrant dark blue tin with the bold white lettering. It is a piece of ‘home’ found the world over. The tin makes a marvellously alive sound as it is opened. And inside is the thick cream that used to remind me of the purest double cream I’d see at the dairy as a child. Then the scent… Oh, how does one even put that heavenly powdery, metallic, hyacinth smell to words?!

I guess I want to be around the familar; things that are pleasant, yet not overbearing or complicated. I don’t even need to think about the Nivea experience. I can visualise everything about it with hardly any effort.

What brings you comfort when the blues hit? Are there any scents you warm up to, or perhaps avoid?

May you shine on, you crazy diamonds,

Kate xx

43 thoughts on “NIVEA: When the blues hit, Nivea to the rescue”

  1. Sorry to hear the black dog is visiting you. Hopefully it will pass soon. Sometimes when I’m feeling off, I’ll just wear scented lotion or deodorant. When I was very ill a few years ago, all I wanted to wear was white musk (something I normally avoid). The most important thing is to not force yourself to wear anything, just go with the flow. And don’t do any rash selling! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  2. I hope you come back to feeling as your old self soon, Kate! 💜💙
    I am floored by the fact that I was thinking of Nivea the other day and here is your post!!!
    Nivea is the scent I remember as far back as my toddler days. Nivea, 4711, Vitabath, Jean Nate. I think if I smelled any of those I would probably cry.
    I would love to sniff and even own the Nivea EDT but I don’t think it’s available in the States.
    When I am not up to wearing my perfumes I turn to my essential oils….they are like life itself and there is always something in my collection that works at the moment to soothe me.
    Sending you a big hug, Kate. And don’t sell anything!!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Brigitte, thank you. I am getting an overwhelming feeling from you all to hold off selling. Neon sign level!

      There is something soothing and non-jarring with essential oils. Interestingly, I have been revisiting some of my older TRNP scents to keep the tiny scent flame alive.

      Hug received! X

      Like

  3. Hugs! Don’t sell anything! I love the smell of Nivea although it wasn’t something we had in my house growing up- maybe introduced to it by a college roommate? I have definitely had times when perfumes didn’t appeal as much, especially anything floral. I would retreat to simple citrus colognes or in winter, simple vanilla scents.

    Liked by 1 person

    • MMKinPA, I promise to hold off selling.

      Nivea seems to be everywhere. It surprises me how different the Indonesian one smells. The consistency is a lot less dense; easier absortion in the humidity perhaps. We all seem to have been exposed to it.

      Like

  4. Here in the Lowlands Nivea is in everyone’s home in one way or the other, cream, deo, bodylotion, shampoo, sunscreen…I hope it lifts you over the troubled waters. After a long time of perfume blues April Aromatics Irisistible ushered the way out, followed by Vero Profumo. I always associate smell with emotions so the blues in whatever form will affect how we experience scent I think.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Fully agree, Hammelis. Powerful stuff, our emotions. Some gurus say we need to let it wash over, but it does not always work that way. Bio feed back is valuable information. Why make ourselves sicker when our bodies tell us things make us ill?!

      I STILL have not tried an April Aromatics scent. I know, I know…

      Like

  5. Nivea cream, and boom, I’m back in my mother’s bedroom as a child. I’m guessing that about 90% of people here would have that same association. The other 10% were probably from very rich families😃 One thing I remember vividly is that it was very hard to slather in cold weather. This I can recall and yet don’t ask me what I did last week. You’re having a bit of a ‘moment’ and I hope this phase is transitory and short. It could perhaps be a heightened version of the ennui that strikes even the most hardened perfumista. Find your comfort wherever you can. And as has been said by others: do NOT sell anything. Tell your boys to hide your most treasured scents. Big hugs💋

    Liked by 1 person

    • Cassieflower, you made me smile. Your writing, and vivid personality, can be felt ALL the way in Down Under. Huge, baby!

      It is weird that even my boys know the scent. In my usual shove-my-wrist-under-their-nose-and-smell-it way, I gave them the Nivea edt to smell. They both said they knew it from somewhere. They have never seen my tin stashed away, yet they know it.

      Is it that popular that laundry detergents, deodorants etc ‘copied’ it?

      Like

  7. you are so right about Nivea being a universal conjurer of memories. No matter where you are from whether Europe, Asia, Africa or wherever, there is a good chance you encountered that blue tin and that particular smell. It has been so long since I smelled Nivea that I have forgotten a little bit how it smells but it wont take a millisecond for me to recognize the smell of nivea whenever I encounter it in the future.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Exactly, Fazal. It is an immediate response of familiarity. Scary how the Kardashians have entered that same level of instantaneous recognition. I really hope Nivea keeps on going. For the scent alone! No idea how good the cream is for the skin…

      It upset me the first time I tried a Nivea lip balm. No Nivea scent. Bahahahaha!

      Like

      • Gawddddddddddddddddddddd, I cannot stand the Kardashians, the cumulative damage they are doing to the US and the rest of the world by sending the worst messages to their fans, especially young people who are still growing and maturing. Kardashians and Trumps are the heights of narcissism; the textbook examples of the damage narcissistic people with huge influence imposed on mankind. This is why I refuse to touch any thing directly or indirectly endorsed by the Kardashians and this is one of the easiest pledge for me to live by.

        Liked by 1 person

  8. Awwww schucks Kate. Sorry you’re feeling bluesy. I can relate and truthfully, I lose complete and total interest in perfume or anything scented, for that matter, when it happens to me. Just don’t sell!!
    I remember my mother’s tins of Nivea. They were proper metal covered with a thick foil top that you had to peel back. That stuff was rich and greasy! I bought some this winter hoping to alleviate ultra dry shins. Plastic tub now but still smells great. The scent of childhood and comfort.

    Like

  9. This is sounding similar to the Crabby Reader Syndrome someone brought up on a mystery site. She coped by re-reading old favourites until it passed and could go back to new books…

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Glad that you are talking about this, Kate. It can be very frustrating, too, when things feel out of whack but we don’t know why.
    I find that powder is my comfort. I head for Esprit d’Oscar and Love, Chloe.
    I am one of the few who doesn’t have an association with Nivea. My Mum never had very fragrant things as she has a very poor sense of smell, so fragrance was never important to her. So I don’t have strong childhood associations with fragrance, skin creams, soaps, detergents or shampoos, which makes me sad.
    But freshly-cut grass, jasmine growing on the fence, Mum’s Saturday baking, Dencorub mixed with grass and soil dug up by footy boots, tomatoes growing in the sun, garlic flowers, my favourite uncle’s pipe smoke and horses, and my Dad’s work jacket still resonate for me.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. What a walk down memory lane! Thank you for reminding me of one of my childhood scents, that comforting, homely smell that makes you feel warm inside. I am stuck at home with the flu, so your blog has cheered me up, and inspired me to go find me a tin of this white comfort fluff, (it may even moisturise my nose at the same time!),

    Liked by 1 person

  14. Sending you a big hug Kate. I am so sorry that you are going through that. When the blues hit me I either wear no perfume at all or stick to one comforting scent for the time that I need which is either vanilla or powder based. Please don’t sell at the moment. Keep your stack off to the side and revisit it again once you are feeling better. I regret giving away some of my perfumes during those times.
    Sandra xo

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks, Sandra. It isn’t so bad. I just call it my battery recharge time. Every cloud has a silver lining and I find them even in the darkest, most thundery clouds.

      I will keep off selling anything yet. Xx

      Like

Comments are closed.