Blue Grass (1934)
by Elizabeth Arden

I used Blue Grass in college, but not much. I bought it again at Marshall's this past fall and remembered why it wasn't worn much. It makes my throat sore and my nose itch and burn. It might smell good, but I can't get past the allergic reaction. Don't know what aldehyde or tonka are, so maybe one of those is the culprit! All of the Elizabeth Arden scents bother my nose and throat. It would be interesting to see if they share a common base.

I did love blue Grass a few yrs ago, but one winter I had a respiratory infection and wore perfume a little too soon, yes, it was this one. I couldn't wear it again. Was at a college orientation in january and all the people in the room... me being sick... Blue grass perfume permeating my breathing space.... just couldn't wear it again although it was a pretty scent.

With Blue Grass I get a herbal / floral opening with lots of aldehydes. I enjoy the aldehydes and the growing indoles. There already is a strong powder in the opening accord. It’s quite nice in rather an old fashioned way. The jasmine and tuberose from the heart accord come rather strongly – a bit too strongly for me. It is probably the tuberose that I find gets rather cloying – I never have trouble with jasmine. Between these two florals, there is certainly some serious indole action happening. I don’t smell the rose or the carnation at all, just the white florals. After the aldehydes and indoles wear off and the white florals settle down, I become aware of why the fragrance was named as it is: The drydown is quite grassy and a bit floral with some sweetness, wood, and a lot of musk. The grassiness would contribute a very nice rustic, herbalness to the floral drydown if it weren’t for the continuing presence of the powder. The powder is extreme, and while I didn’t mind it at first, it eventually gets disproportionate. I enjoy this fragrance except for the powder – I don’t always have a problem with powder, but in Blue Grass it gets too much for me.

I had read about this scent and was intrigued. It was for sale at Marshalls for under ten dollars so I decided to give it a try. When I got into the car I greedily ripped open the box and sprayed. While I thought it smelled like the sanitizers used in a public restroom, my husband declared that it smelled like urinal cake. We were both reminded of public restrooms.

My grandmother used to wear it - and I'm afraid this is where this perfume belongs - in the past. I don't think it has weathered well and now sits rather uncomfortably next to the modern array of scents on offer.

Blue grass is almost suffocatingly powdery and aldehydic. It's also floral and herbal, but those qualities are drowned out. There's a story that Arden used to spray this on her beloved horses and that does sound rather believable.

Whoever said this smells like Shalimar hasn't tried this, or Shalimar. The two scents are not even slightly alike.

This was my mother's favorite as a teen. She says she used to finish detassling corn in the Iowa fields, take a shower and spritz herself and nothing smelled as wonderful. I'm not sure how truly wonderful it is but it IS a nice 50's midwestern farm girl kind of fragrance. Actually, the jasmine is quite overpowering in the beginning and a little strong, but the drydown is nice and soft. There is definitely something like sweet grass about it and that is not at all bad, but personally I prefer the sweet grassiness of Dior's Dune. Still, it's nice to have a bottle of history around.