growlery (archaic) a place to retreat to, alone, when ill-humored
By Phil Riske, managing editor
Back in the day (sorry for the hackneyed phrase), Old Spice was the only aftershave we high school boys looking for high school girls splashed on.
Then along came Brut, which was pimped by “Broadway Joe” Namath (and it was brutally bad stuff). Then English Leather, and the rest is history.
These inexpensive smell-goods all had distinctive scents, unlike today’s overpriced products, which come in bottles designed by artists on LSD.
Once in a while, I’ll sample today’s men’s cologne at the mall, and it’s quite an adventure. Used to be you’d spray some on your wrist from a tester bottle and go home smelling like a perfume factory. Now, they have paper strips onto which you spray a sample. In between samples, you’re asked to smell coffee beans so the previous scent doesn’t stick in your brain.
The sales lady tells me every one I tried is her “favorite.”
After a dozen samples or so, I was convinced they all were the same, coffee beans or no coffee beans.
I was temped to ask if she had any good ol’ Aqua Velva.
I finally decided on a small bottle of French stink-um and asked for the damages.
$95.
What smells at the mall is the price.
