This is another in a series of posts leading to the release of my book, Baby Boomer Reflections: Eighteen Special Years Between 1946 and 1964. The book is scheduled to be released in May 2015. Please continue to follow the activities on Facebook or by going to babyboomerreflections.com, and add your email address on the sign-in form on the right-hand side of the page.

Can you remember any awkward teenage boys during the 1950s and 1960s? To compensate for a possible lack of confidence, they frequently supplemented their persona with cologne … probably way too much cologne. Perhaps the girls did as well (maybe perfume just smelled better than cologne), but somehow, they always smelled a lot better than the boys.

That premise led me to research products that boys used to woo the opposite sex during those “good old days.” My personal ultimate weapon was a Nine Flags Cologne Set by Colton. It consisted of nine individual bottles, from around the world, that were packaged in a styrofoam case. The bottles each contained a different, uniquely-colored cologne with their unique name and country of origin on the bottom, including: Green Moss from Ireland, Manzanilla from Spain, Royal Saddle and Live Oak (two individual scents) from Germany, Panache from France, Aromatic Tabac from Brazil, Clear Spruce from Sweden, Dry Citrus from Italy, and Patcham from Hong Kong. Each bottle was sufficient in and of itself, but my friends and I would meet up, and dab a mixture on our necks from multiple bottles, sometimes all nine, to make us completely irresistible.

My father loved the collector bottles that were sold by the Avon representatives (“Ding Dong … Avon Calling!”) but I thought the products contained therein were impotent. The “collector” bottles didn’t inspire me either. Can you say “tacky?”

Think back to those good old days, and try to remember the smells. How many of these masculine products can you remember?

• Kings Men
• Brut
• English Lyme
• Royal Pub
• Royal Lyme
• Jade East
• Lagerfeld
• Hai Karate
• Canoe
• British Sterling
• Aqua Velva
• English Leather
• Old Spice
• Penguin

Please comment with what perfumes you used to wear, and share this with your Facebook friends.