Ambre Solaire

Gold cherry
Poem of the week

By Angusfolklore

Tue, 20 Jan 2026
  • 691 reads
10 comments
 

Solitary bottle on the back shelf of the bathroom cabinet,

sat there untouched for ten solid years.

Bought by some wistful, wishing parent who thought a holiday

was possible for the likes of us.

But we went nowhere, except occasional screaming daytrips

that were better off forgotten.

The bottle sat there and never went off, like a nuclear promise

(no use by dates in the 1970s).

An unbroken seal (but broken deal?), 

cynically promising a far off suntan

that never came to pass.

It was spotted at last and laughed at

behind Andrew's Liver Salts and the pale blue cup

where dad stored slivers of soap for his shaving brush.

Before I threw the bugger in the bin, I opened it

and sniffed in the exotic promise,

factor thirty faraway legends.

Certificate U
Poem

Comments

Submitted by airyfairy on

Great use of an object to tell not one but many stories. There's always something lurking at the back of a cupboard which tells a tale greater than itself. Loved the other touches about the contents of the cupboard. Brought a rueful smile here.

Submitted by airyfairy on

This is our social media Pick of the Day! Please do share if you can.

Picture by Bigguy637, free to use at Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Big_guy_637%27s_series_2_Public_...

Submitted by GlosKat on

I think you've actually had a lucky escape.  Early versions of Ambre Solaire contained bergamot essence, which was subsequently deemed to be carcinogenic at certain concentrations. 

"In the late 1990s, the European Commission ruled to restrict psoralen levels to one part per million (1 ppm) in sun care products. This level was dozens of times lower than what was standard in popular tanning oils at the time, making traditional "bergamot oils" illegal to sell in their original form."

Since your Ambre Solaire dates from 20 years before that, I think it might have been a good thing you never actually went on that holiday …

 

Submitted by Angusfolklore on

True, it's a wonder everyone alive in the 1970s is not dead by now. The stuff they put in food and everything else, without telling us. Not an ingredient list in sight.

 

Submitted by Angusfolklore on

True, it's a wonder everyone alive in the 1970s is not dead by now. The stuff they put in food and everything else, without telling us. Not an ingredient list in sight.

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Just looking at that bottle was just like a little holiday, surely. It's strange how certain products just sit in a house for decades. I remember when mother in law made her own jelly with gelatin dated 1989 and I was convinced our children would get Mad Cow Disease.

It's sad you never got your holiday but thanks for the read, broken promises and domestic rot. I really enjoyed it.

 

Submitted by insertponceyfre... on

The things that lurk at the back of the bathroom cabinet - like Airy said, this poem goes so much further than that. Well done Angus and thank you for posting!

 

Submitted by Penny4athought on

 That bottle of suntan oil would compliment my bottle of 'Sun-In" blonding spray that lingered in my cabinet during my youthful summers, along with its promise of going blond, naturally, as you sunned yourself on the beach...natural was a big stretch - there was peroixide in the mix.

Enjoyed reading this and loved the slant on teenage, untapped adventure sitting next to everyday, boring adult products.smiley

Penny4athought

Submitted by Barb7 on

Brilliant memory. It reminded me that I loved Avon's Charisma which smelt of soap and was apparently taken off the market when a group of the same name were given a large quantity of the stuff and had some less than charismatic words to say about it. 

 

Submitted by marandina on

This is our Poem of the Week - Congratulations