Would you pay $103 for designer perfume for your baby? Zoe Arnold looks at the latest unnecessary product mums are being told they can’t live without.
There’s a lot of stuff you don’t need when you have a baby. A LOT of stuff, that you think you need, but really truly do not.
Like a baby bottle warmer that plugs into your car’s cigarette lighter. It won’t be used.
Like a quilted liner for your trolley so your baby doesn’t pick up any germs. Newsflash: germs are good!
Like those ‘all-in-one’ nappy disposal systems that retail for a few hundred dollars, when a plastic bag and a bin do the same thing.
But better than all of these are the latest trend for discerning mummies: perfume for babies.
Nope, I’m not joking.
For a cool $103 US, you can buy your bundle of joy a soft eau-de-toilette featuring “rhubarb, orange zest and mandarin blend with gentle verbena and spearmint to form the fresh top notes”. That’s from the House of Burberry, no less.
Or, if you prefer a more Italian-style scent for your bambino, you can fork out for some Dolce and Gabbana perfume for babies with its notes of “bergamot, honey and musk” which the fashion label claims will enhance your baby’s natural smell.
But is there anything better than a baby’s smell, left alone? My secret pleasure is burrowing my nose in my baby’s neck, drinking in that sweet fragrance: a mix of caramel, honey and … baby.
It’s not there forever, a fleeting year or so, before the stickiness of being a toddler takes over.
Babies smell delicious. In spite of their stinky nappies, and occasional ejections of milky mess: a few wipes with a wet washer and they’re like new.
Posh perfumes for our little ones are not necessary, not needed. It’s yet another play on our desires to have the best for our babies.
I battle with my conscience every time I shop for my kids: noticing the newest clothes, foods, toys that marketing tells me I ‘need’ to be an effective parent.
Don’t get me wrong — I love baby goods. I have spent hours researching the best pram for my kids (and me!).
It’s hard to say no to gorgeous, pint-sized clothes when they’re on special … as much as my children’s wardrobes are overflowing with gear already.
But deep down I know that there’s not much my babies need at all. Mostly they need me, or their dad, and our attention.
They need books read to them and to be clothed and fed. They need their daily bath ritual that often sends my stress levels soaring, but leaves them looking sweet and clean.
They certainly don’t need overpriced eau de toilette to improve their non-existent body odour.
It’s materialism gone mad. I’m afraid my babies will have to deal with the occasional sprinkle of baby powder instead.
Your say: What’s the most unnecessary baby item you’ve bought for your child? Will you be buying baby perfume?
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