I Asked 9 Beauty Editors to Share the Nostalgic Perfumes That Shaped Them
The throwback fragrances that industry insiders loved first—and what they think of them today.
If you asked me to map out my life, then I could probably do it through perfume alone. It sounds cliché to say that I’ve been obsessed with fragrance for as long as I can remember, especially when scent is so critical to so many of our memories, but it’s true. Long before I knew what a fragrance note was or could tell my neroli from my jasmine, I was subconsciously cataloguing smells and the feelings that they sparked. Some of my earliest memories are grounded in scent: the clean, comforting smell of the carpets in my great-grandad’s flat; the rich, salty aroma of a stew slowly cooking at my grandma’s house on a Sunday morning; the cloud of my mum’s perfume lingering in my bedroom as she kissed me goodnight before heading on a rare night out. Even the sweet, powdery scent of my sisters’ heads is somehow preserved in my mind.
Looking back, it probably isn't surprising that fragrance became a full-blown obsession in later life then. Whilst so many of my friends were boy-obsessed during our early teens, I was obsessed with discovering fragrance. The early 2000s were a particularly glorious time to come of age as a beauty lover, and I spent countless hours spritzing, sampling and saving up pocket money for the scents that defined the era. Glow by JLo, Ralph by Ralph Lauren, Anna Sui Sui Dreams and DKNY Be Delicious weren't just perfumes. They were chapters of my teenage years bottled up in brightly coloured glass and treasured for years.
Even now, a single spray of any one of them can transport me instantly back to a specific moment in time. That's the magic of fragrance, after all. More than any photograph or playlist, a nostalgic perfume has an uncanny ability to unlock memories we thought we'd forgotten. And it doesn't just remind us of places and people, either; it can remind us of who we were at that particular moment in our lives. A perfume can instantly reconnect us with versions of ourselves that might feel out of reach right now.
Which is why I was fascinated to find out whether other beauty editors felt the same. What fragrances instantly take them back? And, perhaps more importantly, do those beloved scents still hold up years, or even decades, later?
The Best Nostalgic Perfumes
1. Dior J'adore
"To me, J'adore is the smell of home. The soft, silky, soapy concoction of jasmine and ylang-ylang will forever take me back to my teenage years spent on the south coast. My first bottle was bought on a family holiday in Barcelona. It was my first foray into luxury fragrance, and the 100ml bottle lasted me right up until I left home to go to university. I wore it religiously for five years, and to this day, whenever I walk past someone in the street wearing J'adore, I go weak at the knees. It is clean-smelling, but still undeniably luxurious. It is soft on the nose, but remains attention-grabbing. It is beautifully wearable, but continues to feel special with every spritz. And whilst over the years we have seen different iterations of J'adore come and go (with the most recent being J'adore L'Or, a more daring, intense take on the original), it's the original eau de parfum that wins my heart every single time,” says beauty director, Shannon Lawlor.
2. Marc Jacobs Daisy
"Daisy by Marc Jacobs was one of the first perfumes I ever owned, so whenever I smell a new iteration, I always feel so nostalgic. The light, bright, floral scent always felt like it sparkled on the skin, and I remember saving it for only the most special occasions. I did, however, keep the bottle on my bedside table at all times so that I could admire the ornate lid for hours on end. These days, I tend to gravitate more towards Daisy Wild, a newer, fruity take on the iconic perfume, with notes of banana blossom and jasmine,” says deputy beauty editor, Grace Lindsay.
3. Calvin Klein Eternity for Women
“My mum is a firm believer in saving the best things for special occasions, whereas I'm the complete opposite and tend to use them at every opportunity. Growing up in the '90s, I remember that she always kept a bottle of Eternity tucked away in the airing cupboard, reserved for moments she deemed worthy of it. Whenever she wasn't looking, I'd sneak over and steal a few sniffs.
It wasn't until I started buying fragrance for myself that I realised quite how iconic—and timeless—Eternity is. It's equal parts fresh and musky, like slipping into your favourite cashmere jumper after a long soak in a bath overflowing with bubbles. Or, in my case, like being wrapped in a long, warm hug from someone you love. On the skin, there's something incredibly intimate about it, thanks to its subtly sweet white rose, cocooning amber and creamy sandalwood.
It's such a classic that I'd still wear it today and regularly recommend it to friends looking for something lightly floral and clean without ever feeling cloying. I'd argue that it's the original 'clean-girl' scent! Unlike my mum, though, I could never ration it; I love to spritz with carefree abandon,” says Refinery29 beauty director, Jacqueline Kilikita.
4. Britney Spears Fantasy
“I can’t quite remember the very first perfume I wore, but I remember the first perfume that felt like me—or at least the first one I wore so much that it became part of my identity. At 16 and 17, every day I wore the Britney Spears Fantasy perfume, in the pink round bottle with the crystal embellishments. I wore it so often that, for my 17th birthday, my friends sprayed my birthday card with it. I don’t remember telling them it was my ‘signature scent’; they’d simply worked it out. Not that it was hard, as I literally drowned myself in it, but it was me.
Recently, I came across it in my younger sister’s room, and I was instantly transported back to that moment: surrounded by my friends, turning 17, and convinced I had my life sorted because I had a signature scent,” says freelance beauty journalist, Zeynab Mohamed.
5. Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue
“D&G Light Blue is the first perfume I was ever really aware of my mum wearing, and it's a hugely nostalgic scent for me. I remember it from a time when I started quizzing my mum on her makeup, skincare and copied spritzing on her perfume. For me, this perfume represents my mum, not only because it transports me straight to her as scent powerfully does, but because it's bright, sparkly and punchy—everything she is. With notes of lemon, cedar, musk and apple, it's not too citrusy that it's overly acidic, but not too breezy that it's forgettable. Although it's since been reformulated, it still gives me all the nostalgia feels,” says freelance beauty and health journalist Tori Crowther.
6. Dior Addict
“My most nostalgic fragrance has to be Dior Addict. My earliest memories of it are actually of my mum wearing it alongside the original Clarins hand cream, and together the combination would cling to her coats, blouses and the air long after she'd left the room. Sometimes, when wearing some of the clothes she's now passed down to me, I feel like I can still catch a whiff of that scent. I was endlessly fascinated by the bottle, too. Whenever I was nosing around her dressing table, I'd fiddle with the little locking mechanism at the top whilst keeping well away from the ampoules of serum nearby, which I'd already been told off more than once for opening.
As a treat when we were very young, she'd spritz my two sisters and me with the fragrance. Dior Addict no longer smells quite as I remember it, so whenever I'm craving that same rich, enveloping smell that I loved so much, I'll reach for Byredo's Vanille Antique instead. It's not an exact replica, but somehow that makes my memory of Dior Addict all the more special,” says culture and beauty journalist, Ata-Owaji Victor.
7. Loewe Solo Ella
“I went to school in the sunny Arabian Peninsula, and my sixth form days were studded with notes of Victoria's Secret body sprays. Stepping into the common room was like stepping into a fruity cloud—damp with humidity, ripe plums and sickly sweet freesias. Nowadays, a VS body mist would send me running—they're far too cloying for me—but Loewe Solo Ella, on the other hand, is the perfect grown-up alternative. Red apple is perfectly balanced by green tea and fresh neroli, and a woody amber base cuts through the sweetness. The resulting fragrance is warm, juicy and fresh; it smells the way a shower feels when you're on holiday, and you've spent all day in the sun—all warm, tingly limbs and tired smiles. The scent is just sweet enough to take me right back to those sunny days at school, and it feels like the perfect balance between who I am now and who I was then,” says freelance beauty editor Humeara Mohamed.
8. Marc Jacobs Dot
“Marc Jacobs Dot was one of my first 'grown-up' perfumes when I was in high school. I remember thinking that the bottle was so cool and worthy of sitting in pride of place on my dressing table. It’s quite a bright, youthful scent, so not out of place for a teen to wear, but I loved how fresh and elegant it was—a far cry from the body sprays that were the fragrance of choice for most of my peers (but instantly migraine-inducing for me)! Although it’s been empty for years, I still can’t bring myself to throw away the bottle,” says beauty editor and esthetician, Grace Day.
9. Yves Saint Laurent Parisienne
“YSL Parisienne will forever smell like the version of adulthood I imagined for myself at 20. Launched during my university years, it was the first designer fragrance I owned from a truly iconic fashion house, and wearing it made me feel impossibly sophisticated. In reality, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, but a generous spritz before heading for a chaotic night at Punk in Soho (yes, it was the first wave of indie sleaze) convinced me I was fully embracing grown-up city life. And the fact that Kate Moss fronted the campaign only added to the allure.
As for the notes, I already had a lifelong love affair with rose fragrances—something I inherited from my mum—but this was a cool rose scent, flecked with deep blackberry, musk and an almost plasticky vinyl note. Parisienne also introduced me to the magic of violet, a note I've been drawn to ever since. It's sweet, powdery and perfectly captures the joy and possibility of that era. I'm still devastated it's been discontinued and regularly find myself searching for a sealed bottle to transport me back to the carefree abandon and wild optimism of millennial youth.
Recently, D.S. & Durga's Rose Pacific has gone some way to filling the gap. A new, joy-inducing rose perfume that still has the cool factor thanks to hints of salty sea spray, juicy apricots and warm vanilla musk. It feels fresh and modern, but also sweetly nostalgic,” says freelance beauty editor Mica Ricketts.
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