Thanks to everything from back-to-school shopping to 20th anniversaries of essential cinema to being old enough to have something to be nostalgic for, we’ve finally drank the Kool-Aid (such a delicious nineties beverage) and gone down memory lane again.
But this time, our drinks were not consistently so sweet. Opting to revisit our first scents, we uncovered the tragic truths and even delusions that fuelled our turbulent tween years: in one corner, what was meant to smell so grown up, now prompts flashbacks of locker rooms and oversaturated school dances. Or, on the flip side, some of us were reminded that our great tastes have been consistent since childhood, proving that we’ve always smelled wonderful (or might still smell terrible, depending on how your nose works).
So these are our first scents. Our first grown-up perfumes. Our first entry into the very adult world of “pulse points.” Some of us (hello) still might not know what that means, but it doesn’t mean we were any less serious.
1/11
Exclamation Perfume
“Exclamation! I wore this predominantly in Grade 10 and the scent sends me right back to walking to school listening to The Smiths on my yellow Walkman, wearing a black Espirt miniskirt with 3 hole Doc Martens and meeting my boyfriend Jay at my locker.” —Lesa Hannah, beauty director
“CK One was the first fragrance I ever owned that wasn’t some kind of sickly-sweet vanilla body spray. I thought the scent was so crisp and clean. It was nothing like I had ever smelt before (mom wore A LOT of floral scents). I still smile whenever I smell it.” —Ashleigh Forster, assistant digital editor
“I bought Debbie Gibson Electric Youth on a trip to Florida. I feel like it wasn’t available in Canada yet so all my friends were jealous. I also have a vivid memory of my elementary school friend Karen wearing Cacharel’s Anais Anais, and feeling like she was much cooler for going that route, and avoiding the insipid scents the rest of us were wearing at the time.” —Sarah Daniel, beauty editor
Debbie Gibson Electric Youth ($38 for 50mL, amazon.ca> )
4/11
Ralph by Ralph Lauren
“Almost every girl smelled the same in 2001. The turquoise bottle of Ralph by Ralph Lauren had a place on everyone’s dresser. I was ecstatic when my bottle arrived in a gift set one Christmas. The fresh fruity sent brings back memories of Dawson’s Creek, passing notes and decorating lockers.” —Eliza Grossman, associate fashion editor
“My first fragrance was Ralph by Ralph Lauren because I was a preteen in the early 2000s so of course it was. It was floral and fruity (smelled mostly like green apples, I think). Honestly, I feel weird even typing this out because I know everyone knows that smell. I smelled like every female I went to school with, which is sort of gross in itself if you think about it. Anyway, the fragrance was pleasant enough but I applied it with such a heavy hand that I can’t really go near it anymore without memories of like, perms and puberty flooding in.” – Suzie Michael, associate digital editor
“It wasn’t a Disney tie-in, it smelled like something Sabrina Spellman would wear, and it came from a chain store I only shopped at on my birthday. If it ever were to return, I’d wear it all over again.” – Anne T. Donahue, contributor
“I had a few first loves (namely a delicate L’Occitane blend my mom bought me for my 13th birthday and, of course, Clinique Happy), but the first one I seriously coveted was Kate Spade’s debut fragrance, a gardenia and lily of the valley mix. It’s release warranted a three-page spread in Vogue, so I knew it was fancy. Perfect for my ascent into the world of Carrie Bradshaw.” – Randi Bergman, executive digital editor
7/11
Lacoste Touch of Pink
“My first real fragrance was that quintessential drugstore buy: Lacoste’s Touch of Pink. I’m pretty sure it was a gift from my first boyfriend, which gave it an extra element of ~*romance*~. I knew this was no Calgon body mist—everything from its glass bottle to the soft pink surface gradient oozed sophistication in my mind. I haven’t smelled it in years, but I’m sure if I did it would take me right back to spritzing myself before heading to class or making curfew. Ah, youth.” —Nicole Schaeffer, associate designer
“My memories of my first scent are blending together, but it’s a toss up between CK One and Ralph Lauren Romance. I remember getting the pretty pink box of Romance as a gift and though it didn’t smell good on me, I loved sniffing the mature scent straight from the bottle. I can’t say I broke any hearts wearing it, but I did learn to find a scent based on the juice, rather than the packaging.” —Emilie Dingfeld, copy/health editor
Ralph Lauren Romance ($108 for 100mL, sephora.com>)
9/11
Body Shop White Musk
“Around age 12 or 13, I was obsessed with The Body Shop’s White Musk perfume oil. Dabbing a few drops of the heady vanilla/rose/lily concoction behind my ears and on my wrists became an everyday ritual for a long while. School dances required a double dose—just in case my crush du jour peeled himself off the gymnasium wall and sauntered over. Along with my Polo shirts (collar popped), Swatch watch and floral printed Mexx denim, White Musk signifies the start of my teen years.” —Sarah Casselman, senior editor, fashion news
“Watier’s Neiges. The year I got the matching scented powder in a silvery compact with a fluffball applicator for Christmas was the best ever. True to my hoarder ways, I think it’s still sitting in my childhood room.” —Caitlan Moneta, market editor
“Other than sneaking my mother’s Chanel No 5, the first fragrance I had all to myself was Nina Ricci’s L’Air du Temps in a Lalique-designed bottle topped by two doves. It was a gift from friends of my parents who were quite pleased to be giving me this coveted classic. I wore it on my first date and the guy told me I smelled like his grandmother. There was no second date.” —Bernadette Morra, editor-in-chief
L’Air du Temps by Nina Ricci ($78 for 50mL, thebay.com>)
 perfumes&picture=https://fashionmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/First-Fragrances-800x500.jpg&description=[gallerylink slide="exclamation-perfume" title="See our staff firsts"]
Thanks to everything from back-to-school shopping to 20th anniversaries of essential cinema to being old enough to have something to be nostalgic for, we’ve finally drank the Kool-Aid (such a delicious nineties beverage) and gone down memory lane again.
But this time, our drinks were not consistently so sweet. Opting to revisit our first scents, we uncovered the tragic truths and even delusions that fuelled our turbulent tween years: in one corner, what was meant to smell so grown up, now prompts flashbacks of locker rooms and oversaturated school dances. Or, on the flip side, some of us were reminded that our great tastes have been consistent since childhood, proving that we’ve always smelled wonderful (or might still smell terrible, depending on how your nose works).
So these are our first scents. Our first grown-up perfumes. Our first entry into the very adult world of “pulse points.” Some of us (hello) still might not know what that means, but it doesn’t mean we were any less serious.
[gallery columns="5" ids="231381,231379,231380,231386,231406,231383,231384,231387,231401,231385,231527"]){kind=link}