What scents in beauty products give you a sense of nostalgia?
The only one that does is Dior Addict, so it’s the actual scent, because it was the first fragrance I ever purchased.
— Christine
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I use Coty Airspun and when I first opened a jar the scent for whatever reason reminded me very specifically of those old round CoverGirl pressed powder compacts from the late 80’s/early 90’s and the scent they carried. When I dusted it on my face I could smell my mom getting ready for church in the early 90’s while I watched and dreamed to play in makeup myself. Some people hate the Airspun fragrance and I understand that, but I will absolutely be repurchasing because the product is good and the scent takes me back to a happier time when I was a little girl.
I’m not sure why it reminds me so specifically of those CoverGirl compacts but I won’t complain.
The Fenty Beauty gloss bombs give me Lip Smackers childhood vibes. Part of the reason I love those glosses so much.
I still use Lip Smackers. Every single day.
Cover Girl blushes smell like Noxema and that just smells like youth to me lol
I have to say Burberry blushers have a lovely old fashioned fragrance which I just love reminds me of my Mum and her makeup.
Chanel lipsticks used to have a lovely fragrance but they stopped that.
I don’t like scents in beauty products. Even though I’m not sensitive to fragrances in makeup or skin care, I know many people are and I just don’t understand why companies add unneeded fragrances to products. Having said that, Atelier Cologne has (or had) a scent called Grand Neroli and when I sampled it, I was immediately taken back to my childhood. My mom won an Elizabeth Arden train case filled with skin care products (I can still see it – green artificial alligator or lizard lined in Arden pink satin with satin covered elastics to hold many of the products in place). In those days, all the products had a similar scent to the Atelier Neroli fragrance and it permeated that case for a long time and was a lovely smell. And one whiff of it in Sephora and I was transported back about 50 years!
I get a warm, fuzzy feeling every time I smell Estée Lauder’s Swiss Performing Extract (which is rare) . It has a lovely fragrance! Personally, I never use skincare products with fragrance, but when I worked for Estée Lauder in the ‘70’s I bought this moisturizer for my Mom and she loved it. It’s hard to believe it is still on the market after all these years!
The Too Faced ‘Sweet Peach’ palette. I bought it while on vacation in Rome, Italy. Fun memories!
I also bought a perfume the first day of vacation to Sweden, which always reminds me of Sweden. My partner will even recognize it.
One of the YTubers that I follow, JAMBEAUTY89, said she buys a new perfume when she travels to remind her of that place. I thought it was a really nice idea. Sounds like you do too.
Chanel Coco Code has a really “grandma’s makeup” scent which I really like lol
Otherwise, I love the scent of the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams.
The way lipsticks and powders used to smell in the 80-90s. I don’t know how to describe those scents, they weren’t bad, but cosmetics nowadays have no fragrance or a more `nice` \ `cosmetically elegant` scent.
Lipsticks had that scent of castor oil, slightly rancid, but no off-putting. Powders had that `powdery` \ `old-lady` \ `grandma’s makeup` scent. All those old time scents had something comforting in them… like being a child and looking through my mothers or grandmothers drawers and discovering a make-up item.
Nowadays I don’t like fragrance in my skincare / make-up / body care… but those scents have their own nostalgia…
My tube of Guerlain Air Kiss brings me way back to the perfumed lipsticks of the 60’s and 70’s. It smells like something one would come across during that time period when I was still a child.
The first perfume I used was Body Shop’s Pink Pepper (now sadly discontinued) and I catch notes of it in Nars Audacious lipsticks. It definitely brings me back to living in Granada and getting lost in the narrow cobblestone alleys going up to the Plaza de San Nicolo. Not a ~pleasant~ nostalgia, which makes me wonder if that’s why I don’t like those lipsticks.
I was surprised on smelling a L’Oreal lipstick for the first time in a couple decades that they still have THAT SCENT. Also transportive, also negative.
Nothing is more nostalgic to me than the scent of Guerlain Meteorites as the soft lilac scent reminds me of my grandmother. That was the only scent she ever wore and I think of her everyday when I use it. A lot of products have that “baby powder” smell and that always reminds me of Ben Hur perfume. Love that perfume and wish they still made it!!
Anything tea rose scented – I think ye old Chanel lipsticks used to have a very soft rose fragrance.
Guerlain Meteorites.
The “powdery” smell of Embryolisse Creme Lait moisturizer smells very old fashioned to me, but I love it.
I have a lip product that smells exactly like a cupcake doll that my parents bought for me as a kid. It actually makes me emotional to use it so I bought a spare that’s unopened.
Good thing too, since it’s been discontinued.
None. I don’t really like scents in makeup products to begin with, and I’ve also never really associated makeup with my memories. Perfume yes, but not makeup.
I am definitely not a fragrance in beauty or skincare person at all. So really none of the frangrance in these products induces a sense of nostalgia.
If I still used Noxzema or anything from Covergirl, that Noxzema scent would do it for me; outside of that, I don’t get a nostalgic sense from any beauty products, either skincare or cosmetics.
Same here. IF I were to smell Noxzema again, it would probably remind me of my teenage years, as would that lemon-scented shampoo from the 1970s with the big plastic lemon-shaped cap, but I can’t think of any current products that give me a nostalgic feeling.
I get a really strong nostalgic feeling from the Nars Velvet Matte lip pencils… I can’t really pin point why, but it reminds me of my childhood. I’ve searched for other people who’ve had the same reaction, and found one person on a forum saying that it reminded them of strawberry scented mini dolls from the 90s – I guess I must have had one too!
Another product is an Australian sunscreen made by Mecca Cosmetica – To Save Face SPF 30+. It smells exactly like a face cream that my mum used in the late 90s/early 2000s. I’ve used it now for years, and I still love the scent that reminds me of watching my mum getting ready in the mornings. It helps that the product is fantastic too!
I’m not sure if it’s really a true beauty product, but the original scented Jergens lotion, I think it’s cherry almond. My grandma always used it and I always stop and smell it when I’m in that section of the store. I found out that my sister does it too. We were all together in a Wal-Mart and my niece caught both of us sniffing it. She thought we were crazy, lol. Good memory for both of us.
I love the powdery violet scent of Guerlain Meteorites, the soft clove scent of Ammens body powder and that classic “Marzipan” smell of original Jergens lotion. Violet scented Meteorites remind me of my maternal grandmother and the rest just remind me of being a 20-something in the early 1970s.
I love the cherry almond scent of Jergen’s lotion because it reminds me of my Mammaw. She wore it in the 1970s when I was a little girl. I bought a bottle of it at Walmart this morning! Coty Airsoun powder reminds me of my highschool days.