Whether you have a favourite scent that you use every day or you choose from a large wardrobe of fragrances each morning, the first scent you buy will probably stick with you for the rest of your life.
Here, HELLO!’s Beauty Collective reveals the scents they chose when they first ventured into the world of fragrance. You’ll be feeling a wave of nostalgia…
Melanie McLeod, HELLO! Wellness Editor: Sui Dream by Anna Sui, £22
“Apart from the Aladdin perfume I bought at Disneyland when I was five, Anna Sui’s Sui Dreams was my first ‘adult’ perfume. I think I was attracted to the handbag-shaped bottle – I was 14 at the time.”
“I finished off a few bottles of Blue Elixir – it was my trademark scent and I loved it. My friends were wearing Glow by Jennifer Lopez, Cool Water by Davidoff and my first perfume, Ghost, in that frosted glass blue bottle. Walking around school, we must have smelled like a group of sweet, powdery girls, but I felt the height of sophistication in what I thought was a designer scent.”
“I have vivid memories of this bottle on my dressing table; just looking at it brings me back to my first boyfriend and my best friends, but I can’t remember what it smelled like. I just remember how it made me feel – grown-up, glamorous, confident. And to this day, I want my perfumes to make me feel that way.”
“As my mother’s daughter, I’ve always loved perfume. My earliest beauty memory is my mother spritzing me with perfume from a glass bottle. Although she wasn’t into makeup or skincare, she would always leave the house with a spray of something. Even now as an adult, when I come home, rather than using my own perfume, I’ll still have a spritz or two from my mother’s bottle.
“I can’t remember the first perfume I ever wore (though I do remember being given Be Delicious Apple by DKNY for my teenage birthday), but my first ‘signature fragrance’ was Mademoiselle by Chanel, which I still love.
“When I was 20 years old and studying, I worked in the skincare department at a department store. I loved going to the perfume counter and spritzing myself with every Chanel, Dior and Chloe scent I could find. I remember falling in love with the fresh, feminine scent of amber and jasmine in Chanel Mademoiselle. It became a habit to spray a generous amount on myself at the tester counter every shift.”
“My mother used to joke that she could smell me as soon as I locked myself in the hallway after work. Eventually, I used my employee discount to buy myself some perfume and wore the same one for years. Now I rotate between different perfumes and have many other favourites, but Chanel Mademoiselle holds a special place in my heart as it was the first luxury perfume I ever experienced. It was the scent I smelled when I first got into beauty in my early twenties and on my wedding day.”
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“The first perfume I ever wore was Ma Vie Eau de Parfum by Hugo Boss. I had just finished Christmas holidays from my job in retail and, despite being extremely tired and suffering from sore feet, thanks to the overtime I had worked I was able to splurge a little and afford to buy my favourite perfume.
“I was 19 years old and a girl on a mission when I walked into House of Fraser in High Wycombe. I didn’t know what perfume I wanted so I asked the salesgirl for something floral. After a few sniffs I settled on a Hugo Boss perfume.”
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“The brand describes the fragrance as: ‘An expression of a woman’s independent spirit, BOSS Ma Vie pour femme is inspired by the cactus flower and is a modern take on floral green scents with a delicate pink twist.’ This message, the pink bottle, and the sweet, not-too-strong scent are what initially got me hooked.”
“For me, approaching my 20s meant connecting with the things that symbolized a new chapter in my life – whether that was a TV show like Girls, which depicted the lives of young women my age, or this fragrance that I would spritz on some of life’s most important moments: first dates, new friendships, the ups and downs of college life.”
“To this day, I have never smelled anything quite like this fragrance. With heart notes of pink freesia, jasmine and rosebuds, and base notes of cedarwood. I have repurchased this fragrance many times over the years, and every time I smell it it brings back special memories.”
“Plus, the fresh floral scent means people stop me on the street and ask me what perfume I’m wearing. I’m 29 now and I plan to wear this for the rest of my life.”
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Donna Francis, HELLO! Beauty Expert: Thierry Mugler Angel, £53.60
“My mother loved perfume and growing up in the ’80s I was always wearing strong scents that stood out from the crowd, like Dior Poison. So it’s no surprise that my first ‘signature fragrance’ was the equally striking and polarizing Angel by Thierry Mugler.
“With its vanilla base and subtle hints of chocolate, honey and caramel, Angel was the quintessential entry-level scent for teenagers. I remember wearing it at clubs and other girls (and guys) constantly stopping me and asking me what I was wearing.”
“I also loved the star-shaped bottle. It felt and smelled different from the classic, clean scents of the time. Calvin Klein had just released a unisex scent called One, which was the complete opposite of Angel. It made me feel different. It made me feel very rebellious.”
“Angel was my signature scent until I got married at 26, when I first discovered layering scents, showering with shower gel, layering on body moisturizer and then spritzing on a liberal amount of perfume before walking down the aisle.
“I can never wear this now – it’s too sweet and my ‘nose’ has matured so I wear more musky and woody scents. But every time I smell this it brings back so many happy memories.”
“My father and I always had a chaotic and tumultuous relationship, but he loved perfume and would gift me loads of it from duty free whenever he travelled for work when I was a child.
“The first perfume I ever loved was Anaïs Anaïs by Cacheral Eau de Toilette. One spritz and I’m transported back to the ’80s, reminiscing about rainbow-coloured Cabbage Patch Kids and bedrooms with pop stars Aha, Shirley and Pepsi posters on the walls.”
“This is where my love for romantic and sexy white flowers was born. I fell in love with the fruity and refreshing top notes of orange blossom, blackcurrant and lily of the valley. These then mellow into jasmine, honeysuckle and rose before softening into enveloping base notes of sandalwood, incense, musk and amber. It was the first time a scent felt alive and told a story, and my love for my first scent will continue forever.”
Lydia Momen, HELLO! Junior Beauty Editor: Joyful Tuberose by Zara, discontinued
!The first perfume I can remember wearing religiously without stealing it from my mum’s dressing table was Joyful Tuberose by Zara. It quickly became my trademark scent throughout my college years. I first bought it on a last minute shopping spree before a night out, probably along with a new top I’d bought for the day and a cheap bottle of prosecco.
“Although I left the Joyful Chewy sticky scent on the dance floor of a fragrant sorority house, my love for Zara fragrances remains the same. Zara has evolved by leaps and bounds, partnering with perfumers like Jo Malone to create high-quality scents. Joyful Chewy is now discontinued, but Zara’s Red Temptation is an affordable knockoff of the iconic Baccarat Rouge.”
