Sweet Scents Are Back – And They’re Sparking a New Generation of Fragrance Lovers

October 4 | 3 minute read

Words by Kerri Gordon

I’m almost certain I’m not alone when I say that my personal fragrance journey began in tween-hood as a spin-off to my all-consuming early 2000s celebrity obsession.

It started with the Spice Girls aerosol body mists I sprayed so incessantly, there’s a chance I’m partially responsible for the hole in the ozone. Then came my first real bottle of perfume: Britney Spears’ bedazzled gourmand, ‘Fantasy’.

I smelt like a vanilla cupcake with a maraschino cherry on top. Though almost two decades later my tastes have changed – and the closest I get to buttercream is Diptyque’s Eau Duelle EDP, a deep, patchouli-spiked vanilla – it tickles me pink to see the return of the gourmand fragrance, and a new wave of tweens falling in love with saccharine scents in a time of Barbie reign, Taylor Swift supremacy and Matildas cheer.

As the timespan between womb-mate and beauty obsessive decreases at pace (and I find a new spot to hide my Drunk Elephant skincare from my little cousins), Generation Alpha – born from 2010 onwards – know what they want when it comes to fragrance. Beauty brands are the new celebrities and the launch of a Sol de Janeiro mist at MECCA sparks the equivalent dopamine release I would experience lining up for an S Club 7 single at the late Sanity music store. So, I enlisted the help of school-yard insider 11-year-old Evie to make sure my top recommendations for starter scents and first-time fragrances were on the mark.

Body mist mania

Lighter in concentration, wear and cost, body mists are the perfect introduction to scent for first-timers. A huddle of tweenagers is a regular installation at the Sol de Janeiro shelf during school holidays, and according to Evie, who wears the Brazilian Crush Cheirosa 62 Perfume Mist “all day every day”, the pink-bottled, floral-leaning Cheirosa 68 varietal is the most-wanted gift at every birthday bash.

Also on the rotation are Soap & Glory’s Smoothie Star and Call of Fruity mists, which make for the perfect pocket money splurge. Or for something a little fresher and more ‘grown-up’ (less cupcake, more fruit punch), my picks would have to be Ellis Brooklyn’s summer-inspired ‘Sea’ and ‘Sun’ mists.

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Patisserie-inspired perfumes

In the same way that this year’s biggest makeup trends have skewed towards the edible, the list of new and incoming scents that landed on my desk read like cannoli fillings. There’s D.S. & DURGA’s now-iconic Pistachio EDP, Ellis Brooklyn’s Vanilla Milk EDP, DedCool’s similarly ‘lactonic’ Milk Layering + Enhancer Fragrance, Sol Cheirosa 62 (with cult-favourite notes of salted caramel and pistachio), and floral infusions like Floral Street’s Wild Vanilla Orchid EDP. Evie’s prediction for the next viral scent was choc-mint – creamy, cocoa-y and minty fresh, all in one. Put me on the waitlist!

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Things that just smell good

The smell of teen spirit is changing. “We just want to smell good,” says my inside source, who might never have to experience eau de school bus in the way I did. It’s not just about the mist, or the perfume, I’m told – it’s scented everything. Glow Recipe’s collection of Watermelon-scented skincare is as popular as can be, flavoured Lanolips lip balms are the new smackers, and fruity body washes and lotions are having a real moment. These kids are clued-up, and the awkward stage really might be a thing of the past.