The nineties were an era like no other. The decade saw the emergence of the supermodel, Alexander McQueen becoming the king of fashion, and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy securing her place in history as New York’s coolest It-girl.
All the while, the mall was the shopping destination—full of fragrance counters where eager teens begged their parents to buy Thierry Mugler’s Angel perfume, the first gourmand in history, so fabulous it boasted Jerry Hall as its muse. If you were lucky, mom and dad would let you go to Victoria’s Secret to pick up a bottle of sticky-sweet body spray. Or for a more economical scent fix, one could slyly grab mom’s latest Vogue edition and rub your wrists on the fragrance inserts.
In an era where everything is digital and algorithmic slop churns out new “trends” by the second—we’re feeling more nostalgic than ever. What better way to enter the proverbial time warp than to reminisce on the perfumes that marked the time? From Calvin Klein’s iconic Eternity to Lâncome’s Trésor, these are the ’90s perfumes primed for a 2026 comeback.
Mugler Angel
French designer Thierry Mugler, defined the essence of the Angel eau de parfum better than anyone else: “I wanted to have such a sensual contact with this perfume, that you almost want to eat the person you love.” In this refillable star-shaped bottle is a sweet and alluring liquid with notes of honey, apricot, plum, peach and jasmine along with sensual notes of patchouli, vanilla, caramel, tonka bean musk, amber, chocolate, and sandalwood—electrifyingly perfect for any party girl or mysterious woman.
Lâncome Trésor
In 1990, elegant women met their match in Lâncome’s Trésor perfume. A crystal jewel with amber-colored juice and a delicate scent of rose petals, bergamot, peach, pineapple, plus hints of vanilla, apricot, musk, and sandalwood, this scent is classic and feminine.
The year that changed everything: 1993. Jean Paul Gaultier launched a perfume that was hard to overshadow, Classique. A crystal bottle inspired by the busts used by couturiers in sewing workshops. Gaultier, the enfant terrible of fashion, managed to create a provocative and sensual perfume with notes of orange blossom, gin and vanilla. Both the iconic bottle and the liquid it houses became instant classics.
Although this perfume was created in 1948, it reached peak popularity in the 1990s. The French firm launched this fragrance after World War II as an elixir of optimism, peace, love and freedom. Inside, it has notes of jasmine and roses and is considered to be the first spicy floral perfume in history. Although its name is L’Air du temps, this olfactory icon is timeless.
You had to have been there to understand, it was 1988 and at the age of 19, model Christy Turlington was everywhere as the face of Calvin Klein Eternity—a fragrance that made the brand $35 million dollars in the first year. It marked the era of the 1990s as a perfume from the aquatic floral family inspired by relationships that stand the test of time. At first contact, notes of pear, bergamot and black currant envelop you, followed by peony, rose and jasmine and top notes of musk, patchouli and amber.
It was first launched in 1978 but later earned a special place on every perfume shelf in the 1990s. A light and ultra-feminine fragrance with top notes of orange blossom, lavender, bergamot, blackcurrant, lemon, white lily, hyacinth, honeysuckle and galbanum. In the heart, flashes of lily of the valley, Moroccan jasmine, carnation, honeysuckle, tuberose, ylang-ylang, iris, rose and lily root. The base is cedar, patchouli, amber, incense, musk, leather, sandalwood, and vetiver.
You may remember it for its yellow elixir, its crystal cap or its unmistakable red box, but if one thing is clear it’s that this perfume was—and may still be—in the vanity case of many women. Created by perfumer Dominique Ropion, this floral fragrance unfolds as a sensory journey that goes from plum and mandarin to white flowers such as tuberose, jasmine or gardenia, closing with an enveloping base of sandalwood and vanilla.
