Whether you have a signature scent you reach for each day, or choose from a vast fragrance wardrobe every morning, one fragrance will likely stick in your mind forever – the first one you ever bought.
Here, HELLO!'s Beauty Collective shares the scents they went for upon their first foray into the fragrance world. Prepare for serious nostalgia…
Melanie Macleod, HELLO! Wellness Editor: Anna Sui's Sui Dreams, £22
"Aside from an Aladdin perfume I bought at Disneyland when I was five, Anna Sui's Sui Dreams was my first 'grown-up' perfume. I think I was drawn to it thanks to the handbag-shaped bottle, I was 14, after all.
"I got through several bottles of the blue elixir and loved that it was my signature scent. My friends were wearing JLo Glow, Davidoff Cool Water and Ghost's first scent in that brushed glass blue bottle - wandering around school we must have smelled like a sweet, powdery girl gang, but I felt the height of sophistication spraying on what I considered to be a designer scent.
"While my memories of this bottle living on my dressing table are strong, and just looking at it reminds me of my first boyfriend and my best friends at the time, I can't remember what it smelt like, only how it made me feel, and that was grown up, glossy and confident - and that's still how I want my fragrances to make me feel now."
Sidra Imtiaz, Beauty Journalist: Chanel's Mademoiselle, £89
"As my mother's daughter, I've always loved perfume. All of my earliest beauty memories are of her spritzing fragrances from glass bottles. She isn't one for makeup or skincare, but never leaves the house without a spray of something. Even now as an adult, when I go home I forgo my own fragrance in order to steal a spray or two of her current bottle.
"I can't remember the first perfume I ever wore (though I do distinctly remember getting a DKNY Be Delicious Apple for one of my teen birthdays), but my first ever 'signature scent' was Chanel Mademoiselle, which I still adore.
"I was 20 and working on a skincare counter in a department store whilst studying and loved heading into the perfume hall and dousing myself in all the Chanel, Dior and Chloe I could get my hands on. I remember completely falling in love with the fresh, feminine notes of amber and jasmine in Chanel Mademoiselle and it became habitual that every shift I worked, I'd spray myself liberally from the tester counter.
"My mum would joke that she'd smell me as soon as I hung my key in our hallway after work. Finally, with my employee discount, I purchased myself a bottle and continued to wear the same fragrance for years. Now, I like to rotate my fragrances and have lots of other favourites but as my first experience of luxury scent, Chanel Mademoiselle will always hold a special place in my heart. It was the scent of my early twenties, of my venture into the beauty world and of my wedding day."
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Vanese Maddix, Beauty Journalist: Hugo Boss' Ma Vie Eau de Parfum, £40
"The first fragrance I ever wore was Hugo Boss' Ma Vie Eau de Parfum. I'd just finished an intense Christmas period in my retail job and despite suffering from extreme fatigue and my feet the sorest they'd ever been, all of my overtime meant I could afford to have a little splurge and treat myself to a fragrance of my choice.
"I was 19 at the time and walked into the High Wycombe House of Fraser as a girl on a mission. Unsure of the fragrance I wanted, I asked the sales associate for floral-scented options. A few sniffs later I settled for this Hugo Boss number."
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"The brand describes this fragrance as, 'The independent spirit of a woman, BOSS Ma Vie pour femme is created around the cactus blossom, aiming to reinvent and modernise floral green notes with a delicate pink twist.' The messaging, along with the pink bottle and sweet but not overbearing scent is what initially got me hooked.
"For me, approaching my 20s was all about connecting with things that symbolised the new chapter in my life. Whether it was a TV show such as Girls, about the lives of other young women my age or this fragrance, which would go on to be spritzed during some of the most significant moments of my life from first dates, new friendships and the ups and downs of university life.
"To this day, I've never smelt a fragrance similar to this one. It has heart notes of pink freesia, jasmine, and rose bud and a base note of cedarwood. I've repurchased this several times throughout the years and each sniff takes me back to those select memories.
"Plus, the fresh floral scent always guarantees that I'll get stopped on the street to ask what perfume I have on. I'm 29 now and plan to wear this fragrance for life."
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Donna Francis, HELLO! Beauty Expert: Thierry Mugler's Angel, £53.60
"My mum loves perfume, and growing up in the 80s, she would always wear those strong, stand-out-from-the-crowds scents, such as Dior Poison. So it's no surprise that my first 'signature scent' was the equally striking (and divisive), Angel by Theirry Mugler.
"Vanilla based with hints of chocolate, honey and caramel, Angel was a typical entry point to scent for a teenager. I remember wearing it to clubs and always getting stopped by other girls (and boys), asking what I was wearing.
"I loved the star-shaped bottle too. It felt and smelt different from the more classic and clean scents of the time. Calvin Klein had just launched a unisex scent called One, which was the complete opposite to Angel. I felt different wearing it. It made me feel quite rebellious.
"Angel remained my signature scent right up until I got married when I was 26. This was when I first discovered fragrance layering, so I showered with the shower gel, layered on the body moisturiser and finished off with a generous mist of the parfum before I walked (wafted) down the aisle.
"I could never wear it now, it's way too sweet, and my 'nose' has matured so I wear more musky, woody scents. But whenever I smell it, it brings back so many happy memories."
Ateh Jewel, Beauty Editor: Cacharel's Anais Anais, £55.20
"My dad and I always had a chaotic and turbulent relationship, but he loved fragrances and every time he travelled for work when I was a child, he would shower me with duty-free scents.
"My first, the one I loved and one spray takes me back to the 80s and reminds me of being in my bedroom with rainbow bright, cabbage patch kids and posters of pop stars Aha and Shirley and Pepsi on the walls is Anais Anais by Cacheral Eau de Toilette.
"This is where my love of romantic, sexy white flowers was born. I fell in love with the fruity refreshing top notes of orange blossom, blackcurrant and lily of the valley, which develop into jasmine, honeysuckle and rose and mellows into an enveloping base of sandalwood, incense, musk and amber. It was the first time a fragrance made me feel alive and told a story and will always be my first fragrance love."
Lydia Mormen, HELLO! Junior Beauty Editor: Zara's Joyful Tuberose, discontinued
!The first fragrance I remember wearing religiously and not stealing from my mum's dressing table was Zara’s Joyful Tuberose which soon became my signature scent during my uni years. I first purchased it on a last-minute pre-night out shopping spree. Most likely alongside a new top for the occasion and a cheap bottle of prosecco.
"Although I left my love of Joyful Tuberose on the sticky student club dancefloor, my fondness for Zara fragrances remains and they've come on leaps and bounds, even partnering with perfumers such as Jo Malone to create high-quality scents. Joyful Tuberose has now been discontinued but Zara's Red Temptation is an affordable dupe for the iconic Baccarat Rouge."
