We know that our personal history in perfume really shapes our tastes as an adult, but we’ll never forget our first loves.
From Britney’s ‘Curious’ to the iconic Tommy Girl, our first forays into the world of perfume were more often than not a little dubious.
Take a look through our round up of team ELLE scent nostalgia and see whether your own perfume debut made the cut
Sara McAlpine, Fashion Features Editor
‘My first perfume was either Blue Jeans by Versace or Jean Paul Gaultier’s Classique. I couldn’t tell you what either smells like, because I was probably only attracted to them for the packaging. Nowadays, I’ll wear anything that boasts a hint of jasmine, because it’s a smell that never fails to make me think of summer and Mediterranean beach holidays.’
BUY VERSACE BLUE JEANS – £30
BUY JEAN PAUL GAULTIER CLASSIQUE – £62.50
Felicity Kay, Junior Fashion Editor
‘I can still remember what it smells like. I’d still wear if it were socially acceptable/available in Boots.’
Daisy Murray, Digital Writer
‘I actually think mine was quite fancy – Hermès Eau Des Merveilles – the boy I was dating loved it so now I can’t smell it because it reminds me of him too much.’
BUY
Amy Brewster, Social Media Manager
‘My mum and dad brought this back from their first holiday without my brother and I (they got him the male version). I weirdly still like the smell of it, it’s a really fresh holiday scent.’
BUY
Hikmat Mohammed, Fashion Features Assistant
‘My first perfume was DKNY Be Delicious. When i was 14 someone told me that it smelt like sex, so I bought it!’
BUY
George Driver, Digital Beauty Editor
‘The first ever perfume I actually bought was a knock off bottle of Givenchy Very Irresistible from a Turkish market. Classy, right? It still reminds me of being on holiday as a teenager, although I prefer the real deal now!’
BUY
Natasha Bird, Digital Editor
‘A sickly sweet baby prostitute smell, yes, but I enjoyed feeling grown up.’
BUY
Emily Pritchard, Beauty Assistant
‘When I was a teenager, perfume was pretty much synonymous with airports. Holidays meant amassing perfume-doused strips of card, and when I was deemed old enough, choosing my own (duty-free) scent to buy. The one, as it transpired, was Chanel Chance Eau Fraiche. This meant that I was a) a Chanel girl, and therefore very, very classy, and b) I did genuinely smell pretty good. Even now, I have a bottle of it on my dressing table as the perfect summer night out perfume; light, unapologetically pretty and fresh.’
BUY
Louise Donovan, Deputy Digital Editor
‘It might have been sickly sweet but I was obsessed with that stick thin girl in a pink dress prancing around after a kite. Not such healthy advertising for a 13/14 year old…’
BUY
Harriet Stewart, Associate Fashion Editor
‘I remember buying it on the ferry on a school trip to France. The smell of it now takes me right back to being 13 years old on the back seat of that bus.’
BUY
Kirsty Dale, Executive Fashion Director
‘YSL Paris was my first ‘grown-up’ fragrance. I was given a cute little miniature of the pretty bottle, which sat next to the full size version on my dressing table. I loved the scent (and the advert I think was a poster on my wall for a while) and cherished it for years and of course, it still takes me back to my pre-teens.’
BUY
[“Source-elle”]