Nostalgia used to be classed as a medical condition. Displaced people (mainly soldiers) were diagnosed in droves with symptoms like insomnia, panic attacks, and lack of appetite. 'Cures' included opium, leeches, and, more sensibly, just sending the sufferer home.
How things change. Nostalgia has reinvented itself as not only a good, cosy feeling but also a fashionable commodity.
The year is 2026, Gladiators rule the Saturday night TV schedules, Pulp are headlining festivals, and The Body Shop has correctly decided it's time bring back the best fruity perfume little 13-year-old Fiona McKim had ever smelled.
Why this nostalgic '90s scent is my beauty buy of the week
Did you wear The Body Shop Dewberry back in the day? Even if you didn't personally, I'll bet your sister, neighbour, or niece did.
This berry and musk perfume was a phenomenon because it smelled exactly how a teenage girl wants to. Jammy, uncomplicated, joyful. Plus, that tiny bottle was ideal to chuck in one's Kookai tote for repeated re-dousings. All the better to engulf the boy(s) I fancied in my fruity forcefield.
When I found out the range was making a comeback after 20+ years away. I couldn't wait to give it another sniff. And of course, the second that mouth-watering aroma hit my olfactory system, something within me unlocked.
I won't deny that, for me, this scent's primary appeal is its power to evoke a (recently) bygone age. But if you didn't love, or even try, Dewberry the first time around, let me say this: Beneath that addictive whack of berry the composition has its sophistication, with crisp green foliage and fleshy white flowers. It's also extremely handbag and travel-friendly, thanks to that cutie-patootie 14ml bottle. And the oil, rather than alcohol, base is kinder on the skin when combined with UV exposure.
Fruit-forward fragrance not your thing? I'll admit it's not really mine these days, either. Yet, despite my insistence that I'm not a 'sweet' person, there is mounting evidence to the contrary.
Primarily, what I can do to a pack of Munchies in less than a minute, but I won't deny that my idea of the best-smelling body cream is anything that could be mistaken for dessert. The heart wants what it wants.
So, I've gone sniffing around the rest of the range and found a keeper in Dewberry Body Butter. It's got the same sticky cassis scent, but in a thick, melty cream with a Petit Filou texture, Parma Violet colour and Ribena-coded packaging. Sounds good? Great! Let's chat next Sunday.
