'80s Prom Scent?

[Dementia66]

Hi. I'm going to a 1980's prom themed birthday party. I'm looking for a scent evocative of the time period or one that would compliment a puffy prom dress and really colorful hair and makeup.

[lunaticana]

sweet like popcorn

[spanishviolet]

AquaNet hairspray, judging by the cloud my sister left in our shared bathroom every morning ...

 

Love's Baby Soft or Debbie Gibson's Electric Youth perfume - googling that says it was a citrus scent (I couldn't recall, it's been a while!), so maybe something citrusy, sweet, and with a lot of throw? Citrus seems to go with the loud colors & geometric prints of the period.

Edited May 31, 2010 by spanishviolet

[loverstreet]

"Sweet Honesty", or, if you could steal it from your sister's room, "Lauren" .

[EdenIris]

For me, the 80s smelled like Opium and Poison. And you have to bathe in it, don't forget that part. And smoke a clove cigarette on the way to the dance.

Edited May 31, 2010 by EdenIrisMae

[antihero]

Something loud, fluffy, bright, and in-your-face, from the description of your ensemble. Diary of a Lovestruck Teenage Cannibal? Jailbait?

[portalkat]

Well, I was way past prom age, but I smelled like Magie Noir, Ivoire and Poison.......and mousse, lots of mousse.

 

That said, Teenage Cannibal sounds like a good choice. Actually, a lot of the things at Dark Del sound like they might fit the bill since they are strong and have good throw. The 80's were loud and larger than life.

Edited May 31, 2010 by portalkat

[janelle_hell]

Bpal scents: Jailbait or Antique Lace, with the Yule scent Stardust applied simultaneously!

 

Non Bpal scents: Love's Baby Soft, totally.

 

 

[beachbabealways]

Gloria Vanderbilt.

[ivyandpeony]

For some reason BPAL strawberry scents really make me think of being a teenager, although I never wore any kind of strawberry perfume myself in the 80s - I did have a friend who wore some kind of strawberry "essential" oil, maybe that's where it comes from. So Maenad or Swank might be good ones if that appeals to you, either of the Strawberry Moons or Candy Phoenix might work too. And janelle_hell is right, there is something in Stardust that does have a bit of hairspray feel about it. I definitely get a hit of nostalgia from the scent of pure, hardcore Aquanet

 

I haven't found a BPAL that truly smells like Love's Baby Soft, another 80s hit for me, although there are some that are kind of soft & baby-ish, like Lilith Victoria. There is a thread here devoted to scents that remind people of babies, if that's one of your 80s nostalgia scents too it's worth a look. But Dolce Stil Nuovo really reminds me of Sweet Honesty in the strangest way and I doused myself in that stuff on the earlier end of the 80s!

 

That's the thing about the 80s, I was 14 in January 1980, 25 in December 1989, so that's quite a lot of change. By the end of the 80s it was heavier stuff for me, like Obsession and Poison. There are plenty of heady, grown-up-lady BPAL scents like Chrysanthemum Moon, Romanti.Goth, and Haunted that have a similar feel to me as those scents.

[krissstephens]

loves baby soft and tickle pink or strawberry hill wine

[marared]

Exclamation!

[girasol]

I think the 80s smelled like hairspray and Revlon's Charlie... I don't know if there's a BPAL equivalent, but I kind of hope not

[IridiumFlash]

I second EdenIrisMae's idea that you must bathe in it, whatever you select. Remember Giorgio? It was as good as a Taser for incapacitating people at a distance!

[cfrancesca]

AquaNet hairspray, judging by the cloud my sister left in our shared bathroom every morning ...

 

Love's Baby Soft or Debbie Gibson's Electric Youth perfume - googling that says it was a citrus scent (I couldn't recall, it's been a while!), so maybe something citrusy, sweet, and with a lot of throw? Citrus seems to go with the loud colors & geometric prints of the period.

 

I love Electric Youth, it's one of my favorites! Everytime I've seen it for sale I just have to buy it, I think I have 10 bottles of it around. Jean Nate was also popular, I remember.

 

I'd recommend: Bon Vivant, Hollywood Babylon, Velvet Unicorn, and Velvet Pink Kitty. These two are hard to find, but Glitter or Stardust might work too.

 

[parrot_suspect]

A variety of fragrances were popular in the 1980s, but most of them shared this in common -- they were loud, strong, in-your-face type of scents (think Obsession, Knowing, Anais Anais, Lauren, Opium, Poison, Ysatis, Giorgio, Eternity). So if you're looking for a BPAL scent with an '80s feel, choose something bold and fearless.

 

I would not go with Snake Oil, anything with vanilla as a predominant note, or anything overly foody/gourmand because that type of fragrance did not become popular until the mid-'90s. You also want to avoid anything "clean," aquatic or subtle, because the fragrances of that era were anything but subtle.

 

You need something floral, strongly Oriental or floriental if you want to evoke the '80s. Just off the top of my head, I'm thinking Vixen (one of the strongest BPAL fragrances ever!), Stardust, Scherezade, Sacred Whore of Babylon, Haunted, Bordello, Delight, Hell's Belle, Spellbound, Xiutecuthli (probably spelled that wrong), Depraved, Lust, Dragon's Blood, Blood Kiss, Lurid, The Hanging Gardens, Mania, Sin. Vechernyaya would also be awesome; it's strong and sharply musky.

 

I'm also thinking several of the fragrances from The District would be good choices; they are mainly heady florals. '

 

So slather on the fragrance, wear plenty of makeup, spray your hair as high as it will go and make sure your dress has shoulder pads (or ruffles, at the very least). You'll out-'80s everybody!

[Dementia66]

Thanks so much. I'm totally inspired!

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

i, too, have an addiction to the Debbie Gibson Electric Youth perfume. i LOVE the bottles, even the empty ones. they make me happy.

 

as far as BPAL scents, i think Stardust is the most early-to-mid 80's-smelling scent i can think of off the top of my head.

 

although Toxin is right up there, but i think it's more late 80's. if you've got a Fred's or Dollar General or Super-D type place near you, or even some larger drugstores, if you can find a can (yes. can.) of Malibu Musk body spray... it's nearly a dead ringer for Toxin (or, rather, Toxin is nearly a dead ringer for it), and i wore Malibu Musk in ... i think 1989?

orrrr from Bath & Body Works, their "Flowering Herbs" scent, which smells dead-on with BPAL's Nosferatu, and they BOTH smell exactly like the fragrance i wore for two years circa 1986-1988.

Liz - from the Hellboy series - smells just like Ralph Lauren's Safari, which is from about that same era...

 

good luck!

 

 

[lucyboo21]

I went to prom in 1988 and BATHED in Obsession. For me Illustrated Woman would be a good choice, but you'd need to use most of a bottle to get the complete experience.

Have fun!

[Molls]

for me, it was definitely Exclamation and Charlie!!

[ayelienne]

I think Stardust fits the bill really well.

[forspecial_plate]

I'm not a girl but my senior prom was in '89....I didn't go, but my point is, I was around! : ) I remember one friend of mine loved Poison.

 

I second parrot_suspect's rec for Lurid: "Shocking, horrific, fierce, savage, sensationalized, luminous and hazy: black currant, Bulgarian lavender and white musk with a dollop of thick resin and a voltaic charge of ozone notes". I also think Malice might work: "A profound, complex scent that encapsulates the joy one finds in another's pain. Ylang ylang, clove, Indonesian red patchouli, and dark myrrh". Both are in the general catalogue so they're easy to get.

 

I think the 80s smelled like hairspray and Revlon's Charlie... I don't know if there's a BPAL equivalent, but I kind of hope not

 

When I wear any bpal around my friend Jen, she whispers "I can smell your Charlie!".

 

[edenssixthday]

I think I went through gallons gallons of Anais Anais in the '80s '80s. I'd just go to walgreens and get yourself a $9 mini bottle of that. But if you need to go the BPAL route, I agree with the people who said Stardust. It totally reminds me of the '80s.

 

God, the '80s were great. I miss that decade.

Edited June 2, 2010 by Edens Sixth Day

[Gold Dust Kitten]

Exclamation!

DITTO!

 

[eoifemacbeth]

Hijack --- this thread is so fascinating to read, since I was born in August of 1989 and I'm pretty much just jealous I missed out on the '80s.

 

You should post pictures after the party, and tell us what scent you wore!