Post 4: (90's) Bath & Body Works, CK One, and the Scent of the 90s

Welcome to So You Missed the 90s? — my personal series about what it really felt like to grow up in the decade that shaped everything. No documentaries, no TikTok recreations — just the real textures, the real moods, and the moments that mattered.

Walk into a room in the 90s and you could practically taste the perfume.

Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret body sprays took over everything. Suddenly it wasn’t about smelling expensive — it was about smelling fun. Fruity, sugary, flirty.
Cucumber Melon. Sun-Ripened Raspberry. Vanilla Lace. Pear Glace.

The stores were candy-colored playgrounds, and you were supposed to layer it all: lotion, body wash, spray. Fruity scents weren’t childish — they were the signal that you were sweet, feminine, and ready for the world.

Perfumes shifted too. CK One became the scent of an entire generation — clean, unisex, light — matching the tomboy fashion wave that dominated the late 90s. Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, and other brands blurred the lines between men's and women's scents. You could smell like yourself — not just who you were “supposed” to be.

It was a beautiful, fruity, slightly chaotic time to be alive.

Curious what else made the 90s unforgettable? Stay tuned for the next chapter — we’re talking 90s food, mall culture, and the soundtrack of a generation.