This Is What the ‘90s Smelled Like, According to Gap

Retro Gap is in high demand. Peruse the secondhand market and you’ll find no shortage of resellers hoarding output from the brand’s ‘90s-era heyday, inspiring Gap itself to rerelease some of its archive’s greatest hits. A faded denim jacket or khakis with the old Gap logo might elicit fond memories—lived or borrowed—but nothing tickles the subconscious like a familiar scent. Maybe that’s why the everyman label decided to revive its suite of fragrances, each plucked straight from the golden era of American mall culture. If you’re an elder millennial, you might remember that Gap’s original fragrance line was discontinued in the early 2000s, leaving fiercer alternatives to win over the nostrils of a new generation. Now, at long last, it’s back.The re-release includes a quintet of eau de parfums that evoke ‘90s minimalism with their plain packaging, which features Gap’s iconic serif typeface logo and Helvetica product text over simple impressionistic vignettes. The packaging is cute, so I’d hoped the bottles themselves were more reminiscent of some of the more sculptural, biomorphic bottles of years’ past. Instead, the bottles are generic glass blocks with black plastic tops, nothing but the scent name to differentiate each bottle. It’s fitting for the brand whose democratic designs are catered toward everyone and no one. But, like, come on.Whatever. The packaging isn’t why you buy it, anyway. I needed to know how the perfumes actually smelled. So I set out to see exactly what the ‘90s smelled like through the nose of The Gap and sniffed, whiffed, and damn-near snorted each of its throwback fragrances. Here’s what my nose picked up.GrassFirst introduced along with Heaven in 1994, Grass is fresh, verdant, bright, with notes of green mandarin, matcha, and Virginia cedar. Grass is like if a matcha shop opened in a log cabin in the middle of a meadow. It’s earthy and a little sweet, and one of the top favorites when I surveyed the rest of the GQ squad.OmOm was the last to debut and was originally released in 1996. Om not only smells the most expensive out of the bunch, but also smells the most mature. It’s warm and woody, with top notes of ginger, heart notes of lilyflower, and base notes of amber woods. I find that there’s something nostalgic about this, like a warm afternoon breeze.HeavenPear and honeysuckle are up front in this olfactory version of the pearly gates, which seem to be located inside of a Bath and Bodyworks. It’s saccharine and very reminiscent of a certain corner of the mall. This one makes me crave froyo.DreamDream is like an okay candle in the bathroom of a beachfront property with the window open. True to the box, it smells purple. Not a deep purple, but more of a fresh light purple. Maybe that’s what happens when orange blossom, jasmine, and glowing amber swirl together?HarmonyHarmony reminds me of a boba shop. (One colleague said it reminded her of a Thai restaurant.) That’s probably because the heart notes contain jasmine cozying up with Italian bergamot and apricot nectar. Make of that what you will! I’ve also never stepped foot in a Claire’s, but it seems like they’d stock this if they could.