Here she is, folks: J Lo Glow, nestled amongst her new friends atop my dresser. J Lo, meet Stetson, Fracas, Essie and Kiehl’s. Play nice, Shalimar.

Weird, right? I most definitely wore J Lo’s first (and best) fragrance via a few samples collected from Dayton’s back in 7th and 8th grade. (I alternated with Clinique Happy, Victoria’s Secret Love Spell and Ralph Lauren Ralph … that’s the blue one, remember?) I had an urge to reacquaint myself with Glow a few days ago, and now we’re happily reunited. It’s not perfect, but it lasts a long time and after nine hours of working retail, a spray or two makes me feel a little fresher. 

I had to laugh at my sudden interest in Glow, because there are definitely perfumesof my past I wouldn’t like to revisit. Fragrance holds so many memories; the first time I smelled Clinique Happy, it was my first trip to the Mall of America and I sprayed it on my purple Land’s End jacket. I loathe Clinique Happy now, but back in the day it smelled wonderful. 

My first official fragrance was Marc Jacobs eponymous gardenia scent, which I bought at age 15. I’ve grown out of it now and passed the bottle on to my coworker Michelle. It doesn’t tie me to a specific era of my life, but I got bored with it. Burberry Brit smells like my sophomore year of college, while Angel smells like the winter of my junior year. I still like these perfumes, but I wouldn’t wear any of them again. 

I got to wondering, Which fragrances did my friends wear in junior high/high school and would they revisit them now? 

A few of my favorite answers:

Sheena: Exclamation! and Sunflowers years ago - and hell to the no!

Twitter follower K_Nikki: Clinique Happy was a big deal in high school. Also wore Sunflowers, Vanilla Fields. I’m SO dating myself!

My longtime BFF Ali: I pretty much wore any sample I could get from Dayton’s. That blue Ralph Lauren perfume, BCBG Metro, Clinique Happy, that green apple one (DKNY Be Delicious)… until I bought my first real bottle-Kors by Michael Kors.

Alyssa Anderson: Donna Karan Cashmere Mist … stolen from my mother. Definitely not my scent of choice these days!

Jackie: I think CK One is the first fragrance I bought, and I probably would not wear it now.

Coworker Charlie: Hugo Boss. Still wear it.

Sally Hedberg: Escada Rockin’ Rio. (Editor’s note: I HATE Escada perfume. I admit to owning one in 9th grade … Escada Sentiment.) Definitely not. Guilty of Pearberry body splash. 

Brittani Lepley: My first frag was the Kiehl’s Musk but then I went down the perfume social ladder and, you’re gonna luuuuv this one, started wearing Estee Lauder Beyond Paradise. (Editor’s note: I hate Beyond Paradise with a passion. It makes me nauseous.)

Raul Osorio: Armani Code; I would totally wear it again.

My former Grand Forks Herald Teen Page editor Paulette Tobin:  Tabu, Charlie, Jean Nate. My first serious cologne was Estee Lauder Youth Dew. I still like it but my daughter doesn’t like it so I hardly ever wear it. I don’t think they make Tabu, Charlie or Jean Nate anymore. (I’m a ’70s girl)

Suzy Martin, makeup artist extraordinaire: Love’s Baby Soft.

Tony Libera: Acqua di Gio, duh. It’s obviously the only fragrance that matters. (Editor’s note: The skyway between the City Center and Macy’s men’s department would agree. There are clouds of Acqua di Gio!)

But nobody mentioned the perfume that clogged up countless high school hallways in the early 2000s, Victoria’s Secret Love Spell.

Vanity Project readers, what did you wear in the olden days? Would you try it again now?