Parents and grandparents with proximity to tweens are already well aware of the season’s booming new scent category thanks to the cult following of Sol de Janeiro, Sephora’s bestselling brand. Sol de Janeiro’s rainbow of now viral-famous perfume mist bottles dominate social feeds and top “Sephora teen” wish lists (now such a status symbol that summer camps are requesting campers leave them at home). As both established and emerging fragrance brands now expand into the format, it’s clear the Brazilian-inspired brand has turned a single product into a phenomenon.

Formulated with lower scent concentrations, mists are particularly suited to warmer weather. The format of finer, more dilute spray is a more casual approach to fragrance that complements the laid-back season; its lightweight nature also necessitates more frequent misting – a pleasurable and refreshing ritual in itself. As the cost of living goes up the lower-concentration format costs less, making it a (more) affordable form of olfactory indulgence.

Here, readers, is the point where I was going to make a glib declaration. Something like, “the teen-driven trend is now all grown up!” But as it happens, Sol de Janeiro didn’t invent the category – they’ve merely revived it. Fragranced body sprays are actually a blast from the past.

With a nostalgic look at bygone favourites, we single out five new ways to join the retro body spray revival. And remember: spray liberally!

1950s: White Shoulders Splash Essence
Try: Ilio Refreshing Fragrance Spray by Diptyque

The Parisian perfume house has a limited-edition alcohol-free face and body mist version of its unisex Ilio. First, it’s a visual pick-me-up: cheery beach scenes by artist Alexandre Benjamin Navet adorn the canister and the juice inside opens with zesty bergamot before a gentle jasmine and iris drydown. It manages to be crisply modern while also being a plush throwback white floral. (Pair with a spritz from its summer companion, the Citronella-Geranium summer body spray, whose essential oils may help ward off the bugs.)

Find it: $79 for 100ml at Holt Renfrew and Diptyque boutiques

1960s: Yardley Natural Spray Mist
Try: Your favourite designer fragrance

“So quick, so lingering, so glamorous” was the tagline when Yardley revolutionized personal fragrance “in its newest form”: on-the-go body mists of its top sellers. (Perky Oh! de London was popular with Mod girls, but sadly, it isn’t among the few scents Yardley still produces). Many luxury designer fragrance brands already offer ancillary items like deodorant and body spray. But they’re quiet about it and less widely available (maybe because they’re a cheaper way to get the same hit). Scented mist, for instance, for MFK’s pandemic-famous Baccarat Rouge 540 is half the price of even the smallest eau de parfum bottle. Chances are your favourite perfumes and colognes by Chanel, Dior, Tom Ford and Jo Malone London already have a mist format. 

Find it: Shoppers Drug Mart, Hudson’s Bay and department stores

1970s: Jean Naté After Bath Splash Mist
Try: Henry Rose Body Spray in Boys of Summer

Michelle Pfeiffer’s genderless and 100 per cent transparent clean fine fragrance line (launched in 2019 and named after her children’s middle names) is finally here, freshly-stocked by Sephora Canada and with three new alcohol-free body sprays. When I met Pfeiffer at a Toronto reception this spring, the entrepreneurial actress told me she likes to layer scents and mist the water-based Mustang Sally in her hair. But to conjure Seventies staple Jean Naté’s musky lemon-lavender, reach for Boys of Summer (bonus: the name is amazing.)

Find it: $102 for 200ml at Sephora Canada (sephora.com)

1980s: Impulse Body Spray
Try: NEST New York Body Mist Collection

NEST’s take is infused with nourishing baobab oil so each spritz promises a lightweight, skin-softening finish and comes in five single-note ingredients: Madagascar Vanilla, Balinese Coconut, Indian Jasmine, Turkish Rose or Seville Orange (collect them all!). The brand popular for upscale perfume oils and grown-up home fragrance venturing into a format that skews younger is taking a page from Fabergé: when they launched Impulse onto North America in 1981, it became a lifestyle mega-hit for hip adults and high school cliques alike.

Find it: $53 for 125ml at Sephora Canada & NEST New York (nestnewyork.com)

1990s: Bath & Body Works Herbal Mist Body Splash
Try: Bergamot & Hinoki Body Mist by Salt & Stone

The skin care line by former professional snowboarder Nima Jalali (wildly popular for its natural deodorant) offers mist versions of its new unisex fragrances. The refreshing scents also add moisture to skin (especially when misted just out of the shower). Among the minimalist fragrance pairings, we’re partial to the bracing freshness of the slightly aquatic Mediterranean citrus and herbaceous pairing (for a woodier fresh scent, try their bestselling Santal & Vetiver). It’s bracing but fleeting.

Find it: $61 for 100ml at Holt Renfrew (saltandstone.com)

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