They were the decades that saw the introduction of disco and white-suited, medallion-wearing Travolta wannabes, the rise of Yuppies and the decline of the coal industry, the musical dominance of the Spice Girls, and Britpop. Now these iconic events have been ‘bottled’ to create three limited edition scents designed to capture the nation’s favourite memories of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
The ‘Scents of a Decade’ were put together by Friends Reunited after thousands of its users uploaded their own memories of each decade. A perfumer then used these memories as inspiration to create Night Fever (70s), Vice (80s) and Take Spice (90s).
To prepare for the launch of the campaign, Mission Vox Popped people on the streets of Central London to see how they would react to the ‘Scents of a decade’. Mission thoroughly enjoyed seeing a wide variety of people reminisce about scents that reminded them of a time gone by. We also had a lot of find asking the public to guess which scent belongs to each of the given decades. See:
Professor Tim Jacob, an expert in olfaction [the study of smell] at Cardiff University, commented on how smells can evoke memories. He said: “Smell is unique among the senses in that it recalls the emotions surrounding the memory. The regions of the brain handling smell and memory are next door to each other and many connections run between them but, uniquely, smell also connects with the centres of the brain dealing with emotion.
Strong memories are formed when an ambient odour accompanies an experience with strong emotional content, such as childhood Christmases, or meeting your first serious boyfriend or girlfriend. These are sometimes called “autobiographical” memories because they relate to significant events or people in our life.”
The campaign aims to get people thinking about smells that evoke heart-warming memories that can then be shared with others using the FriendsReunited site. Each scent of the decade has an ‘interesting’ aroma, and may well induce a memory from the past.
Check out the assortment of ingredients placed in each of the scents:
1970s – Night Fever
Overall Aroma: Musky aroma with strong earthy notes
Ingredients: Various Natural and Synthetic Fragrances including Vanilla, Geranium, Lavender and Oakmoss
Memories: Genuine glitter flakes are set to conjure up special memories of the disco era. The musky and seductive smell is reminiscent of the Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier’s legendary boxing battle in Manila, and the lingering hint of menthol recreates the smell of the Liverpool FC changing rooms reminds us of epic European Cup glory days.
1980s – Vice
Overall Aroma: Nuances of leather and hints of sea air
Ingredients: Various Natural and Synthetic Fragrances including Ambrette seed oil, Bergamot, Lavender, Oakmoss, Galbanum, Mandarin, Patchouli, Grapefruit, Pink Pepper, Jasmine, Sandalwood, Lemon and Lime
Memories: Shredded £50 note is set to remind people of the brash and confident ‘yuppies’. Nuances of leather and hints of sea air as Don Johnson fought crime in Miami. An acidic tone reminiscent of perming lotion commemorates the dodgy perms sported by footballers, and the dramatic impact Thatcherism had upon the UK mining industry is evoked through traces of smokiness of coal.
1990s – Take Spice
Overall Aroma: Spicy, citrus and fresh
Ingredients: Various Natural and Synthetic Fragrances including Hay, Black Pepper, Cinnamon, Mace, Bergamot, Manadarin, Patchouli, Vetivert, Coriander, Geranium, Lavender, Jasmine, Cedarwood and Sandalwood
Memories: The combination of different spices celebrate the individuality of the Spice Girls. Britpop’s iconic battle Blur and Oasis is brought to life with the addition of genuine hay, and essence of coconut creates a breezy aroma taking us back to the shores of Baywatch and the Hoff’s red shorts.
To win these limited edition fragrances take a look at the FriendsReunited Facebook page, and share some smelly memories…
