10 NOSTALGIC SCENTS TO GIFT YOUR FATHER

We’re wearing brown lipstick again, painting our nails in bombastic prints of the ‘80s and low-rise jeans are starting to be cool again. Nostalgia is in again, and it’s the perfect trend to charge up your Father’s Day gift with too.

Fragrance is possibly the strongest trigger of nostalgia, mainly because our brain can log certain scents with long-term memories. The musky smell of aftershave when your father hugged you as a child or his go-to work perfume from the ’90s–just a single spritz of those scents will rekindle beautiful memories for both you and your dad.

BUILT IN DAD DNA
If there’s one scent that inextricably bound to fathers, it’s good ol’ Old Spice aftershave. The warm blend of musk, cinnamon and vanilla became a household staple in the pre-sixties and since then, has earned the status of the de facto smell of dads. Today, it’s much more than just a symbol of old-world masculinity. A single whiff will bring back a heady rush of memories of his comforting embrace with your face buried into sandpapery, whiskered cheeks

Best for: The Classic Dad

Products Mentioned

HEADSTRONG LIKE HIM
The comeback of tie-dye tees, bell-bottomed jeans and loud prints has a clear message: The over-the-top ‘60s are cool again. And if you ask us, there’s no reason to not smell the part too. For a dose of old-school nostalgia, gift him Aramis’s best-selling eau de toilette; a heady mix of leather, jasmine, sandalwood and amber that smells as exotic today as it did when it launched in 1964. Maybe add a Beatles record with it too?

Best for: The Young-at-heart Dad

Product Mentioned

BIG & BOLD ENERGY
From shoulder pads to hairstyles, the ’80s were about all things big and bombastic. And the decades fragrances were no different. Think bold, floral compositions that gave fragrances a less masculine direction and could be smelt before you were seen. If you remember your dad smelling like jasmine, vanilla or powdery patchouli, these are the fragrances that will win his heart this Father’s Day.

Best for: The Confident Dad

Products Mentioned

FRESH THOUGHTS
In the early ‘90s, the heavier scents of the past were replaced by a wave of ultra-light marine and citrus notes. Need a refresher? These minimalist fragrances smell just like the zesty aroma that enveloped the air when your father left home for work each morning in baggy, high-waist trousers paired with equally roomy blazers. They’re light enough to be worn in the boardroom without inducing migraines and cool enough for the bar. They made their mark then and remain ‘fresh’ in our memories even today, for all the right reasons.

Best for: The Professional Dad