The 70’s is having a moment and you’d have to be blind not to have noticed. The trend is really embodying the entire decade – from those all-American dream-teen-next-door vibes through to Studio 54 disco… and the free-wheeling, batshit insane cults that popped up en masse in it’s early years.
If your summer look (that I’m aggressively trying to make happen for myself) is the latter take – I’m personally going for ‘low-tier member of a non-murdery polygamist 70’s cult run by a problematic male leader who is a complete dick but undeniably oozes charisma’ – you’re probably searching for the perfect, no-fucks-given perfume.
A 70’s scent has to be chill but intoxicating. It’s a pretty hard goal to achieve, but we’ve found a few out there that really nail it. Even if you’re not going for the “My job is to tend to the commune mung-bean garden” look you can get around these heady scents.
Byredo have dropped a doozy of a new unisex fragrance on us, friends. It’s bio says it’s meant to be reminiscent of the sun-drenched 1960s, and everyone knows when you’re going for a 70’s aesthetic that the 60’s is also fine, coz like whatever. Details. Patchouli (she’s gonna pop the fuck up a lot in this article, let me tell you) is right in there, along with musk and ambrette. It’s heady, delicious, sexy, and will absolutely have that fuckboi/girl texting you a shitty meme the next day.
If this was a person, it’d be a femme fatale girl next door that all the boys in the neighbourhood wish was their one and only. So basically, Kirsten Dunst in The Virgin Suicides.
Well fuck me, if a perfume literally called ‘1970’ didn’t smell like the 70’s, what is the point. This is suuuuper spicy/floral, leaning almost toward a grandma scent but in that innocent, long shapeless floral dress kind of way that’s perfect if you’re going for an ‘impressionable teen who’ll definitely run away with a visiting band’ kind of feel.
If it was a person, it’d be an all-American teen who steals $20k of her parents savings and uses it to travel to Nepal in search of a higher purpose.
A lot of these fragrances are perfectly unisex – after all, the 70’s was a follow-on from the moment when men rebelled against pre-conceived ideologies about masculinity, let their hair grow long, wild and free, and embraced feminine fashion shapes – and women DGAF about primping and preening. Sexuality was becoming more fluid, so it makes sense that scents evoking this period are in that vein. This one is rich and woody thanks to (der) patchouli, but also interesting notes like bay leaf and rosemary.
If it were a person, it’d be a famous rock star who forces his record company to allow his next album to be entirely spoken word religious chants.
JULIETTE HAS A GUN NOT A PERFUME
On the other end of the spectrum for 70’s fragrances are non-perfumes. There are only a few on the market, and their whole schtick is working with your natural body chemistry to produce a skin-like scent. Sounds like it would just give you BO, but it actually uses ambroxan, traditionally an ingredient that grounds base notes. The result is this really subtle woody/earthy finish that smells just like ‘sexy human’. It’s really hard to explain and you should just go try it.
If it was a person, it’d be a liberal arts student who always has the most intelligent argument in their tutorials, lies on the campus grass smoking weed and never brushes their hair.
Commodity nail scents that turn heads, and this one is exactly what I imagine a charismatic cult leader would wear – it’s like sexy dude scent dialled up to eleven. It is an odd mix of notes like cucumber, bergamot, and lavender – and while definitely unisex, IMO this would be the scent I would force my (long-haired, kaftan wearing, yoga enthusiast) dream boyfriend to wear.
If it was a person, it would be a heavily bearded and mostly silent cult leader who claims to be the second coming of Christ, only to spectacularly fall from grace when his followers realise he is, in fact, just a washed up ex car salesman.
All the Narciso scents – both the mens and womens ranges – lean heavily on either musk or patchouli and as we now know, that is a surefire way to get the 70’s cult feel. Each has a bit of a different feel, but our money’s on For Her EDT, which also uses osmanthus for a real heady, floral finish.
If it was a person, it’d be a mysterious “I’m new to LA” hippie with a secret past, who entrances the leader of a sustainable produce commune and eventually leads to its demise.
DOLCE & GABBANA THE ONE FOR MEN
Look at that bloody delight of a bottle. Doesn’t it just scream 1975 to you? This men’s scent could easily have gone the way of, say, Sex Panther but thanks to the subtle spicy cardamom and ginger notes with its tobacco base, it veers more toward ‘going off-grid for a month’.
If it was a person, it’d be a high-flying advertising executive who throws it all in to buy a Kombi van and drive the US highways searching for the meaning of life.
