Celeb endorsed perfume was a beacon of the 00’s. A sign of the blissful, beautiful innocence of the era. Aspirational at their core, they marked time before luxury brands became an accessible necessity and when nothing made you feel more bougie than a trip to a department store.
Many tried their hand at a fragrance deal – Sarah Jessica Parker‘s ‘Lovely’ had mum’s groups everywhere thriving, and Paris Hilton‘s ‘Fairy Dust’ was definitely a snazzy little number, however, none reigned as supreme as Britney Spears‘ ‘Fantasy’.
Fantasy mirrored every excellent aspect of Spears’ music – chaotic, fearless in a particularly Saggitarean way, and was just a little more alluring than any girl next door figure.
I was absolutely obsessed with it. Every birthday, primary school milestone and soccer grand final win was marked with the gift of a new bottle of the love potion. I had a teensy bottle that stayed put in my school bag for that post-recess freshen up and one that sat in the bathroom.
Now, even though our dear Britney is currently making her foray into socialism, her ‘Fantasy’ legacy lives on. So to celebrate, I’ve ranked the seven best ‘Fantasy’ editions (apparently, there’s something like 17 she released over time?).
1. Fantasy (OG)
An unbeatable icon in the fragrance world. Released in 2005, ‘Fantasy’ stormed in right off the back of the success of album In The Zone. Britney’s relationship with K-Fed relationship was buzzing, and Britney was sitting comfortably at the top of pop throne.
The OG ‘Fantasy’ is the fragrance equivalent of a guava Cruiser – it’s fruity, familiar and flirty. It will make you do things you never thought you were capable of. Its slogan, “Everybody Has One” allowed us to all unlock the potential we didn’t know we had and foreshadowed some of the trouble that was to follow.
The bulbous bright pink bottle, adorned with Swarovski crystals, rendered it the epitome of mallrat boujee – a trend that’s probably on it’s way back now we’re in a noughties nostalgia revival.
2. Circus Fantasy
In terms of scent, the developed, saccharine notes Circus offered up were probably more enticing, however, it doesn’t quite live up to the icon status of its pink predecessor. It’s underrated in the same way I feel her whole ‘Circus’ era was. It really didn’t garner the respect it deserved at the time.
Whilst the OG Fantasy leaned into its undeniable house party aura, Circus served up raspberry zest and apricot blossom flavours for more sophisticated sweetness.
3. Midnight Fantasy
The admittedly sexier sister of the OG Fantasy. Its purple bottle offered an alluring, mature and in some ways, intimidating vibe. I think it sits somewhere between ‘I’m Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman’ and ‘Overprotected’ if we’re judging.
For some reason, I remember this to have been the “going to a lovely family function” option for a spritz, whereas the OG Fantasy was more the “I’m in year 5 and I’m allowed to wear lipgloss to the school disco” choice.
4. Fantasy (In Bloom)
Seriously, everyone had an older cousin who always pranced around doused in the golden vanilla zest of In Bloom?? They probably graduated to Victoria’s Secret perfume after this (yes, this is a subtle shade to that poisonous bug spray), but anyway.
The adorable packaging adorned with dainty, white flowers painted on the bottle would’ve reeled in any Marc Jacobs Daisy fan and just oozes with spring-time romance.
5. Maui Fantasy
One of the more recent additions to the Fantasy family, and I have to say, it deviates from the aesthetic of the previous bottles with its frosted finish. Anything slightly Hawaii-themed gets an instant yes from me based on its pure kitschiness so I’m all about this one.
6. Rocker Femme Fantasy
Despite being released in 2014, Rocker Femme has the most intense 2007-energy a perfume could ever have.
The hot pink and black bottle absolutely yells to the world that yes, you were digging Good Charlotte’s Good Morning Revival but hadn’t yet phased out of your sleepover-pop areas yet.
With blackberry, coconut and whipped cream at the helm, they’re honestly the kind of notes you wouldn’t expect to work together but do? Kind of like Britney’s cover of I Love Rock N Roll or her short-lived Kabballah phase.
