As a teen in the 80s, I knew that perfuming yourself all over, like the model in the Impulse body spray commercial, was peak grown-up glamour. I didn’t want a man running through the mall to offer me flowers - that seemed terrifying - I just wanted to drench myself with scent. But even then, I intuited that Impulse fragrances, with problematic names like “Instantly Innocent”, were kind of cheap. (Still, all respect to the eBay seller asking $6,000 for a single can of Impulse ‘Innocent’ last week.)
Dolce & Gabanna’s new Light Blue Body & Hair spray (100 ml, $42, Shoppers Drug Mart) taps into this nostalgia but instead of (shudder) Impulse’s “Always Alluring” or “On Fire” fragrances you can mist yourself with Light Blue’s singular Sicilian lemon, apple, cedar and white flowers scent. A consistent but never over-exposed success since 2001, Light Blue evokes languorous sun worshippers on the Amalfi coast. More complex than any one-note lemon summer fragrance, it’s bright and citrusy but heady with white roses and jasmine and a skin-scent musky amber finish. And it demands to be sprayed on sun-warmed skin after a day at the beach.
But best of all, Light Blue hasn’t been tediously overexposed on social media and ‘gifted’ to a zillion influencers, so you won’t feel weird buying it if you’re over the age of 23.