Body Mists Are Having a Moment (Again)

Like low-rise jeans, high-shine lip gloss and jelly sandals, the humble body mist is the latest nostalgic product to stage a comeback — but it's gotten quite an upgrade since its heyday in the '90s and early aughts, embraced in equal measure by luxury fragrance brands like Ellis Brooklyn and Diptyque, as well as wellness-focused body-care companies like Saltair and Being Frenshe.

"Body mists are meant to be a carefree way to wear fragrance. The scents tend to be less complex and lower in concentration than an eau de parfum," explains Bee Shapiro, founder of Ellis Brooklyn, which recently introduced body mists into its fragrance lineup. "I was looking to launch something that captured the joy of summer, and body mists are an approachable way for anyone to experience pleasurable scent. The last couple of seasons, I've been very interested in the idea of perfume as self-pleasure. Unlike washing your face, for example, perfume is not a necessity, but — and this is a big but — our sense of smell brings so much joy to our life. If you think of pleasant smells, it immediately is soothing and brings a smile to your face."

Shapiro believes that body mists can feel less "intimidating" than perfume. "Body mists are easy to understand and fun to use. I love the idea that perfume can be simply about smelling wonderful and it doesn't have to be this uppity perfume explanation."

For Iskra Lawrence, model and founder of scent-infused body-care brand Saltair, body mists were a no-brainer launch right now.

"It's our number-one requested product," she tells Fashionista. "It's such a beautiful, low-maintenance, lightweight way to smell good all day."

Joy is a big part of the body mist experience, and so is an association with youth and nostalgia, since the format is how so many of us were introduced to wearable scent in our teen and tween years (especially those who came of age in the body splash heyday of the '90s and early aughts.)

"This is a huge reason why I personally wanted us to create body mists," Lawrence says. "It was the first way I experienced fragrance as a teen, and I loved how I could experiment with different types of scents, and switch up my mists depending on my outfit, season or how I was feeling that day. But of course, we had to innovate and bring body mists to 2023 that feel new, vibrant and thoughtful."

For Saltair, this meant using the brand's signature aluminum packaging and modern scent profiles, like Santal Bloom (a blend of sandalwood, amber and musk), Pink Beach (with notes of coconut and vanilla) and Pacific Pear (a fruity floral). Shapiro also made it a mission to re-think the concept of body sprays for Ellis Brooklyn, and ensure they didn't lean too childish.

"I wanted to see if I could elevate the category because body mists can often come off very young," she notes.

While she admits nostalgia "was a factor" in Ellis Brooklyn's body mist launch, Shapiro emphasizes that they've been totally reimagined for a modern take on the category: "It was also [about] looking to the future. There have been very popular body mists lately that play on that teen and tween era more directly — I wanted to take a category that I definitely grew up with and loved, but translate that to today and what body mists could be to me now."

There's no wrong way to use a body mist; in fact, a big part of their draw is that they're pretty much foolproof. "The whole idea of a body mist is to spray liberally and without any rules," says Shapiro. "Spray to your heart's desire. Spray liberally. Because of their lower scent concentration, you truly can't make any 'mistakes' here."

Lawrence agrees that the ease of the user experience is a big part of the draw for this fragrance format. "For me, body mists are more accessible way use and refresh your scent all day," she says. "I love eau de parfum, but you can overdo it and it can be a little intense. A body mist is light and not overpowering, so it's great to take on the go and spritz throughout the day."

Ahead, we've rounded up 15 modern body mists that evoke millennial youth, but with a twist.

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