One sniff of Gap Dream brings me back to my childhood bedroom. It’s 1996, and I’m poring over the latest issue of Tiger Beat magazine with my best friend Diana, debating which floppy-haired teen dream we want to marry. (Hi, JTT!) For those of you who, like me, have been holding onto your Dream fragrances for more than 20 years—occasionally spritzing those frosted bottles for a trip down memory lane—you’ll be thrilled to know you can officially retire your old stock.
— Read more in Gap’s ’90s Perfumes Are Available for Purchase in 2025—If You Know Where to Look at Allure.
When I read this, my first thought was, “OMG you mean I get to wear Gap Grass again?” Because I adored it like hardly anything I’ve ever owned, and I would pay a lot to get a pristine 1980s-era bottle.
But the article’s answer was, “No, of course not, you silly person.” The new version has “a slightly different composition. The opening is fresh and verdant, mixing spring leaves, water lily, and a hint of apple, but with blonde amber woods at the base in place of clover and white musk.” That’s not slightly different: that’s the fabrication of a perfumer who never smelled Grass but heard of it when they were instructed to make it using synthetics popular in 2025. I shouldn’t be disappointed, but I am.
Or of a perfumer who has to deal with modern IFRA restrictions plus make whatever silly thing Gap thinks will sell in 2025.