Hair Products That Smell So Good, You'll Throw Out Your Perfume

Looking back at old photos of our parents from the '80s and '90s, we almost feel kind of... sorry for them. Sure, they turned out some of the most impressively gravity-defying hairstyles the 20th century had ever seen, but man did they have to sacrifice to achieve those looks. Just the act of using hairspray was done as if spraying for ants, with a defensive hand held up to shield airborne particles from the eyes, a stance that would suddenly shift to frantic waving in an effort to disperse the cloud of noxious fumes that had been released.

Alcohol-heavy styling gels, mousses, and oils didn’t smell much better, and shampoos stunk like overly perfumed soap — talk about the opposite of a pampering self-care experience. Thankfully, a generation of offending products has been laid to rest, replaced by formulas that smell so nice, we wish they came in eau de parfum form, too.

Between Honest Beauty’s Sea Salt Spray, which founder Jessica Alba once noted was designed to "smell sensual, like vacation," (it succeeds) to shine sprays and pomades that remind us of our favorite things (Champagne, Jolly Ranchers, heady incense!), find the hair-care products that cause us to linger a little longer when getting ready — and smell the ends of our hair when we think no one’s looking — ahead.