The Body Shop 90s-style: My best buys as a teenager - White Musk to Body Butter - but no bath pearls, sadly
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When I think back to my teenage years in the 1990s, my mind may drift to the music scene, the fashion must-haves, perhaps even what was on TV, but nothing grounds me in that decade so much as The Body Shop. That green logo instantly transports me back to my youth, which is why its partial demise is all the more sad for women, like me, of a certain age.
Whatever your budget, you could copper up and find something in there, even if that ‘something’ was their gorgeously smelly bath pearls, which, I admit, I generally kept in a basket on my dressing table acting more as an air freshener than a body product. If you were really lucky you might get your hands on the White Musk fragrance mist - which rivalled even Impulse body spray, no mean feat during that particular decade.
Its cruelty-free, ethically-sourced ethos made us all feel like we were doing good, whilst also smelling good. For a quid you could get one of their reusable cloth carrier bags, now ubiquitous but hugely ahead of the curve back then.
So I would like to begin a crusade to convince Gen Z, who are already backing a revival of baggy jeans and Nirvana t-shirts, that if you truly want to embrace 90s vibes, you’re going to need to stock up on a few specific items from The Body Shop too. If we can create a movement, just as Anita Roddick did all those years ago, we might just revive the fortunes of that most nostalgic of stores.
Rather disappointingly, bath pearls are long since discontinued, however, there are still a number of products you can get which featured heavily in a 40-something’s teenage beauty regime. Read on to find out my must buys and leave a comment to let me know which products you just couldn’t do without during your teenage years.
The Body Shop White Musk
This really is the must-have scent and is now available in a range of options on The Body Shop website including eau de parfum, shower gel, deodorant even. Layer up if you must, but to be truly authentic to the 90s teen, just grab yourself a bottle of White Musk Fragrance Mist and spritz liberally more frequently than seems reasonable on any given day.
The Body Shop Hemp
Hemp has always been a big thing with The Body Shop brand and us teens loved it, perhaps because it felt somewhat rebellious to have something with that shaped leaf on the packaging. But it was all above board and great for your skin, and on a small budget, it was the Hemp Lip Rescue Stick that usually ended up coming home with us. Gen Z - get yours at The Body Shop website and see for yourself.
The Body Shop Body Butters
No 90s teen worth their salt would be seen moisturising with anything other than a Body Butter from The Body Shop. You could be liberal with those hefty tubs of lotion, slathering on something a little bit fruity. And I say that as, although there are a number of fragrances available on the website, to be true to the decade, opt for one of their fruit scents, like this strawberry option, which were, in all honesty almost a little sickly sweet, but loved all the same.
While there are many products lost to the annals of time - fruit shaped soap bar anyone? - there are still a few products purchased at The Body Shop way back when, still available now. Those I happily pass on to the next generation and perhaps, in another 30 years time, they too will look back upon and remember fondly.