Tackling a Classic, Tackling the 90s: Laguna by Salvador Dali (1991)

Somehow I am continuing the themes of the 90s and summer perfumes. Today I am going to tackle a lesser known classic, one that was created in 1991 and has kept on going even when so many 90s fragrances are gone. I think Laguna came to my attention with a fairly recent review of it on Now Smell This, and looking at the date, not so recent review. So I can't explain why suddenly I was rather determined to get a sample of it. Apparently Luca Turin has good things to say about it,but honestly that wasn't the reason why I wanted to try it, and the legendary perfumer Mark Buxton created it, still not the driving force of why I wanted to try it. No, I think the main reason is it is weird fruit. I have suddenly very much wanted to smell fruity perfumes but not the insipid clean fruity florals of my late teens to present. These weird fruit perfumes do not have to smell natural either, although a plus if they do, but some how in this craving I have been okay with fruit notes that are really just the idea of a fruit.

Putting on Laguna by Salvador Dali is like taking a time travel trip. The scent is basically what  'Groove is in the Heart' by Dee-lite sounds like.

What you are doing at the moment is probably watching Cameron Crow's Singles and wishing you had Jane Fonda's fashion from that film but you are most likely dressing like Clarissa from Clarissa Explains It All. You watch Friends and want Rachel's style. You sit through Real World marathons. Like I said this scent is nostalgia, it's not even necessarily my own nostalgia, but it does make me nostalgic for ridiculous 90s fashion and culture.

Laguna is 90s retro goodness, it is a saturated over the top neon fruit scent that is emblematic of the 90s perfume era. That weird era when 1980s powerhouses was replaced by the hyper color chunky fruity floral orientals before the uber fresh scents took over. The start is rum caramalized pineapple with hints of citrus and a bizarre dose of tonka and below it all some salty goodness. Going forward the tonka walks out and you left with strange concoction of a peppered coconut pineapple vanilla shake with what feels like something like neon lime thrown in. Laguna is like someone decided to blend a pina colada, a daiquiri, a margarita, and salty sea air together. Strangely Buxton makes this work.

For sheer nostalgic purposes I suggest you hunt down this bizarre beach classic, it feels like the last of its kind considering calone would rise up and for a very long time take over the idea of what a beach scent should smell like.

Try if you like Plus Plus Feminine by Diesel, Onyx by Sage Machado, or Womanity by Thierry Mugler.

First image from recommend.ru
Second image from Clarissa Explains It All