Gap Dreams Up a New Take on Its ‘90s Fragrances

27.07.2026, 15:23 allure.com

Gap is rereleasing its ‘90s fragrances in 2026, but don’t expect them to smell exactly like the original eaux de toilettes. Before we get into our first impressions of the new scents, we need to talk about what the original scents meant to fragrance lovers in the ‘90s.

Here’s some background for Gen Z: The pop culture moments of that decade had many of us defining and redefining who we were. We took quizzes in magazines to find out which hair color best matched our personalities. (I typically landed on brunette.) We were all trying to decide which Spice Girl we’d be (I was Sporty, sometimes Posh). And the starter Pokémon we chose in the new GameBoy Color games spoke volumes about who we were in 2D and IRL. (With Aries rising, I always picked Charmander.)

In beauty, it was Gap’s fragrances. The apparel brand launched its first four scents in 1994, which formally introduced us to Heaven and Grass. Dream followed in 1995, and Om arrived a year later. A leisurely walk through the mall revealed Dream girls, Heaven fans, the extra-cool Om crowd, and the nature-loving Grass group. My mother wore Grass, and because I often raided her beauty stash, I wore it too. These scents slowly disappeared off Gap shelves, but could still be found in Gap Factory Outlets.

Now, more than three decades after we first met Grass and Heaven, they’re back, along with Dream and a new addition to the lineup, Harmony. Deb Redmond, head of beauty at Gap Inc., recognizes how nostalgic this collection is for so many people, and that it couldn’t be reimagined lightly. “There is definitely an emotional foundation there,” she says. “You'll recognize that emotional connection in the new eaux de parfums, but the scents definitely have a new modernity to them that I feel is more of what the beauty customer today is really looking for.”

Tasked with bringing these fragrances to 2026 were DSM-Firminich master perfumer Honorine Blanc—who worked on the 1996 Om—and principal perfumer Nicole Mancini. Blanc brought the new Om, plus Dream and newcomer Harmony, to life, while Mancini is behind today’s Heaven and Grass.

The idea of bringing these scents back from the ‘90s was years in the making, says Redmond, but once Gap had these perfumers on board, the formulations took about two years. “We didn't rush this at all,” she says, adding that the team really prioritized consumer testing. “We put [the fragrances] in front of individuals that are familiar with the scents that we had in the '90s, as well as the customers of today.” The goal, says Redmond, was to determine, whether someone was an original fan or not: “Was there still that emotional connection?”

Working on these new fragrances, Blanc was very tuned into the notion of nostalgia. “It’s very important today,” she says. “Since 1996, we had Covid, a different war, we now have [better] technology, AI, a smarter consumer—huge changes. This new generation is looking for what was in the ‘90s because there was this comfort. The '90s is becoming today like the comfort, the safety,” both for people who lived the ‘90s and those who were born years later.

Bringing a beloved line of fragrances from the ‘90s to 2026 isn’t all warm, fuzzy feelings and rainbows, though. Of course, “Some of the original raw materials and methods from the '90s aren't used the same way now,” says Blanc. The OG Heaven, for example, used polycyclic musk—the same note behind the clean laundry smells of CKOne and The Body Shop White Musk.

Today, though, “Gap isn’t using it at all,” Mancini says. “More and more, the fashion is that they're not being used in a lot of brands anymore.” Since the ‘90s, multiple studies have found that polycyclic musks can be resistant to biodegradation. Stephen Nilsen, master perfumer at Givaudan, explains it’s an ingredient that’s “not being used as much due to the advent of newer musk structures with better safety, performance, and biodegradability.” Mancini’s immediate inclination was to replace it with more modern, simpler musks, ones that don’t have the same structure, “are clean, new, and perform really well,” she says.

To review the new collection, we tapped friends of Allure who are longtime fans of Gap fragrances. Most of us own eau de toilettes that are still available in Factory stores. (These will be phased out of storefronts and replaced with the new assortment.)

As millennials who look back fondly at the ‘90s and early aughts, our instinct was to hold them up against the originals we remember. After all, is that not what people who lived during that time want from a nostalgic collection? But, while some comparison is inevitable, we made a point of experiencing each scent as the brand presents it to its new customers—what Redmond describes as a “rebirth… It’s not a revival.” Read on for our thoughts.

What It Is: A warm musk with notes of bergamot, jasmine, and cedarwood. To retain the original’s vibe of “a clean white T-shirt,” perfumer Blanc added orange blossoms and more vibrant wood. “When I came to the US in 1994, Gap fragrance [had just] come to the market, and everybody was talking about the iconic Gap Dream,” Blanc says. “Gap Dream is optimism, freshness, and clean.”

Sophia Panych, content director: “Dream at first spritz takes me right back to sitting on the floor in eighth grade, spritzing the last drops of my travel-size spray. I haven’t smelled the original Dream in decades, but for me, the first time I smelled this new version on me, I was like, that's it—that’s Dream.”

Jesa Marie Calaor, senior editor: “If I was in an anime, I’d have hearts around my eyes—this iteration of Dream is deeply nostalgic and brings me back to when I was running around a Gap Outlet spraying Dream testers, trying to convince my mom to buy me one. (She did.) At first sniff, I immediately thought, “That’s my Dream!” but it is slightly different when put up against the EDT I have on my vanity. It’s more rounded (less sharp and metallic-y) and still feels very in-line with what I’d wear today.”

Sable Yong, contributor: “I’m surprised at how different it is from the original! I miss the metallic aquatic kind of facet of the original that to me makes it unique—but the new version is more robust, more floral. If I am comparing it to the one from the ‘90s, it almost feels like the full-fat version of the original, made a bit more dense to last.”

What It Is: “When we went back to the original and smelled it again, it was really built on a musk, but this musk had this really strong aldehyde on top, and the floral seed that I felt was very dated,” says Mancini. To update it, she added new, simple musks along with a new amber—Amberever—by DSM-Firmenich. “It's an amber that hits you on the top and stays throughout the fragrance, especially on skin.”

Mancini describes the feeling she wanted to capture as looking up at the sky in awe and wonder. (The memory it brings her back to personally was “that moment when my son was born and smelling the top of his head.”) It’s a solar vanilla with a musky feel “that’s cocooning and comforting,” but with hints of juniper for brightness and cardamom for a slight coolness. “It’s like looking at a dark sky with a few twinkling stars—it gives that vibration.”

Calaor: “I’m not a gourmand girl, so I don’t see myself reaching for this fragrance. My nose quickly picks up the sweet note, even among the brighter ones. That said, if I smelled it on someone else, I’d find it pleasant.

“As someone who fondly remembers Heaven, which smelled like a freshly-washed cotton pillowcase and a bouquet of florals, this fragrance is completely new to me. I’ll still be reaching for my original Heaven EDT, but I might leave this one to my vanilla-loving friends.”

Yong: “This is a whole new Heaven! The original Heaven was my favorite. It was a transparent turquoise in feel and color, sparklingly aquatic and misty—like a cloud!—and very fresh. This new version reads very grown-up. That is not a bad thing, but it ain’t my Heaven. If you didn't tell me what this was, I would've thought, ‘This is a pleasant floral that's more ambery, slightly powdery, even. It's a nice textural floral.'

“It’s a new kinda Heaven. They should’ve named it like… Heaven 2 or Heaven INTENSE or something.”

Marianne Mychaskiw, contributor: “I was a Heaven girl growing up and loved that white floral blend, so it’s hard not to compare the new iteration to the original, but if I were smelling this as a totally new scent, I do understand how the interpretation of the word Heaven was achieved through light, powdery notes and skin-like musks.

“It’s different, but objectively, it’s a very pretty scent. There is actually a nostalgic element that reminds me of another scent I was obsessed with back in ’99 and the early ‘00s (shoutout to [Victoria’s Secret] Dream Angels Heavenly, you classy gal). If you’re looking for a biblically-accurate recreation of Heaven, the eau de toilette version is very close and features that iconic white floral bouquet that instantly transports me back to the mall circa ’97. The 2026 version veers more fancy ‘90s bombshell who is the newest neighbor at Melrose Place, clad in a white satin robe and a mean blowout.”

What It Is: Om has notes of ginger, incense, sandalwood, musk, and resin. “It’s mysterious and luminous at the same time,” says Blanc. Of all the fragrances in the collection, this is probably the closest to the original, she says (and she would know since she created the original). “We stayed closer to Om because it was ahead of its time,” she says, explaining that the original scent—which might have been seen as edgy in the past—would likely trend today. If Om had a moodboard, she says it would have the Chelsea Hotel, a great bag, jeans, and a leather jacket.

Calaor: “I think Om might be my new favorite. It’s a skin-scent that feels cool, clean, and ever-so-slightly sensual. Also worth noting: My partner picked up a shirt I’d spritzed this fragrance onto the other day, and told me it smelled so good.”

Yong: “