The Body Shop Dewberry is back and it's a 90s nostalgia trip

Marble backdrop with an image of the body shop dewberry perfume oil on a gold tray beside an image of beauty editor Fiona McKim

(Image credit: Future / Fiona McKim)

Nostalgia used to be classed as a medical condition. Displaced people (mainly soldiers) were diagnosed in droves with symptoms like insomnia, panic attacks, and lack of appetite. 'Cures' included opium, leeches, and, more sensibly, just sending the sufferer home.

How things change. Nostalgia has reinvented itself as not only a good, cosy feeling but also a fashionable commodity.

Why this nostalgic '90s scent is my beauty buy of the week

Did you wear The Body Shop Dewberry back in the day? Even if you didn't personally, I'll bet your sister, neighbour, or niece did.

This berry and musk perfume was a phenomenon because it smelled exactly how a teenage girl wants to. Jammy, uncomplicated, joyful. Plus, that tiny bottle was ideal to chuck in one's Kookai tote for repeated re-dousings. All the better to engulf the boy(s) I fancied in my fruity forcefield.

When I found out the range was making a comeback after 20+ years away. I couldn't wait to give it another sniff. And of course, the second that mouth-watering aroma hit my olfactory system, something within me unlocked.

The Body Shop

Dewberry Perfume Oil

I won't deny that, for me, this scent's primary appeal is its power to evoke a (recently) bygone age. But if you didn't love, or even try, Dewberry the first time around, let me say this: Beneath that addictive whack of berry the composition has its sophistication, with crisp green foliage and fleshy white flowers. It's also extremely handbag and travel-friendly, thanks to that cutie-patootie 14ml bottle. And the oil, rather than alcohol, base is kinder on the skin when combined with UV exposure.

Fruit-forward fragrance not your thing? I'll admit it's not really mine these days, either. Yet, despite my insistence that I'm not a 'sweet' person, there is mounting evidence to the contrary.

Primarily, what I can do to a pack of Munchies in less than a minute, but I won't deny that my idea of the best-smelling body cream is anything that could be mistaken for dessert. The heart wants what it wants.

So, I've gone sniffing around the rest of the range and found a keeper in Dewberry Body Butter. It's got the same sticky cassis scent, but in a thick, melty cream with a Petit Filou texture, Parma Violet colour and Ribena-coded packaging. Sounds good? Great! Let's chat next Sunday.

As woman&home's Beauty Channel Editor, Fiona Mckim loves to share her 15+ years of industry intel on womanandhome.com and Instagram (@fionamckim if you like hair experiments and cute shih-tzus). After interning at ELLE, Fiona joined woman&home as Assistant Beauty Editor in 2013 under industry legend Jo GB, who taught her to understand ingredients and take a cynical approach to marketing claims. She has since covered every corner of the industry, interviewing dermatologists and celebrities from Davina McCall to Dame Joan Collins, reporting backstage at London Fashion Week and judging the w&h Beauty Awards.

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