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One sniff of Gap Dream brings me back to my childhood bedroom. It’s 1996, and I’m poring over the latest issue of Tiger Beat magazine with my best friend Diana, debating which floppy-haired teen dream we want to marry. (Hi, JTT!) For those of you who, like me, have been holding onto your Dream fragrances for more than 20 years—occasionally spritzing those frosted bottles for a trip down memory lane—you’ll be thrilled to know you can officially retire your old stock. All of the ’90s Gap perfumes are available for purchase once again.
But before we get into where I found a brand-new set of these nostalgia-inducing fragrances, let’s talk about why these perfumes were such a big deal three decades ago. In November 1994, apparel brand Gap expanded into the beauty realm with the rollout of its Grass, Day, Earth, and Heaven scents. While Grass, Day, and Earth embodied the meaning of unisex, Heaven was a light floral that leaned toward the traditionally feminine. Heaven, in particular, was a top seller for the brand, until Dream—a scent inspired by the idea of walking into a flower shop—joined the Gap fragrance family in August 1995.
“We were going to name it Flower, but when I started saying the word ‘flower,’ it was very flat,” Gary McNatton, Gap’s former VP of personal care and design development, told WWD at the time of the Dream launch. In addition to the fragrance’s transparent floral composition, the periwinkle-blue liquid was a departure for the brand; McNatton also told WWD that the launch was “the most important thing we’ve done for Gap scents.” I agree.
Then, riding the wave of the grunge movement, Gap launched Om in 1996 as a unisex scent. According to The San Francisco Chronicle, marketing for the fragrance was focused on the youth demographic, with scented bracelets distributed at rock concerts and on college campuses. “They matched the tone of the decade. The ’90s stripped things back—fashion was minimal, interiors became clean, and beauty leaned toward softness,” says Romy Kowalewski, perfumer and founder of 27 87. “Gap understood that shift. Their fragrances were simple and felt familiar the moment you smelled them. They made perfume feel accessible, and you didn’t need to belong to a certain world to wear them.”
The Gap perfumes were accessible both in scent and price point. When Dream launched, the 0.5 oz. mini spray, housed in an aluminum, very ’90s spray canister, was a cool $3.50—a very attainable price point for yours truly, who had only leftover lunch money to spare. “I did own a bottle of Grass,” says Lillian Shalom, creative director of Flower Shop Fragrances. “I went to the Gap store in Beverly Hills and remember purchasing it and thinking it was absolutely magical. I have strong memories attached to that scent. To this day, when I smell cut grass, it makes me think of Gap's Grass perfume—30 years later.”
Shalom continues, “The fact that we’re still talking about [these fragrances] decades later speaks volumes about their impact. With the release of Dream, Heaven, Om, and Grass in the ’90s, Gap introduced a collection of fragrances that quietly defied industry conventions. They were affordable and accessible; not quite luxury, but far from cheap. [Editors’ note: A full-sized bottle was $18, which would be about 40 bucks in 2025.] And they challenged traditional gender norms by being marketed as unisex, a concept that was still radical, despite CK One.”
While Dream and Heaven can be credited as the formulas that started my personal obsession with freesia in the ’90s and ’00s (the note seemed to be everywhere back then, didn’t it?), Kowalewski says that Gap's uncomplicated scents were not made to turn heads when you entered a room; instead, they were rather subtle fragrances that a friend would clock when they leaned in to give you a hug. “Fragrance became more casual, less about prestige, more about comfort,” Kowalewski explains. “Many skin scents and minimalist compositions that came later echoed that ease.”
Where to buy Gap fragrances today
Excited speculation about a Gap beauty relaunch has been circulating since a June story from Puck that hinted at confirmation of a relaunch from an inside source. The corresponding post on Instagram was met with a slew of comments about people’s favorite fragrances from the ’90s. “I can smell it through the phone! Bring back DREAM,” wrote one user. “GRASS was my fave!! Bring it back!!!” said another. “Dream and Heaven—at the same time!” Allure senior beauty editor Jesa Marie Calaor exclaimed when we were texting about the post.
Dave Austria
While Gap’s PR has been mum on the relaunch news and the Beauty & Home section on gap.com remains full of products from other brands, we got a whiff that the scents are quietly rolling out to Gap’s brick-and-mortar stores in 3.4 oz. eau de parfums, as well as 8 oz. body sprays. According to fragrance fans online (and the sales associate I spoke with), the perfumes have been available at the Gap Factory Outlet stores for about four years. The expansion to Gap stores seems to be a recent move, allowing the long legacy of these beloved scents to continue more than 30 years after they first appeared in 1994.
A quiet relaunch of the original fragrance lineup directly into Gap stores echoes the original marketing plan from the ’90s. ''Normally, when a scent was launched, it just went into the store,'' Donna Goff Davis, former senior merchandiser for Gap Scents, told The San Francisco Chronicle in 1996. ''We were in business for a year before we even ran an ad for Gap Scents.'' Talk about a full-circle moment.
For now, though, getting your hands on a nostalgic Gap scent requires a little bit of in-person treasure hunting. I found the bottles entirely by chance when I stopped into the Gap’s location at The Grove in Los Angeles, where I grabbed two of each bottle in place of the jeans I had intended to buy. But we recommend calling your local store beforehand to ensure the scent you want is in stock. And if it is, ask one of the associates to hold a bottle for you—in my experience, the stock moves quickly.
Smelling the ’90s Gap Fragrances in 2025
Marianne MychaskiwDream
Dave Austria
The scent that started a sensation. To me, the whole world smelled like Dream after 1995. The original composition, developed by Firmenich, opened with osmanthus and tangerine at the top, had heart notes of freesia, orange blossom, jasmine, lily of the valley, and violet, and was grounded by base notes of musk and carnation. Bold statement, I know, but the 2025 iteration is a near-perfect re-creation of the original—I truly can’t smell a difference. The official lineup of notes is a mix of white freesia, orange flower, and cloud musk, but it smells to me like trips to the mall, getting home just in time to catch the TRL countdown, and sleepovers with your best friend, gossiping late into the night as you paint your nails with purple polish from a bear-shaped bottle.
Heaven
Dave Austria
Heaven was launched in the initial run of scents in 1994, but she didn’t become an obsession of mine until I received the fragrance in a gift set—which included the body mist and coordinating lotion, shower gel, shampoo, and conditioner—as a birthday gift in 1997. It’s easy to see why Heaven was the best-selling scent for Gap (until it was usurped by Dream): The florals were fun and flirty, but the composition was clean and easy to wear. The original blend featured top notes of green leaves, lemon, and orange blossom, heart notes of jasmine, lily of the valley, freesia, and carnation, and base notes of musk, sandalwood, and moss. The scent description for the 2025 version is vague on the notes; the copy on the bottle cites a “crisp bouquet of pure white blossoms,” but it’s another win for Gap in being a near-perfect re-creation of the original. My only complaint? I wish the sillage were stronger, but I guess that’s what layering it with Dream is for—just as my younger self would have wanted.
Grass
Dave Austria
Grass wasn’t in my personal rotation growing up, but I was certainly familiar with the green unisex scent. One sniff of the stuff created visions of Zen-X aesthetics dancing through my head to the tune of the Pure Moods compilation CD. The original fragrance composition mixed notes of green leaves and apple at the top, grass (duh), water lily, and cucumber in the heart, plus clover and white musk at the base. After it was discontinued, fragrance fanatics in search of a dupe online cited Demeter’s Grass as its closest living relative. But the Gap’s 2025 iteration is just as green and aromatic, evoking those very same visuals and emotions of years past, albeit with a slightly different composition. The opening is fresh and verdant, mixing spring leaves, water lily, and a hint of apple, but with blonde amber woods at the base in place of clover and white musk.
Om
Dave Austria
A unisex staple loved by my best friend’s impossibly cool older sisters, Om was created by International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) in 1996 and fell under the woody-amber classification. The original blend mixed cedar leaves, coriander, ginger, and lots of flower at the top, middle notes of incense and olibanum, and base notes of Peru balsam, sandalwood, and oud. The jury is still out on whether the 2025 revival hits the nail on the head—those who love this fragrance love it hard and remember it well—but in my opinion, it’s pretty close. The updated version cites a mix of amber and muguet with sandalwood musk at the base. It’s spicy without being overly heady, has the slightest hint of incense, and pairs extremely well with a flannel button-down and Nirvana on repeat.
So Pink
Dave Austria
Initially launched in 2001, So Pink was my gym class hero—a clean, energetic citrus that filled the girls’ locker room after we finished “running” the required mile in phys ed. The burst of pink grapefruit that opened the scent was likely the inspiration behind its moniker. Still, it would be remiss not to mention that Legally Blonde launched that same year, and So Pink’s vibrant composition certainly seemed to align with the bubbly energy of Elle Woods. The original scent structure combined grapefruit with notes of lily and sweet pea, and the 2025 re-creation appears to have followed suit, blending pink grapefruit with a bouquet of florals.
