Discontinued products. Oh, the heartache!

[BumBurnerBum]

I wasted a very pleasant hour or so yesterday afternoon drowning in nostalgia on the 90s teem magazine thread that is in Classics - www.mumsnet.com/Talk/mumsnet_classics/4178119-Early-Noughties-teen-mag-ridiculousness?pg=14.

That sent me down an Instagram wormhole on the @90steenmagazinearchiveuk page (well worth a look!)

I have recently had my world rocked by the realisation that my favourite By Terry lipstain has been discontinued, and that Crabtree & Evelyn no longer do the Jojoba Oil soaps that I loved.

However, this trawl through 90s fashion and beauty has made me ache for some of the products I lived in then.

I know it's been done before but I would give my (lengthening) eye-teeth for:

Impulse O2; Miss Selfridge nail varnish (scented or glow in the dark); Charlse Worthington thickening spray (it smelt amazing though did nothing for the thickness of my hair); BATH PEARLS; 40 million soaps shaped like various animals etc.

The thing I miss the most though is the huge range of body products that Boots Natural Collection used to do. My friends and I whiled away many hours milling around sniffing various body sprays, shower jels, bubble baths and God knows what else.

Seeing photos of the Boots catalogue Natural Collection pages from around 1996 was such a visceral hit of nostalgia it was akin to a punch in the stomach.

Am I alone?

Yy to Body Shop Roma perfume oil and Gap Grass. I've never seen them mentioned on these threads before and thought I must be alone in missing them!

Yes, those glass lip gloss roller things, the turquoise mint flavour was the best. It was pretty gloopy though and it made your mouth sting
Body Shop Fresh Hair spray.
Virgin Vie crackly foot spray (can't remember the name) something to do with the sea.
Valderma moisturiser

Ahhh, Gap Grass perfume was gorgeous. I miss it! And Boots Natural Collection did a green apple shampoo and conditioner which I loved too.

I miss everything about old skool Body Shop. The refills! The unscented bubble bath that you could add perfume to! The perfume testers with the glass wands! The little books of powdery blotting paper! Just being 13 and hanging out with my friends in the local branch every Saturday. Happy days!

Were the glass rollerball lip glosses by Constance Carroll? I might be making that up.

I loved the Body Shop Roma perfume too. I miss the old Body Shop. Passion fruit cleansing gel, the cleansing milk that Lush do now (same product I think but the name escapes me) and and the perfume bar are all things I miss.

Nicky Clarke Hairomatherapy products in the metal bottles.
I can literally still smell the shampoo and it reminds me of my 4 hour getting ready stints in the 90's.

I can still smell the Hairomatherapy too @janlevinson

@StormBaby

I can still smell the Hairomatherapy too *@janlevinson*

What I wouldn't do to wash my hair with it one last time 🤣

I bought some l'occitane verveine sorbet which smells just like Impulse O2.

Tobacco flower perfume from the body shop circa 2002.

Also, yes to flex and hairomatherapy, also Charles Worthington shampoo and conditioner.
Boozs natural collection japonica hair serum beat the shit out of frizz ease and smelled amazing!

Yes to the Hairomatherapy! I remember using those before I discovered Charles Worthington.

@janlevinson

Nicky Clarke Hairomatherapy products in the metal bottles. I can literally still smell the shampoo and it reminds me of my 4 hour getting ready stints in the 90's.

I've still got a spray bottle of this, I keep it just for the smell! It went downhill when they changed them to plastic bottles

I liked Superdrug's Tropical range - banana, blueberry, clementine(?), etc. Think it was to rival Boots Natural Collection. Bubble baths, shower gels, body sprays. There was also a range in the late 90s called Secret Weapon, a lot of things in metal tins like lip balms, possibly hair mascara. The purple one smelled really good, think they did a solid perfume in a tin but memory is a bit fuzzy now!

Bulgari thé rouge
The Body Shop made a scrub which contained a good wallop of cardamom. Heavenly
I don’t seem to be able to find Cerrutti 1881 body lotion. Didn’t like the perfume and the lotion had amazing lasting scent

Blue/gold hair mascara.
Aqua Citra/Aqua Manda
Ponds Vanishing Cream that left your skin powdery.
M&S Orange and Thyme body lotion
L'Occitaine Rose de Mai.

Bath pearls. Cheap and a bit rubbish but fun.

Smiths cremolia was my mum's favourite hand cream. I loved the smell, but wasn't it a bit greasy?
More recently, Boots 17 concealer in a little round pot. Can't remember the name but it was the best I have used.

Vichy tinted moisturiser. It gave quite a glowy finish, although that was probably my 1980s/90s skin!

Much more recently, Garnier's BB undereye shadow concealer in a small tube with rollerball. No idea why these disappeared about two years ago, but it was brilliant for covering the odd spot or evening-out skin tone.

Elie Saab Shower Creme - now I have to hope for a mumsy set at Christmas

Ah I'm so glad I'm not alone. A few have jogged my memory (boots natural collection Sunflower body spray and Les Belles De Ricci). I used to drown myself in Lou Lou Blue and while I can't guarantee i would still love the smell, I'm sure it would transport me back to happier times. Discontinued for many years, alas.

St Ives Swiss Formula clarifying shampoo.
Used to strip all the grease out of my teenage greasy hair!
Mum Sunburst deodorant (yellow one). Smelled amazing, was so gutted when it was discontinued.

Samy curl cream in the yellow bottle
www.influenster.com/reviews/samy-curl-defining-creme-575-oz
Osis twin curl

uk.ninthavenue.com/products/osis-twin-curl-curls-2phase-curl-cream-425-oz?gclid=Cj0KCQjw7pKFBhDUARIsAFUoMDacog2s1SjjtD9yNlT1L4xUBLf7jycYf4hPdqKfHL9irAWEsf0vbZIaApw6EALw_wcB
Both now only seem available in USA and are expensive and always out of stock
They were the best for my curly hair
I love Guerlain perfumes but was really disappointed when I ran out of l’instant magic recently and bought a new bottle to find the formula has changed not only does it not last it has lost some key notes

Mine are mostly scent related.

• As several of you have already mentioned, Impulse O2! Oh it was lovely. There is a Dove deodorant with a picture of a pear on the front (I think it's called Go Fresh) that is quite similar, but not quite the same. Also Impulse did another one I loved called Zen.
• Body Shop Oceania
• Polo Sport Woman
• Coty Monsoon in the blue bottle with the conical lid
• Boots "Spa" range I think is what a PP was referring to. It was gorgeous and smelled really fresh and ozone-y
• M&S did a Issey Miyake ripoff called Isis that was lovely
• Lancome "O Oui" which you could buy separate shower gels in each of the three main notes of the perfume

I have a tiny bottle of Body Shop Oceania that anothe rmumsnetter kindly sent me a while back. Transports me right back to the days of hanging out with my friends and losing my purse in the body shop and identifying it by the 'ms snogalot' sticker in the front flap! for the record, i did not snogalot

Alberto VO5 red apple shampoo

Oh I loved the body shop animal soaps I remember picking one as a treat!

A more recent one; Bobbi Brown long wear cream eyeshadows in the pots. The stick ones just aren’t the same and are £££ for a very small amount of product. The shade range isn’t as good either. I was gutted when they discontinued these as I have very wrinkly eyelids and these were the perfect consistency.