Forget new perfume launches, this classic 90’s fragrance is still the ultimate cool girl scent

One of my favourite things about fragrance is its ability to transport you back in time. I have scents that take me back to spritzing perfumes with my mum in Boots, ones that make me nostalgic for the pre-night out getting ready sesh with friends and a few, that when I catch a whiff of them, instantly remind me of old boyfriends whether I’d liked them to or not.

Because of this, the best nostalgic scents hold a special place in my heart and that’s why you’ll always find a bottle of the fragrance I’m about to introduce you to stashed in my perfume collection. It’s a 90’s icon with serious cool-girl credentials: Tommy Hilfiger’s Tommy Girl.

Tommy Girl Eau de Toilette

Launched back in 1996, Tommy Girl was released in one of the brand's most exciting eras. 1996 saw Tommy’s return to womenswear with an incredible London Fashion Week show in which Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss danced their way down the catwalk. It was also the year Tommy Jeans were introduced with singer Aaliyah fronting the campaign. It’ll probably come as no surprise to hear that Tommy Girl was an instant icon in the fragrance world following its launch. Designed to reflect a sense of independence and the free-spirited nature of the all-American girl, it was the scent all the cool girls were wearing and, in my opinion, it still deserves that title today.

So, what does Tommy Girl smell like? To me, it’s a perfume that smells like freedom: it’s bright and uplifting thanks to citrus notes of grapefruit and mandarin, clean thanks to a blend of white florals and with a slight sea salty quality that simply smells like adventure. I first came to discover it in my teens but can safely say it’s a fragrance that still smells just as invigorating whenever I reach for it today.

Tommy Girl Forever Eau de Toilette

Following on from the success of Tommy Girl, in 2024 the fashion house released Tommy Girl Forever, a modern reimagining of the classic scent. Unlike the original TG, which leans more into clean citrus territory, Tommy Girl Forever is much sweeter and warmer. It blends notes of blackberry and pear with creamy amber and cedarwood to create a perfume that has the independent, playful heart we know and expect from a Tommy Girl scent yet with a comforting twist.

While, for me, the original will always be my favourite, the two fragrances work beautifully together channelling two different sides of the same all-American coin. I believe, that if Tommy Girl was made to reflect a woman's independent spirit, Tommy Girl Forever is designed to soothe it and that makes them both more than worthy of a place in your fragrance collection.