Tag: Happy

Growing up, if the radio was on and my parents had any say in it, the oldies station would be playing. I heard Belinda Carlisle’s “Heaven Is a Place On Earth” countless times. But despite how accurately I can still screech it at a moment’s notice, the concept didn’t sink in until I walked into my suburban town’s Nordstrom and saw the beauty department. The sense of joy and freedom was incredible, and Clinique’s Happy perfume was a fitting floor institution. That time has passed, but with Clinique’s revamp of its Happy fragrance line, the brand is striving to recapture the essence of feeling good.

Which, let’s be real, isn’t easy. My happiness smells like walking past an apartment building’s laundry room, warm pavement after it rains, and late-night cookies right out of the oven. The second a brand bottles that I’ll know the tracking algorithms have grown too powerful. Instead, Clinique took a methodical approach. It polled millions of shoppers across the world for the scents that made them feel happy, and came up with the collected themes of baked goods (true), nature, flowers, tea, and the beach.

If that sounds like an accurate summary of your Instagram feed, first, congratulations on escaping wedding season. Second, that’s no coincidence: People told the brand that they find happiness in instances that feel close and primal, in the little moments they’ve always valued. Unsurprisingly, the brand found that those are also what people often share on social media. It’s kind of a “no duh” idea, but also something that other brands haven’t tried yet, so props to Clinique.

The new line comes in six $22 scents based around the themes above, the variations of which are most fun to read with their Insta equivalent in parentheses. There’s Peace & Jasmine (tea with a caption about brief reprieves on a hectic day); Blue Sky Neroli (a wide-open field); Peony Picnic (peony season or a cheese spread in the park); Cocoa & Cashmere (the only good thing about winter is carbs and blankets); and Lily Of the Beach (surf, sand, piña colada).

And then there’s the original Happy, which has now been poured into a slim vial and re-dubbed Happy Splash, though the original is still available. A citrus and floral mix that launched in 1997, the brand says it released the OG as an antidote to nineties angst, because grunge’s pessimism was no longer doing the trick. Optimism, though? People were into it. With today’s news similarly dismal, Clinique is betting another moment of “hope springs eternal” is necessary. Whether it’s on the mark is hard to say, but the rainbow of bright bottles is trying, and that’s the most we can do.

Clinique My Happy perfumes, $22 each, nordstrom.com

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