L'AIR DU TEMPS, created for Nina Ricci in 1948, was the symbol of the postwar perfume industry, evoking both joie de vivre and peace. The Lalique-designed doves on the bottle stopper said it all.
L'EAU SAUVAGE, created for Dior in 1966, was promoted as the first men's perfume and used a formula known as Hedione, also known as methyl dihydrojasmonate, which has been described alternately as smelling like sunlight or like water.
OPIUM, created for Yves Saint Laurent in 1977, was emblematic of the disco era and famous for its tenacity and unmistakable sweet, heavy trail.
OBSESSION, created for Calvin Klein in 1985, was introduced to a mass audience by a groundbreaking ad campaign on television. The bottle, designed by Pierre Dinand, was inspired by an Indian prayer stone from Klein's private collection.
ANGEL, created for Thierry Mugler in 1992, was an audacious saccharine scent for the 1990s. Packaged in a blue-tinted star-shaped bottle, it evoked a sugar rush of gourmet proportions.
-- Lanie Goodman
