Dana Classic Fragrances seems to be in the business of buying up near-dead classic fragrances and reviving them. Yes, they remake them on the cheap, but they also sell them on the cheap, which is more than you can say for Christian Dior. While we might lament the flattening English Leather and Chantilly have suffered on the Dana diet, no one can complain about Love’s Baby Soft and its sisters, Love’s Fresh Lemon, Love’s Rainforest, and Love’s Soft Jasmin body mists. These fragrances were always meant to be splash-and-dash perfumes for those who are barely fragrance literate. If you keep that in mind, you just might appreciate them as much as I do.

First, let’s consider the Love’s bottle. The geniuses at Dana Classic Fragrances (either that, or the cheapos who couldn’t bear shelling out for new packaging) luckily saw fit to keep the old Love’s bottles with their tall, dome-shaped lids and goofy 1970s lettering. Love’s Fresh Lemon and Soft Jasmin feature painted hearts floating up the frosted bottles like balloons at the junior high school prom. The Love’s Rainforest bottle is clear, but is festooned with green vines, which also etch its plastic cap. The packaging is the apogee of retro chic. All we need now is the rebirth of Tickle deodorant — anyone remember that? — and we’ll have come full circle…

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