Guess Who’s Back with a New Fragrance?

MANILA, Philippines — Which ‘80s to ‘90s kid were you? That’s the question the #EauYesGuess house party-inspired event seemed to ask, throwing us all the way back to 1981 in its first return to Philippine beauty counters after two years. On one side of the Rustan’s Makati pop-up, a flower wall with throw pillows on the floor is propped up for a ring light — the better to take your selfies with. If that’s your sort of thing, you’re a Guess 1981 girl.

It is perfumer Stephen Nilsen’s tribute to the brand’s essence, founded on the California Dream, circa 1981. “I was inspired by the idea of a confident young woman. I wanted to create a fragrance like this woman who has many facets, expressing her inner strength yet also possessing an alluring, feminine softness,” he says.

Guess 1981 opens with powdery violet and woody ambrette, and dries down to floral jasmine and juicy, sweet pear with a sandalwood heart. Young, sexy and adventurous is still the feel — but not like 19-year-old Claudia Schiffer, with her big hair, big lashes, sky-high stilettos and the tightest denim corsets and jeans in the desert in the Guess 1989 campaign. This time, the glam has been toned way down as Schiffer dead-ringer Emma Stern Nielsen appears in a no-makeup look, mussed-up hair and peasant top that’s barely on.

Or were you — and still are — hooked to your Nintendo like the 64-in-one playing at the pop-up? The woody-musk Guess Dare duo prompts you to Select and Start: for women, a cocktail of kumquat, lemon and pear blossom; for men, a concoction of bergamot, white pepper, geranium and juniper berry. I must admit, it’s more of the quintessential ‘90s popular kid who comes to mind. After all, the decade saw the birth of woody fragrances and the fashion house perfume. These scents, however, are for the here and now.

* * *

Guess Fragrances are now exclusively distributed by Rustan Marketing Corporation and available at select Rustan’s, SM, Landmark, and Robinsons Department Stores.