I’ve been wearing this surprising perfume since I was 17 and people always ask what it is

I’ve been stopped on the tube, cornered in a nightclub, and I actually caught my husband sniffing at the perfume bottle the other day.

I really wish I could say ‘thanks, it’s Chanel Coco Mademoiselle‘ when people ask me what fragrance I’m wearing, but I’m proud and mortified in equal measure to admit the scent I’ve been dousing myself in since I was 17 is actually Fantasy by Britney Spears. Yes, the £36 iridescent pink, crystal-embellished bottle that houses a scent my friends have likened to a ‘delicious sweet shop’.

Like most Millennials shopping for a signature scent, I first discovered my go-to perfume in Duty Free on my way to a girls’ trip to Magaluf in 2005 (stay classy), and haven’t looked back since. I was sucked in by its almost sickly sweet scene with top notes of kiwi, red litchi and quince; middle notes of white chocolate (!), cupcake (?!), orchid and jasmine and base notes of musk, orris root and woodsy notes. No wonder my mates think I smell like a tuck shop.

Britney Spears Fantasy Eau de Parfum 50ml

I continued to wear it throughout university, where my entire friendship group copied my signature scent. Every Wednesday night, we’d hit the Student’s Union smelling like a pick ‘n’ mix stand but shockingly, people absolutely loved it. My boyfriend (and now husband, who will die at me revealing this), used to spray his rugby hoodie with it (actually, that was probably me) but to this day, he says it’s his favourite scent. I even considered wearing it on our wedding day but don’t panic, I opted for a bespoke Jo Malone instead. I do sometimes spritz it after an argument to trap him in the sweet scent of nostalgia and diffuse his resentment towards me. And guess what? It works every.single.time.

Despite what the naysayers might say, Britney’s perfumes are good. To me, they’re nostalgic, affordable and they’ve made a serious amount of money so I can’t be alone in my penchant for the sickly-sweet smell. Fantasy in Bloom was named Fragrance of the Year at the Hollywood Beauty Awards in 2018, and in March of the same year it was estimated that Britney makes $50m [£36m] from her fragrances every year. Impressive, right?

Britney is one of the most successful celebrities in the fragrance market, with her perfumes garnering over $1.5 billion in sales so she’s obviously doing something right.

So why are we all Fantasy obsessed? Taking to TikTok, perfume expert @renzephyr shared a video explaining exactly why it is so popular.

“Those notes are playing to both the childhood memories of adults and they key into what younger people really like” he said.

“The clever part is that underneath there is jasmine, musk and orris, which older people key in as more mature smells,” he adds.

People flooded the comments section with praise for the perfume, with one writing: “it’s been my perfume since since teen to now my thirties I always get compliments when wearing it”

“This was my wedding day scent almost 12 years ago” another commented, while a third added: “Fantasy was my first ever perfume and honestly still love it 13 years on”.

I feel seen.

Britney Spears Fantasy Eau de Parfum 50ml

Save when you shop with these Boots promo codes and Amazon promo codes.