The Spice Girls were so cool they even got their own Impulse fragrance. Photo / Getty Images
The Spice Girls were so cool they even got their own Impulse fragrance. Photo / Getty Images
The world is a mess, interest rates are rising, travel's a pain and everyone is getting Covid. So that means it's obviously the perfect time to ignore all of that and go back to times when the only RATs we cared about were Ren and Stimpy.
The late 90s/early noughties was a simple era for us Millennial and Gen Z gals. We spent play dates with our pals comparing Polly Pocket collections and flicking through the latest Sabrina's Secret magazine before moving into the very cool pre-teen world of Lip Smackers and Spice Girl's Impulse.
And while many of our conversations have been lost in time, the late 90s cool girl genre was so iconic it's actually reappearing on TikTok.
Clueless is once again cool – although when was it not? Butterfly clips, frosted lips and a sassy blue lids are taking over and everyone is rocking the Baby Spice hairdo while donning a very 90s fit.
She was the height of cool in the 90s and we all wanted to be her, with her low-slung tassel jeans, foam platform sandals and bag so tiny Jacquemus would be shaking.
She was on duvets, clothing and most importantly on your locked diary that held all your entries you signed off with "XoXo the future Mrs JTT".
Oh these old things? Mum brought them for me for Christmas. Ka chow.
Your coordination and balance were at an all-time peak and so was your confidence as you skated around the streets in your pastel pink rollerskates. Even if you did fall over your grazed knees gave you some sick street cred.
Polly Pockets
They doubled as a toy and an accessory. What's not to love? Photo / Instagram @pollypocket.reina
Play dates with your mates consisted of a 20-minute phone call before deciding who had the better Polly Pocket collection.
You made up elaborate stories while playing with the Pollys and always ended up with someone being famous with an uber glamourous life.
Sabrina the Teenage Witch magazine
Sabrina's Secrets was the ultimate it girl magazine. Photo / Facebook
She was an icon, she was a legend and she was the moment.
If there was one magazine subscription you absolutely had to have it was Sabrina's Secrets. From her cool hairstyles to magic make-up and a couple of spells sprinkled through the pages, this mag was the "it" read.
Johnson and Johnson strawberry detangler
Sorry, mum, you can't brush my hair unless you use the magic spray. Photo / superchem.com.au
There was only one way you were going to let mum brush the knots out of your hair and that was if she used the almighty strawberry detangler.
In reality, it was water mixed with strawberry-scented conditioner, but in the 90s you were 99 per cent sure it was made of magic.
Lip smackers
BRB currently smothering my lips with my new watermelon Lip Smacker. Photo / lipsmacker.com
You can't sit with us.... unless you have the new Lip Smackers.
You knew it was a good Christmas haul when you found a pack of these babies in your stocking. Everything else was a bust, but these? These would secure your cool-girl status.
Top points for anyone who went on an overseas trip and brought back exotic flavours like Dr Pepper or pina colada.
10 points if you can fit the whole thing in your mouth. Photo / candyco.co.nz
Whenever you found a cheeky $2 coin down the side of the couch you knew exactly what you were going to spend it on.
You would run down to the dairy, grab your favourite bubble gum tape and eat the whole thing in 20 minutes then have a huge freak out when mum told you it's "illegal" to swallow chewing gum.
Jelly shoes
If you didn't live in these all summer, what were you doing? Photo / Getty Images
They might have caused the most gnarly blisters and your feet smelled like you hadn't showered in days but beauty is pain and these shoes were worth it.
Impulse
Spice Girls Impulse. Photo / Facebook, Cosmopolitan Australia
It sat proudly on your dressing table and solidified your move from being a child to being a pre-teen. You and your gal pals would compare which scent was better (Spice Girls, always) and faced a telling-off from mum when you emptied the can within seven days.
But that's the price you pay to smell like Sporty Spice.
