Modern-Day Disco Divas Are Chic, But a Laurel Canyon Aesthetic Is My ’70s Beauty Obsession—How I’m Recreating It

Scent Type: Aromatic floral | Notes: Sweet orange, herbal terpenes, grapefruit, Italian cannabis, petitgrain, clove, jasmine sambac, ambergris, birch tar, patchouli

When I think of unique, aromatic scents that beg to be worn throughout spring and summer, I gravitate towards grounding blends that balance luminous, woody facets with herbal, slightly bitter notes for a fresh twist. Thin Wild Mercury’s best-selling Laurel Canyon, 1966, delivers the warmth, intrigue, and moodiness in a nostalgic blend of sweet orange, Italian cannabis, clove, and patchouli spiked with a splash of grapefruit.

Customer Review: “At all points during its dry-down, this is one of the most ambient fragrance I have ever smelled. It immediately smells like driving through California with your windows down, you get the pine and the warm wood and the smell of cannabis drifting on the wind, the distant fresh sea breeze, all painted on a spicy backdrop. It dries down slightly to release a musky palo santo scent very quickly.”

Scent Type: Aromatic green | Notes: Hedera ivy, galbanum, bergamot, green sap, narcissus, rose, sandalwood, cedar, amber, musk

Wearing Rock River Melody is enough to transport me to a semi-forgotten, quiet creak where I can read tucked between towering tress and rolling hills sprinkled with wildflowers. Régime des Fleur’s bold, rugged take on an aromatic green scent, Rock River Melody, evokes ivy, cedar trunks, fresh green sap, and smooth stones in riverbeds through combining traditional ingredients of men’s cologne with two unexpected twists: petrichor-like notes and crisp, green florals.

Customer Review: “Warm, fresh yet classic, a hike with new leather boots, or a horseback ride, from a low dusty prairie into a pine oasis along a creek: tall lush grass, cool breeze, stones warm from the sun. Wore this for the first time a couple days ago and can’t wait to spray it again.”

Scent Type: Amber woods | Notes: Atlas cedar, frankincense, sichuan pepper, clary sage, juniper, tonka bean, Canadian balsam, labdanum, patchouli, sandalwood, styrax

The fresh, sappy juniper note in Heretic’s Smudge is enough to make me reach for this whenever I want to feel grounded, but its enchanting blend of subtly balsamic sandalwood, glowing frankincense, and inviting clary sage beautifully set alight by Sichuan pepper also feels like spending the night under an open sky and blanket of stars. A celebration of the ancient practice of using smoke to purify and renew, this intoxicating scent is a meditation on stillness.

Customer Review: “My first impression when sprayed is [this is] the crackle of a campfire. As it sets, emits wood and dried flowers are intermixed with the flames. The evolution over time I can only describe this campfire of wood and flowers dying down as you are laying close to someone you deeply cherish. The scent just evokes a vision of my myself sitting closely to my partner sitting with our close friends around a campfire in the fall with the crunch of leaves and laughter.”

Scent Type: Aromatic spices | Notes: Patchouli, maté, clary sage, violet

Admittedly, I didn’t initially think this perfume captured the energy and creativity that hummed throughout the Laurel Canyon throughout the late 1960’s and ’70s, but the more I’ve worn Tempo, the deeper I’m convinced it’s a snapshot of this era. I can hear the tambourines in recording studios and see curls of cigarette smoke forming around the bottle with a nuanced blend of three patchouli extracts layered with maté, clary sage, and powdery violet.

Customer Review: “You get patchouli in the base, but also in the top and mid. It feels like each stage it goes through has its own specific experience and is blended to perfection, in my opinion. As it matures on the skin it’s woods kick up as it becomes peppery, rounder and grounding. This is definitely a meditative scent to me. Very clean, transcendent, versatile, and a sparkling joy to wear. You’ve got to try it if you love patchouli forward fragrance.”

Scent Type: Aromatic fruit | Notes: Bergamot, green leaf, pear stem, fig, coconut milk, iris, blond woods, tonka bean, moss

Fig fragrances normally make me long for the sun-soaked Mediterranean coast with its creamy, quietly luminous facets, but D.S. & Durga’s Debaser offers an aromatic, earthy take on the mouthwatering note by combining it with a flash of bergamot, grounding green leaf, and pear stem on a bed of fresh coconut milk, soft iris, and woods. The moss in this really adds a modern, almost sharp edge that contributes to its long-lasting presence. It’s exactly what I’d imagine an afternoon drive through Laurel Canyon in the early 1970’s to smell like: a blazing sun, dusty road, and the saltiness of a distant coastline.

Customer Review: “It is a little fruitier than just fig would imply. The opening involves a slightly high-pitched bergamot note along with the ‘pear stem,’ which in combination with the coconut in the heart does seem to create an almost pineapple feel, as someone else mentioned. But I’ve found that Debaser really just performs best as it warms up—the loudness dissipates on the skin after a bit (it lingers on fabric, so sometimes I’ll spray my shirt as well just to keep it around), and it settles with satisfying mixture of coconut, fig, and a slightly woody base.”

Key Ingredients: Patented Alpha Keratin 60ku protein, hydrolyzed wheat protein, panthenol (vitamin B5), aloe extract

Speaking of taking an afternoon drive through Laurel Canyon—why not capture the joy of leaning out the window and letting your tresses take to the wind than by duplicating the texture you’d get from the experience with the help of this spray? Virtue’s Texturizing Spray delivers epic results by adding definition and texture to hair with a formula powered by the brand’s patented Alpha Keratin 60ku protein, hydrolyzed wheat protein, panthenol, and aloe extract to nourish the hair while boosting sheen.

Customer Review: “I’ve been reaching for the Virtue [Texturizing Spray] whenever my hair needs a little extra life. It gives that effortless, lived-in texture without making my hair feel stiff or sticky. My hair still feels soft and touchable, but with noticeably more volume and movement. I love using it on second-day hair or after styling to add body and a few sprays instantly make my hair look fuller and more styled, like that perfectly undone salon finish. It’s become one of those quick, reliable products I grab when my hair needs a boost.”

Key Ingredients: Argan oil, jojoba oil, Roman chamomile oil

If you’re going to embrace the late ’60s, early ’70s Laurel Canyon aesthetic as we head into spring, you might as well give your tresses the Stevie Knicks treatment with body, shine, and layered lengths. I’ll be using this lightweight styling oil by Roz to help me pull it off while adding lustrous shine, smoothing frizz, and giving strands protection against humidity and heat styling up to 450 °F. The oil delivers effortless styling for all hair types with a nourishing blend of fast-absorbing active oils and extracts.

Customer Review: “I have frizzy, dry hair so a hair oil is a must. Others are too heavy, don’t provide the moisture I’m needing, or break me out (sensitive skin girlie). This hair oil is sooo lightweight, smells amazing, and provides the perfect amount of hydration. The difference in my hair has been night and day! My new holy grail alongside my Milk [Hair] Serum and Air Thickening Spray.”

Key Ingredients: Agave nectar extract, chia seed (superseed oil complex), prickly pear oil, vitamin B, vitamin K

If you have tight curls or coils like mine, consider adding Ring Tone Curl Defining Gel Crème for fast, easy styling and effortless definition. R+Co has discovered the secret behind elongating and ridding strands of frizz without leaving them feeling dry or crunchy with a shine-boosting blend. Agave nectar extract fights humidity, keeping strands frizz-free, while chia seed, prickly pear oil, and vitamins soften and condition hair while improving elasticity.

Customer Review: “I’ve used just about all of the curly hair gel products and some work better than others, but R+Co’s Ring Tone is my favorite by far. Other gels leave my hair feeling waxy, laden down, dry, and flakey. Ring Tone is the only curl defining gel I’ve used so far that leaves my curls feeling and looking hydrated, shiny, and defined. I’ve used a few other curl products from R+Co, but this is by far my favorite curl defining product by them. Thank you R+Co!”

Key Ingredients: Panthenol, glycerin

While the styles of the early ’70s were all about achieving long and loose styles, Laurel Canyon a couple years before serves as the epicenter of hair with volume, texture, and unexpected accessories (think metallic beads, feathers, and fabrics braided into strands for subtle pops of color). Using this Davines mousse will add airy volume to all hair types for natural-looking body and hold. Apply its creamy, snow-like formula evenly on towel-dried dried hair, then style.

Customer Review: “One of my favorite products ever! My hair is a fine texture but dense, and can get rather poofy/frizzy on the ends. This mousse gives my hair volume and just a little bit of control that’s needed to keep it manageable. The end result is weightless, bouncy, silky and not product-y feeling at all!”

Key Ingredients: Patented HS3 complex, TCM mushroom extract, sodium concentrate

Another game-changing product I trust to add a lived-in look to my hair without spending sun-soaked Laurel Canyon days is The Styling Balm. This multi-tasking favorite can be used to enhance natural texture of your strands, shape hair, and combat frizz while adding light hydration and hold for the perfect undone look. It also provides heat protection up to 450 °F, leaving behind a clean and crisp scent of green tea, lily-of-the-valley, and santal.

Customer Review: “The Chris McMillan Styling Balm is the perfect product if you want that effortless, lived-in look with just the right amount of polish. It adds light hold and definition without weighing hair down or making it feel sticky. What I really love is how it smooths frizz while still letting hair move naturally, giving you that soft, touchable finish. It’s great for enhancing texture, whether you’re wearing your hair down, in waves, or slicking it back for a clean style. A little goes a long way, and it keeps hair looking put-together while still feeling lightweight and fresh.”

Key Ingredients: Shea butter, candelilla wax, tamanu oil, coconut oil, saffron peel, bergamot peel, saffron peel, jojoba oil, maracuja oil, vitamin E

Vacation’s signature French Riviera enthralling scent of bergamot, clove, saffron, patchouli, and sandalwood is revisited in Vacation’s reimagined formula of their Orange Gelée. Now, I can slather myself in this knowing its updated, mineral-free formula will protect and nourish my skin with natural oils, shea butter, and vitamin E and SPF 30. It has a luscious balm-to-oil formula that milts into the skin, leaving it silky, moisturized, and ready for a day under the blazing Laurel Canyon sun.

Customer Review: “I always used and still have some tubes of the old formula. Wow this is a great remake of the original Orange Gelée. It smells the same great ‘beach’ smell, texture is very close to the original, actually a little less oily which is good. I haven’t been to the beach/pool yet, but it will certainly be a fixture in my beach bag. I’m glad I took the chance to give this remake a whirl!”

Key Ingredients: Prebiotics, vitamin C, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, seaweed extracts, spirulina, plant-derived oil blend, vitamin E

When I consider how the stylish and talented inhabitants of Laurel Canyon would treat their skin, all-natural oils and extracts are at the top of the list. This Salt & Stone set includes a nourishing body wash and lotion infused with ingredients to support the skin barrier and balance its microbiome while improving texture and restoring moisture levels. Its lovely, aromatic woody scent takes inspiration from the earth with amber, Australian sandalwood, cedar, vetiver, and cardamom.

Customer Review: “For a high-end experience on a not so high-end budget, this is what you want. These products are equal or better to what you will find at high-end spas and hotels. The body lotion and [wash] leave you feeling clean and refreshed. You are going to love the non-intrusive scent that simply captivates and is not over powering. This was my first time ordering from Salt & Stone and it will not be my last!”

Key Ingredients: Coconut oil, shea butter, argan oil

Restoring your skin’s natural glow is made easy when you have the right products on hand, and Oak Essentials’ Perfecting Body Scrub absolutely does the trick with a formula that resembles a lightly exfoliating body oil. It uses gentle sugar beads buff away dullness and dryness, leaving the skin glowing, and moisturized with coconut oil, shea butter, and argan oil to support the skin barrier. Its clean, spa-like scent might not be as heavily reminiscent as the spicy, aromatic fragrances of the ’70s, but it does combine sweet almond with subtly herbaceous rosemary.

Customer Review: “I have tried so many scrubs and they are too harsh or not grainy enough. This is perfect and smells divine. I use last in my shower and rinse just enough to get the scrub off but not strip all of the oils. Then pat dry! Your skin is soft and glowing without the need for much else.”

Key Ingredients: Urea, ectoin, glycerin, squalane, snow mushroom

Cyklar’s fast-absorbing hand cream smells like the warmest, most joyful days of being in Laurel Canyon during the high of its creativity with this luminous blend of bergamot, amber, and guaiac wood against an earthy base of velvet musk, cashmere wood, and vanilla (the brand’s signature fragrance: Sacred Santal). Its skin-nourishing formula is just as iconic with a moisture replenishing mixture of urea, glycerin, and snow mushroom to soothe dry skin and prevent moisture loss.

Customer Review: “I am really picky about hand creams, and this one checks all the boxes for me. The Sacred Santal Urea Hand Cream absorbs quickly and gives lasting hydration. As someone with extremely dry skin this cream has been good for my skin. I love that it’s packed with ingredients like urea, squalane, ectoin, and glycerin because my hands feel noticeably softer after each use, especially around my cuticles. It’s a reliable hand cream that truly helps with extremely dry skin and feels good to use anytime throughout the day. The rich brown tube looks so chic on my nightstand and feels sturdy and well made.”

Key Ingredients: Organic grape water, 100% natural-origin DHA

If you can’t make it to Laurel Canyon in your search for artistic inspiration and sun-kissed skin as many of the era’s most notable names did, try the Caudalie Self-Tan Drops for the latter. Fully customizable, fragrance-free, this clean self-tanner delivers a sun-kissed complexion without putting your skin at risk. Its lightweight formula, enriched with organic grape water and 100% natural-origin DHA, gives my melanin-blessed skin a glowing-from-within effect that looks natural.

Customer Review: “I’ve been loving how effortless these self-tan drops are to incorporate into my routine. I simply mix a few drops into my moisturizer at night, and by the next morning my skin looks naturally bronzed, even, and healthy—never orange or patchy. The texture is lightweight and blends seamlessly into the skin without feeling heavy or sticky.”

Key Ingredients: Peptides, tamanu oil | Shades: 13

Too replicate the glowing, sun-kissed complexions of Laurel Canyon’s most stylish ’70s icons, you can’t skip adding a juicy flush of color for a natural-looking glow. Designed to be used on the cheeks and lips, Rhode Pocket Blush uses a lightweight formula that melts effortlessly into skin, leaving a satiny, diffused flush and glowy finish in its wake. With no greasy feel or streaky application, I’m left with a long-wearing, hydrating blush. My favorite shade for a Laurel Canyon-inspired look is Toasted Teddy: a bronze terracotta tint.

Customer Review: “I have sensitive skin and I’m usually really careful with new products, but this blush was amazing on my skin. I didn’t experience any irritation or breakouts, which is a huge win for me. The formula is super creamy and blends effortlessly, giving a really natural, healthy glow. The shade Toasted Teddy is such a flattering warm tone—it looks like a soft sun-kissed flush on my skin. It wears comfortably throughout the day and doesn’t feel heavy at all.”

Key Ingredients: Hyaluronic acid, sesame seed extract | Shades: 16 (Satin and Matte finish)

Using hyaluronic acid to visibly plump and lock moisture into the lips, as well as sesame seed extract for soothing all-day comfort, the Signature Lip Lightweight Lipstick by Merit offers long-lasting color in a buildable and lightweight formula. Your lips will be soft and protected under a layer of skin-supporting ingredients, while color will stay put for hours. The shade Ginger, a glowing soft peach, is my favorite modern-take on neutral pink ’70s lip colors.

Customer Review: “This lipstick is hands down the best I’ve ever owned, and trust me, I’m super picky about my lipsticks. The packaging? Absolutely classy and chic, adding some serious aesthetic appeal to my makeup bag. But let’s talk about the formula—it’s just incredible. Smooth application, not too sheer but also not too overpowering, and the staying power? Impressive! Needless to say, I’m already eyeing up more shades to add to my collection!”

Key Ingredients: Rose damascena flower water, glycerin | Shades: One

Freckled, natural skin was embraced during this era, and now you can get the same look with a deep, cool tone. Using the formula that went TikTok viral (Freck OG), this faux freckle product was designed with medium to dark skin tones in mind to deliver a freckled complexion in seconds. I like to use this one by tapping my dots in clusters across my skin, following Freck Beauty’s suggestion to provide lots of space between each tap for speedy application and a natural finish.

Customer Review: “I love this product so much. I never thought I would be able to achieve natural looking freckles especially ones that match and blend into my existing freckles. They blend so easily, long wearing and don’t smudge. [I] will definitely purchase this one again!”

Key Ingredients: Allantoin, bisabolol, niacinamide | Shades: Two

Another way to achieve sun-kissed skin without putting your complexion and the mercy of Laurel Canyon UV-rays is Ciele’s SPF 50+ bronzing drop concentrate. Formulated to be mixed into skincare and foundation or used alone for dimension on warmth, the highly pigmented bronzer gives the skin a luminous finish with mineral UV protection. The allantoin moisturizes and soothes while bisabolol works to calm and brighten, and a dash of niacinamide supports the skin barrier.

Customer Review: “I’m not really a makeup girl, but I recently got the tint and protect and liked it a lot and wanted to try something to warm up my pale winter complexion. This product is amazing! I’ve used it with the tint but my favorite thing is just a few drops over moisturizer blended out all over my face for a no makeup but not a ghost look. Super impressed!”

Key Ingredients: N/A | Shades: 22 (Shimmer, Metallic, and Matte finish)

Joni Mitchell, Carole King, and Stevie Nicks all had memorable beauty looks during their most creative years in Laurel Canyon. After hours of sorting through throwback shots of sun-bleached tresses, neutral lips, and more, I noticed many of my favorite everyday makeup moments from that era all had one thing in common: matte eyeshadows in earthy shades. Armani Beauty’s Eye Tint Longwear Liquid Eyeshadow is my top pick for delivering the same look with a crease-proof, long-wear formula in vibrant colors.

Customer Review: “Love this product! The tub is a great size and fastens securely so the product does not dry out. The eyeshadow goes on not too thin but not too thick, making it easy to spread as needed. Lastly, it dries down really well and there is absolutely no creasing which can sometimes be an issue with powder and cream eyeshadows. Definitely would buy again in more colors!”