image source: agreehair.com
Agree Shampoo ad from the 80s featuring Belinda Carlisle
If you weren't around in the 80s, then you might not know that back in the day, there weren't nearly as many drugstore haircare options as there are today. Nowadays, the big brands at the drugstores seem to churn out a zillion formulas for shampoo and conditioner each year, and new brands pop up on the scene all the time with even more options.
But back in the day, there probably were less than a dozen haircare options at most drugstores, and we all had our favorites. Mine was, above all others, Agree. Why, you ask? Well it got rid of the greasies!
Don't you DARE get caught with the greasies.
Agree spoke to me on a profound level back in the day. That pretty shade of green liquid, the fact that it got rid of the "greasies" (it really did), and Belinda Carlisle of the Go-Go's was the spokesperson (The Go-Go's were my favorite band of the 80s, bar none, and not just because they were and still are an all-girl band, although that IS awesome). They knew what they were doing when marketing Agree, that's for sure.
And that smell. So fresh, so clean. There was nothing like the fragrance of that shampoo. If you used Agree in the 80s, You. Know. That. Smell.
In fact, if you loved the scent of Agree Shampoo, I want to tell you something...
ANYWAY, I grabbed this bottle of Aqua Blossom to put on the kitchen sink the other day, and I don't really remember sniffing it when I bought it. I just saw the name and thought, "Oh, he won't hate that." But then I used it, and I had a minor freak out incident in the middle of my kitchen. I called Mr. G over and said, "SMELL MY HANDS!" SMELL MY HANDS!" Sadly, he didn't make the connection but I'm telling you, this stuff smells exactly like old-school Agree Shampoo! The minute I sniffed it, the scent memories flooded my brain. It took me right back to using Agree in my childhood home, getting ready for school, long, hot summer days spent washing the chlorine out my hair...all of it. My childhood in a bottle.
If you remember Agree Shampoo, and you want to recapture that scent, give Aqua Blossom a sniff the next time you're at Bath & Body Works and then come back here and tell me if you "agree." (Ba-dum-chhh.)
By the way, Agree is still being made to this day but according to the Agree Hair website, the products have "reformulated fragrances, in newly re-designed bottles". You can check out their photo gallery of old-school ads HERE. Oh, and Agree is made by the same company that makes Fa (remember Fa??).
Do you remember Agree Shampoo? Did you used to use it back in the day? If not, what was YOUR favorite shampoo during your childhood?
I do remember Agree shampoo ;-) .. I watched the commercial and lemmetellyou .. if some 'guy' asked me if I was going to wash my hair .. he'd have a hard time walking back to his car.
ReplyDeleteMonica.
Lol, right?? Aaaah, the 80s...
DeleteAt the dollar general , an all purpose green spray in a clear bottle called smart and simple all purpose cleaner...it only 1 dollar..and reminds me of agree shampoo scent...i spray my house with it
DeleteOh my, I loved the smell of Agree!!! I need to head over to B&BW to take a whiff of the Aqua Blossom. Yes, I remember Fa. I used the Fa bubble bath.
ReplyDeleteYes!! I would love to know what you think when you smell it! :)
DeleteAhhh, I remember Agree! Scent memories are the best; experts say that's the sense that is most closely tied to memory and I believe it. I'm gonna have to sniff out a bottle of the Aqua Blossom now. :-D I love when you do these vintage beauty ad posts, G, please keep them coming and thanks!
ReplyDeleteOh I totally agree. Scent memories are so powerful! I'm so glad you remember Agree too, and thank you for letting me know you like the Vintage Vault posts! I have lots more planned! :D
DeleteOh man, I totally remember when conditioner was called "cream rinse"! Thanks for the walk down memory lane :-)
ReplyDeleteYes!!! I think the ad in my post was right around that transition time when brands were switching to calling it "conditioner" so that's probably why they have "cream rinse & conditioner" in the ad copy. Lol! :)
DeleteWow!A flood of memories. Agree was awesome. And I totally forgot about the transition from cream rinse to conditioner! I remember thinking, it must be good if it's both a cream rinse and conditioner! lol. Do you remember back then Pantene was considered the "High End" drugstore shampoo and only came in small size bottles?
DeleteThis is exactly what I was going to say! I laughed at Cream Rinse!!!! I loved the smell of Agree back in the day!!! G., do you remember "Tame"? That goes way way back!!!!
DeleteYes! I remember when Pantene was "fancy" for the drugstore AND I remember Tame! Lol!
DeleteI don't know if you guys remember (or ever saw it back then), but in 2010 I actually REVIEWED Tame when it came back and started popping up at Dollar Tree! And guess what? They call it CONDITIONING CREAM RINSE! Lol! You check out my review here:
http://nouveaucheap.blogspot.com/2010/07/defrizz-frizzies-with-tame-no-its-not.html
I remember my mom mixing Cream rinse in a cup of water for me to pour over my head. Funny that this article brought back an obscure memory.
DeleteI was totally an Agree gal in the 80s! I read your post and laughed out loud! Thanks for the memory :)
ReplyDeleteOMG, I have an extremely strong scent memory too. My very first relationship was with my next door neighbor, I was 15 when we met, she was 20. She used agree and that smell, omg, if I smell it today it would bring me right back to S. Florida and hanging out with her. We stayed together from age 17-32. I'm going to have to send her this link and ask her if she remembers Agree. She always smelled so good. I'm going to have to search out that aqua blossom stuff at Bath and Body. Do you know if they have that scent in other products?
ReplyDeleteOMG!!!! I just got ridiculously excited and then immediately bummed out, I thought Agree was back, in its original fantasticness. I hadn't thought about that product in what 30ish years and when I saw your post I was immediately transported back to the 6th grade (my favorites school year EVER) hangin out with my friends, bein all "cool" and having Awesome feathered hair : )
ReplyDeleteSo stoked to see a new Vintage Vault post!!
ReplyDeletewhy wouldn't they release the original scent? don't they realize the huge throw back market?
ReplyDeleteLike Herbal Essences, why can't they release the original green? That stuff smelled soooo damn good!!
Next time you're near a Dior counter, smell their cleansing oil. It smells exactly like old school Herbal Essences.
DeleteEvery shampoo brand had an oily hair formula back then, and nobody does now. Has hair suddenly stopped getting oily? lol. I remember that smell too, and you had to be really careful pouring because the entire top was open! I also remember FOHO shampoo and cream rinse, it was For Oily Hair Only!
ReplyDeleteI wasn't alive in the 80's, but my mom was growing up back then (sorry if I made you feel old).
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to see how excited you guys get over things from childhood. Nostalgia can be both fun and kind of sad. I think that's one of the reasons why I collect Lip Smackers. I've saved some of my older ones so I can smell it and remember when I first got it.
My fave shampoo from the 80's (of course I can't remember the name ) but they had the smell of the popular fragrances of the time. Anyone else remember it and the name? My fave smelled like Giorgio. LOL I also liked Prell and the one with honey in it. Remember they said "and so on, and so on, and so on......" while pics of the women sharing the news multiplied? What was that called??
ReplyDeleteImposters?
DeleteFabrege Organics with wheat germ oil and honey!
Delete@Marlene omg yes!!! That was my mom's fave when mine was Agree, so I remember occasionally sneaking some from her and I LOVED that bottle (and the scent!).
DeletePrell ??
DeleteI did love the smell of agree and it did leave your hair so clean. Can wait to try the bbw hand soap.
ReplyDeleteWow yes I was 80s teen and def used it too. So funny how u forget some of those products and adds and nostalgia etc. my first perfume was called Baby Soft in a pink. Speaking of scents. I lived in a very small town and remember Covergirl base as we called it then was the only brand we could find in r small grocery store. That had a distinct smell also.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite shampoo's and conditioner's from the 70's and 80's were: Agree, Lemon Up and Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific. Mmmm, memories!
ReplyDeleteMichelle-The Vermont Country Store sells both of those (Lemon up Trying to see if they could pursue the historic Agree formulas.
DeleteI miss Agree am going to go to B&BW tomorrow.
I went to bath and body tonight, sadly aqua blossom has been discontinued( 3yrs ago). Boo Hoo
ReplyDeleteYou can get it on eBay!
DeleteI remember Fa! My shower gel of choice in highschool! I'm very tempted to order some but then I think I'd get flashbacks and I'm not so sure I'd like that, haha.
ReplyDeleteOh how I've longed to find that scent again. Why did it go away? Bring it back!
ReplyDeleteAgree Shampoo brings me back to my my high school days in the 80's. I used to swish my hair back and forth just to smell the wonderful scent as it stayed in your hair for so long! If you went to bed with wet hair, your pillow smelled of it for days. I have been on the hunt to find something that smells exactly like it, but have not been even close. I used to get the Aqua Blossom hand soap from Bath and Body before they discontinued it and to me it was not like the Agree I remember at all. However, I will say that it was one of my fave soaps from BBW because of it's fresh scent!
ReplyDeleteGo
DeleteTo bonanza on line they have agree
So loved Agree!! I found that Britney Spears fragrance Curious smells a lot like it.
ReplyDeleteI am obsessed with the smell of Agree Shampoo. One summer in the mid 90s I was a trainer at The Cheesecake Factory Chicago and they put us up in a hotel--two girls to a room. One night by roommate and I were going out on the town and got all dolled up. We were having a drink at the bar and she sorta flipped her hair and the most amazing green, clean, fresh smell wafted around her. I said, "you smell AMAZING! What perfume are you wearing?" She said, "no perfume, its my Agree Shampoo!? She said it was her secret weapon in attracting men. I have no doubt of its powers as she got a lot of attention. Anyhow, I'm not sure if it is because I was wearing it in the mid-90s but Sung by Alfred Sung perfume kinda reminds me of Agree. It's a green, grassy, herbal smell. It's pretty cheap, and available on Amazon. I'd love to know if anyone else thinks so too.
ReplyDeleteHow funny. I used Agree back in the day and the smell was amazing. I wear Alfred Sung perfume, and I never realized that it really DOES smell similar. I guess I was just attracted to the scent subconsciously because it reminded me of the good old days when I could flip my hair and the guys would fall over sideways.
Delete"Secret Weapon"!!!! We called it our "Love Potion" because it really did bring a special attraction with it!!! The first time I noticed Agree was when I sat behind a guy in class and thought I liked him, but after finally asking him what scent he was wearing, I found out about the love potion factor of Agree!
DeleteSome people wouldn't touch the stuff because it contained formaldehyde.
ReplyDeletei still use it everyday
ReplyDeleteI absolutely LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the smell of Agree. It brings me right back to my 80s childhood! Just the other day, I discovered that Suavitel Fabric Softener smells just like Agree Shampoo!
ReplyDeleteWhat company made the original Agree? I would write to them and request they bring it back.
ReplyDeleteWon made the original Agree shampoo. I would write to the company and ask them to bring it back.
ReplyDelete