While the beauty world might be oversaturated with celebrity makeup lines and unwanted skincare ‘advice’ (we all know you didn’t get that skin from just drinking water, please stop), the world of celebrity perfume is a little different.
In fact, while we’ve become sick at the sight of celebrity beauty brands, celebrity perfume brands have had a bit of a renaissance, with the beauty community going wild for Rihanna’s Fenty eau de parfum and Ariana Grande’s Cloud.
Read next: all of the trending products loved by your favourite celebrities
But besides the perfume that they’re trying to sell us, what we really want to know is what perfumes our favourite celebrities are wearing day to day. See, a fragrance is never just a fragrance; it’s an olfactory calling card, an expression of who you are – and sometimes just a lowkey flex. And when you have all the money and access that being a celebrity affords you, it’s even more interesting to see which perfumes are chosen.
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With a bit of sleuthing and searching, I’ve rounded up the perfumes celebrities love that they aren’t just paid to wear. Who said beauty journalism couldn’t be about serious investigative pieces?
The perfume Sofia Richie Grainge wears: Jo Malone Wood Sage & Sea Salt, £110
What do Sofia Richie Grainge and Meghan Markle have in common? Alongside a handsome husband and an invite to the Kings coronation concert (even if only one of them chose to attend, awks), it’s this fragrance.
Yep, Sofia Richie also credits Jo Malone Wood Sage & Sea Salt as her signature scent describing it as her “favourite, favourite scent,” which makes her “feel safe and calm and, just beachy and chill.” If a perfume can make us feel like that every morning, we’re on board.
The perfume Rihanna wears: By Kilian Love, Don’t Be Shy, £205
The fact that Rihanna wears By Kilian’s Love, Don’t Be Shy is practically beauty industry lore by now. A warm and inviting floral fragrance, this is the epitome of a perfume that makes you smell edible.
Accords of marshmallow sugar are nestled between notes of honeysuckle, orange blossom, rose and neroli for a truly irresistible fragrance. We’d expect nothing less from Riri.
The perfume Rosie Huntington-Whiteley wears: Byredo Gypsy Water, £130
RHW has managed to create one of the only celebrity beauty lines that I am truly in love with: it’s an encapsulation of her signature minimalist and uber-chic style, and so I expected nothing less from her favourite perfume.
Obviously, I was not disappointed on discovering her “all time, ultimate fragrance” is Byredo’s Gypsy Water, a complex woody aromatic scent with vibrant and enticing notes of pine, lemon, bergamot, amber and sandalwood, which RHW shared her love for on Rose Inc’s YouTube. We love a queen that doesn’t gatekeep.
The perfume Harry Styles wears: Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille, £195
On smelling the Tom Ford that my friend was wearing on a night out, one of my colleagues described his fragrances as “the Lynx Africa of high-end fragrances”. I now cannot smell Tom Ford without hearing her say this in my head, but that didn’t stop Tobacco Vanille from cementing itself as one of Harry Styles’ favourite perfumes.
Unsurprisingly, it’s a super sexy, amber spicy scent, with notes of tobacco leaf, vanilla, dried fruit and woods.
At around £200 a bottle, it’s a pricey buy (and I’ve found the best dupe for it here), but if it’s good enough for Harry…
The perfume Alexa Chung wears: Le Labo Santal 33, £157
If you’ve ever walked through Soho in London, you’ve most likely smelt Santal 33. It’s the scent that encompasses the city and is adored by both men and women. So of course, London’s ultimate It girl, Alexa Chung, counts this as one of her ultimate fragrances too.
A woody, aromatic perfume, it’s the perfect balance of sophisticated, sultry and intoxicating to passers-by.
Looking to try a more affordable version before investing in a bottle? Le Labo also does a 15ml bottle for £66, or Evolvetogether’s Natural Deodorant in Havana, £21, Revolve, is an incredibly close dupe.
The perfume Meghan Markle wears: Jo Malone London Wood Sage & Sea Salt Cologne, £110
Jo Malone London is one of the most iconic and instantly recognisable fragrance brands out there, so no wonder its perfumes are as popular amongst A-listers as they are with the everyday woman on the street. This particular one is so popular, it pops up twice in this feature as a celeb fave.
Timeless, elegant and aromatic, Wood Sage & Sea Salt is a favourite scent of the equally chic Meghan Markle. If you love oceanic, sea-breeze scents, this is as close as you can get to the beach without getting your toes wet and sandy.
The perfume Hailey Bieber wears: Ariana Grande R.E.M, £30 and Ex Nihilo Amber Sky, £325
Hailey Bieber and Selena Gomez drama aside, you can’t deny that Hailey has some serious influence when it comes to the beauty products and trends she shares with her followers. That’s probably why I expected something a lot more niche than the brand she admitted to loving in an interview, which is none other than Ariana Grande’s fragrance range. A perfume that HB wears for under £30? I can get on board with that.
She also noted her fondness for Ex Nihilo’s Amber Sky, an amber woody fragrance with a blend of coriander, bergamot, geranium, tonka bean and sandalwood, which is priced just sliiiightly more at £350 a bottle. Ariana it is then.
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