The Evolution and Enduring Appeal of Pop-Star Perfumes

Goddess. Uninhibited. Fantasy. These are just a few evocative names of iconic pop-star perfumes that have proven their allure and appeal, in tandem with their stars’ chart-topping singles. Fragrance has come to have such a deep, complex place in our beauty routines, and when a major music artist launches one, it often goes beyond the music to present a picture of their branding and personality.

Despite the graveyard of discontinued lines, the phenomenon of a pop-star perfume has a rich history. The category has its roots in celebrity endorsements and pioneering actors in perfume who paved a path for more, leading the rich scene today. The modern pop fragrance landscape spans a plethora of scents and strategies, from Beyoncé’s Cé Lumière to Paris Hilton’s ever-expanding line. Some have even earned their place in prestige fragrance conversations: Ariana Grande’s Cloud has become a cult-favorite scent for its similarities to Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s Baccarat Rouge 540.

Ahead, we do a deep dive into the evolution and appeal of pop-star perfumes, exploring the category’s famous pioneers, the musicians dominating the category today, and what the future holds for celebrity-founded fragrances.

Iconic Pop-Star Perfumes in History

Some of the most iconic pop-star perfumes were born from one of fashion’s most buzzworthy decades for nostalgia. The Y2K era may have created endless style inspo for decades to come, but it also ushered in a new wave of celebrity perfumes, especially from musicians. And according to those in the industry, Jennifer Lopez is the one who really kicked things off.

When J.Lo dropped Glow in 2002, she “rearranged the whole game board for the perfume industry,” says fragrance historian Jessica Murphy. “It was a total package. It was a beautiful, wearable fragrance that was a bit different from what was already available, but not enough to be strange to people. It was in a beautiful bottle, sort of curved like a woman’s body—not a new idea in perfume bottle history, but something J.Lo made look very contemporary. The ads were tasteful and still sensual, and the price point was very friendly.”

The proof was in the pockets, as Lopez’s early aughts perfume reportedly made at least $100 million in sales in its first year on shelves. This set off a chain reaction in the pop-star perfume world. In 2004 alone, Celine Dion debuted Notes, Britney Spears came out with Curious, and Jessica Simpson launched Taste. Tommy Hilfiger debuted True Star with Beyoncé that year, too, though this was more of an endorsement than it being the talent’s own launch. 

In 2011, almost a decade after J.Lo’s Glow, Taylor Swift launched her debut fragrance, Wonderstruck, and chances are you know a Swiftie who keeps the old bottle around for memories. Lady Gaga dropped her Fame eau de parfum in 2012. Though the bottle was discontinued, it was highly successful at the time, and the onyx fluid perfectly complemented her signature dark-pop aesthetic. Jumping to the 2020s, Rihanna famously released her first Fenty Beauty fragrance, dubbed Fenty Eau de Parfum, in 2021. It was as much an extension of her beauty empire as a warm, sensual embodiment of her island-influenced sound, and it’s still on shelves today alongside today’s newer hot-ticket scents.

The Evolution of Celebrity Fragrances

The origins of the pop-star perfume go back to the earliest celebrity fragrance endorsements, which Murphy says started about a century ago. “Brands were starting to connect with famous singers, actors, and athletes to get their face in beautiful print magazine ads,” Murphy, author of Substack Show & Smell, says. “The first really big, important wave of celebrity fragrances was in the mid 1980s with Sophia Loren. She was really the first 20th-century superstar to have her own perfume,” rather than just an endorsement. 

Loren’s eponymous scent started a movement among A-listers. It wasn’t long before Elizabeth Taylor dropped her own, later in the ’80s, and made it “into a huge business for herself for decades,” Murphy says. This paved the way for the pop-star perfume world we have today.

“Other celebrities became inspired by Taylor’s success in reaching fans and new consumers. Everyone from film and television to music entered the perfume industry with a signature scent or a collection of scents that kept fans engaged with each new edition,” says Linda G. Levy, president of The Fragrance Foundation. Some companies over-indexed over the years, launching unsuccessful perfumes with talent that didn’t sell. It also set the scene for the aforementioned pop-star perfume explosion in the 2000s, led by stars like J.Lo and Britney Spears. And 20 years later, it seems we’ve entered another golden age of celebrity scents.

“Pop stars are again taking perfumes as a new way of expressing their creativity and identity,” Levy adds. This era’s leading ladies, like Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, and Sabrina Carpenter, have their own fragrant elixirs. 

What’s different about today’s pop-star perfumes is that the artist is much more involved. “Today’s consumer is more discerning. It’s not enough to lend your name: There has to be real involvement and a clear point of view,” says Lori Singer, president of Parlux Fragrances, the company behind Eilish’s, Hilton’s, and even Drake’s perfumes. “What has evolved is the expectation. Today, [pop-star perfumes are] driven by authenticity, passion, and a clear point of view.”

Why Pop-Star Perfumes Have Cult Status

It makes sense that perfumes, like music merch, would attract the same fervor from fans. They still want to buy into the storytelling of their favorite star, and the fragrance must make shoppers feel like they’re entering the artist’s world. This is why branding is so important: Without it, there wouldn’t be Reddit threads on Gaga’s Fame perfume still alive and well, nor a bustling resale market of unopened bottles.

Just like her style, sets, and songs, Carpenter’s Sweet Tooth perfume line fits right into the cheeky world she’s built, only adding to the wit of it all. Not only do the scent names call back to her music—like her coffee-tined Me Espresso scent—but the bottles are shaped like chocolate bars. This also elevates the perfume to be a “collector’s item,” in Levy’s point of view.

For a long time, pop stars from Spears to Carpenter have named their scents based on their songs. It’s almost like they’re “releasing olfactory singles,” Murphy explains. It creates “a product that resonates with something that people who love [the star] already know about.”

Every shopper wants something different when it comes to fragrance, but in the world of pop-star perfumes, it’s the ones with the most thoughtful execution and a well-known celebrity face that are the most likely to become cult-favorites.

The Future of Pop-Star Perfumes

If history and the current moment tell us anything, it’s that the future of pop-star perfumes is bright. That said, it won’t necessarily look how it did in decades past. 

Instead, we’re seeing a shift away from the idea of “celebrity fragrance” toward celebrity founder-led brands. “Consumers no longer view these as licensed products. They see them as authentic brands with a distinct identity and a deeper connection to the creator,” Singer tells Byrdie. This is why she thinks Eilish represents the modern blueprint as someone who already incorporates perfume in her life and work and who is deeply involved in the making and marketing of her scents.

While social media has shifted how we relate to and experience celebrities, it might ultimately be a net positive for musicians’ perfumes. In other words, the parasocial experience of stars being more accessible online isn’t slowing anything down in the fragrance department. Levy thinks it’s actually moving brands forward because it’s easier for “celebrities [to] speak directly to the consumer,” she says. “Pop stars can leverage their celebrity status into brand extensions and endorsements that keep their fans coming back for more or creating new fans of their fragrances.”

As the world continues to evolve, we can be fairly certain that people are not going to stop buying perfumes—nor will they stop loving pop stars, Murphy says. The new wave of exciting, distinct, and memorable pop stars is only giving this phenomenon a boost. "I wonder whether Chappell Roan will ever do a fragrance,” the historian says. Only time will tell which star will deliver the next hit perfume.