Yahoo Finance Rihanna Is About to Debut a Fenty Fragrance [UPDATED]
Fenty Parfum is coming — and soon.
Photo: Courtesy of Fenty Skin
It's a big week in perfume news. First, Adam Driver set Twitter abuzz with his sexy centaur campaign for Burberry Hero. Then, Rihanna dropped a major hint that Fenty Parfum is on its way.
On Wednesday, the singer/beauty mogul/icon posted black-and-white imagery of herself on Instagram and Twitter with the caption, "#FENTYPARFUM COMING SOON👀".
While the post wasn't exactly heavy on specifics, it seems that Fenty perfume is indeed dropping imminently. Earlier in the week, Fenty Beauty had shared a teaser of what we can now assume to be the shadowy silhouette of a perfume flacon, on Instagram:
Rihanna has dabbled in fragrance in the past, via a licensing deal with Parlux — but establishing a perfume line under her own company umbrella is a big step. Like Kim Kardashian West and Michelle Pfeiffer's recent entrees into scent (via KKW Fragrance and Henry Rose, respectively), this upends the historical trend of celebrities serving as the face and name of a fragrance, but having little oversight or involvement in the product development or business side of it. It's worth noting that Black founders are woefully underrepresented in the mainstream perfume world, so a new fragrance company coming from a Black woman with significant power, reach and well-established methods of distribution in the beauty industry is major.
While there's no information about what Fenty Parfum will smell like — or even clarification as to whether it will be a full perfume line under the Fenty Beauty umbrella or simply a one-off scent — Rihanna has a proven track record of shaking things up in the beauty industry. She's led the charge toward prioritizing diversity and representation in shade range and marketing, highlighting the importance of sunscreen for all skin tones, inviting people of all genders to participate in Fenty Beauty and incorporating sustainability via refillable packaging. We'd say it's a safe bet that Fenty Parfum will be just as mindful and impactful as its makeup and skin-care counterparts.
Representatives from Fenty Beauty did not immediately respond to Fashionista's request for comment, but we will continue to update this post as additional details become available.
Update, July 29, 9:03 a.m.: Per several promotional emails that have gone out from Fenty Beauty, the forthcoming Fenty Eau de Parfum will debut on Aug. 10. The scent is described as "a memory encapsulated into a fragrance," with notes of "sensual magnolia," "seductive musk," "vibrant fruit" and "spice." Subscribers to the Fenty Beauty newsletter will be able to purchase the fragrance one day early, on Aug. 9, via an exclusive "early access" link ahead of the general public.
Update, Aug. 2, 12:45 p.m.: On Monday, Fenty unveiled the full details of Fenty Eau de Parfum, a single debut fragrance from Rihanna described as "spicy and sweet all at once."
In keeping with Fenty Skin's gender-inclusive approach to complexion care, the scent is "designed to be worn by all people" and was inspired by "distinct memories and places that Rihanna cherishes from throughout her life," including Bridgetown, Barbados; Grasse, France; New York City; Paris; and Los Angeles.
Rihanna herself was quite involved in the development of the scent, traveling to Grasse alongside LVMH Master Perfumer Jacques Cavallier Belletrud to select the ingredients, including magnolia, musk, tangerine, blueberry, Bulgarian rose absolute, geranium and patchouli.
"Going to Grasse felt like going into another world, or realm, altogether. I remember waking up, getting ready, getting on the plane, landing, and walking straight to the garden," Rihanna said of the experience, via a press release. "Right away, you could feel the history in the garden. You're walking through it, you can smell everything. It's just an experience from the moment you arrive.
Photo: Courtesy of Fenty Beauty
Fenty Eau de Parfum comes housed in a minimalist amber-brown colored glass bottle designed to perfectly fit in Rihanna's own hand (!) and representative of "a harmonious balance of femininity and masculinity."
Of the packaging, Rihanna said: "I wanted a rich color that really represented all genders from across all walks of life. Brown is my favorite color. Brown is who I am. Brown is what I come from. If I'm going to make a fragrance that represents me, even the body language of the bottle needs to marry that. So, I wanted something brown, but also transparent — so you could see the liquid and the fragrance you're about to experience."
The fragrance will retail for $120 exclusively at fentybeauty.com beginning on Aug. 10.
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