How Billie Eilish Created Her 'Favorite Scent in the World'

Called Eilish™, her signature fragrance fits perfectly in line with this new era, featuring an Amber Gourmand base. Eilish says she's been obsessed with perfumes her entire life, and it's exactly what I'd imagine smelling if the singer ever hugged me: Base notes of warm musks, tonka bean and sleek woods for a sexy deep allure, while other elements like creamy vanilla and sugared petals keep Eilish™ light and dainty.

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“It's a scent I've been chasing for years and years and years," Eilish tells PAPER of the vegan, cruelty free product made using only clean ingredients. "It's my favorite smell in the world."

During the pandemic, personal fragrances climbed to new heights of popularity. Ironically, people sitting at home during the lockdown and now re-entering the world wearing masks has them all reconsidering their everyday scent. In fact, according to a recent beauty report, perfume sales increased by 45% from 2019 to 2020.

On TikTok alone, "PerfumeTok" has become a significant part of the platform, with tags reaching well over 1 billion views. Creators are sharing their favorite scents and discussing the aesthetic of different perfumes, with large beauty experts like Jackie Aina contributing to younger Gen-Z audiences picking up on a strong affinity for personal fragrances.

While on tour, Eilish gathered perfumes from all around the world — fascinated not only with their various scents, but also the bottle shapes, building on a collection she's been growing ever since childhood. Stans even started gifting Eilish fragrances at concert meet-and-greets as a way to capture the memory of that particular stop.

"It's my favorite smell in the world."

When partnering with Parlux on Eilish™, she retained full creative control — especially with the bottle design, emphasizing Eilish's favorite body part. "I love collarbones," she says. "I've always been attracted to the natural parts of the body. I love noses and chins and necks, like when you breathe in and they poke out. I just think they are beautiful; it's so simply human and we all have them. I didn't want it to be a very sexualized body, but I wanted to make you feel sexy with yourself in a powerful, confident way."

Eilish's synesthesia — or the ability to see shapes and colors alongside music — also played a role in the development of her debut fragrance. "Synesthesia is involved in every aspect of my life, whether I like it or not," she says, explaining that it's "just a creative mind thing" and doesn't mean she's a "superhero." Still, the phenomenon helped her figure out Eilish™ "even better because I was very vocal about this scent being amber, and I wanted it to feel caramel — almost like this burnt-out fire."

As expected with the pop sensation, we anticipate Eilish™ will become a PerfumeTok favorite, joining the list of viral sold out products that the internet obsesses over. So when it finally drops in November 2021 on billieeilishfragrances.com, run don't walk — and follow @billieeilishfragrances for the official launch date.

PAPER Beauty Director XOXOEMIRA is starring as the beauty and brains behind SNATCHURALa cross-platform franchise that blends together the worlds of natural and snatched for content surrounding all things makeup, hair, nails, fragrance and more.

Photography: Camraface (Courtesy of Eilish™)