Bella Hadid on the creation of ‘Ôrəbella, her new perfume line

As a model, Bella Hadid is a walking canvas. She dresses in art to tell stories, even if they are not her own. It’s a career she’s been pursuing for a decade, starting at age 16, an age where most teenagers rely heavily on style to express who they are.

“For so many years, I lost a lot of sense of myself, of knowing what I loved,” Hadid tells me through a computer screen from her new home in Fort Worth, Texas. “People would ask me in interviews, ‘What’s your favorite color?’ What’s your favorite dish? What do you like?’ And I was like, “I’m just working.” I don’t know. I could try to invent something for you, but I have no idea.'”

In an effort to reconnect with herself, Hadid stepped up her self-care practice. “I became obsessed with using essential oils for my health and well-being, putting them on my wrist and smelling them 10 times for breathing rituals,” says Hadid. She begins to play with different oils and concoct custom blends. Through the alchemy of creation, she reclaimed her agency.

“When it came to essential oils, it was just an everyday science project,” says Hadid. “During my modeling career, when I wasn’t able to use my brain and voice as much, coming home and creating things just for me was very important to me. And it made me feel good again passionate about something.”

It all started simply: lavender, lemongrass and patchouli. “And then I was adding ginger, and I was like, ‘That smells weird. Let me just add blood orange to it. Okay, that’s really cool; let me go get some cherries.'” , she remembers. Her ever-changing scent of the day caught the attention of those around her. And ultimately, they convinced her to turn her passion into a business.

“I haven’t been the most confident person in my entire life,” she says. “Hearing people think I could do something with what I was doing at home was the first time I felt good enough that something that came from me was valuable enough for other people to take. want too.”

And thus, ‘Ôrəbella was born. Pronounced aura Bella, it is a line of perfumes composed of perfumes based on essential oils.

“Our aura is our best accessory,” says Hadid. “I really want people to put this all over their body, feel it, mix it. I want people to be their own chemist when it comes to ‘Ôrəbella. If you feel good when you wake up in the morning, I hope ‘Ôrəbella will become part of your routine and make you feel that way throughout your day.”

The scents

For the inaugural fragrances, Hadid drew on her childhood memories.

“I grew up in the barn, not wearing perfume, but finding nostalgic smells through my experiences,” she says. “And whether it was being able to walk through a garden, or jumping in the ocean, or feeling oils and sunscreen on your skin after you got a little burned. There were just things that I wanted to be able to represent in the perfumes that I diffused.

‘Ôrəbella debuts with three fragrances: Blooming Fire, Salted Muse and Window2Soul. Each is available in three sizes: 10ml ($35), 50ml ($72), and 100ml ($100). For the 100 mL bottle, you can also purchase a perfume display ($35) to display it upright. They are available for sale at UltaBeauty.com and Orebella.com.

Flowery fire

“Blooming Fire is a fragrance that is an ode to my sister,” says Hadid. “She grew up loving Tahiti. We both love the beach. Blooming Fire, for me, is that experience of being on the beach with family and friends at sunset. It’s hot outside, but You need to put a little blanket or sweater on you. Your swimsuit is still wet, you still smell like sunscreen.”

Monoi, a fragrance oil derived from soaking Tahitian gardenias in coconut oil, is the star of this fragrance. It is completed with melting patchouli and bright bergamot. “The emotion I want the scent to trigger is security, happiness and love,” she says.

Salty muse

“Salted Muse is truly the most androgynous scent, our most woodsy scent,” says Hadid. “It has a little bit of lavender in it, which is funny because, at first, I felt like one of my main scents was going to be pure lavender just because of my past planting lavender on the farm and to have access to so much lavender. But it’s our only perfume that contains a little lavender. It also contains a little olive oil. It’s an ode to my ancestors. I grew up in an Arab family, everything is olive oil. Are you sick? Want something to moisturize your skin? .

The added amber, pepper and sea salt add interest to the scent. “It’s funny, I literally smell it on myself and it’s feminine but really strong,” she says.

Window2Soul

“Window2Soul is my little girl,” Hadid says. “This one feels like you’re jumping into a flower petal or you’re literally a tiny person in the middle of a rose garden or in the botanical gardens. And what I really like about that is rose and jasmine with tonka bean It just makes you happy It’s a very sexy scent because it’s very sweet and young but at the same time it has a strength.

The ‘Ôrəbella experience

Although ‘Ôrəbella is an expression of Hadid’s creativity, she wants everyone to have fun and make the scents their own. Formulation is the first step. “Since they’re essential oils, the scents kind of change with the pH of your skin, so it smells a little different for everyone,” she says. Plus, they’re designed to be mixed so you can create your own personalized scent.

“You can mix them up and create something that’s unique to you,” says Hadid. “People can feel confident about themselves knowing that they did something cool for themselves that morning to feel different from the next person. You can have that little edge by saying to yourself, ‘ Hey, I feel good about myself today.’ And I did a little art project and it made me feel confident and sexy and different and excited. That’s really what I wanted to be able to do with ‘Ôrəbella.’

As Hadid built her brand, she grew herself. She has learned how special life can be when you live your truth and she invites you to do the same. “I just thank God for giving me the opportunity to make one of my dreams come true and also making it the most fun experience of all,” she says.