When Gap launched its much-anticipated return to beauty in July, the retail giant looked to the past with revamped versions of its beloved ‘90s fragrances like Grass and Dream. For its next fragrance launch, Gap Beauty is taking cues from present-day trends.
On Thursday, Gap Beauty launched Bliss, a limited-edition holiday scent built around gourmand notes of butterscotch, cocoa bean and vanilla bourbon. Bliss was developed by Dsm-Firmenich perfumer Honorine Blanc, who, along with Nicole Mancini, created Gap Beauty’s debut fragrance collection.
“When we introduced our fragrance collection this summer, it was about establishing what Gap Beauty is today,” said Deb Redmond, head of beauty at Gap Inc., parent company to Gap along with Old Navy, Banana Republic and Athleta. “Holiday is about how Gap Beauty fits into people’s gifting routines. We wanted every part of this assortment to feel like something you’d be happy to give and, obviously, happy to keep for yourself, too.”
The Bliss scent will be available as an eau de parfum in a 50-milliliter bottle and a 10-milliliter travel size, along with Bliss-scented hand cream and body lotion, marking Gap Beauty’s first body-care launch. Prices range from $15 for the hand cream to $52 for the full-sized eau de parfum.
Redmond likened the Bliss scent to Gap’s proprietary CashSoft fabric, a machine-washable material meant to imitate the feel of cashmere and a major sales driver for the brand. “For me, it was really taking your CashSoft sweater and putting it into a bottle,” said Redmond.
To promote the launch, Gap tapped “The White Lotus” star Brittany O’Grady for a campaign that will launch on October 20. O’Grady is also slated to appear in “Jumanji: Open World,” the latest installment of the “Jumanji” franchise set for release in December. The brand previously tapped actress Victoria Pedretti for the launch of its initial fragrance collection.
Gap will also launch fragrance gift sets geared for the holidays, including discovery sets available at Gap stores and on TikTok Shop; body mist formats will be sold exclusively at Gap Outlet. Members of Encore, Gap’s loyalty program, will have exclusive access to a five-piece travel set featuring the fragrances from Gap Beauty’s initial launch in July.
The Bliss launch comes shortly after the announcement of John Demsey’s departure from Gap Inc. Demsey, a longtime Estée Lauder executive, joined the company in 2025 as executive director of beauty. He left Estée Lauder in 2022 after sharing a racially charged meme to his Instagram account. Gap declined to comment on Demsey’s departure when speaking with Glossy.
While the debut collection also introduced a new scent in Harmony, much of the initial excitement around Gap’s return to fragrance centered on the revival of ‘90s classic scents Grass and Dream. Gap was not alone in returning to ‘90s and early 2000s nostalgia to drive fragrance; brands like Axe and Bath & Body Works have also relaunched or revamped classic scents in recent months.
With Bliss, however, Gap will have to prove it can do more than rely on nostalgia and instead compete with contemporary hits in the gourmand category from brands like Kayali and Phlur.
“I think [perfumers] Honorine and Nicole did a really great job in keeping us focused with each scent on, ‘What is the emotion that’s tied to it?’” said Redmond of the development of the scents. “Whether that’s in apparel or in fragrance, I think that’s the part that continues to have the longevity and the attachment, more so than nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake.”
Beauty, particularly fragrance, remains a fast-growing category in consumer goods. Mass fragrance was the fastest-growing beauty segment in the first half of 2026 by U.S. dollar sales, according to Circana, with sales increasing by 15% and units sold by 7%.
The full impact of Gap Beauty, which arrived in stores on July 30, has yet to show up in the company’s quarterly earnings, however. Gap Inc.’s most recent earnings report, covering the financial results for its second quarter ended August 1, 2026, showed a 9% increase in net sales to $844 million for the Gap brand.
