This week, I checked in on the new slate of celebrity fragrances hitting shelves this summer. Additionally, Coty shakes up its C-suite amid an ongoing turnaround plan, and Tuckernuck makes a play for beauty.
How new launches from Ariana Grande and Megan Thee Stallion fit into a crowded celebrity fragrance market
It’s been two years since Megan Thee Stallion released her last studio album. But the rapper is still cashing in on her “Hot Girl Summer” ethos, this time via her debut fragrance: On Sunday, Megan Thee Stallion launched the Hot Girl Summer eau de parfum in partnership with Coty. With a blend of coconut milk and vetiver, the scent is available at Ulta Beauty for $84.
The Grammy-winning rapper and swimsuit entrepreneur isn’t the only big name tapping into the ongoing fragrance boom. On July 14, Ariana Grande and Luxe Brands will launch Cloud Aurora, a flanker to her hit Cloud fragrance line; in June, Luxe also expanded the Khloé Kardashian perfume line with the launch of XO Blue. According to Luxe Brands, each of the two new launches is expected to exceed $50 million in global retail sales in their first year.
Mass-appealing scents crafted through licensing deals, launches like Megan Thee Stallion’s Hot Girl Summer and Ariana Grande’s new Cloud flanker, on the one hand, represent a more traditional approach to the celebrity fragrance market at a time when many stars are experimenting with full-fledged brands and more niche positioning. But in today’s fragrance market, the lines between mass and prestige or celebrity and designer brands are no longer so concrete.
“Celebrity fragrances have evolved alongside the broader beauty industry,” said Vinima Shekhar, vp of beauty at Walmart, which carries fragrances from the likes of Sabrina Carpenter and Britney Spears. “Many of today’s launches go beyond name recognition and place greater emphasis on scent quality, storytelling, packaging and a distinct brand identity.”
While the old-school licensing model allowed celebrities to outsource much of the labor of fragrance, some of today’s celebrities are taking more direct control over their fragrance creations as brand founders. Bella Hadid launched her fragrance brand Orebella in 2024, while Harry Styles launched fragrances as part of his Pleasing brand in 2023.
“Everyone loves to be called a founder and to have equity, but you have to work for it,” said Isaac Lekach, co-founder of fragrance developer Flower Shop, which launched singer Melanie Martinez’s Portals Parfums fragrance line. Lekach previously helped create fragrances for the likes of Paris Hilton for Parlux, the celebrity fragrance giant founded by his father Ilia Lekach, and Katy Perry for Gigantic Parfums. “You could get away with doing a photoshoot and a couple of tweets if it’s a license, but certainly not if it’s your brand. If you have ownership, there’s just a considerable amount of work that you have to do.”
Honorine Blanc, master perfumer at Dsm-Firmenich who has created scents for everyone from Justin Bieber and Jennifer Lopez to niche Korean line Borntostandout, said celebrities are educating themselves more on fragrance creation as the niche perfume boom has created a more knowledgeable consumer base.
“In the past when I used to work with celebrities, sometimes I never saw them. Or they would smell the fragrance at the last minute,” said Blanc. “Today, because the celebrity is very involved in the development of the fragrance, they pay more attention to what we do. Because now they know they’re responsible for what they put on the bottle. It’s their image.”
Some newer celebrity lines have made their way into more upscale retailers. Martinez’s perfumes are stocked at niche scent retailer Luckyscent, while Troye Sivan’s Tsu Lange Yor perfume line is sold at Dover Street Market in Paris and Nordstrom.
“People are starting to realize that the same effort goes into a niche or a luxury or designer fragrance as it does a celebrity. Or, I should say, it can,” said Lekach. “If you look at Melanie’s fragrances, Troye’s fragrances, you’ll see that there’s a lot of thought and intention behind it.”
Having a dedicated fanbase certainly helps move units, too: Some of today’s biggest celebrity perfumers are also the biggest pop stars on the planet. Sabrina Carpenter’s fragrance line, launched with Scent Beauty in 2022, surpassed $100 million in global retail sales in 2025. Since launching her first perfume in 2015 with Luxe Brands, Ariana Grande has sold more than $1 billion worth of fragrance.
Grande’s Cloud perfume, first launched in 2018, has been a particular hit in the celebrity fragrance category; the perfume won the Fragrance of the Year: Women’s Popular Award at the 2019 Fragrance Foundation Awards and has spawned numerous flankers, including Cloud Intense and Cloud Pink.
The latest entry, Cloud Aurora, coincides with Grande’s ongoing Eternal Sunshine tour. Luxe Brands shared that it will plan immersive pop-ups and activations around Cloud Aurora throughout the tour. Grande’s makeup brand, R.E.M. Beauty, has already seen more than 2,300 visitors and over 1,000 purchases at its Eternal Sunshine pop-ups.
While Megan Thee Stallion does not have a tour to coincide with her new fragrance, the launch represents a return to the celebrity market for Coty. In the 2010s, Coty launched numerous scents for Beyoncé, like Heat and Pulse; the music legend returned to fragrance in 2023 with the launch of Cé Noir but has not disclosed whether she worked with an outside partner on the new perfume line. The conglomerate has been in the midst of a turnaround plan amid lackluster sales; it reported a 1% decline in net revenue to $1.28 billion for the third quarter of fiscal year 2026.
“The interesting thing about Coty is they used to do Beyoncé and Lady Gaga, and they bought Katy Perry from us,” said Lekach. “They were in [the celebrity fragrance market], and then they exited it, and now they’re coming back. So I wonder if [Megan Thee Stallion] is the first of many, and this is a new direction for them. Because they did lose considerable market share.”
On Wednesday, Coty announced a shake-up to its leadership structure, with interim CEO Markus Strobel assuming direct control of its prestige division, which includes brands like Burberry and Kylie Cosmetics. The new structure will aim to speed the conglomerate’s decision-making process, per a company press release.
Ulta Beauty has particularly dominated the celebrity fragrance market in recent years. Bella Hadid’s Orebella has taken a starring role in Ulta’s expansion to the Middle East, and the retailer’s curation of celebrity lines from the likes of Sabrina Carpenter, Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande helped it reach net sales of $3.2 billion in Q1 2026, with fragrance its fastest-growing category.
That market is constantly shifting, however. Sephora, whose fragrance aisle has largely prioritized emerging indie and niche brands like Phlur and Kayali in recent years, added Billie Eilish’s line to the lineup in March.
“The retailers are overlapping. So you see the celebrity next to prestige next to niche — it’s all one market,” said Blanc. “Today, the consumer goes after the fragrance, not just [the category]. This is why, for the perfumer, we have to be very creative and give our best for every category.”
Executive moves:
- In a major corporate restructuring, Coty announced the departure of Caroline Andreotti as chief commercial officer prestige; Dr. Shimei Fan as chief scientific and sustainability officer; and Priya Srinivasan as chief people and purpose officer. Coty executive chairman and interim CEO Markus Strobel, meanwhile, will assume direct control of the company’s prestige commercial operations.
- LVMH named Louis-Antoine Rousseau as brand managing director of Acqua di Parma, effective September 1. He succeeds Giulio Bergamaschi, who will join Louis Vuitton’s menswear division as chief product officer. Rousseau most recently served as general manager of the Hong Kong subsidiary of Parfums Christian Dior.
- Unilever appoints Hanny van Amerongen as chief R&D officer for personal care. Van Amerongen has been with the conglomerate since 2016; she was most recently vp of R&D global innovation for Unilever Food Solutions.
News to know:
- Tuckernuck launches beauty with a selection of roughly 20 brands, including U Beauty Vintner’s Daughter and Le Prunier. The apparel brand and retailer has become a hit among the political set for its preppy style and is aiming to expand its footprint beyond its three stores in Washington, D.C., New York City and Nantucket.
- Dsm-Firmenich appoints Marie Salamagne and Frank Voelkl as master perfumers. The two perfumers have created numerous hit fragrances, including Salamagne’s work on Paradigme for Prada and By the Fireplace for Maison Margiela, and Voelkl’s work on Santal 33 for Le Labo and You for Glossier.
- Nyx enters fragrance with a trio of body mists. The L’Oréal-owned makeup brand is attempting to reach the Gen Z fragrance consumer with the Fat Oil body mists, which retail for $20 and feature scents like coconut and caramel.
Stat of the week:
K-beauty retailer Olive Young is seeing an average of 1,623 visitors per day at its Pasadena location, which opened in May, according to data from the retailer. Its Century City store, which opened in June, is drawing an average of 955 daily visitors.
In the headlines:
What it was like inside Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding. Target grows marketplace with Forever 21, Clarks brand additions.
Listen in:
On this week’s episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast, Supergoop CMO Lauren Weinberg joins host Lexy Lebsack to share how the sunscreen brand is tackling Amazon and TikTok Shop amid channel mix expansion.
Need a Glossy recap?
Ulta Beauty Strategies: What Ulta is learning about Gen Alpha consumers. Exclusive: Bath & Body Works taps Hilary Duff to front new fruit-forward body line. Coty is betting its booming Boss fragrance franchise can win over women. Vacation builds on its nostalgic Pepsi collab with a throwback summer giveaway.
