Bella Hadid Goes for the Gold With Her First-Ever Fragrance Line, ÔRəBella
“I could have waited 10 years for this; this isn’t a project that an investor came to me with.” — Bella Hadid
Bella Hadid began her modeling career at 16 years old and has since graced countless covers of magazines, luxury fashion house runways and won “Model of the Year” by the British Fashion Council in 2022. Now, Hadid is making her mark in beauty, building her empire one fragrance at a time. Her Ôrəbella fragrance line is the culmination of a dream, literally, hard work and the desire to be the change she wanted to see due to her own fragrance sensitivities.
The launch comprises three fragrances, ”Window2Soul,” a floral scent; “Salted Muse,” a woody perfume; and “Blooming Fire,” a tropical blend. The perfume juice blend has a unique “bi-phase” formula that consists of two layers, the first made up of snow mushroom and a five-oil blend of camellia, almond, olive, jojoba and shea. The second layer consists of essential oils and a fine fragrance and the product should be shaken before being sprinkled on to activate the ingredients.
From the catwalk to the boardroom, Hadid details her journey to becoming a beauty brand founder, how her fragrances are influenced by her family and Arabic culture, her advice if someone doesn’t like how you smell and more.
While you’re here, check out our coverage of Kylie Jenner revealing the inspiration behind Cosmic’s fragrance notes.
On the meaning behind the brand’s name
I woke up in the middle of the night a couple of years ago and it came to me, “Ôrəbella;” I was like, “This is the company name.” I thought about the phonetic spelling of aura and how we could make it different. The phonetic spelling of aura is O-R-E, with the upside-down E. My last name, “Hadid,” means “iron” and an “ore” is what you use to get iron out of the ground. There were so many different things that started to click.
On the influences behind the scents
These scents are nostalgic to the experiences that my mother and father gave me as a child. I’d close my eyes and smell moments of my childhood or high school; bringing me back to that place and making me feel safe, happy and excited about life.
After I was diagnosed with Lyme disease and all the different health things that I have going on, the essential oil aspect was something that my mom and I began to love together. My mom, my sister and I all have a different love for scents. That’s why I wanted to be able to make something that was kind of an ode to each of us and an ode to different people in the world.
The scents are genderless and they change with the pH of your skin, which I think is really interesting. You can put it on and it can be a little bit more feminine or a little bit more masculine. It was important for me that the fragrances weren’t a female set and a male set like I saw growing up.
On what she wants people to feel when wearing the scent
I want people to feel unique when they wear it and for the product to be like a second skin. The coolest part about using essential oils is that you can mix all three of them together and make them unique to who you are.
If somebody doesn’t like the way that you smell, “F-ck them.” If you want to mix all the scents together, do that. It’s important for me that people walk in their own uniqueness.
On being a female brand founder
As a woman going into a different field, people don’t expect a lot from you. It was really important for me to walk in those rooms and have people see me as what they haven’t seen before. The way that I am at home or when I’m making my decks or coming up with ideas is so different from what people see of me online.
It’s intimidating to walk into those rooms. Showing somebody a deck or your ideas is really scary. It’s like showing somebody your journal and then having them plaster it on the wall and you’re just sitting there while they pull it apart. I could have waited 10 years for this; this isn’t a project that an investor came to me with and was like, “I have this product for you. Here are four fragrances. We’re going to launch next year around this time. You be the face of it; support it; launch it.”
When I first presented to a bunch of businessmen in New York, they were like, “You want to make a moisturizing perfume that’s vegan, cruelty-free, high-quality, affordable, accessible and start a charity? You’re crazy, you know that?” I said “I am, but if I’m going to put something out into the world, that’s what I want.”
That’s what I’m going to stand behind and put all my time, love, blood, sweat and tears into to make it the best. They called me back like six months later and said, “Okay.” At that point, I already had the concept for my first campaign done. I knew what I wanted for clothing. I knew who I wanted to shoot it and style it for. My vision was so strong.
On the influence Arabic culture has on the packaging
I wear a lot of jewelry, whether it’s raw antique jewelry or raw gold. I think it’s beautiful and I grew up in Arabic culture, where raw gold is something that is extremely important and inspired the bottle design. Arabic gold is very nostalgic; one day I had everybody in the office put all of their gold jewelry into the middle of the table because I wanted to perfect the gold on the bottle. I didn’t want it to look shiny and new; I wanted it to age with the bottle and have an antique feeling.
Ôrəbella fragrances will be available to purchase on the brand’s website starting May 2.
