"Your Turn II": Just Another Pillar of Billie Eilish's Boundless Artistry
The musician shares more on her unwavering obsession with smell, finding creative inspiration in androgyny, and how her role in fragrance directly bleeds into her sonic world.
Billie Eilish will remember how you smell.
She also remembers how that one first date in 2017 smelled, as well as Christmas when she was five, her first-ever meet-and-greet, and every venue she steps into. In fact, on one of her first tours ever, she instructed fans to bring a scent they loved to to the show, and they did, ultimately resulting in Eilish wrapping the tour with a giant bag of thousands upon thousands of fans’ signature scents, nostalgic fragrances, and smells they connect to.
“I wanted to have a part of them,” she explained over a Zoom call, emphasizing the role scent has in how she remembers things.
“I also have a ridiculously strong sense of smell,” she laughed. “I’m always like, ‘Oh, this smells like that one day in 2008 when we went to that store,’ or ‘This smells like so-and-so.’ I do it all the time, which is probably really annoying to some people, but I truly find fragrance fascinating.”
Eilish has always, in her own words, been “obsessed” with scents; in addition to actively shaping her memories, she tells me the world she’s created with Billie Eilish Fragrances is just an extension of her music and artistry at large.
For an artist so intentional in each creative endeavor as Eilish, she approaches her fragrance line as if she approaches any other art form. After all, she believes her scents are a direct representation of her music.
“Similarly to my music, my fragrance is for everyone,” she expressed, finding creative freedom and inspiration in the genderless, androgynous aspect of fragrance. “I want it to be universal.”
This is the exact sentiment that guided her latest aromatic foray, the latest installment in the “Your Turn” series, “Your Turn II.” While, yes, the woody, vanilla-infused scent is a fume to reckoned with, the dice-inspired bottle design is something that was equally important to Eilish, who views each perfume bottle as far more than a vessel to house the scent, but rather a n independent homeware piece that can stand fully on its own.
Eilish shares more in the conversation below.
To start, could you tell me more about your connection to fragrance?
My entire life, I’ve always been obsessed with anything that has to do with scent. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t. I also have a ridiculously strong sense of smell, which is kind of a blessing and a curse, but I’m always like “Oh, this smells like that one day in 2008 when we went to that store,” or “This smells like so-and-so.” I do it all the time, which is probably really annoying to some people, but I truly find fragrance fascinating. It’s how I remember things.
When did you decide you wanted to take an active part in the fragrance world?
I’ve always had a thousand fragrances on my shelf, but honestly, I’d never even considered that I could actually make fragrance and put it out in the world. I had this idea for a really specific vanilla scent for years, just because I wanted to wear it. I knew exactly what I wanted it to smell like; I had it down perfectly. I looked for a fragrance just like it, and I couldn’t find what I wanted. I looked everywhere. I remember asking my team, “Could I find someone to create this exact scent that I have in mind?” and someone was like, “Yes, but also, you could make your own scent.” At first I was like, “What – no, I can’t.” And then it happened, and I couldn’t believe it. The whole process has been crazy, and it’s so cool to get to create something that I’m so passionate about.
What was your first signature scent?
I got the first scent – that became my signature scent – in a CVS when I was 12. It was called like guava something and it was like five dollars. I was so excited to have a scent. I was a dancer, and I specifically remember wearing that scent in ballet. I remember so vividly, sweating in ballet and the sweat like activating the perfume, and literally being like, “Oh wow, that smells amazing.”
Are there any other core memories you have that tie back to fragrance?
When I was first touring, I used to meet every single person who would come into every venue. Before one of my early tours, I posted: “If you’re coming to the show, bring a scent you love and give it to me so I can have a part of you guys.” And everyone did. At the end of that tour, I went home with a giant bag filled with everyone’s perfumes and wore every single one of them.
How does fragrance play into your personal style?
“Your Turn” is the scent of this whole HIT ME HARD AND SOFT tour. It’s the HIT ME HARD AND SOFT scent. I spray it every single night before I walk out on stage, without a doubt. The other day, I actually put a different scent on before the show, and it just didn’t feel right. It’s engraved into my routine as the tour scent. For “Your Turn II,” I’ve found it to be the most complimented scent by the people around me. So many people didn’t even know it was mine, and they’re like, “Oh my God, what is that?” and that’s my favorite thing in the world.
And more specifically, how does your expression through fragrance relate to your expression in your music?
Similarly to my music, my fragrance is for everyone. I want it to be universal. I’m very drawn to the genderless aspect of fragrance, and in music, even though that’s not really a thing. I want what I create to be accessible and relatable for everyone. As a woman who feels a lot more comfortable masculine, it’s just what I’m drawn to. “Your Turn II,” specifically, is very androgynous, like “Eilish No. 2.” Yet you can make it whatever you want it to be. You can make it feminine if you are feminine and you are wearing it. If you want it to feel masculine, you can. You can create whatever you want, and that’s what’s really cool about fragrance. You can smell a fragrance on its own and be like, “Eh.” But if you see the most stunning, beautiful girl wearing that fragrance, you’re like “Wow.”
How did you decide on the physical design of the “Your Turn II” bottle, and how does that tie into the fragrance itself?
It’s really important to me that not only are my fragrances amazing as scents, but the bottle itself – what everyone sees – can stand on its own and isn’t just holding the fragrance. Those two things are equally important to me. If I saw it on the shelf at a vintage store or antique shop, would I buy it? That was my guiding philosophy. With “Eilish,” it was based on this little figurine I bought at a truck stop in Germany because I just thought it looked cool. I wanted to keep that going with “Your Turn II,” and I’d always had an idea to do something with dice. I had these heavy brass dice that were just sitting in my game shelf, and I had been wondering for years how I could make them into something awesome.
If “Your Turn II” were a song in your discography, which one would it be and why?
Definitely something from HIT ME HARD AND SOFT. Probably “CHIHIRO” because it’s mysterious and dark.
This article was originally published on Hypebeast.
