Rihanna has become one of the most influential celebrities in the world, with millions of fans looking to her as a trendsetter in music, fashion, and beauty. Her unique style and bold persona have made her a fashion icon. One of the most intriguing details about Rihanna’s style is her scent – what fragrance does she wear? Her choice of perfume seems as coveted as her fashion looks. In this article, we’ll uncover Rihanna’s signature scent and how she uses fragrance to complete her unforgettable style.
Rihanna’s Fragrance Collaborations
Rihanna has worked with some of the biggest names in fragrance to develop and promote her own signature scents. She collaborated with high-end perfume house Parlux to launch her first perfume, Reb’l Fleur, in 2010. The fragrance aimed to capture Rihanna’s rebellious spirit with notes like red berries, purple plum, hibiscus, coconut water, vanilla orchid, and violet. It became an instant commercial success.
Rihanna continued her fragrance venture with Parlux by releasing Rebelle in 2012. With spicy notes like ginger, coffee, and patchouli, Rebelle portrayed Rihanna’s edgier side. Her third women’s fragrance for Parlux, Rogue, debuted in 2014 with musky, woody notes of suede, patchouli, and sandalwood.
In 2016, Rihanna transitioned to a new partnership with LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton to launch her luxury fashion brand Fenty Beauty by Rihanna. She worked with perfumer Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud to create her first perfume with LVMH, named RiRi after her nickname. It blended fruity, musky, and vanilla notes like mandarin, blackberry, jasmine, plum, patchouli, vanilla, and musk.
Most recently, Rihanna and LVMH collaborated on a unisex scent called Fenty Eau de Parfum, which launched in 2021. Master perfumer Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud aimed to capture the groundbreaking essence of Rihanna’s Fenty brand with unconventional notes like tangerine, blueberry, Bulgarian rose absolute, geranium, magnolia, musk, amber, and patchouli.
Rihanna’s Reported Favorite Scents
Although Rihanna has released several signature fragrances over the years, she doesn’t reportedly wear her own perfumes on a daily basis. When asked about her favorite scents in interviews, Rihanna has named a few luxury perfumes from other iconic brands:
- Santal 33 by Le Labo – This unisex scent combines sandalwood, cardamom, iris, violet, cedarwood, leather, and musk notes. Rihanna said she used to overspray it before going out at night.
- Tobacco Vanille by Tom Ford – With spicy tobacco leaf and benzoin resin blended with warm vanilla, tonka bean, and dried fruit accords, this scent is sweet and slightly oriental.
- Love, Don’t Be Shy by Kilian – A feminine fragrance with notes of orange blossom, marshmallow, vanilla, and amber for a gourmand effect. Rihanna mentioned she wears this for date nights.
- Carnal Flower by Frederic Malle – Rihanna said this tuberose-based perfume reminds her of Jamaica. It’s a potent white floral with notes of tuberose, jasmine, ylang ylang, coconut, and musk.
These luxury perfumes range from woody aromatics to sensual gourmands with white florals. Rihanna tends to opt for stronger, long-lasting fragrances with unique accords. Even her biggest namedropped favorite, Santal 33, layers the clean woodiness of sandalwood with rich resins and leathers for depth. So we can see Rihanna’s personal perfume penchant leans grown-up and seductive.
What Notes Does Rihanna Love in Fragrance?
Analyzing Rihanna’s favorite scents and perfume collaborations reveals her preferred fragrance notes and accords:
Fruity and Gourmand
Many of Rihanna’s fragrances like RiRi and Reb’l Fleur highlight juicy fruits like mandarin, blackberry, and red berries mixed with sweet gourmand notes of vanilla, marshmallow, and coconut water. She clearly enjoys foodie, playful fruits to create a vibrant, youthful effect.
White Florals
Florals like jasmine and tuberose are Rihanna fragrance staples, especially the heady and hypnotic tuberose. Carnal Flower is one of her favorites thanks to its narcotic tuberose intensity. Florals add a feminine, seductive dimension she loves.
Woody and Musky
On the opposite spectrum from florals, Rihanna also incorporates earthy woody notes like sandalwood and cedar or animalic musk in scents like Santal 33. This provides a subtle masculinity and sensual depth.
Spices and Resins
Spices like cardamom, ginger, and black pepper mixed with incense-like resins such as patchouli and benzoin offer vibrancy and edge to Rihanna’s scents. Rebelle and Tobacco Vanille reflect her penchant for spicy, resinous punch.
Rihanna’s Fragrance Wardrobe
Rihanna doesn’t stick to just one signature scent. Instead, she revealed in interviews that she likes to switch up her perfume depending on her mood and the occasion:
- Everyday: For casual days, she’ll grab clean, fresh scents like Santal 33 to wear on skin.
- Going out: Rihanna opts for bolder fragrances at night, mentioning she used to overdose on Santal 33 for evenings out.
- Date night: She’ll choose something sweet yet sexy like Love, Don’t Be Shy with notes of orange blossom and marshmallow.
- Traveling: On the plane, Rihanna sprays on Viva La Juicy by Juicy Couture, calling it “addictive comfort food.”
- Jamaica: Carnal Flower is Rihanna’s go-to for trips back home, as the tuberose and jasmine remind her of the island.
Like her fashion and music, Rihanna’s fragrance choices are diverse. She can rock masculine woody scents for daytime casual and then switch to gourmand or white florals for date nights out. Rihanna uses scent like an accessory, choosing vibes that match the occasion.
Rihanna’s Perfume Application
Just as important as the actual fragrance is how Rihanna applies it. She’s revealed some of her scent application secrets:
- Apply perfume to all pulse points – behind the ears, insides of wrists, and neck.
- Mist the perfume cloud in front of you then walk through the scent mist.
- Spray perfume in your hair brush then brush thoroughly so the scent stays.
- Layer scented moisturizing lotion before spraying perfume.
Rihanna layers and touches up her perfume throughout the day for longevity. She sprays liberally, saying “I like to walk in the room and leave a scent.” For nights out, she admitted to overdoing it with 10 sprays or more!
Rihanna Launched Her Own Perfume Brand
In 2021, Rihanna trademarked the brand name “Fenty Parfum” for her own perfume venture. She reportedly plans to branch out from her LVMH fragrance collaborations and launch her own perfume house.
Registered document show Fenty Parfum will encompass perfumes, fragrances, cosmetics, makeup, and skincare. Although further details haven’t been announced yet, fans can expect Rihanna to disrupt the fragrance industry with new perfume creations that reflect her staple notes of fruits, florals, woods, and spices.
Conclusion
Rihanna’s scent profile reveals her olfactive preferences for rich, long-lasting perfumes with contrasting notes like fruits, white florals, musk, and woods. She owns an extensive fragrance wardrobe to suit her mood, from Santal 33 for everyday to Carnal Flower on trips to Jamaica. Rihanna applies perfume generously and throughout the day to leave a sillage cloud behind her. With plans underway for her own Fenty Parfum brand, we can expect more covetable scents designed by Rihanna to empower women through fragrance. Her iconic style, music, and status as a cultural force will continue influence the perfume world with exciting new innovations. Rihanna’s scent story has only just begun.
