Paris Hilton Adds 18th Scent to Her $2 Billion Fragrance Empire
Paris Hilton’s perfumes have made over $2 billion in sales. Photo: Parlux
A decade ago there was no escaping “Simple Life” star Paris Hilton, and while her star wattage seems to have faded a bit, her fragrance empire has done anything but. Today she’s launching Paris Hilton Limited Anniversary Edition eau de parfum spray ($65) at Perfumania, the 18th scent in her collection. While many experts feel the celebrity fragrance bubble has burst, Hilton, who just launched her last offering in November, has sold 40 million bottles and $2 billion worth of perfume over the past 10 years. “That’s hot,” indeed.
Perhaps the fragrance business comes naturally to Hilton, because she’s never believed in having a signature scent. “I’m always switching it up,” Hilton told Yahoo Beauty. “It depends what mood I’m in and I’ll wear that scent. For night or day or if I’m going on a date or if I have work, I always have a different one to go to and I don’t wear any other perfume except for my own.”
Her love affair with scents came early and clearly runs in the family. “When I was a little girl I always loved going in my mom’s boudoir,” says Hilton. “She collected fragrances and had hundreds of them. My sister [Nicky] and I, I remember, would go in and look through all the bottles and spray them, and I just thought it was so glamorous.” Her favorites as a youngster were already quite sophisticated. “I loved Quelques Fleurs and Joy [by Jean Patou], which are really old school but I love those. They remind me of my mom and my grandma.”
After 10 years, the fragrance industry has changed a lot—Hilton think scents were more for older ladies and now they’re more young and fashion-forward—and the star has evolved, too. “I was just looking back on all the fragrances and they’re all so different and really show the growth in my life and how I’ve changed,” Hilton told Yahoo Beauty. The creative process, however, remains the same. “I always come up with the scent first, and then from there I think of a name, and then I do the bottle, and then I pick what kind of campaign I want—what mood it’s going to be or the outfit or theme. It takes a few months to develop each one.” She says the original Paris Hilton for Women scent, which she launched at just 23 years old, is the bestseller. The new limited edition version is a riff on the original, with notes of peach nectar, frozen apple, freesia, tuberose, sandalwood, and musk.
Clearly Hilton has the golden touch, as she also just opened Paris Hilton Beach Club resort in the Philippines, secured a summer residency at Amnesia nightclub in Ibiza, and has a new single coming out with Birdman in two months called “High Off My Love.” “It’s a really fun dance song. The music video is like Madonna’s ‘Justify My Love’ meets “50 Shades of Grey.’ It’s really sexy.” But when it comes to fragrance, Hilton’s recipe for success is simple: “I just like things that smell good.”
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