Ever wondered what Bella Hadid smells like? Given she's in her cowgirl era, my money was on the smokey, chestnutty scent of leather. I couldn't have been more wrong. While her new collection of fragrances is a world away from smelling like a butter-smooth saddle, they are guaranteed to be catnip for anyone who embraces their inner woo-woo or cleanses their crystals under a full moon.
Back in April 2024, Bella Hadid teased the launch of Ôrebella (pronounced "aura-bella"), a beauty brand that finally lands in Selfridges today, when she changed her profession to "Scientist" on Instagram.
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Her new perfume line is also a passion project for the supermodel. “It's from the heart,” she says. “For me, fragrance has always been central to my life - helping me feel in charge of who I am and my surroundings.
"My mom was such a big perfume person, she loved it. I really discovered fragrance as a child through her. From my home to nostalgic memories, from energy to personality, scent has always been an outlet for me. It made me feel safe in my own world.”
Having tried her debut colour-changing, shake-to-activate scents, I can see why. They're a little witchy but also resemble a chic chemistry experiment. Above all, they feel genuinely innovative.
What does each Ôrebella perfume smell like?
The first thing to establish is that Ôrebella fragrances are not your run-of-the-mill perfumes. These first-of-their-kind “intentional skin parfums” are like the lovechild of a fine fragrance and a milky toner, with aromatherapy oils thrown in for good measure.
“It’s designed to be nourishing for your skin and soul,” says Bella. “The parfums infuse and last on the skin. I just love the fact that you can put these all over your body, and the smell is not overwhelming. It also moisturises your skin - you can literally put it everywhere!”
This is because the perfumes have two different parts. The first layer hydrates with snow mushroom extract and a moisturising five-oil blend (camellia, almond, olive, jojoba, shea) – something that also extends the scent's potency and longevity (remember perfume is clingy and likes well-hydrated skin).
The second layer is said to boost your mood and “aura” with a blend of aromatherapy essential oils and fine fragrance notes.
“When I was 24, my sister [Gigi Hadid] and I got a farm for my mom,” Bella says. “Each year as a family, we would plant 3,500 lavender plants together and start to make oil, right there on the farm…I started to go further and buy a bunch of essential oils and even an essential oil press to concoct my blends. I just loved it.”
It's this point of difference that means each Ôrebella perfume first needs to be shaken to turn the clear liquid opaque. From there, you spray them directly onto your skin.
With that in mind, here's a breakdown of what all four Ôrebella fragrances smell like…
If you love florals then this is your Ôrebella match, as Window2Soul is literally like stepping into a flower shop. The lemon in the blend, though, adds a fresh greenness to the juice by conjuring up just-snipped stalks and stops the rose and jasmine from smelling too sweet or overpowering.
Lemon, like all citrus scents, is also renowned for being uplifting in aromatherapy. When paired with energising spearmint, it adds brightness, making Window2Soul the crowd-pleaser of the collection.
If you're looking for a beachy perfume that doesn't smell of suncream, meet your new scent obsession. With sea salt, amber, lavender and pink pepper, Salted Muse is woody, herbaceous and fresh – imagine being on a beach in the South of France, your salty skin drying post swim as you inhale wafts of lavender on the breeze.
But it also has an intriguing masculine twist with spicy black pepper to give it bite and vetiver, which is there to help calm jangly nerves and add smokiness to the mix. It's pleasantly nose-twitching rather than smelling like a sharp cologne but would equally smell just as good on your partner's neck.
If, on the other hand, you lean towards perfumes laced with the scent of tropical flowers and sunscreen, then Blooming Fire will draw you in like a moth to a flame. It's a spicy blend of bergamot and patchouli but the inclusion of Tahitian monoi flower adds a nostalgic creaminess to the blend.
It's almost made for Golden Hour on the beach and its layer of cedarwood and cardamom essential oils only heighten those feelings of calm.
As the name implies, Nightcap lingers a little boozy on your skin. Definitely an after dark scent, it's warm and spicy courtesy of ginger and cardamon, while vanilla adds a touch of sweetness. Rather than use a traditional musk, Bella has included cistus essential oil, which has a similar smell while also being used for centuries to aid meditation.
My honest review
With the boom in celebrity beauty brands, you'd be forgiven for thinking that some have started to feel disingenuous. But what I like about Ôrebella is that it feels authentically Bella – and it's serving up something different.
The celebrity beauty boom has created a feverish hype culture fuelled by Gen-Z fans. For heritage brands, not embracing it can be fatal.
By including skin-hydrating ingredients, Bella has created a brand new beauty category with her skinification of perfume. She has also tapped into the emerging trend for ‘wellness perfumes’ – fragrances that aim to influence our emotions and mood, as well as smelling heavenly.
While other scents in this category can skew a little impersonal by leaning on neuroscience, she has gone back to the grass roots of wellness with aromatherapy essential oils to invoke feelings of joy and calm – something I applaud as I'm keen to see more of it in this space.
Even the packaging wouldn't look amiss next to a pile of crystals, having been mindfully designed to look like a geode; Window2Soul is a dusty rose colour; Blooming Fire a warm amber; Salted Muse an aquamarine and Nightcap a cloudy taupe.
“The crystal-shaped bottles symbolise energy and intention," Bella told GLAMOUR. "Designed to be held in your hand and activated, [they] reflect my love for vintage perfumery and the natural world. I wanted them to be like an art piece for your vanity.”
Of all the fragrances, Window2Soul was my personal favourite – I looked forward to misting it on every morning after showering. Perfume, by its very nature, is emotive but I genuinely felt that I started my day with a more positive spring in my step after spritzing this on and found the creamy dry down like a hug in a bottle.
I like that the full range of fragrances is alcohol-free, so even sensitive skin types can wear them and the shake technology is addictive. Watching the chemical reaction is a little like eagerly waiting for a mood ring to change colour and it made me feel like I was a bona fide lab coat-wearing, perfume mixologist.
What I will say is that these perfumes are heavier in texture than your typical perfume. They feel more like body care so it's important to spray them directly on your skin rather than on your clothes.
Ultimately, Ôrebella fragrances are long-lasting and reasonably priced. Plus, when you smell like a supermodel, and your perfume is in tune with the kind of theatre TikTok eats up, you can guarantee people's eyes will light up as you waft past.
For more from Fiona Embleton, GLAMOUR's Associate Beauty Director, follow her on @fiembleton.
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