Bella Hadid on Her Nostalgic New Fragrance Brand Ôrebella

On February 8, Bella Hadid interrupted her usual Instagram posts—photos of herself at work, herself with her horse, and resources to help Palestinian civilians—with a casual snap at Ulta’s headquarters in Chicago. Within seconds, my phone flooded with texts from friends desperate to know what she was launching. When it comes to style, Hadid is unmatched, mixing vintage with small brands and designer looks for a sensibility that’s 100% her own. We all expected a clothing brand would be in the works eventually, but considering Hadid is usually fresh-faced, beauty felt like a surprising (albeit intriguing) new venture.

As she slowly started to tease more information, it became clear that ‘Ôrəbella, as we discovered it would be called, was not your average beauty brand. The tagline, “Reveal your alchemy,” suggested it would be more of a wellness-focused pursuit, which felt in line with her interests and persona (who could forget her viral morning routine video featuring approximately 500 tinctures and powders). And that’s not entirely far off—today, April 30, Hadid formally introduces ‘Ôrəbella as a fragrance brand with a wellness bent.

The line is launching with three scents that are “pioneering the skinification of fragrance,” per the brand. Each perfume is alcohol-free and made with a bi-phase formula. The first layer nourishes the skin with hydrating snow mushroom and a five-oil blend (camellia, almond, olive, jojoba, and shea), and the second layer delivers an essential oil blend that creates an intoxicating fragrance.

“I really want people to feel the most unique parts about themselves when they wear ‘Ôrəbella so that they can walk into the street and feel confident and excited about themselves,” Hadid tells Byrdie. Ahead, Hadid herself reveals the inspiration behind the brand and introduces each of the inaugural three fragrances.

The Inspiration

Hadid explains that the brand is something she’s been dreaming up for years. It started with the model mixing up her own fragrances with health food store essential oils or lavender from her family’s Pennsylvania farm. After she received countless compliments on her homemade concoctions, she realized this was something she wanted to share with the world. It was important to Hadid that the product felt true to her identity and wasn’t just some “money grab” product—she wanted something that came from her own “brain and heart.”

“I realized one day that this might be cool and special and different and innovative, and felt like I should share it with the world,” says Hadid, adding that she pitched the brand to her partners instead of the other way around. As for the scents themselves, Hadid was deeply inspired by her personal childhood memories and nostalgia but also wanted to tap into our collective experiences and the transformative power of fragrance.

The Bottles

Given Hadid’s penchant for fashion, I wouldn’t expect the fragrances to come in just any old bottle, and she delivered. She thinks of each ‘Ôrəbella bottle as an art piece, and Hadid tells me that she went through 10 variations of the bottle, most of which she drew in her journal in the middle of the night. “I became obsessed with making sure it could fit in your hand perfectly, and when you shake to activate it, I wanted to make sure that [they weren’t] uncomfortable to hold,” she says.

The bottles were inspired by Hadid’s lifelong love of crystals—”I wore crystal bracelets in high school and would always have my Amethyst around me”—and each one is shaped like a brightly-colored stone. Nothing about the brand was an afterthought, including the specific shade of “raw gold” for the cap, inspired by the rings Hadid wears every day.

“There’s a different feeling that an antique gold gives you, or a raw gold gives you, it just brings you back to l the rawness and the roots of all of this.” Hadid even designed a special stand for the fragrances herself (sold separately on the brand’s website) to properly display them on your vanity or counter.

The Fragrances

‘Ôrəbella is launching with three fragrances (though Hadid hints that there’s more to come), each inspired by her cherished memories.

The first, Window2Soul, is “more rosy and jasmine and has tonka bean and a little bit of lemon,” says Hadid. This scent was inspired by the garden in her dad’s Los Angeles house growing up, where she would stay a couple of times every month. “I was always a nature baby,” she explains. “Especially when I’m with my mom like we were always riding horses or at the beach, or in the dirt; always getting dirty somewhere. And then with my dad, it was just different.”

This garden was her connection to nature, and the fragrance’s floral notes are a reflection of that. “Life was already, at that point, kind of crazy around me, but I just knew that when I could go sit in this garden on this little, tiny antique bench, and there were vines growing around. I could sit there and be a kid and take in nature.”

Then, there’s Salted Muse, which Hadid describes as “woody” and “androgynous.” As the name suggests, this fragrance was inspired by the ocean. Hadid wanted it to smell like when you “dive into the ocean, and you get tumbled in a way. There’s water in your nose, and it’s really uncomfortable, but you smell sea salt and this deeper ocean smell.” In addition to sea salt, there are also notes of pink pepper, lavender, woods, amber, and an olive tree accord in the fragrance, which was an important homage to Hadid’s Palestinian heritage. As for the name, she was inspired by feeling the fact that she no longer wants to be someone else’s muse but her own.

Finally, there’s Blooming Fire, a warm floral heavy on Tahitian monoi flower. This fragrance was inspired by Hadid’s childhood on the beach and captures the feeling of wearing your wet bikini under a sweater at sunset. “I knew I wanted to make something with monoi because I love the scent of it,” says Hadid, adding that it has a very sunscreen-y smell. “I think it’s extremely intoxicating, but it’s also a nostalgic scent as I get older—it’s very sexy, but when I was young, it was a very innocent smell.” She adds that she wants the fragrance to make people feel safe and bring them back to carefree days.

Still not sure which one to pick? I asked Hadid to describe each fragrance as an outfit. “Window2Soul would be a really cute bustier floral dress with cowboy boots,” she says. “Salted Muse, I feel like it’s a white tank top, ripped jean shorts, and no shoes. And Blooming Fire would be a bathing suit with a brown leather vest and oversized, low-waisted jeans.”

You can shop the ‘Ôrəbella fragrances on orebella.com on May 2, and ulta.com on May 10. The 10mL is available for $35, 50mL for $72. and 100mL for $100.