Between writing Grammy-nominated music and touring across the globe, Billie Eilish also makes fragrances. Damn good ones, actually. I've tested hundreds of perfumes in my career as a beauty editor. If I like a scent, it's a big deal. And, hell, if I actually wear it consistently, then I really know it's good. Eilish Fragrance's first-ever scent, Eilish, is one of my most-worn perfumes—it's a sweet, cozy vanilla perfume that lasts for 8 to 12 hours on my skin. Since that launch, Billie's worked on four more perfumes, including the brand-new Your Turn II, a woody, fresh scent that evokes both the dark and the light.
When I met with Billie last month to go over the new launch, I immediately recognized how these two vibes embody her too. She has got this light, melodic voice that contrasts her exterior: jet-black hair, baggy and dark clothes, strong personality and POV. It makes sense, then, why Your Turn II is so themed to her life right now. She's on her Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour through the end of this month, and she's more dedicated than ever to the causes close to her heart, having just donated $11.5 million of her tour earnings to organizations that support food equity, climate justice, and carbon pollution reduction. She's got a lot going on, but there's still a softness about her—just like this scent, a mix of cedarwood, resin, black tea leaves, plum, berry, and cassis.
Billie and I caught up over Zoom to talk all things fragrance—from the making of Your Turn II to her go-to romantic scent right now. But we also touched on how she's staying grounded amidst it all.
What's the mood of this scent?
Your Turn original is one of my favorites that I've ever made and happens to be the one that I wear all the time. The second one has this mood of dark meets light. That's the idea. It's this woody, fruity version of Your Turn. To me, it feels a little bit darker and more mysterious. I wear it all the time, and I carry it around in the original sample we have of it, which is this fucked-up little thing at this point, but I love it so much.
You've made five fragrances now. What have you learned from making the others that went into this one?
I feel like something I started off doing and feel very proud of continuing has to do with the the look of the bottle. My first idea when I created Eilish original was that I wanted the bottle to look like a piece of art that you would buy just because it's cool and nothing else. With Eilish, it was this beautiful girl and this gold design. I thought it was amazing. With Your Turn, I knew that I wanted to keep that going, and that has been very rewarding. I feel very proud of it. When I put all the fragrances I've made on a shelf together, I feel satisfied knowing they look beautiful. Inside each one is a story being told. Each scent has a memory, a time period, and everything about when I was wearing it. They all hold so many memories for me, and I love that, so I wanted to keep that going and not change it.
You’ve said that your scents are often a reflection of where you are. Do you feel like scent inspires you creatively in other ways?
I think so. Creatively, I feel it more in my day-to-day life and the way I feel. It really reflects your mood. I’ve found sometimes that I’ll go in to make music, and the scent I’m wearing doesn’t match the vibe of the day. So I’ll change my shirt and put something else on.
You're a Sagittarius, right?
Yes.
Same. The mood has to be right.
Yeah, it has to fit the mood. What I love about Your Turn II is that it fits every mood recently. It’s the scent I reach for when I’m running out the door and realize I haven’t put perfume on. I go to this one always. I keep it in my car, my purse, and my pocket, since I've been using this small sample. I love it so much.
When I was looking at the notes, it felt very zen with black tea. But where you are in your life is probably the opposite of zen. Being on tour is not that. How do you stay grounded right now and get into that vibe?
I think being around my friends and having people around me who are normal, wonderful, and whom I love spending time with helps. I exercise a lot. Going to the gym makes me feel very in my body, which is nice. Honestly, the scents I'm smelling affect me a lot. I feel like a different person based on what I'm smelling. Sometimes a familiar scent feels comfortable and grounding. When life gets unfamiliar and scary, I rely on a scent that puts me at ease. When I feel uncomfortable or unsettled, I don’t want to try a new perfume. If it smells too different from my life, it freaks me out. I love going back to things that make me feel grounded and like myself. Scent can be a big part of that.
Scent association is powerful. The original Eilish perfume is my favorite scent to wear on a date. For you, which of your scents feels the most romantic?
I feel like Eilish original is the one. It’s what started all of this, so I feel very attached to it. A reason I wanted to make fragrance is that I had this specific vanilla scent in my mind for years. I could never figure it out, and nothing ever smelled like it. I looked everywhere for a fragrance with that specific vanilla, and I never found it. The only way to get it was to make one. I remember saying to my team, “Can I just make one and have it?” They said I could sell it, and I didn’t even realize that was possible. The idea of making fragrance and putting it out into the world was a dream I didn’t think was attainable. When I realized I actually could, it changed my whole world. That was my baby. I put everything into that one. I love fragrance so much. There are few things I’m as passionate about.
How do you know when a perfume is perfect?
It has been surprising, because the process is different than I expected. It’s hard to figure out when it’s perfect. At a certain point, it’s like saying the same word over and over until it stops looking real. I make sure I'm not alone in the process, because I want other opinions. Anyone in the room has to smell it and compare different versions. It's hard to know when it's done. What I’ve found is that sometimes you try too many things and keep adding more, and then it becomes too much. Sometimes the original idea is the best. Your Turn 2 is a good example. It turns out sometimes that the original idea is probably the best.
I'm sure that happens with writing too.
I literally was just gonna say that. With 'Birds of a Feather," we tried all these things and added so much. Then we were like, "You know what? Take all this shit out. Let's go back to the original idea we had." With Your Turn II, funnily, instead of sitting around and trying to figure it out, we used a sample from the original version that I fell in love with and didn't know what to do with. I had it on my shelf, and I would use it all the time, and I loved it so much. So when we were thinking about making a second version of Your Turn, I was like, "What about this amazing one that we never did anything with?" I feel like that's a really good example of realizing sometimes it's not as complicated as you make it, you know?
Something I love about your fragrances is that they're always genderless. Does that come naturally to you, or was it intentional?
Honestly, I didn’t think much about it. It feels natural to want everyone to wear things. I’ve spent my life not wanting to wear the women’s version of something because it wasn’t my style. I wanted men’s shoes, and sometimes the women’s version would be pink with extra details I didn’t want. I’ve always wanted everyone to enjoy what I create without feeling left out. Naturally, the things I’m drawn to are more genderless. With scent especially, I don’t wear very feminine scents because they don’t match how I feel or how I want to be portrayed.
Beth Gillette is the beauty editor at Cosmopolitan, where she covers skincare, makeup, hair, nails, and more across digital and print. She can generally be found in bright eyeshadow furiously typing her latest feature or hemming and hawing about a new product you "have to try." Prior to Cosmopolitan, she wrote and edited beauty content as an Editor at The Everygirl for four years. Follow her on Instagram for makeup selfies and a new hair 'do every few months.
