Ariana Grande or Taylor Swift, whose celebrity perfume is the most popular?

The numbers tell the story: perfumery is the leading sector in the beauty industry, with an estimated revenue of 42.4 billion euros by 2025. The world of perfumes is constantly evolving, offering greener, more sophisticated, and exclusive formulations to satisfy consumer tastes, especially among Gen Z, who, increasingly informed through social media and perfume influencers, loves to change. They switch from gourmand fragrances to amber notes depending on their mood, but prioritize quality over quantity. This preference leads them towards luxurious perfumes, often from niche brands, with rare and unusual olfactory bouquets. This drives perfumers and companies to be increasingly creative, seeking rare and exclusive ingredients and combinations, thereby intensifying competition in the market.

The comeback of celebrity perfumes

Despite this drive toward originality, one category remains immune to this trend and continues to sell: celebrity perfumes. Or so it seems, because in recent years, stars have also been offering high-end products with refined formulas and unique sillage, born from collaborations with the best perfumers. Forget the idea, or rather the scent, of cloying, “cheap” trails that cause headaches with one sniff; Lady Gaga, JLo, and other celebs are now presenting adorable, Instagrammable bottles filled with olfactory treasures we never want to stop spraying. But if the early 2000s were dominated by Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, whose celebrity perfumes are the most popular today? The experts at VapeGlobe investigated and, just in time for holiday gift ideas, compiled the top 10 hottest celebrity perfumes of 2024.

Everyone's crazy about Cloud by Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande's Cloud is the most popular celebrity perfume of 2024, with a score of 9.5/10. This fragrance has the highest average monthly searches among all 231,000 examined, and the highest number of Instagram hashtags, a whopping 24,441. Launched in 2018, it remains among the most recommended on TikTok, even praised by those who are not fans of the singer. What's behind this success? A blend of sweetness and freshness, with a gourmet twist, crafted by perfumer Clement Gavarry. It opens with a mix of lavender, pear, and bergamot, continues with heart notes of whipped cream, coconut, praline, and vanilla orchid, and finishes with sensual base notes of musk and wood.

Pop queen showdown in the top 3: Beyoncé vs. Taylor Swift

Beyoncé’s Heat takes second place with a popularity score of 8.3/10, though it ranks third in the number of Instagram hashtags (5,174). Even though it was released over ten years ago, it still garners thousands of monthly global searches (10,900). Bey described it as "a unique expression of a woman’s powerful sensuality," "elegant and feminine with a hint of mystery," dedicated to "all self-confident women unafraid to desire and be desired." This concept is evoked through a warm and sensual essence, with top notes of red vanilla, magnolia, neroli, and pink peach; heart notes include musk, honeysuckle, and almond, with base notes of tonka bean, amber, and sequoia.

Another pop queen takes third place: Taylor Swift with Wonderstruck. With a popularity score of 8.1/10, the perfume ranks second globally in average monthly searches (17,900), just after Ariana Grande's perfume, and has, to date, 2,673 Instagram hashtags. “I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home,” Taylor sang in Enchanted, inspiring perfumer Olivier Gillotin to create a fragrance characterized by floral notes with a fresh vanilla surprise and fruity essences, apple blossom, peach, and raspberry, combined with a bouquet of hibiscus and honeysuckle petals. It’s packaged in a purple bottle with golden iridescence, adorned with small charms designed by the singer. Swift’s fanbase continues to collect it, but many who don’t listen to her music may be choosing to smell like Taylor, perhaps influenced by the success of the Era's Tour.

From fourth to seventh place: Rihanna, Billie Eilish, JLo, and Lady Gaga

In fourth place in the most popular celebrity fragrances of 2024 list is a tie between Rihanna with Reb'l Fleur and Billie Eilish with Eilish, both scoring 6.9/10 in popularity. Rihanna's fragrance has 800 more monthly global searches than Billie Eilish’s but half as many Instagram hashtags (7,965). Launched in 2010, Reb'l Fleur combines fruity and powdery floral notes, emanating the sweet and juicy scent of peach, plum, and red berries. Eilish’s perfume, meanwhile, is housed in a bottle shaped like a female bust, containing a vanilla, spicy, and musky fragrance. The singer of Lunch aimed for an essence that evokes warmth, which she achieved with notes of sugared petals, juicy mandarins, and red berries in the opening; the heart notes are vanilla, cocoa, and spicy spices, while the base is formed by musk, tonka bean, and a mix of warm woods.

In sixth place, we find the celebrity fragrance that raised the industry standard, pushing it toward more refined formulas: Glow by Jennifer Lopez, with a popularity rating of 6.7/10, an average of 5,900 monthly global searches, and 2,190 hashtags on Instagram so far. First introduced in 2002, Glow is a fresh, floral fragrance featuring notes of neroli, pink grapefruit, and orange blossom, enriched with hints of rose, sandalwood, amber, and musk. In seventh place is Fame by Lady Gaga, with a popularity score of 6.4/10, 3,800 average monthly global searches, and 3,626 hashtags on Instagram. Its unique characteristic? It’s the first fragrance in history to be black in the bottle but turn transparent on contact with skin. Its bouquet includes tears of belladonna, tiger orchid, a dark veil of incense, powdered apricot, saffron essence, and honey drops.

Celebrity perfumes are timeless

Perhaps it’s because they remind us of our youth, or because of our fondness for certain stars, but we continue to love the fragrances launched by our favorite celebrities decades ago. In fact, in eighth place on VapeGlobe’s list is Curious by Britney Spears, with a popularity score of 6.2/10, an average of 6,700 monthly global searches, and 1,079 hashtags on Instagram so far. Do people wear it because they’re fans of Britney or because they love the fruity-floral scent? Who knows. Another iconic star takes ninth place: Elizabeth Taylor with White Diamonds, launched in 1991. It has a popularity rating of 5.5/10, an average of 12,800 monthly global searches, and 286 hashtags on Instagram to date. Fun fact: It was the violet-eyed diva herself who started the celebrity fragrance trend when she introduced Passion to the world in 1987 in collaboration with Elizabeth Arden. Rounding out the list is Fancy by Jessica Simpson, claiming the tenth spot with a popularity score of 5.2/10, an average of 4,650 monthly global searches, and 839 hashtags on Instagram to date.