Charlotte Tilbury on Her First Fragrance, Scent of a Dream

Makeup maven Charlotte Tilbury celebrated the launch of her debut fragrance, Scent of a Dream, during NYFW. She partnered with Samsung 837 in NYC for a full-on virtual reality experience, where Kate Moss, the face of the campaign, was in hologram form via a VR headset. A-listers and friends came out to celebrate, including Sara Sampaio, Joe Zee, Olivia Palermo, Ashley Graham, Olivia Culpo, Harley Viera-Newton, and Martha Hunt, and guests enjoyed signature cocktails, mini makeovers, lip readings, and dream readings. We caught up with Tilbury to get the scoop on her latest creation.

Your fragrance is finally here!
It was a huge process! I found a fifth generation nose—his great-grandfather had done Coty, his great-uncle worked at Chanel, he’s worked on fragrances for Givenchy, Hermès—he’s incredible. He’s the president of the Society of Perfumers in France, and he puts every fragrance into a family.

What was your vision for the scent?
I wanted to create something that was incredibly new and erotic and mesmerizing and hypnotizing and sensual all in the same scent. It has these top notes that basically ignite feelings of joy, of love, and power and sex. I’m not just saying that—it’s not just a blurb!

Totally! Describe the fragrance for us…
The actual notes we chose—the lemon, peach, and black pepper—they give this calming feeling; frankincense has been used as a spiritual cleanser for many years; jasmine ignites feelings of love and sensuality; and patchouli, which was big in the ’60s, and was the reason everyone was bonking like crazy. The base notes ignite the feelings of power and sex and pheromones and the emotional pathways that we create. So this scent amplifies your own pheromone scent. It smells different on everybody. That’s why we’re calling it Scent of a Dream, the Key to Attraction. 

Is there a smell you can’t stand?
Anything that’s overbearing, or anything that makes me feel queasy. I love things that are fresh but don’t overpower.

When did you first meet Kate Moss?
About 25 years ago! We were doing a shoot for Dazed and Confused magazine with Rankin. We had lots of similar friends, and we kind of knew each other but hadn’t met. She had a place in Notting Hill and I lived around the corner from her. We instantly bonded. She’s got a wicked sense of humor. She’s incredibly intoxicating and very mesmerizing.

Check out the campaign video starring Kate Moss, below…