Lengthy earlier than Leah Kateb joined Skylar as its Chief Inventive Officer and “Re-Founder,” the Love Island USA star says she was an avid client of the perfume model. Over a 12 months after becoming a member of, Kateb has no plans to fully reinvent the model. Reasonably, she’s working to ascertain a sharper model identification — one which she hopes feels “larger, cooler and extra culturally related.”
There’s no denying that the movie star magnificence model class has turn into particularly crowded in recent times. However Kateb’s work with Skylar was by no means meant to be simply an endorsement. Scent has at all times been private for the influencer, and that intuition now shapes her artistic management function. Drawing from each her private ardour and some shocking takeaways from her time on actuality TV, Kateb is constant to develop with the model.
That sentiment of evolution quite than stagnation is what drives Kateb’s fourth signature fragrance with the model, “Fated Flame.” Whereas Kateb’s earlier three fragrances lean into classically gourmand scent profiles, “Fated Flame” is a transparent image of Skylar’s new period — the place candy hints of cherry and chocolate ganache flip complicated and mature due to a sensual oud base. “The scent is acquainted sufficient that you just instantly need to scent it, however there’s one thing darker and extra sudden beneath,” Kateb tells Hypebae. Though the fragrance appears like a slight departure from the model’s lineup, its addictive high quality is what makes it unmistakably Skylar.
For Kateb, “Fated Flame” is only the start. Along with crafting complete visible phrases fueled by scent, the star says she needs to push the model into sudden territory — the sort that leaves followers ready within the wings earlier than something new is even introduced. “2027 can be our greatest 12 months but, and it’s insane that we have already got it absolutely mapped out,” she teases.
Forward, we communicate to Leah Kateb about dreaming up “Fated Flame” and the way her imaginative and prescient for Skylar has advanced over time.
On the Inspiration Behind “Fated Flame”
“Fated Flame” began with the concept of wanting one thing actually addictive and sensual, however not in an apparent means. I simply turned 27 and I’ve needed a sexier, extra mature scent that’s nonetheless Leah. Cherry can go very candy, chocolate can go very dessert and oud can go very heavy, so the problem was making these three issues really feel horny and elevated collectively. We performed with the stability so much till it had that instantaneous “Wait, what are you carrying?” impact. That’s at all times the purpose.
On Why She Joined Skylar
I’ve at all times liked perfume as a result of it’s so emotional. You may scent one thing as soon as and all of the sudden you’re again in a spot, with an individual, in a complete totally different model of your life. It’s additionally such a temper booster. I immediately really feel sexier when I’ve perfume on and the most effective praise to me is, “You scent good!” Skylar already had such a robust basis, however I noticed a lot room to make the model really feel larger, cooler, extra culturally related and actually simply extra enjoyable. I didn’t need to simply put my identify on one thing, I needed to really assist construct it.
On the Model’s Evolution
My first thought was: Skylar ought to really feel like the good model of itself. I by no means needed to fully change what individuals already liked concerning the model. I needed to sharpen it and introduce new audiences to the model I already liked by taking part in with extra sudden scent mixtures, higher visible worlds and extra character. If something, the imaginative and prescient has simply gotten larger. I’m continually excited about how each perfume, marketing campaign and touchpoint can really feel unmistakably Skylar.
On the Hyperlink Between Actuality TV and Magnificence
They sound like fully totally different worlds, however there’s really numerous overlap. Actuality TV taught me in a short time how individuals join with issues – what feels actual, what feels pressured, what individuals really speak about after they see it. I deliver that intuition into Skylar on a regular basis. I even have a singular expertise as a result of I used to be a client of Skylar earlier than I grew to become part of the model. Magnificence can typically take itself very critically, and I feel being exterior the standard business monitor provides me permission to ask, “Okay, however would individuals really care about this?”
On Who Skylar Is For
Actually, Skylar is for everybody. Miguel wears it, my mother wears it, my nieces put on it, my finest mates put on it, and someway all of us have fully totally different favourite scents. I adore it. I by no means needed perfume to really feel prefer it needed to match into one age, gender, or “sort” of particular person. It’s actually about temper and character. Some days you need one thing candy and flirty, some days you need one thing clear, horny, woody, bizarre, actually no matter. Skylar is continually evolving, identical to people are, and that’s what I like about it. There aren’t any limits.
On the Way forward for Skylar
[I’ll] in all probability get in bother for saying an excessive amount of, so I’ll behave. However we’re pushing the perfume course into extra sudden territory, constructing a lot bigger artistic worlds round launches, and making Skylar really feel like a model you need to comply with even earlier than you realize what we’re dropping. There are just a few scents (and different merchandise wink, wink) coming that I’m already obsessive about and a few of them are positively going to shock individuals. I’m attempting to step out of the gourmand field and actually push boundaries.
