Victoria’s Secret Beauty has a new fragrance, its first in five years.
The beauty brand — which is owned by parent company Victoria’s Secret & Co. — on Tuesday will release “Bare Eau de Parfum,” a partnership with international perfume school Symrise.
“Throughout our transformation, we’ve been focused on listening to customers and saw a unique need in the market for a fragrance that complements women of all backgrounds and lifestyles,” Kristen Lagoa, vice president of merchandising, beauty and accessories at Victoria’s Secret, told WWD. “This one-of-a-kind fragrance delivers on our mission to celebrate all women by adapting to each person’s body chemistry to create a scent unique to them.
“We started having conversations as a team: if we were to capture the brand in a bottle today what would we come up with? And that’s how Bare was born,” she continued. “This launch of this fragrance was a natural extension of our mission to uplift and champion all women. This new fragrance pillar honors the power of individuality and evolves into something beautiful with everyone. It’s about celebrating radical authenticity and represents a more subtle side of sexy that every woman can relate to.”
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Julianne Pruett, vice president of fine fragrance, North America, at Symrise added: “Bare is unlike any other fragrance in how it takes the idea of a signature scent to a whole new level. Our exclusive Real You Accord — a proprietary blend of adaptive musks, developed in conjunction with the [nonprofit, independent scientific research center] Monell Institute — amplifies the wearer’s unique scent, like a manifestation of their authentic self.”
Lagoa said it took Victoria’s Secret roughly two years to create Bare.
“Choosing a fragrance is an extremely personal experience, so we took our time developing a scent that could be both relatable and unique to everyone who wears it,” she explained. “While Bombshell and Tease [fragrances] are still very much our brand and we are very proud of them, our brand is dynamic, our customer is dynamic and there was a whole other side we were missing. Bare is our most intimate experience, it is about a quiet confidence that comes from knowing and being your true authentic self.”
The new fragrance is in the woody floral fragrance family and is made from “upcycled materials and responsibly sourced ingredients,” according to Pruett, as well as a blend of musks, such as mandarins from Madagascar, Egyptian violet petals and Australian sandalwood.
“When creating this fragrance, we wanted to craft something completely different — something that unveils the signature scent everyone is looking for,” Nathalie Benareau and Carlos Vinals, master perfumers at Symrise who helped create Bare, said in a joint statement. “Comforting yet captivating, soft yet sensual. The idea was to accentuate the natural beauty of the wearer without covering up their unique scent and individuality.”
The Bare collection includes parfums, mists, lotions and body creams and ranges in price from $15 to $79.95.
Pruett added that the new fragrance also used cryptosystem technology.
“In fact, Bare is first-to-market with this fragrance encryption technology that protects the uniquely crafted fragrance and its proprietary ingredients, ensuring Bare will remain a trade secret to Victoria’s Secret,” she said.
The women-led Bare campaign was shot by Zoe Ghertner and styled by Camilla Nickerson, and includes a diverse cast of women, including models, actors, musicians, gardeners and wellness entrepreneurs.
Lagoa said beauty remains one of Victoria’s Secret’s fast-growing categories. But the launch of Bare is parent Victoria’s Secret & Co.’s — which also includes the Lingerie and Pink brands — latest transformation efforts to win back market share and grow revenues.
In April, Victoria’s Secret Beauty launched a multilanguage campaign — its first ever — featuring Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Camila Cabello. That same month, Victoria’s Secret Beauty launched on Amazon, the brand’s first time selling wholesale by way of an online marketplace.
“[Bare] is the latest step in our growing Beauty business,” Lagoa said. “Bare is going to remain in focus for us for the rest of the year, as we want to sustain that excitement to help Bare cultivate a following, just like we have for Very Sexy, Tease, Heavenly and, of course, Bombshell.
“Our focus is on continuing to deliver products that will uplift and champion women on their personal journeys,” she added. “Bare Eau de Parfum is the latest focal point of our exploration into crafting more personalized experiences for our customers. We want women to feel undeniably confident when they wear Bare and that confidence starts with unlocking and enhancing what is already there. That’s what this launch delivers on, celebrating authenticity in its most natural form.”