Victoria Beckham’s Three New Fragrances Defy Convention

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."

Victoria Beckham is a celebrity—but her new fragrances are not mass celebrity perfumes. Starting at $200 for 50 milliliters and $290 for 100, the three scents—Suite 302, Portofino ’97, and San Ysidro Drive—occupy the same ultra-luxe space as the star’s eponymous fashion label. They’re housed in colorful enamel-and-glass bottles inspired by a vintage design Beckham found while traveling. And each scent tells the story of key moments in her life and marriage to David Beckham, with juices created in collaboration with master perfumer Jérôme Epinette.

Beckham says she’s been working on the fragrances for eight years—far before the launch of even her beauty brand, Victoria Beckham Beauty. But this isn’t her first foray into the fragrance space. Back in 2006, she and David collaborated with Coty on an ultra-popular scent, Intimately Beckham. “It was a celebrity fragrance, nothing wrong with that. But it’s a very different experience. The price point is different. The creative process is different—everything about is different,” Beckham tells Bazaar. “That fragrance was such a phenomenal success that it enabled me to create my own brand. Because it was very lucrative. But I’m glad that I’m now in a position to do it this way.”

Creating the new fragrances from scratch, together with Epinette, was an “intense” and “personal” journey for the designer, who says she’s always liked fragrances but never found one she loves. “So I decided to do it myself and to tell mine and David’s love story through these fragrances. It was quite an emotional experience—fragrance is emotional,” she says. “It’s very honest.”

What impressed us most about the scents is how bold and long-wearing they are—these are fragrances for people who love to gather compliments on how good they smell. Suite 302, Bazaar editors’ favorite of the three, has notes of black cherry, tobacco, and rose, and is meant to evoke memories of the Beckham’s vow renewal in 2004. “For me, my perfect date night scent is Suite 302. It’s quite a sensual fragrance,” she says. “And it’s the heaviest of the three. It feels quite mysterious, quite hot. So I would wear that on date night or if I was wearing a tuxedo.”

San Ysidro Drive, a rose perfume with notes of saffron and amber, is what Beckham calls her day-to-day scent. “It’s nice for during the day, since we’re not quite in winter yet. But, you know, you could also mix them as well,” she adds. This scent was inspired by her move to California and the peaceful wellness scene she discovered there.

The perfect layering scent and lightest of the three is Portofino ’97, a spicy citrus fragrance with notes of bergamot, amber, sea notes, musk, and patchouli. It draws inspiration from the open hotel balcony on the Italian coast where a young Victoria and David privately vacationed before their romance became public. “When we’re in Miami, both myself and David wear Portofino ’97, because it’s quite a summery, fresh feel,” she says.

Beckham says she’s often inspired by menswear, but didn’t realize until years after designing these scents that they are actually genderless. “But over the summer, my husband started wearing them off his own back. I didn’t say to wear this fragrance. He normally wears Tom Ford, Byredo, Dior—he’s now wearing these fragrances,” she says. “He’s not the kind of guy that’s just going to wear something to make me feel good about it. David wears what he wants, because he likes it. And I think that’s a big compliment—you know, he has access to the best of everything."

Between her successful fashion label, gorgeous cosmetics, award-winning skincare, and now fragrances—we wondered if Beckham has her sights set on more scent categories, like candles, in the future. “I’d love to do more, but I don’t want to rush anything. I’m really enjoying the process. I feel like I’m about to have little triplets, you know what I mean?” she says of this latest launch. “I need to give them time to grow and mature and flourish.”

You Might Also Like

• 4 Investment-Worthy Skincare Finds From Sephora

• The 17 Best Retinol Creams Worth Adding to Your Skin Care Routine