Exclusive: Sabrina Carpenter’s Plan to Become a Beauty Hitmaker

Sabrina Carpenter is working late — but not just ‘cause she’s a singer.

The 25-year-old is also a budding beauty mogul: her third fragrance, Cherry Baby, launches on July 25 in partnership with perfume maker Scent Beauty. And while Cherry Baby is as “playful” as her two prior scents, chocolate-scented Sweet Tooth and Caramel Dream, Carpenter said, it’s also a “little bit more sophisticated.”

“It has a bubbly feel that’s like a Cherry Cosmo or a Shirley Temple, but it’s also very rich,” she told The Business of Beauty over Zoom from a Los Angeles dance studio, where she’s rehearsing for her upcoming global Short ‘N Sweet Tour. “I would say this fragrance was the hardest one to get right, because we needed to smell the actual cherry. I didn’t want it to feel like it was synthetic in any sort of way. It can be playful,” she insisted. “But not fake.”

That emerging brand ethos — steely authenticity, dipped in a glossy vinyl coating with a cheeky pink tint — doesn’t just apply to Cherry Baby, but Carpenter’s entire fragrance platform, and really, all her creative work. Just look at the campy nods to teen films like Sandra Dee’s “Gidget” and pop art like Lichtenstein’s “Girl With Ball” in her “Espresso” music video, which doubled as a mini-ad for Supergoop sunscreen. It’s there in her new hit single “Please Please Please,” too, as Carpenter employs a babydoll twang to masterfully drop the F-bomb. And it’s propelling the former Disney Channel star to record-breaking heights on the pop charts, where her songs remain undefeated summer anthems.

Internal projections from Scent Beauty expect the fragrance to break records, too.

“Sales have been extraordinary,” said Scent Beauty CEO Stephen Mormoris of Carpenter’s perfume trio. Both earned over $15 million in net profits within a year of their debuts, which began in 2022; Mormoris added that it is the fastest-growing fragrance brand at Walmart. When Carpenter posted a link to her new website, FragranceBySabrina.com, on July 18, the website crashed from the traffic surge; Scent had to quickly ramp up international distribution to meet growing demand worldwide.

“The closest sales trajectory that Sabrina Carpenter, as a brand, has is that of Jennifer Lopez,” noted Mormoris, who was formerly chief marketing officer of Coty’s fragrance division. “Cumulatively, that’s about $1 billion in sales.”

But that type of payday takes years to build, even for a star like Carpenter, who currently has 59 million followers across social media — equivalent to the population of Italy. For her part, Carpenter says her personal goals aren’t framed in terms of revenue milestones.

“I try not to think too hard about the way [business] things go,” she admitted. “For me, it’s whatever feels right. I know that sounds a little cliché, but I feel like that [principle] has guided me to where I am … I have lots of big plans, always. But I like to start small. Get my foot in the door. See how other people connect to things, but also, how I connect to things!”

Instead of sales projections, Carpenter wants to focus on building emotional worlds for her fans — an art-before-commerce strategy that connects Carpenter with her former tour mate (and current pop ruler) Taylor Swift. She hopes Cherry Baby becomes a permission slip for fans, many of whom are Gen-Z, to explore flirtier sides of themselves.

“It’s something that we as young women can wear while growing into adult women,” she explained. “Cherry Baby is just sweet enough.”

Gen-Z’s Golden Girl

Currently, 83 percent of Gen-Z uses at least one fragrance, according to market research firm Circana’s 2023 fragrance report. Perfumer Gil Clavien, who collaborated on Cherry Baby with Carpenter, says they want scents that “evoke a sense of security” along with “comfort and playfulness.” (Clavien’s past work includes Y2K scents for Victoria’s Secret, whose wings-with-a-wink playbook aligns nicely with Carpenter’s vibes.) A 30 ml bottle of Cherry Baby fragrance costs about $30, with Sweet Tooth body mists starting at $10 to allow an easier onramp for young shoppers.

“They really want to be part of Sabrina’s emotional aura,” said Mormoris of Carpenter’s teen fans. “And they’re buying her fragrance, which has those childhood smells of chocolate or cherries, but also goes deeper, as a form of escape.”

Carpenter appreciates that the affordable price point allows “girls to be able to relate to what I’m building right now.” But what happens if-slash-when Carpenter grows up, and wants to play in a bigger luxury arena?

“Well, later, other endeavours will be other endeavours,” she said. “If that means creating something else that reflects a new time in my life? Then that’ll be what it is. And I’m just really lucky that right now, I’ve gotten to make something that feels perfectly suited to where I’m at.”

That’s no accident, according to perfumer Clavien. “Sabrina knows exactly what she likes and what she doesn’t like,” he said, while Mormoris added that it’s “fascinating to work with her.”

“She’s a quick learner in terms of the technical parts of the business,” he said. “But she also respects and trusts her audience immensely … she knows they can tell if something doesn’t smell ‘real,’ because she can tell.”

I asked Carpenter if she has any business mentors or role models — someone like Swift or her album’s super-producer Jack Antonoff, but in beauty. She thinks for a moment. “On the one hand, we’re all on our own paths. There is no right or wrong way to go through life, and there is no exact way to do something,” she said. “I am still very green in my own ways, and I’m learning a lot.” And on the other hand? “I mean, I look at Rihanna, and I think she’s a genius. Do I ever want to make as many bras as she’s made? Absolutely not!” Carpenter said, laughing. “I don’t know if I could ever handle that. Like, she runs an empire.”

Carpenter also cites her close friend, the internet polymath and Cartier ambassador Emma Chamberlain, 23, because “everything she does is so true to herself.”

“As much as [beauty contracts] seem so methodical and calculated, a lot of the stuff that I feel really grateful to be a part of, like the fragrances. It ends up just kind of happening,” she said. “It’s a happy accident mixed with hard work and creative ideas. But having fun, and letting myself have fun, that’s what’s always led to success for me.”

The success of Carpenter’s tour, meanwhile, seems a given. When passes went on sale this week, the Ticketmaster website crashed; average seats now command over $1,000 on resale sites. Carpenter and her team — including older sister Sarah, who serves as a creative director for Sabrina’s music and fragrances — are committed to ensuring her fans get an immersive experience, including personal moments with the fragrances.

Though it’s clear that Carpenter’s sense of fun is fearless, it’s also exacting — a bit like her signature corset dresses from Ukrainian designer Frolov, which feature highly constructed bodices painted with frolics of pink swirls.

“It’s true that I really like jokes,” she said with a laugh. “I love to make them. And I really love to be in on them.”

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