Trust Khloé Kardashian to blindside us exactly one month before Christmas with her first signature fragrance launch. The entrepreneur teased the news of her scent, XO Khloé, last week, on Instagram, but the Brits can feel extra smug because it’s coming to us first (today), thanks to an exclusive partnership with Harrods, before rolling out in the US at Ulta from 1st December and other territories from Spring 2025.
We were one of the first to get our hands on a sample and honestly, it wasn’t what we expected. While the timing may be winter, the scent is pure spring-summer, though it has a chameleon-like versatility to work across different moods and vibes. It sees a change of pace. Androgynous sandalwoods and barely-there skin scents have led fragrance trends for the past year, but XO Khloé is a committed, unadulterated detonation of florals.
The confusing thing is, she’s naughty and nice. It smells like seduction and flowers, and while I immediately categorised it as a sexy date night perfume, my desk mate disagreed. “This is a cutesy, daytime spring scent,” she said. “You’d wear it to a wholesome picnic.” She could also smell a lot of fruitiness, where for me it was all petals.
The scent has a crowd-pleasing familiarity to it – it sits alongside determined florals like Viktor & Rolf’s Flowerbomb (just without the spice), but it also has a little sophisticated creaminess that takes a second to come through and nods to luxe coquettish scents like Delina by Parfums de Marly.
The actual anatomy of the perfume includes crystallised rose petals, a touch of praline, musks and soft woods, which is how it manages to feel sweet, sexy, warm and soft. As for the blend, Khloé tapped up master perfumer Alberto Morillas (the nose responsible for Calvin Klein CK One, Le Labo Tubereuse 40 New York, YSL Saharienne and Gucci Bloom, among others) and Clement Gavarry at leading scent research and development firm, Firmenich.
And in case you’re wondering how involved Khloé was in the process, her answer is very. “Creating this fragrance has been such a special journey for me,” Khloé wrote in the press release. “I take a hands-on approach to any project I am involved in, and I wanted every detail of XO Khloé to feel intentional and purposeful. From the bottle design to the campaign – I was fully integrated into the process from start to finish. I’m especially proud of the scent, it was something we spent a lot of time on to make sure it was perfect, and I’m so happy with the final product. I cannot wait to share it with everyone!”
For more from GLAMOUR’s Senior Beauty Editor, Elle Turner, follow her on Instagram @elleturneruk
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