What Perfume Does Charli XCX Wear?

Charli XCX’s best-documented everyday perfume is Byredo Bibliothèque, a plummy, leathery eau de parfum she named herself on camera for British GQ in August 2024, the same summer her album brat turned lime green into a cultural signal. That makes it the strongest answer to what perfume does Charli XCX wear, though it isn’t the only name in circulation. She has also been tied to Byredo Mixed Emotions through a British Vogue bag video. Her Met Gala 2026 hairstylist showed an Initio Atomic Rose hair mist and perfume behind the scenes, and she fronted three limited-edition Impulse body sprays in 2016. As of 29 October 2026 we found no Charli XCX or brat-branded perfume. Her current beauty deals, with Valentino Beauty in 2024 and YSL Beauty in 2026, are announced as make-up partnerships, not fragrance contracts.

Why does that matter if you’re buying? Because the question has a messy answer, and the internet has a habit of filling the mess with guesses. Some names on the list come from her own mouth. Some come from a stylist’s Instagram. One is from her teenage years, and one is a £1.99 body spray she designed the packaging for a decade ago. They smell nothing alike and cost wildly different amounts. Before you spend luxury-tier money on a bottle for yourself or a fan, it helps to know which of these she actually chose, which were chosen for her, and which are just repeated from one listicle to the next. This explainer sorts the evidence, then tells you how each scent smells and wears, and where to find something cheaper with a similar mood.

What we know about what perfume Charli XCX wears

These points come from published reporting we were able to read. Where a claim reaches us second-hand, we say so.

• Byredo Bibliothèque is the one she named herself. In a British GQ “essentials” TikTok, she put Bibliothèque among the things she carries. She called it her current favourite and said she travels with it. Writing up the clip in August 2024, ELLE Singapore quoted her answer to people who say she over-sprays: “That’s their problem, not mine because I think it smells great.” BeautyCrew in Australia ran the same clip the same week. We read both write-ups but could not view the original TikTok, so we’re relying on how two outlets reported it.
• ELLE Singapore says her rotation includes two Byredo fragrances, but it names only Bibliothèque. Nobody we found has confirmed which the second one is.
• Byredo Mixed Emotions is linked to her through a British Vogue bag video. Who What Wear reported in April 2024 that she mentioned it in a British Vogue “What’s in My Bag” segment. An Italian outlet, nss g-club, repeated the pairing in February 2026. We couldn’t retrieve the Vogue video, so treat this as reported, not personally verified. If it’s correct, Mixed Emotions could plausibly be the unnamed second Byredo.
• Her Met Gala 2026 look came with Initio Atomic Rose. Grazia UK reported that her hairstylist, Matt Benns, posted behind-the-scenes Instagram images showing Initio’s Atomic Rose hair mist and the matching perfume. She wore Saint Laurent that night. Grazia includes no comment from Charli XCX or Initio. So this is the stylist’s product choice for one event, as reported, not her own named favourite.
• She once had an official fragrance collaboration, with a body spray. In 2016 she was the face of three limited-edition Impulse body sprays from Unilever UK: Rock & Love, Vanilla Kisses and Why Not? According to Cosmetics Business, she designed the yellow, tiger-print can for Why Not?, a citrus-tea scent sold as a summer limited edition. This was a paid partnership, and those cans are long gone from shelves.
• Her teenage scent is reported to be Glow by JLo. ELLE Singapore says she started out as a teen by “dousing herself” in Jennifer Lopez’s 2002 fragrance. That’s the writer’s phrasing, not a direct quote, and it says nothing about what she wears now.
• Her current beauty ambassadorships are for make-up. Valentino Beauty named her a US beauty ambassador in October 2024 around its Spike Valentino lipstick. YSL Beauty appointed her a US ambassador in May 2026 to front what it calls a “new era of make-up,” launching with the Skin Affair Soft Glow Cushion Foundation. Neither announcement mentions a perfume.
• Not a perfume, but scent-related: she keeps two Diptyque fig candles in her dressing rooms. She told GQ they freshen up green rooms that smell bad. It’s a useful clue to her taste in home fragrance, even if it says nothing about her skin.

What we don’t know

Open questions are as useful to a buyer as confirmed facts, because they tell you where the guesswork starts.

• Whether Bibliothèque is still her daily scent. Her comments are from summer 2024. Two years is a long time in anyone’s perfume habits, and we found no newer interview where she repeats it.
• Which second Byredo ELLE meant. Mixed Emotions is the obvious candidate, but no source we read connects the two directly.
• Whether Atomic Rose was her pick or her stylist’s. A product appearing in a hairstylist’s behind-the-scenes post shows what was used on the night. It doesn’t show what she buys for herself, and Grazia doesn’t say if there was a commercial relationship.
• Whether a Charli XCX perfume is coming. Fans keep asking for an official “brat” fragrance and plenty of TikTok videos imagine one. As of today we found no announcement from her, her label or any fragrance house. Treat any “brat perfume” listing with suspicion unless it’s on a brand’s own site.
• Whether YSL’s deal will reach fragrance. YSL Beauty sells some of the world’s biggest perfumes. Its announcement framed her role around make-up, and nothing published so far says otherwise. Any claim that she’s “the new face of” a YSL perfume is unconfirmed until the brand says so.
• The exact date and wording of the Vogue bag video. Who What Wear didn’t date the clip, and we couldn’t view it.

Timeline: Charli XCX and fragrance, dated

Dates come from the publication date of each report unless the event date is stated. “Reported” means we’re relying on the outlet’s account of a video or post we couldn’t view directly.

The scents, reviewed

Here’s how each documented fragrance actually smells and wears, and which price tier it sits in. We list notes only where brand or retailer pages agree. Your skin will add its own twist; our guide to matching perfume to your body chemistry explains why the same bottle can smell different on two people.

Byredo Bibliothèque (eau de parfum) — her own pick

Evidence level: named by her on camera, as reported by ELLE Singapore and BeautyCrew. Value tier: $$$ luxury niche.

Bibliothèque started life as a Byredo candle meant to evoke an old library. The eau de parfum, launched in 2017, takes that idea and makes it wearable. Retailer listings agree on peach and plum at the top, peony and violet in the middle, and patchouli, leather and vanilla with musk in the base. Sephora files it under warm woods.

On skin, the first ten minutes are the surprise. People expect dust and paper and get ripe, slightly jammy stone fruit instead. Plum is the star. The violet arrives soon after and gives a powdery, almost lipstick-like edge, which is where the “old book” comparison really comes from. After an hour or so the leather and patchouli take over. It’s soft suede rather than a biker jacket, and the vanilla stops it turning austere. The drydown is warm, a little sweet, and cosy in the way of a jumper you’ve had for years.

Wearability: This is a fragrance with presence. It’s not a quiet skin scent, which fits her cheerful admission that she over-applies. Two or three sprays are plenty for most people, especially indoors. Our guide on how to wear perfume subtly helps if you share an office. It shines from autumn through spring and can feel heavy in high heat. It’s sold as unisex and genuinely works that way, so it’s an easy pick from our wider list of gender-neutral fragrances.

Who should buy it: Anyone who likes fruit but finds most fruity perfumes too young or too sugary. If leather is new to you, Bibliothèque is a gentle introduction. Our round-up of leather fragrances shows where it sits next to harder, smokier styles.

Value note: Byredo is priced as niche luxury, and the 50ml is the size most stockists carry. If you’re curious rather than committed, a sample or decant first is sensible. Many stockists sell sample vials, and some sell a smaller travel spray.

Byredo Mixed Emotions (eau de parfum) — reported

Evidence level: reported via a British Vogue bag video, which we couldn’t view. Value tier: $$$ luxury niche.

Launched in 2021, Mixed Emotions is an odder, more modern scent than Bibliothèque. Harrods and other stockists list maté and blackcurrant up top, Ceylon black tea and violet leaf in the heart, and birch wood and papyrus in the base. Byredo presents it as a portrait of an anxious, mixed-up present, and it does smell restless.

The opening is tart and green. It’s blackcurrant leaf as much as berry, with a dry, grassy bitterness from the maté. Then the black tea adds a smoky, tannic quality, and violet leaf keeps everything green rather than floral. The drydown is pale, papery wood with a faint smoky thread. Reviewers split sharply on it. Some find it brilliant and some find it “confusing,” and that’s honest. It doesn’t follow the usual sweet-to-warm arc of a crowd-pleaser.

Wearability: Moderate projection, very office-friendly, and better in spring and autumn than in deep winter. It’s the bottle for someone who finds most perfume too “perfumey.” If you’re buying it blind as a gift, know that it’s polarising. A sample is wise.

Who should buy it: Tea drinkers, people who like green and herbal scents, and anyone curious about niche perfume that doesn’t smell like a department store counter. Our explainer on designer versus niche perfumes covers what you’re paying for at this level.

Initio Atomic Rose (perfume and hair mist) — the Met Gala pick

Evidence level: shown by her hairstylist for one event, as reported by Grazia. It’s not something she has named herself. Value tier: $$$ luxury niche, with a less expensive hair mist.

Grazia describes Atomic Rose as bergamot, mandarin and pink pepper over Bulgarian rose, and calls it “heady, bold and unabashed.” That matches its reputation. It’s a big, radiant rose with sparkle up top and a long, warm trail. It’s not a dewy, garden-fresh rose; it’s closer to a nightclub rose, glossy and confident.

Wearability: Strong. This is an evening or event scent for most people, which is exactly how it was reportedly used. The hair mist version is a smart idea for a long red-carpet night, because hair holds scent well and moves it around as you do.

Who should buy it: Rose lovers who want volume, not delicacy. If you prefer your roses softer, our list of rose fragrances has gentler options.

Glow by JLo — the teenage starting point

Evidence level: reported by ELLE Singapore as her teenage scent. It’s a past habit, not a current one. Value tier: $ budget.

Glow launched in 2002 and became one of the defining celebrity fragrances of that decade. Lopez’s own tagline was “fresh, sexy, clean.” The listed notes are orange and grapefruit, jasmine and orris, then vanilla and musk. It smells of clean skin and a citrus shower gel, softened by powdery musk. It’s simple, pleasant and very wearable.

Wearability: Light to moderate, easy in any season, and safe at school or work. It’s still widely sold at budget prices. We cover the full Lopez fragrance story in our piece on what perfume Jennifer Lopez wears.

Who should buy it: Fans who want the nostalgic, Y2K side of Charli’s story, or anyone after a cheap, clean everyday spritz.

Impulse Why Not? — the official collaboration

Evidence level: confirmed paid partnership from 2016. Value tier: $ budget body spray, now discontinued.

Cosmetics Business described Why Not? as a tropical citrus of bergamot, frozen lemon and bitter orange, warmed with Earl Grey tea, nutmeg and cardamom. Like all body sprays it was light and short-lived, made to re-spray from a handbag. Superdrug lists it as no longer available online. Unless you find an unopened collector’s can, this one is history, not shopping. Be wary of old stock, because a body spray that has sat around for ten years rarely smells the way it did on launch day.

The brat effect on fragrance trends

The cultural facts are well documented. brat came out in June 2024, “brat summer” dominated TikTok and fashion coverage that year, and on 1 November 2024 Collins Dictionary made “brat” its Word of the Year. It defined the word as a “confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude.” Fashion press tracked the knock-on effects closely. Fashionista cited Lyst’s Katy Lubin, who saw the mood as a break from the clean-girl and quiet-luxury aesthetics that came before. RTÉ called smudged eyeliner a core tenet of the look. Cosmetics Business, writing about her YSL appointment, linked the album to an anti-perfectionism trend in beauty.

What’s missing is hard fragrance data. We found no published figures showing a sales spike for Byredo Bibliothèque, or for any perfume, because of Charli XCX. So anything we say about fragrance trends from here is editorial observation, not measured fact.

With that caveat, three things seem plain from where we sit.

First, the clean-girl scent lost its monopoly. The years just before brat were dominated by skin musks, soapy florals and “your skin but better” perfumes. Brat summer celebrated the opposite: the morning after, the sweaty club, the smudge. Fragrance coverage leaned into that with “what does brat smell like” features, and the scents they reached for were louder and stranger. Bibliothèque, a fruit-leather with real volume, fits that mood far better than a whisper of white musk.

Second, “over-spraying” became something to admit, not hide. Her answer to critics, that it’s their problem if she smells too strong, landed because it fit the persona perfectly. Fragrance etiquette pieces have always told readers to apply less. The brat attitude gave fans permission to wear a scent with a bit of attitude, at least on a night out. That’s a vibe, not a rule. Projection still matters in shared spaces.

Third, niche beat celebrity-branded. Many pop stars launch a perfume line at the height of their fame. Charli XCX, at the height of hers, pointed fans to an independent-feeling Swedish brand instead of launching her own. For Gen Z buyers that looks cooler than a licensed celebrity bottle, and it fits a wider shift we’ve noticed in our coverage of fragrances for Gen Z. It’s also why fans of artists with a similar energy, like Chappell Roan, are searching for niche picks rather than branded ones. Our Chappell Roan perfume explainer follows the same thread.

Will the effect last? RTÉ’s critic asked the same question in August 2024. Two years on, the colour green has faded from shop windows, but louder, more characterful scents are still front and centre. Whether that’s brat or just the cycle of taste turning, nobody can measure cleanly.

Alternatives by budget tier

Knowing what perfume Charli XCX wears is half the job; finding a bottle that suits you and your budget is the other half. These are suggestions with a similar mood or scent profile to her documented picks, not copies. Wear-test where you can. Prices change constantly, so we use tiers rather than numbers: $ budget, $$ mid-range, $$$ luxury.

Two practical notes. If you love the Bibliothèque idea but can’t stretch to a full bottle, a travel spray or sample is the smart middle ground. Our travel-size perfume guide shows what to look for. And if patchouli is what you love in the drydown, our patchouli perfume picks include cheaper bottles with that earthy base.

Buying for a Charli XCX fan

The safest gift isn’t necessarily the most famous bottle. Here’s how we’d think about it.

• For the devoted fan: Bibliothèque is the only one she named herself, which gives it a story. It’s also luxury priced and has a strong personality, so it’s best for someone you know likes warm, rich scents.
• For a fan who’s new to perfume: a lighter fruity or tea scent in the mid-range tier is less risky. Mixed Emotions-style green tea suits people who say they “don’t like perfume.”
• For a night-out gift: a bold rose in the Atomic Rose mould, or a hair mist, fits the club-ready side of the brat era.
• For a stocking filler: Glow by JLo is cheap, cheerful and carries the Y2K nostalgia that runs through her music.

Pair the bottle with something lime green and you’ve made the point without saying a word. When you’re ready to choose, browse the giftexo perfume shop for designer and niche bottles in all three budget tiers. For more birthday ideas, our list of the best perfumes to give as a birthday gift is sorted by personality. For other famous names, the celebrity perfume hub collects all our explainers.

Questions readers are still asking

What is Charli XCX’s signature scent?

The closest thing to a signature is Byredo Bibliothèque. She named it as her current favourite in a British GQ video in August 2024 and said she travels with it, according to ELLE Singapore and BeautyCrew. It’s a warm plum, violet and leather eau de parfum. We found no newer interview confirming she still wears it daily, so treat it as her documented favourite rather than a permanent signature.

Does Charli XCX have her own perfume?

Not as of 29 October 2026. We found no announcement of a Charli XCX or brat-branded perfume from her, her label or any fragrance house. Her one official fragrance tie-in was in 2016, when she fronted limited-edition Impulse body sprays in the UK, including Why Not?, whose can she designed. Treat any “official brat perfume” sold online with caution.

Is Charli XCX a perfume ambassador for YSL?

Her YSL Beauty role, announced in May 2026, is framed around make-up, beginning with the Skin Affair Soft Glow Cushion Foundation. Her 2024 Valentino Beauty role was also make-up, built around a lipstick. Neither brand has announced a fragrance campaign with her. If that changes, it would be a paid ambassadorship, which isn’t the same as a personal favourite.

What perfume did Charli XCX wear to the Met Gala 2026?

Grazia UK reported that her hairstylist, Matt Benns, posted behind-the-scenes images showing Initio Atomic Rose hair mist and perfume. That suggests both were used for her Saint Laurent look. Neither she nor Initio commented in that report, so it reflects her glam team’s choice for one evening rather than a perfume she has named as her own.

What does Byredo Bibliothèque smell like?

It opens with ripe plum and peach, moves into powdery violet and peony, and settles into soft leather, patchouli and vanilla. The “library” name comes from that dusty violet and suede feel rather than literal paper. It’s warm, slightly sweet, unisex and fairly strong. Most people find two or three sprays plenty, and it’s at its best in cooler months.

What perfume does Charli XCX wear on a budget, and how can I smell like her for less?

Look for budget or mid-range scents that combine dark fruit such as plum with a suede or leather accord and a touch of vanilla. Those three ingredients carry Bibliothèque’s mood. A Byredo sample or decant is another affordable way to try the real thing. If you prefer her greener side, tea-based scents give a similar feel to Mixed Emotions.