“Okay, bitch. I got them,” Paul Fino proclaims in a TikTok video from January. The fragrance influencer, who boasts a following of 1.3 million, shows off his latest haul: five perfumed body mists from Sol de Janeiro, the beauty brand best known for its skin-firming Brazilian Bum Bum Cream.
Fino proceeds to sample the sprays, all of which receive glowing reviews from the content creator. “Oh my god… Why is Sol de Janeiro so good?!” he shrieks after sniffing Cheirosa ‘39, a blend of coconut, vanilla, and praline. Fino isn’t alone in his enthusiasm — despite Sol de Janiero’s beginnings as a skincare brand, its line of scents has become an unexpected hit among TikTok’s community of fragrance enthusiasts.
Sol de Janeiro was founded in 2015 by Heela Yang, a former beauty executive with experience at cosmetic giants like Estée Lauder, L’Oréal, and Clinique. In 2008, Yang relocated from New York City to Brazil to be with her husband. While living there, she was struck by locals’ carefree attitude towards bodies and nakedness. In Brazil, no one blinks twice if you wear a micro-bikini to the beach, no matter your shape or size.
With Sol de Janeiro, Yang hopes to bring a bit of Brazilians’ celebratory, self-confident flair to body care — and clearly, her approach is working. The brand’s Bum Bum Cream, a shimmery body moisturizer that smells like pistachio and salted caramel, is a favorite among celebs like Selena Gomez, Blake Lively, and Hilary Duff. According to the brand, one jar of the fragrant cream sells every eight seconds.
Sol de Janeiro launched its first fragrance — Cheirosa ‘62, a $24 spray recreating the sugary smell of its beloved Bum Bum cream — in 2020, right before the pandemic hit. It was a success despite the timing, and sold out on Sephora’s website days after launch. Yang says the brand’s expansion into scent was simply the result of staying in tune with its customers. “We didn’t start out by saying, ‘We’re…
Read the full article here
