You fell in love with Leah Kateb on season 6 of Love Island USA, and ever since last summer, she’s taken the world by storm as a fashion icon, bright personality, and powerful content creator. Her recently announced role as the Chief Creative Officer and “Refounder” of popular clean fragrance brand Skylar is the next step in building her multi-faceted empire, expanding what it means to be a social media personality and showcasing just how valuable creators can be for their brand partners. In celebration of the launch of her first scent with Skylar, ‘Double Dates’, available today, I spoke with Leah to learn about how her new position at Skylar came about and what’s next for both her and the brand.
My first question for her was to go into detail about what it means to be the Chief Creative Officer and Refounder of Skylar. “I oversee everything,” she explained, “but more importantly, I’m the creative force behind the scents, the packaging, the shoots, the vibe.” She defines the Refounder position as being “about reimagining Skylar for this new era; I didn’t just join the brand, I’m giving it a whole new identity and direction.” In a time when beauty brands are emerging every day and trying to stay competitive, bringing in Leah as a partner is a chance to evolve Skylar and expand its reach to even more customers. Skylar is able to tap into Leah’s dedicated fanbase and expertise as a social media creator.
Skylar didn’t just recognize Leah as a breakout star from Love Island USA, though; they recognized her as a true fan of fragrances. “Skylar found me through my viral perfume video on TikTok and sent me more fragrances to try,” Leah shared, describing how the partnership first came about. “We clicked instantly, and a few months later, my agency told me Skylar wanted to meet about me actually taking over the brand.” The timing couldn’t have been more perfect, as Leah had already been ruminating over the idea of starting her own fragrance line. As a passionate lover of the beauty industry and a longtime fan of Skylar, everything just clicked together. “It felt meant to be.”
As she’s acclimated to the new role, her fans have been eagerly awaiting her first signature fragrance, which debuts today. She describes ‘Double Dates’ as a “total game changer” and an exciting first step in her “full-on Leah takeover” of the brand. How would she describe the scent? “’Double Dates’ is sweet, sexy, and edible,” she said, “it’s basically my shower routine bottled up, and I can’t wait for everyone to smell like this.” The launch of this scent has been almost a year in the making, with Leah visiting fragrance houses and testing many versions until she found the perfect mix. “Seeing something that lived in my head become real has been the best part,” and now fans can get their hands on her first creation for Skylar.
If you’re looking for other fragrance recommendations from Skylar’s Refounder, she advised “mixing ‘Boardwalk Delight’ with ‘Peach Fields’” from Skylar, describing it as a “juicy, sweet combo.” And because Skylar is a clean fragrance brand, it’s great even for sensitive skin while still delivering scents that last.
With the launch of ‘Double Dates’, Leah reminded me that this was only the beginning of her refresh of the Skylar brand. “I’m reimagining everything, new products, new collabs, new vibes,” she teased of what’s to come. “‘Double Dates’ is the start of a whole new chapter, and I honestly can’t wait to make the world smell good.”
I, for one, cannot wait to see—and smell—what’s next for Leah and Skylar. I’m also excited to see more brands adopt this strategy and partner with creators in large-scale ways like this. It’s a mutually beneficial partnership that taps into both Skylar’s strengths as a premier fragrance creator and Leah’s strengths as a social media superstar, and I would love to see more brands recognize the incredible potential there is when they partner with the right creative collaborators.