Lesbian Jesus Hayley Kiyoko Used Fragrance as Armor, Now Has Her Own

Lesbian Jesus Hayley Kiyoko is expanding her empire with a new gender-inclusive fragrance, HUE, launching today.

Fragrances have always been a part of Kiyoko's queer sense of self. She remembers buying her first fragrance, Elizabeth Arden Green Tea, in middle school and how other girls would tell her she smelled good. "I literally bought like six bottles of it because I would go through a bottle so fast. You know, you're like 13, 14 years old or you're just dousing your body. And I would just walk the halls," she tells Out.

"At that age, I was in the closet and I was searching for extra courage, extra support, extra love," she says. "And it was kind of my armor to get through the day and my support system where, if I wasn't getting that, at least I could comfort myself because I smelled good and I felt good about myself."

Now that she can, having gone from those initial closeted days to being called "Lesbian Jesus" by fans, she wants to help others like her find that comfort. "My goal with HUE is to potentially have that be someone else's armor, and help them get through the day," she says, "whether it's getting out of this pandemic and actually getting to go out, or it's being at home and having a tough day, or dealing with whatever you're going through, and being able to comfort yourself because it's such a struggle and it's so important and vital."

In crafting the unique fragrance, Kiyoko worked with perfumer Constance Georges-Picot of Cosmo Fragrances, Bart Schmidt and Slate Brands. "I'm like half feminine, half masculine, and then depending on the day is how I dress and how I feel," Kiyoko says. "And so my approach to this fragrance was, how do I embody kind of my struggle with that into a bottle and also have it be super bold and daring?"

The result is a fragrance that opens with notes of blood orange, watermelon, and freesia, then transitions to rose, lychee, peony, and pink magnolia. Underneath all of that are undertones of creamy cacao blanc with a trail of musk. "So it's kind of a little bit of everything all in one and it smells amazing," Kiyoko says.

When I ask which of her songs sounds most like HUE, she says it's definitely her newer music that's still to come, but of the songs we know, it's "What I Need," her steamy duet with Kehlani.

"When you listen to 'What I Need,' the feeling of it is fun," she says. "It has this freedom element to it. And I think that HUE has that freedom element to it."

When the world starts to get back to normal and we can all go places with people again, Kiyoko hopes that people start associating the scent with safe spaces. "I would love for the reputation of the fragrance of HUE to be that you're a good person and that you're welcoming and that there's space for that other person when you meet them," she says.

HUE, which is vegan, cruelty free, phthalate free, and paraben free, is available now online at huebyhayley.com.

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