Bella Hadid Talks Bringing Ôrebella to the Middle East, Global Plans

Closing out a year of international expansions, Bella Hadid’s next move for ‘Ôrebella is something of a homecoming.

The 29-year-old model and entrepreneur, who is of Dutch and Palestinian descent, is bringing her clean fragrance brand to the Middle East with Ulta Beauty, starting with the retailer’s just-opened store in Kuwait. The move follows ‘Ôrebella’s U.K. expansion this spring via Selfridges — the British retailer’s biggest beauty launch of the year — and more recently, ‘Ôrebella’s August foray into Mexico with Ulta.

“The Middle East is my home, even if not necessarily geographically, but spiritually,” said Hadid, who attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday for Ulta’s Kuwait store at The Avenues mall. “It’s always been the dream to sell to the people that are family to me, and being in the Middle East now is such a huge accomplishment for us.”

At 15,000 square feet, Ulta’s Kuwait store is its largest globally. Via the retailer’s licensing partnership with Alshaya Group, Ulta plans to open its next Middle East store in the coming months in Dubai at the Mall of the Emirates, followed by a Dubai Mall opening in March 2026. Ulta will also debut in Saudi Arabia next March at the Red Sea Mall.

‘Ôrebella, which is a top-five fragrance brand at Ulta known for its oil-infused scents, will roll out to each location as it opens.

The Middle East Moment

“It’s exciting to be in a region that over-indexes on perfume usage and has such a passionate consumer base within the category,” said Alison Romash, general manager of ‘Ôrebella, adding, “the Middle East is also such an advanced retail market, where so much innovation is happening in mall culture.”

Indeed, the Middle East fragrance market is one of the largest in the world, valued at $3.8 billion in 2024 by research firm Claight Corp., which projects that figure to rise to $7.8 billion by 2033. Arab fragrance brands, too, have gained global prominence in recent years as fragrance shoppers increasingly seek out oud-infused, oil-based and long-lasting offerings in the category.

“When I think of the Middle East, I think about fragrance,” said Hadid, who debuted ‘Ôrebella in May 2024 after more than a decade of modeling for luxury brands ranging from Versace to Marc Jacobs and more.

“It goes back to my teta [‘grandmother’ in Arabic], and my aunts and uncles having these fragrances they would mix for themselves, or would wear for 45 years, that were such a part of their personalities; I hope ‘Ôrebella can be one version of their personalities, as well,” she said. “We’re excited to show the people that know the best about fragrance what we’re working with here.”

Each of ‘Ôrebella’s scents — of which there are now five, priced at $72 for a 50-ml. bottle — are alcohol-free and tap essential oils in addition to a signature “Ôrelixir” blend of skin-nourishing ingredients such as snow mushroom and jojoba oil.

Heroes include Night Cap, a warm-spicy gourmand, as well as Salted Muse, which taps sea salt, pink pepper and olive tree accord. Most recently, the brand introduced an Eternal Roots scent in August, which features notes of lychee, bergamot, vetiver and patchouli.

“When we look at our customer data, we’re hitting that sweet spot of Millennials and Gen Z, and we are also rising with men, which has been very cool to see,” said Romash, adding that Salted Muse, in particular, “has exploded” among the brand’s growing male shopper base.

The brand is also resonating with consumers across ethic backgrounds: “We are over-indexing, both at Ulta and direct-to-consumer, with a multicultural audience — which has also helped drive our success in Mexico so far, because we have a strong affinity within the Hispanic community,” Romash said.

Gone Global

Such has been the aim of Hadid — whose global ambitions for ‘Ôrebella include one day launching in Europe and, in particular, The Netherlands where her mother was born — from Day One.

“I’ve always wanted ‘Ôrebella to not necessarily have a demographic; I want our fragrances to be a part of just about anybody’s lives, no matter what walk of life they come from,” said Hadid. “That’s where the excitement comes from for me, is when I hear about a friend’s mom or grandmother loving ‘Ôrebella just as much as I hear about younger kids and adults in their 20s, 30s and 40s loving it.”

“Watching ‘Ôrebella evolve from Bella’s dream into a beloved global brand that’s redefining the fragrance category has been truly inspiring,” said Jessica Phillips, vice president of emerging brands and strategic initiatives at Ulta, in an email.

Backed by Celebrands — the firm also behind Halsey’s About-face color line — ‘Ôrebella has quickly established itself among the standout celebrity beauty brands of its time as the category proliferates. Hadid’s close friends, Hailey Bieber and Kylie Jenner, have similarly seen breakthrough successes, with Bieber’s Rhode being acquired by E.l.f. Beauty this year in a $1 billion deal, and Jenner’s Kylie Cosmetics seeing a resurgence thanks to its expansion into fragrance last year.

“We’re all there for each other in different ways,” said Hadid, adding that it’s not uncommon for the friends to exchange notes about their experiences vis-à-vis founder life. “Hails gives me great advice when it comes to the business and the internal side of things, and we have very like-minded people on our teams. I can call her in the middle of the night and she’ll be there in the blink of an eye.”

Future Plans

Recently, Hadid collaborated via ‘Ôrebella with her longtime friends and Wildflower Cases founders and sisters, Sydney and Devon Carlson, on a celestial sky-patterned phone case and scentable wristlet. More collaborations with founder friends, Hadid hinted, could be on the horizon.

“We have so many ideas we want to do; you’re going to see a lot more collaborations between me and the girls,” she said.

With 2025 serving as ‘Ôrebella’s first year of major retail expansion, the focus for 2026 will be product innovation.

“We’re definitely looking to expand this concept of ‘skinification’ of fragrance. We have new formats coming up this spring; the pipeline is one of the big axes for the business next year,” said Romash, adding that the brand may eventually dabble in region-exclusive scents, too. “We have a great opportunity with the Middle East to potentially tailor olfactives specifically for the region.”

Added Hadid: “The world is our oyster when it comes to the Middle East, because people are open to so many different scents, even if it’s a bit stronger or has a good oud in it.”

With the model-founder now spending the better part of her days in Texas, where she is often immersed in nature, her creativity has been flowing as she embarks on newness for ‘Ôrebella.

“I always feel very inspired by nature; when I open my windows while I’m driving and it smells like freshly-mowed grass and every field is covered in flowers. Open air is what [Texas] smells like. And quietness. You can’t smell quietness, but I can feel it for sure.”