Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor is a US-based fragrance brand built around the name and likeness of the British-American actress Elizabeth Taylor (1932–2011). It began in 1987, when Taylor released her first perfume, Passion [2], and grew into a line that the brand describes as a perfume empire of sixteen scents. Its best-known release, White Diamonds, arrived in 1991 and remains the brand's commercial anchor. The fragrances are licensed and distributed by the beauty company Revlon [7], while Taylor's name, likeness and the broader "House of Taylor" identity are controlled by the three trustees of her estate.

The brand is active. Although Taylor died in 2011, her estate continued to publish new collections and editorial content through 2026, and White Diamonds is still sold internationally.

The fragrance line traces to Elizabeth Taylor herself, who according to the company believed that "a well-chosen perfume is an essential accessory for every woman." In 1987 she launched Passion, becoming, in the brand's framing, the first celebrity to launch a hit fragrance brand [2]. The perfumes were developed in partnership with Elizabeth Arden Inc., then a division of Parfums International and now part of International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) [8].

Sources differ on which year marks the brand's beginning. The brand site dates the fragrance house to 1987 and the launch of Passion [2]; other accounts often treat 1991, the year of White Diamonds, as the defining launch [8]. The earlier date reflects the first product; the later one reflects the release that made the line commercially significant.

The namesake's own nationality and the brand's commercial base also diverge. Elizabeth Taylor was British-American, but the fragrance line operates as a US brand, created with the US-based Elizabeth Arden Inc. and licensed by the US-based Revlon.

Passion was followed in 1989 by Passion for Men, described as a woody counterpart to the original. White Diamonds debuted in 1991 and, according to the company, has remained an international best seller since [2]. Wikipedia records the launch as backed by a roughly US$20 million advertising campaign, including a national department-store tour, magazine advertising and a short film directed by Terry Bedford; the perfumer was Carlos Benaïm.

The brand expanded the line through the 1990s and 2000s: the Fragrant Jewel Collection in 1993 (Diamonds and Rubies, Diamonds and Sapphires, Diamonds and Emeralds), followed by Gardenia in 2003 and Violet Eyes in 2010. White Diamonds itself spawned numerous flankers, among them Sparkling White Diamonds (1999), Brilliant White Diamonds (2001) and later editions through the 2010s.

The Elizabeth Taylor fragrances are licensed and marketed by Revlon, which lists the brand within its portfolio of designer, heritage and celebrity fragrances [7]. Revlon's wider holdings include Elizabeth Arden, Cutex, American Crew and several other celebrity scent lines. Separately, control of Taylor's name and likeness sits with the trustees of her estate, who operate House of Taylor — a structure Taylor first created in the 1990s for her fragrance and jewelry ventures and which the estate reintroduced to oversee the archive and the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.

The brand positions itself around old-Hollywood glamour and Taylor's personal mythology. White Diamonds was, in the company's account, inspired by "two of her great passions — the lush beauty of her gardens and the brilliance and glamour of the diamonds she loved." House of Taylor frames its present-day mission as preserving Taylor's legacy and her "vision for a kinder, braver, more beautiful world." The brand's merchandise store carries the tagline "BIG GIRLS NEED BIG DIAMONDS."

White Diamonds is the brand's signature fragrance: a floral built on rose, jasmine, neroli, narcissus and Egyptian tuberose. Wikipedia notes it used an unusually high concentration of fragrance oil — about 25 percent against a more typical 12 percent — for a heavier scent [8]. The fragrances are distributed broadly rather than as a niche product; through the Revlon license they are sold in roughly 150 countries across mass, salon and prestige channels [7]. The estate's own online store, by contrast, sells apparel and accessories rather than the perfumes.

White Diamonds was named "Fragrance of the Year" by The Fragrance Foundation in 1992 and inducted into the foundation's Hall of Fame in 2009 [8]. Editorial coverage has repeatedly cast it as a turning point for celebrity scents: FragranceX calls Taylor "the first truly successful" celebrity fragrance, crediting White Diamonds as an early spark for the genre [10], and Natural Diamonds writes that the scent "redefined what a celebrity scent could be," generating over US$1 billion in sales [9]. Cumulative sales reached roughly US$1.5 billion by 2018 [8].

The brand remains active. Its namesake died in 2011, but it is operated by Taylor's estate trustees under the Revlon distribution license, and the estate published new fragrance, apparel and editorial content into 2026 — including coverage of a Taylor Swift song titled "Elizabeth Taylor." White Diamonds continues to be sold internationally and is among the longest-running celebrity fragrances on the market.