The story of Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande released her first perfume, Ari, in 2015. Sweet Like Candy followed in 2016, then Moonlight in 2017. The real turning point came in 2018 with Cloud and its cloud-shaped bottle. It reached far beyond her fan base, and in 2022 it was reported as the best-selling fragrance at the US beauty chain Ulta. Thank U Next arrived in 2019 alongside the album of the same name. R.E.M. came out in 2020 in a holographic chrome bottle and won a FiFi Award in 2021. God Is a Woman launched that same year, along with Thank U Next 2.0 and Cloud Intense. Then came the Mod Vanilla and Mod Blush duo in 2022 and Cloud Pink in 2023. In 2025 she released limited editions tied to Wicked: For Good. Cloud Aurora, the third take on Cloud, followed in 2026. All told, the line has around twenty scents and has passed one billion dollars in global retail sales since 2015. This is a celebrity fragrance that lives well beyond its star's news cycle.
An olfactory signature
The Ariana Grande signature comes down to sugar and musk. Cloud gives the clearest version. Lavender blossom, pear and bergamot open. Coconut, praline and vanilla orchid then take over on creamy musks and blonde woods. It smells of clean, sugared skin, more milky than pastry. Thank U Next is the fruitier, pinker cousin. Pear and raspberry meet coconut and rose, then sugar and musk. Think strawberry candy over sunscreen. The first one, Ari, is a fruity floral of pear, grapefruit and raspberry over marshmallow and musk. It is lighter and younger. Sweet Like Candy is the most confectionery of the lot. Blackberry and pear open onto jasmine and frangipani before marshmallow and vanilla. What they all share is pear up top and a musky base. That base clings well to clothes, often better than to skin.
Which Ariana Grande perfume to choose?
Cloud is the right place to start, and it suits most tastes. Pick it if you like light gourmands built on coconut and praline rather than dark vanillas. Thank U Next is for anyone who wants a fruitier sugar, with raspberry and rose. It is the most summery of the range. Ari is the quietest, a good choice for school or the office. Sweet Like Candy is the sweetest, so save it for true candy lovers. Test on skin rather than on paper. The musks in the base show after about an hour, and that is when these scents become flattering. They are eaux de parfum at accessible prices. Use three or four sprays for a full day, and spray a scarf to make the trail last longer.