Bella Hadid On Angel Numbers, Journaling, & Her New Fragrance, Nightcap

Zooming with Bella Hadid feels like catching up with an old friend. The model and brand founder answers my call bare-faced, clad in an oversized button-up, her dark hair in loose waves. She looks effortlessly fresh, but something tells me this is how she looks normally — even if she’s just lounging at home bingeing the new Apple TV show Presumed Innocent (“I have two episodes left!” she says).

She holds up a jewel-shaped vessel. “This is the first scent I ever made,” she reveals, her green eyes crinkling with excitement. I can feel her energy through my laptop screen. She’s referring to her newest baby: 'Ôrebella Nightcap — a spicy, ginger-spiked vanilla fragrance she describes as a “cozy, après ski kind of scent.”

Vanilla fragrances are having a moment, but Hadid wanted Nightcap to be different. “I just remember in high school, all of the girls would have this very prominent vanilla smell, and it was so sweet,” she says. “I’ve always loved vanilla, but it's such an aggressive smell if it's overdone.” Nightcap is your typical vanilla fragrance’s mature and seductive older sister, sneaking out of the house under the cover of the night. With notes of cardamon, patchouli, sandalwood, and ginger woven throughout, it’s sweet at first, but layered and more complicated the longer it lingers.

“It makes me feel like I smell sexy, and then it makes my boyfriend smell sexy.”

When Hadid launched her fragrance brand, 'Ôrebella, in May, her fans rejoiced — but there were skeptics. Did the world need another celebrity beauty brand? But it’s become clear 'Ôrebella isn’t just that — it’s an extension of Hadid’s own spiritual journey. “There are different parts of my soul in each of the fragrances,” she says. “So it’s really opening my journal, but in fragrance [form].”

She’s being literal — at one point, she pauses our conversation and holds up a leather-bound notebook. “These are my journal entries,” she says, referring to the rows and rows of scribbled phrases and notes; a physical manifestation of her innermost dreams, hopes, and desires.

When I smell Nightcap, I immediately get it. The vanilla comes on sweet and honeyed, settling in like a second skin. Then, a few minutes later, the kick of ginger comes through, spicy and warm, a reminder that all is not always what it seems on the surface. That a gourmand scent can be sweet, yet spicy; that supermodels can be glamorous, yet answer Zoom calls with zero makeup on; that all of us have more layers than we even realize.

Ahead, Bella Hadid shares her thoughts on gratitude, angel numbers, and the meditation app she uses to fall asleep every night.

Can you tell me what fragrance means to you?

“For me, it's a second skin, and now, I almost don’t feel complete unless I have it on me. There was a flight attendant on the plane yesterday named Stella, and she was so sweet. She wrote me this little letter on a napkin, and all I had was one Window2Soul, my personal bottle that was in my purse, and I gave it to her. Little moments like that of connection are so fun. But even from yesterday when I gave it to her until today, I felt naked [without fragrance]. I think that that's important for a product that you spend money on, or that you work on — to feel like you almost can't live without it.”

How would you describe Nightcap?

“What I wanted to do with Nightcap was just make something that was still young and vanilla, but you could wear out. It makes me feel like I smell sexy, and then it makes my boyfriend smell sexy. And because the pH levels change [the scent], it does smell a bit sweeter on me. But then on a man, it smells a bit more spicy and gingery with the vanilla — more of a bourbon-y smell.”

Speaking of Nightcap, what’s your current nighttime routine?

“Have you ever tried Insight Timer? There are so many meditation apps, but that's one that I found when I went away for a while to a place for mental health a couple of years ago.

Three, four years later, I still listen to Insight Timer every single night. I used to listen to a lot of Sarah Blondin, but now this guy, his name's Kenneth [Soares]. He has really good nighttime ones — there are ones about gratitude, self-love, and confidence. I can't go to sleep without them, but I've never heard a full one because I’m asleep by 10 minutes in.

I think no matter what mood you're in that day, going to sleep with something that is subconsciously putting good energy into your brain is really important.”

Can you share more about journaling — how has it helped you personally and creatively?

“I've been sticking with my journaling every night. I'll usually do a whole page of gratitude. And I don't want it to always just be like, ‘I’m so grateful for the day.’ I think you really have to be intentional.

My boyfriend and I always end our night with a prayer. I think that's really important — just to be able to give gratitude, and to remember how lucky we are every single day. When you go through days of feeling down on yourself, and you forget all of the craziness happening in the world, that's when I get even more down — because you're just in your own bubble, and not realizing how lucky you really are.”

Anything else to help you unwind at night?

“Kin Lightwave is always a must before I go to sleep. It knocks me out.”

I know you've also talked about your “angel number,” 222, and how that's in the 'Ôrebella bottle caps. What does this number signify to you?

“It's funny. The past three days I’ve seen 222 everywhere. I even took a picture of one this morning; I laugh so hard because I send it to the group chat all the random times I see it.

[The number] reminds me that my angels are guiding me, and they're also telling me to continue to walk in my health and my happiness journey. Healing isn't linear — I think that’s important to know. I'll be on a really strict healing journey for a while, and then sometimes, I just want to live. And then you realize that by doing that, you're doing a disservice to yourself, and then you always end up getting back to it.

When I start to see 222, I'm like, ‘OK, I’ve got to get back to myself, and I need to get back to doing the things that I like to do and will make me feel fulfilled and happy.’ And that goes hand in hand with making meaningful connections.

“I love roller coasters, and this is the best roller coaster I've ever been on.”

What’s something you’ve learned about yourself as a business founder that you didn’t know before?

“If I don't put out an idea that I think will be great, then I will always be wondering if I should have done it. But in business, you have to lose a little bit of control. You're almost sending your baby to college. You're like, ‘OK, you thrive. I love you so much, but now you grow.’

Part of it is the marketing and all of that where when I'm online, I try to be as genuine as possible. And it's hard when you have to market a product that's from your soul, because I'm like, ‘I don't know how to explain this in a way to people in more of a business way, because I feel like I'm talking to my friends online when I'm posting.’

Especially being in modeling for so many years, being able to sit in an office and have people respect and appreciate my opinion on the art that I want to make — that's so important. And it excites me to be able to make new things with people that I love. So there's a lot coming, and I'm really excited about that. I love roller coasters, and this is the best roller coaster I've ever been on.”

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.