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Erykah Badu has created vagina-scented incense. Your move, Gwyneth Paltrow

Erykah Badu
R&B singer-songwriter Erykah Badu is selling incense that smells like her vagina.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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Look out, Gwyneth Paltrow. There’s a new vagina scent coming soon to an online store near you.

In a 10 Magazine interview published Wednesday, R&B singer-songwriter Erykah Badu revealed that she has developed incense inspired by her genitalia to be released later this month. Her announcement comes nearly a month after Paltrow launched her hit “Smells Like My Vagina” candle, which sold out almost immediately.

Badu said she created her product, whose name we can’t repeat here, by cutting up and burning several pairs of her own used underwear. Not that she’ll miss them since she apparently stopped wearing undergarments a while ago.

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“Even the ash is part of it,” she told 10.

Despite the coincidental timing, it was not Paltrow’s multimillion-dollar lifestyle empire, Goop, that prompted Badu to craft vaginal incense — but rather her own “superpower.” She said her genitalia has a particular sway over her paramours: “The men that I fall in love with, and fall in love with me, change jobs and lives.”

Upon its release, Paltrow’s $75 “Smells Like My Vagina” — a combination of bergamot and cedar — spurred countless headlines and ignited social media, which had a field day with the wellness guru’s latest Goopy stunt. The “Politician” actress had the last laugh, of course, since candles are relatively cheap to make, allowing for a hefty profit margin.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s “The Goop Lab,” on Netflix, offers a candid exploration of female sexuality, starring legendary sex educator Betty Dodson.

Jan. 27, 2020

Pair the bestselling wax with her buzzy, sex-positive Netflix docuseries, “The Goop Lab,” and Paltrow has swiftly mastered the art of capitalizing on shock value by leaning all the way into her controversial brand.

Though their scent of choice is... unique, Badu and Paltrow are not the only celebrities who have entered the scent trade. Country-pop superstar Kacey Musgraves recently released her own candle, named after her 2018 track “Slow Burn.” The $38 product is already sold out on Musgraves’ website.

“I brought my song slow burn to life in the form of a smell,” the Grammy-winning “Golden Hour” hitmaker wrote on Instagram Thursday. “The scentiment is exactly what the song sounds like. It’s a little dank. A little crisp. Androgynous. Floaty. Earthy. Grounded. It’s the smell of a fire faintly drifting on the breeze as you walk to your favorite bar down the street and cherish slow sips of your favorite wine.”

Badu will launch her incense — along with an online shop called Badu’s World Market, which will feature merchandise ranging from clothing to apothecary goods — on Feb. 20.

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More common in the famous odor market are the tried-and-true celebrity colognes and perfumes, which have attracted everyone from Britney Spears and Sarah Jessica Parker to Rihanna and Ariana Grande. A vagina-scented perfume, however, has yet to be seen — or smelled, rather.

Your move, Goop.

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