I Tried Addison Rae’s New Set of Fragrances, and I Feel Like I’m 14 Years Old Again

TikTok star and singer Addison Rae is the latest celebrity to enter the fragrance market with her new AF Collection by Addison Rae, a trio of perfumes designed to make you feel great and smell better. With this first drop, she included three fragrances named for how they're meant to make you feel: Chill AF ($40), Hyped AF ($40) and Happy AF ($40).

She was inspired by nature for this line, and I see the follow-through: the bottles remind me of crystals with an organic and flat shape. They even remind me of AirPods cases with their egg-like design. The entire line feels very Gen Z, and to make it feel even more so, the bottles even change colour. Like mood rings, the heat-activated technology causes the bottles to shift shades depending on the room temperature (or your hands when you're holding it). Chill AF turns from a deep purple to a soothing blue, while Happy AF changes from blue to cotton candy pink. Hyped AF turns from a zingy orange to a bright yellow.

The scents themselves are reminiscent of Victoria's Secret fragrances I'd wear as a teen. Suddenly, I'm 14 years old walking through the mall again, everything's easy, and my biggest concern is what I'm going to wear to the school dance on Friday. Given Rae's heavily Gen Z audience, the launch makes sense. They are good entry fragrances considering the price point. You can experiment with them — maybe even try layering the scents — and see what speaks to you. I layered Happy AF and Chill AF.

Happy AF is my favourite of the trio. It works as a little boost of warmth and freshness during the work day but can easily cross over to a date night. With notes of pink lychee, grapefruit, and peony, the scent is cosy, floral, and candy-like. I'm especially enjoying its warmth as the weather starts to get more blustery.

The line is also touted as mood-boosting: the fragrances are formulated with ingredients to enhance your mood. Happy AF aims to give you a dose of euphoria — a little pick-me-up — so I tried it on after lunch to help get me through the rest of the work day. I was in a pretty good mood and felt productive the rest of the day (but to be fair, it was also a bones day, per Noodle the Pug, so that also could've played into it).

Before I went to my morning SoulCycle class, I spritzed Hyped AF on my wrists. I don't know how hyped you can be for a 7:15am spin class, but I did add a few extra turns to my bike for extra resistance, something I usually wouldn't be caught doing that early in the morning. With notes of mandarin, blood orange and pomelo, the citrus-y scent of Hyped AF gives off the essence of orange on my skin.

As the name suggests, Chill AF gives more relaxing notes, including pear blossom and chamomile tea (one of my favourite things to drink before bed). I tried it on before heading to a movie so I could chill and enjoy it. I definitely walked out of the movie theatre feeling very zen and calm, but I'm still not sure if it was because I got to watch Timothée Chalamet for almost two hours or because the fragrance put me at ease. Probably a combination of the two. Of the three perfumes, this one reminded me most of an old Victoria's Secret scent with its fruity and sugary undertones.

This isn't Rae's first foray into beauty. She entered the beauty market in 2020 with ITEM Beauty, a clean beauty line including makeup and skin care. Her focus on clean beauty carries through in this new line of fragrances as well, with alcohol-free, vegan, and cruelty-free formulas.

Like ITEM Beauty, AF Collection by Addison Rae is uplifting, fun and focussed on having fun. For the young fragrance lover, it's the perfect addition to explore what scents you love and how you want to feel when you wear them. And at $40 for each 30mL bottle, it'll be hard to stop yourself from picking up all three and experimenting with them all.