"I'm Getting More and More Confident": Khloé Kardashian on Fragrance, Motherhood, and Embracing Her 40s

Say hello to Unfiltered, a fresh beauty series where you'll get an exclusive glimpse into the dressed-down beauty routines of our favorite celebrities and content creators. They'll reveal their guilty-pleasure beauty practices, the five-minute-routine product lineup they can't live without, the one good-skin tip they'll be forever thankful for, and so much more. To bring every conversation full circle, we ask each celebrity to send us a selection of self-shot, filter-free photos of their choosing to capture the essence of their Unfiltered beauty philosophy.

Up next, we're getting to know brand founder and pop culture icon Khloé Kardashian, who just launched her newest fragrance, Almost Always. Below, she's answering all of our rapid-fire questions, reminiscing about the first designer fragrance she ever wore, and more. Enjoy!

What is your first fragrance memory? Is there a scent your mom or your sisters wear that brings you back to a specific time or era of your life?

That's a good question. I'm almost positive she still uses this body lotion. … My mom has used a specific body lotion since I was a child, and it's not by a brand. It's by a woman who makes the body lotion, and my mom picks the scent. I think it's like China Rain or something like that. It's so identifiably my mom. I actually have a bottle more for nostalgic purposes, but I'm into retinol body lotion these days.

I love that. Growing up, my mom wore a very specific perfume. It was Karl Lagerfeld's Chloé era—the 1975 fragrance. I have a bottle on my vanity, and I don't even wear it. It's just to smell every now and then.

I've asked my sisters, but no one really remembers because we were young when my dad passed away, but I wish we knew what he wore because that would be the dream to have it. You're so lucky to have that.

It's discontinued now, so I bought a bottle on eBay for way too much money, but it's worth it. I will die on this hill as a beauty editor, but I just think scent is so powerful and can take you right back to a certain time, place, or person.

I agree with you so much.

Do you remember the first fragrance you ever bought yourself as a teenager? Was there a certain fragrance at the department store that you were just obsessed with?

I feel like everyone was obsessed with this: I bought Thierry Mugler Angel when I was a teenager. It's so heavy, but it was so identifiably junior high for me. I have not smelled it on me anytime recently, but if I smell it on someone else, I just instantly know the scent. You're right. Speaking to what you were just talking about, if I get a whiff of it, I'm back to, I don't know, perusing the mall. I can see myself at 13 years old. I probably wore way too much, but you just want to be cool and wear a fragrance. That's the first one that comes to mind.

That is such an iconic scent. I think everyone wanted to wear it. It was the cool-girl fragrance at the time.

I was not the cool girl, but that's probably why I wanted to do it. You're so right. You're like, "Oh, if I wear this, maybe I'll be cool."

That's junior high in a nutshell. Speaking of iconic fragrances, I love that celebrity fragrances are having a moment right now because they're so nostalgic for me. I'll just say I was obsessed with Britney Spears's perfumes back in the day. What made you want to create your own scent, and what were you inspired by?

I had a tough time in my 30s. It's so weird because when we first started in the public eye, if you will, I used to do a lot of things on my own, or I used to take a lot of risks and do a lot of things. I definitely lost a lot of my confidence in my 30s, and then I was going to therapy. I'm going to get really not beauty-related for a second. I started going to therapy and really working on myself and wondering, How did I become this person that's afraid to even do one thing on my own? I was more afraid of if it didn't work out or the rejection or what everyone's going to think—things that didn't used to scare me before.

That's a part of life, the failures and learning what sticks and what's for you. I really made a conscious effort in my 40s. I'm going to push myself to do things that I know I can do, and I know I have the passion to do it. I just didn't have the balls to do it, really, so around 38 or so, I intentionally sought out creating a fragrance because I wanted to. I was just too scared to for a few years. It wasn't planned because I didn't know how long it took to create a fragrance. It took about two years, and it just so happened that when I turned 40 it was also the launch of XO Khloé. It was kismet. It really was meant to be for me. I was so scared, and I was so intimidated, but I had to do it for me.

It wasn't inspired by anyone else. It was always something I wanted to do. I was just too afraid to do it. It wasn't even that I expected it to do much of anything. I just had to do something from start to finish and prove to myself that I can do this. I'm not going to die if it doesn't do well. It's okay to put yourself out there. The easiest thing in life is to be complacent and to not push yourself and not do things that scare you. I really didn't want to be that person anymore, and I want to do something that was on my own in the beauty world. It was something I'd thought about for a long time, so I did it, and it was amazing. I love that I did it. … With every fragrance that I launch, I'm getting more and more confident. It's sort of cheesy because I am in my 40s, but I'm getting more proud of myself. I'm like, "Khloé, see, you could do it, and all you had to do was trust yourself." It was just something I really wanted and needed to do for me and the evolution of me.

That speaks to me. I just turned 30 this year, and I didn't expect to feel how I do. Life is a constant evolution, and there are just lessons you have to learn, no matter your age. It's humbling!

This was the first decade I've walked into that I thought so hard about in an intentional, good way. I was not afraid to turn 40. In fact, I was so excited. I needed a fresh start. I know there's so much more to me. I think in my 30s… and not your 30s! These were my 30s, so I don't want you to get discouraged. But I had a tougher time with life. People make you feel like if you don't have it figured out in your 30s, you're just done, and there's no hope or turning back.

I started my podcast in my 40s too. I met and interviewed Mel Robbins, and she was like, "Oh my gosh, I went bankrupt in my 40s and this and this." People don't tell you how much failure happens. The pressure of these decades that we put on ourselves! As long as we're trying, doing our best, and putting one foot in front of the other—trying to have blinders on so we stop comparing ourselves to other people in the same decade—that deserves applause in and of itself.

I think everyone experiences it to a certain extent, but since you're in the public eye, everyone has a front-row seat to your evolution, starting with Keeping Up With the Kardashians. Has your approach to beauty changed throughout the decades?

Oh, for sure, and I want it to. You know what I mean? I'm a creature of habit, so it's hard for me to try new things, but I also love that I do. I could be a one-trick pony with how I know how to do my makeup, but let's try to watch a few YouTube videos and not do a smoky eye every time or whatever. It could be superficial. Now in my 40s, I like a retinol body lotion or sunscreen on my face and hands—things I might not have thought about in my 20s.

There are things that come with evolution, with aging, with growing. I love the wisdom. I'm not afraid of age. I think it's such a beautiful experience.

Growing up in the public eye, I got a nose job, and people were like, "Oh, she doesn't love herself." It's like, "No, I love myself. I just wanted to tweak something, but I love myself." That's just how I felt. So many people who aren't in the public eye might do something, and they don't get torn apart for those decisions. I'm still just a person. There are just more eyes on me, and people are able to comment on things that they can't for other people. Sometimes, it's hard to feel free to try things because you have more pressure—if you make a mistake or do something that doesn't fit the mold for somebody else. Sometimes, I'm probably not trying as many things as maybe I would if I weren't in the public eye.

That's understandable. I would be the exact same way! You mentioned retinol body lotion. Is there one in particular you like, or do you rotate?

I rotate. I have three or four and for no rhyme or reason. I think I just googled "popular retinol body lotion." I'm a believer that if I use the same skincare product too much, my body gets used to it. I have three or four in my drawer, and I just rotate. It could be the placebo effect, but I swear it works.

You keep your skin on its toes. Are there any other beauty tricks or tips you learned from your family members?

My mom was always so great at teaching us how to care for ourselves at such a young age. It wasn't about the vanity of it; it was really about the hygiene of it and making sure we were well-groomed, if you will. It could be as simple as how to wash your body. You have to teach children some of these things, right?

I've always really been so appreciative of the things my mom has taught me. It was the little things, not facials or anything like that. She would always say to take a hot washcloth and rub it on your face for exfoliation—even just hydrating and hydrating from the inside out.

That segues perfectly into my next question. In your experience as a mother, what are little ways you carve out time for yourself or maybe indulge in rituals to make yourself feel good on really busy days?

The thing that makes me feel good every day is my gym session. That's a nonnegotiable. I want to hit four days a week. I find that if I wake up at 4 a.m. to get to the gym, I'll get there. That makes me feel good, and I feel like I glow from the inside out. I wish I were better at, like, getting a massage or getting a facial or something, but I always feel like I have to entertain people. If I'm getting a massage, I'm like, "Okay over there? Do you need a water?" I can't handle it, so it's not that relaxing. I love a good sheet mask, or I'll take a bubble bath when I can—normally when the kids are asleep. Those are more my little moments.

With True, first of all, the teethbrushing thing is the most stressful thing on the entire planet. It's always a negotiation. I'm like, "They're your teeth! Let's just clean them!" It's a whole thing. Yeah, I think toothbrushing is a universal headache for all adults to teach children.

Oh, for sure. How has motherhood affected your approach to beauty?

I try not to make beauty a huge thing with my daughter because she's 7 and a half. She loves skincare products, but that is sunscreen or a lotion. She loves face mist, which is cucumber water. She loves that, and she feels like that's everything in the world. Those are fine, but I don't want her to have any obsession or to think that we need these things to be beautiful. I teach her we need these things just to keep our body hydrated. She likes little lip oils—stuff like that. I try to keep everything very age appropriate with her. I focus on like, "We wear sunscreen to protect ourselves," but it's not for a beauty perspective. I also try to not do a lot of beauty things around them just because I don't like what message that sends. That's just my personal choice.

Totally. I think the internet changed the way we approach beauty and can foster so much comparison and everything from such a young age.

It's horrible. [True] has beautiful curly hair, so I have to do moisturizing treatments. We do do beauty treatments, but she knows it's to take care of her body and her hair. I'm not like, "Do this for beautiful, bouncy curls." She already has them regardless, right? This is just to keep the integrity of everything. We don't really like to talk about it. They're just routines, if you know what I mean.

Absolutely. Finally, what's your unfiltered beauty philosophy in seven words or less?

That's a great question. My sentiment behind Almost Always is that perfection is never the goal. So maybe it's that. Perfection is never the goal.

If I'm doing [my daughter's] hair and getting frustrated, she'll be like, "Mommy, you say there's no such thing as perfect." Sometimes, I need that reminder. We all want to hit this level of perfection, but who's deciding what's perfect anyways? I think it's this game. We're always going to be in this race with ourselves. If only we just could sit back. My mom is so funny. Okay, this is a little crazy, but I have a gym at my house, and she shares it with me because she lives right next door. She'll be like, "I hope you're taking a lot of nude photos with that body because in 10 years you might not have it." And I'm like, "What? Mom, no." She's like, "Khloé, you look so good."

I'll always say I just don't like my stomach. I'll always have something that I'm nitpicking apart, and she'll be like, "In five years, you're going to wish you looked how you do right now." And she's not wrong. We're always wanting more and more and more, as opposed to just being so grateful with what we have right now. I'm a victim of it. I'm not saying I'm above it at all, but I try to remind myself that perfection is not the goal. I think just existing is the goal. We can be the best version of ourselves, and we should strive for that. I think we all need to get it into our heads that we can strive for greatness or whatever we want our goals to be, but it should never be perfection.​​

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