Ah, 2020. The year the world quite literally turned upside down: a global pandemic, a presidential election that finally saw the orange man ousted from the White House, and widespread protests following the murder of Black man George Floyd at the hands of a police officer.
Among the civil unrest and pandemonium, there was also, of course, the odd story that still managed to command the world's attention amid the upheaval. One of these stories was the launch of a candle by actor Gwyneth Paltrow's somewhat controversial lifestyle company, Goop. The candle, 'This Smells Like My Vagina', promised to fill your home with the scent of - you guessed it - Paltrow's lady parts, which apparently smell like a blend of bergamot, geranium and cedar. Ringing a bell? It's certainly burnt into my memory.
Well, Goop has now joined forces with none other than Poosh, the lifestyle and wellness brand launched by Kourtney Kardashian in 2019, to release a brand-new candle - which is basically 'This Smells Like My Vagina' 2.0. The Goop x Poosh collaboration, which will officially launch on Thursday afternoon (NZ time), features notes of black gardenia, geranium, green pepper, Timur berry, honeysuckle, ylang-ylang and oak moss - the name, you ask? 'This Smells Like My Pooshy'.
Just to reiterate, no, your vagina is not meant to smell like flowers, fruits, moss or any kind of exotic garden - just like women, funnily enough, don't actually poop roses.
The candle, seen below in a Bazaar.com first look, costs US$75 (NZ$116) for a full size or US$20 (NZ$31) for a votive and will officially launch on the Goop and Poosh platforms on Wednesday night (local time) - coinciding with Paltrow's appearance on The Kardashians.
What is happening here?
Discussing the inspiration behind the scent, Kardashian explained: "Gardenias are one of my favourite flowers. My dad always had them growing in his yard, and he would cut them to keep floating in a bowl inside the house. I have gardenias growing in my outdoor entryway as well, and I love that they always start to bloom right around my birthday.
"Every night, my kids all climb into my bed and we light this candle, have a cup of chamomile tea, and watch something together - there is nothing more relaxing to end the day."
Although the two celebrity-founded lifestyle platforms have been notoriously pitted against one another following Poosh's launch in 2019, Paltrow and Kardashian are hoping their partnership will finally debunk the rumours of a wellness-brand war.
"I feel like part of the reason that the patriarchy holds its power is because they create this notion of scarcity for women and competition for women," Paltrow said, as reported by Cosmopolitan.
"We are programmed to think, 'Oh, there's not enough room for me and someone else, or someone's going to take my man, or someone's going to take what's mine'. We encountered some of that when Poosh launched, and I found it so ridiculous.
"I was like, 'Women are allowed to have interest in the same field and create businesses, and it doesn't have to be that one is going to take something away from the other or undermine the other in some way'."
Kardashian added that she has never let the comparisons to Goop deter her from building her brand, which focuses on health, fitness, beauty, food, fashion and everyday luxury.
"I knew there was going to be a comparison when we were starting, and I think that something my sisters and I pride ourselves in is being really supportive of other brands in the same space because there's so much room."
