Dua Lipa Covers Aretha Franklin in Liberating Short Film for YSL’s Libre Eau de Parfum: Shop the Fragrance
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
Dua Lipa is starring in a dramatic campaign film for YSL set to a surprising cover, with Lipa tackling “Think” by the late legend Aretha Franklin.
The campaign, titled “Free at Heart,” dropped last month and focuses on YSL’s best-selling Libre Eau de Parfum fragrance, with Lipa as the face. The resulting film is dramatic and powerful, shot between the hustle and bustle of the city and the stillness of Chile’s Atacama Desert.
Lipa’s cover of Franklin’s track — a top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968 — is a haunting and stripped-down version that starts slow before evolving into a cacophony of powerful runs and a backtrack that is meant to evoke a liberated feeling — unscripted, untamed and unapologetic. The campaign’s message is clear: Libre women are free at heart. Lipa has been the face of YSL’s Libre fragrance since it launched in 2019. Franklin, playing a waitress, memorably sang “Think” in a scene from the 1980 film The Blues Brothers.
YSL’s Libre Eau de Parfum is a floral fragrance with notes of orange blossom from Morocco and French lavender. You’ve also got a deep and earthy musk accord in there that gives the fragrance depth. It’s warm and sweet — a bold choice for those looking to up the ante on their florals. It’s an edgier floral, one that doesn’t read powdery or grandma-esque. You can snag a bottle of this Lipa-backed perfume right now at Sephora or Ulta Beauty. A 3.04-ounce bottle will run you $180, but you can also get a travel size, 0.33-ounce bottle for $37.
With the launch of this campaign, note that the iconic perfume is now refillable. The refill costs $152 and comes with 3.4 ounces (100 mL) of product. YSL’s Libre fragrance line also includes Libre Eau de Parfum Intense, Libre Flowers & Flames Eau de Parfum, Libre Le Parfum and Libre L’eau Nue.
If you want to try out the O.G. fragrance, as it compares to the Intense version, both Sephora and Ulta Beauty have a mini duo for just $40. In case you were wondering, the difference lies in the top notes. Libre Intense is much warmer than the original, thanks to notes of vanilla and tonka bean. Since both are Eau de Parfums, they should last on the skin for six to eight hours. The duo would make a great gift for those looking to dip their toes into the expansive world of luxury fragrance, without having to shell out tons of money on a full bottle.
