In a world overflowing with celebrity scents, old-school staples, and niche indie lines, Harlem Perfume Co. has always charted its own course. The brand crafts fragrances that are stories, legacies, and celebrations of Black artistry honoring the icons and spirit of the Harlem Renaissance. Now, the brand is bringing Eartha Kitt’s legendary presence into a new chapter.
More than her unforgettable purr behind hits like “Santa Baby” or her scene-stealing turn as Catwoman in the 1960s Batman series, Eartha was defined by her radical honesty, magnetic charm, and unwavering sense of self. She famously spoke out against the Vietnam War and championed civil rights, using her voice even when doing so wasn’t safe or popular—qualities Harlem Perfume Co. wanted to honor in their newest creation.
Eartha’s Garden, the latest addition, translates the iconic Eartha eau de parfum into a candle that evokes the sunlit reprieve of her Beverly Hills garden, spread across two-and-a-half acres where she grew vegetables, nurtured citrus and lemon trees, and cared for chickens. A travel-size fragrance lets admirers carry her adventurous spirit on every journey. Available individually or as a bundle, both feature notes of California lemon, Sichuan pepper, smoked rose, and guaiacwood.
The collection was born from an intimate collaboration between Harlem Perfume Co. founder Teri Johnson, Eartha’s daughter Kitt Shapiro, and perfumer Catherine Selig. Together, they crafted scents that honor Eartha’s sensuality, complexity, and magnetic charm. The result is an intimate and timeless olfactory portrait of a woman whose presence could fill a room long before her perfume.
During the final stages of refining the Eartha scent, Johnson recalls getting a visit from Eartha Kitt in her dreams. “Eartha Kitt woke me up out of my sleep. She basically was like, ‘Teri, this is not it. Keep going darling, keep going,’” says Johnson. “I didn’t tell Kitt, I told Catherine. Then I sent the final version to Kitt and she immediately said, ‘This is my mother, this is it!’”
“When I smell the fragrance, not only do I think of my mother, but I know my mother would embrace this and feel empowered to wear it,” Shapiro says.
As Johnson and Shapiro remind us, fragrance is a vessel for legacy. It’s a way for stories to be felt, experienced, and remembered, not just told. In this ESSENCE exclusive, they reflect on honoring Eartha Kitt’s approach to beauty and her connection to the earth, the generational love woven into the collection, and the joy of letting her spirit live fully in the present.
ESSENCE: Eartha Kitt has such a rich legacy and wide-ranging body of work. When you reflect on her aura, her voice, that signature magnetism, and who she was as a person, what comes to mind?
Kitt Shapiro: We had this incredible love affair with each other. I think about the strength of this woman—how she stayed true to herself, her feminism, her sexuality, and her beauty—while never giving up her desire to be a strong woman, stand her ground, speak her truth, and defend those who couldn’t defend themselves. She also had a deep connection to Harlem. When she moved from the South, that’s where she lived. She loved her childhood there—the sounds, the music, the different languages. She lived between Spanish Harlem and African American Harlem, and to her, the fire and power of Harlem were the people, their differences, and their energy.
Even today, as empowered as we may be getting as women, that balance is still difficult. Many of us, though not all, tend to take a backseat or hold our voices. My mother was not like that. She spoke up often, even when no one asked, and if you asked for her opinion, she was definitely going to give it. What resonates most with me is her willingness to take that risk of just speaking her truth.
Teri Johnson: I got to know Eartha Kitt through the book that Kitt wrote during the pandemic. Through the process, I got to know who Eartha Kitt was beyond what you can find on Google. She loved growing things in her garden, caring for her lemon tree, composting long before it was trendy. She was such a woman of the earth and also just so ahead of her time.
She was blacklisted because she stood up for herself and because of her strength. What I find so beautiful and fascinating is that she could have really sat quietly and just been pretty and gone along with a lot of the other Hollywood starlets and people getting all these opportunities but she didn’t. That courage makes her so unique, and it’s why we have to celebrate her and why we do it through fragrance.
With the launch of the travel-size eau de parfum, it feels like a nod to Eartha’s adventurous, worldly spirit. How does the portability of this fragrance connect to her legacy?
TJ: With the travel size, you can put it in your purse, your travel bag, it allows you to be spontaneous and fabulous at the same time.
Was it Orson Welles who called Eartha Kitt the most exciting woman in the world? I told Catherine this needs to be a fragrance for the most exciting woman in the world. Whenever she traveled to a new country, she would learn how to sing the national anthem in their language. Who thinks so open mindedly and globally? Because that is a way to disarm and charm and gain respect of people of different nations, that’s who she was.
We wanted the fragrance to carry an air of mystery and embody a bold, intriguing, and alluring global citizen. It’s alluring. It’s not in your face, it’s almost like a soft seduction. So the next time you wear it, I just want you to think about that.
The theme of generational legacy is a special element in this collection, with not only Kitt helping develop the fragrance, but also her daughter, Rachel aka Nora Mae, Eartha’s granddaughter, modeling as the face of the scent.
KS: Oh, that was all Teri. [Laughs] It made so much sense, given who my mother was and how rooted this fragrance feels. When I saw the images, I cried. My mother and my daughter had such a beautiful connection—making music together, sitting at the piano. My daughter was only 13 when my mother passed, but she has vivid memories of creating art with her. Having her be the face of the perfume feels incredibly full-circle.
TJ: During the photoshoot, we were in this big open-concept mansion in L.A., juggling multiple shoots at once. Rachel was in hair and makeup when a bird suddenly started flying around the space. She looked up and said, “Oh, Nana’s here.”
The hair and makeup team asked what she meant, and Rachel explained that her grandmother often shows up to her as a bird, sometimes even tapping on a window just to be acknowledged before flying away. Listening to her tell those stories gave me chills. Everything flowed so beautifully that day, and I remember thinking, Yeah… she’s here.
Eartha’s glamour is iconic, but she also seemed to understand beauty as both armor and a way to disarm. She was candid about the limits of desire, and how being desired doesn’t always equal respect or access. Can you speak to how she navigated those complexities and nuances?
KS: Absolutely. As a woman of color—especially in her era—my mother understood both the disadvantages she faced and the power she carried. She knew beauty could be a shield and a way to move through spaces that might not otherwise welcome her. With makeup, scent, clothing, and also the way you spoke and carried yourself, she knew the public persona a person projected could be a tool to protect the little child inside while also opening doors.
She was incredibly intentional. Nothing she said or did was accidental. She understood that how she presented herself would shape how people responded to her. Growing up in Harlem, she watched women closely—how they carried themselves, how femininity and sensuality could hold real power without compromising who they were. She learned to wield that power with purpose, and she brought that same intentionality into everything she did.
With the Sichuan pepper note, there’s this sort of intensity that’s not in your face but it’s definitely there and that’s my mother. It hits the nail on the head.
Since this is for the beauty vertical, I have to ask: Is there a beauty or self-care ritual you got from your mom that you still engage in or really cherish to this day?
KS: Yes, absolutely. You take off the makeup and wash your face every single night before you go to bed. What you put into your body will also show up on your skin. So you put good ingredients into your body, that means natural, no chemicals, or as little as possible, refined foods, no processed foods, no sodas, no “junk” as my mother would call it, and you stay very simple with what you put on top of your skin.
TJ: I love that she was a woman of the earth. Even in New York City, I try to grow things like herbs and plants—giving life and speaking life into them. Thinking of Eartha, it’s incredible that this Hollywood starlet was putting her fingers in the dirt, nurturing and growing, because there’s a kind of therapy that comes with that. I’m sure that time in her garden was deeply therapeutic, and I find that when my hands are in the soil, replanting and repotting, it just makes me want to do it even more.
What’s one thing you each hope people take away after experiencing the fragrance?
TJ: Confidence and being unapologetic in your self-expression. I think that’s really important because that’s who Eartha was.
KS: I’d like people to feel empowered. It’s not just for women, it’s unisex. My mother spoke to anybody. There’s this acceptance of all humans and beings, no matter who they are, what they believe in, or what they look like. Be intentional when you wear it—know it carries pride, support, empowerment, and strength. Carry yourself with your head held high. Be true to yourself and follow your heart. That is absolutely who my mother was.
[Kitt shows a tattoo of her mother’s hand drawn heart in the video chat] To me, the tattoo is a reminder to follow your heart. Sometimes it even warns you of what not to do. When you follow your heart and live with empathy and compassion and kindness, there’s no stopping you as a human being.