Leah Kateb turns viral fragrance routine into Skylar role
The Love Island USA alum told NBC Select how her Skylar fandom led to a leadership post and shared the products in her current routines.
By Tom Brennan · Health & Medicine Correspondent
3 min read
Leah Kateb’s post-Love Island USA beauty content has led to an executive role at fragrance brand Skylar, according to NBC Select. The move shows how a reality-TV breakout and creator can shift from recommending products to helping run the company behind them.
NBC Select reported that Kateb’s shower routine drew wide attention on TikTok soon after she left the villa. In that video, according to NBC Select, she teased a perfume she loved and later identified it as Skylar’s Vanilla Sky.
Kateb told NBC Select that she is now Skylar’s “re-founder,” a title she said reflects a rebuild of the brand rather than a standard endorsement deal. NBC Select also identified her as an executive at Skylar and said she works on product development, creative decisions and meetings with Sephora stakeholders.
From customer to brand builder
Kateb told NBC Select she had used Skylar before joining the company, which she said gives her a customer’s view of what people want from the brand. She said she pays attention to feedback from Skylar shoppers and uses it when thinking about future products, according to NBC Select.
NBC Select reported that Kateb was recently included on Forbes’ Top Creators of 2026 list. In the interview, she discussed Skylar’s fragrances along with beauty, skin care and fashion items she buys and uses.
Kateb told NBC Select that she now builds separate “Smell Good Routines” around Skylar fragrance launches and posts them on TikTok. NBC Select reported that those pinned videos have drawn between 1.5 million and 14.9 million views apiece.
Products she named
Among the items Kateb discussed with NBC Select was Nivea Almond Milk and Coconut Body Wash. She said she uses it in routines paired with Skylar’s True Love’s Cake and Boardwalk Delight fragrances, according to NBC Select.
Kateb also told NBC Select she keeps many pairs of Havaianas slim flip-flops and wore them during her season of Love Island USA. She said thong sandals have returned to fashion after years of saying they should, according to NBC Select.
For home fragrance, NBC Select reported that Kateb and her boyfriend, Miguel Harichi, use diffusers, incense and candles in the home they share with their pets. Kateb named Lulu Candles’ Jasmine, Oud & Sandalwood candle as a current favorite, according to NBC Select.
Kateb told NBC Select that SPF and retinol are two skin care categories where she is selective. She said she uses Hydrinity’s RetaXome Daily Retinal Hydrator a few nights a week, often after the brand’s Prelude Cleanser, and also uses Laneige’s Vanilla Lip Sleeping Mask at night.
NBC Select reported that Kateb uses Skin Better Science’s Trio Rebalancing Moisture Treatment in the morning and evening. Kateb also said she sometimes applies Avène’s Cicalfate+ Restorative Protective Cream, which she discovered while on Accutane, and finishes her morning routine with Colorescience mineral face sunscreen, according to NBC Select.
A personal Skylar launch
Kateb told NBC Select that Skylar’s True Love’s Cake, launched in June, is the most personal fragrance she has helped develop. NBC Select reported that it became Skylar’s top bestseller soon after launch.
Kateb said the fragrance drew on a Persian story about baking a cake for someone to make them fall in love, according to NBC Select. She told the outlet the scent was based on a cake her family made together and that development took months because she had a clear idea of how it should smell.
This story draws on original reporting from NBC News.