‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Star Jinkx Monsoon Launches Fragrance Inspired by Her Trans Identity Journey and Greek Mythology’s Queen of Olympians
Drag queen superstar Jinkx Monsoon, who became the “queen of the queens” after triumphing in the winners’ edition of “RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars” in 2022, is releasing her first fragrance, Hera, named after the “queen of gods” in Greek mythology and inspired by her own gender identity journey.
“When I was a little kid with not a ton of friends and who didn’t fit in very well, I spent a lot of time alone reading and Greek mythology was one of my favorite things to read about. And from the moment I discovered the Greek pantheon, I was always drawn to Hera the most because she’s the queen,” Monsoon told WWD.
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Monsoon, who identifies as trans-femme, created Hera after reflecting on the importance of scents and smells in celebrating her identity.
“Perfume became important to me when I really started to invest in how I present myself to the world. Perfume became just another way of showing everyone who I am and I didn’t think that it could be so important,” Monsoon said, adding, “In my own trans identity and my own gender journey, I’m constantly self-manifesting and constantly finding ways to be more myself, to find new ways to present myself to the rest of the world so that they see me and smell me the way I want them to know me.”
Hera has notes of Bulgarian rose, cardamom, dark cherry and sandalwood. “It’s kind of like when you walk into a bookstore burning incense,” Monsoon described. The signature fragrance was created in partnership with OSM, which is known for its handcrafted perfume bottles made by Kyle Mott-Kannenberg in Nashville. The perfume is available for preorder at $142 on osmperfume.com.
Although the fragrance is inspired by her gender journey, Hera is dedicated to not just people who are transitioning, but to everyone going through a big change in life. “If you’re someone who has decided ‘I’m gonna put my best self forward,’ fragrance can be part of that,” she said.
Monsoon has been breaking boundaries as a drag queen in the entertainment industry since her first appearance in “RuPaul’s Drag Race” in 2013. Her résumé includes a role in BBC’s hit series “Dr. Who” and a national tour with her “Everything at Stake” show. So far in 2024, Monsoon has announced she is returning to “Chicago” in June after debuting on Broadway as Mama Morton in the musical last year. She also booked her first concert at New York City’s Carnegie Hall as a headliner, which will debut next February.
“I get to do all of this as a trans person, as a drag performer and as a very, very unapologetically queer person. And there was a time when I would have had to hide all of those things if I wanted to have a career in entertainment,” Monsoon said.
The drag queen celebrates her achievements without losing sight of her colleagues who are being discriminated against by the recent wave of anti-drag movements in states such as Tennessee and Texas.
“I just keep reminding myself of that portion of people [who are against drag queens]. A lot of them are being manipulated and that portion of people is shrinking all the time, but they’re just very loud. So I think, you know, can I just do what I like to do without it being such a big deal? Can I just do my job without it? Without people getting upset or without people thinking it’s a revolutionary act that I’m playing a part in a show? I want all of this to just calm down so everyone can let this all feel a little bit more normal because it’s not so crazy,” she said.
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