Hole has been one of the most influential bands in my life. Live Through This gave me a place to feel less alone—to have all the most imperfect, messy, and ugly parts of myself not just seen, but validated. My pain cracked wide open and turned it into something artistic, something that made sense. I will forever be grateful for Hole’s work and for Courtney Love’s creative legacy.
Hole’s lineup shifted over the years, but its core was always Courtney Love, the band’s founder and frontwoman. Love has a complicated relationship with the media, but she remains a creative and visual genius. Guitarist Eric Erlandson helped shape Hole’s jagged, distortion-heavy sound. Kristen Pfaff’s bass on Live Through This added a melodic depth before her tragic death in 1994. Melissa Auf der Maur took over for Celebrity Skin, bringing a more polished feel. Patty Schemel’s drumming gave Live Through This its urgency—though like many women in music, she was later pushed out. (Her memoir, Hit So Hard, is a must-read. It completely changed my outlook on addiction.)
Of course, people love to diminish them. The rumor that Kurt Cobain wrote their songs has followed the band for decades, and plenty still credit Billy Corgan—Courtney’s ex—with shaping their sound. Crediting a woman’s success to a man? Groundbreaking. And yet, Live Through This remains one of the most visceral, gut-wrenching albums about girlhood—one a man could never even dream of capturing.
But we’re not here to rehash old debates. We’re here to talk about Hole—nuanced, raw, visceral—and the fragrances that match their albums.
Pretty on the Inside (1991)
Released in 1991, Pretty on the Inside is a violent, unpolished, and deeply beautiful reflection of femininity that refuses to conform to any traditional sense of structure or melody. Themes of sexual violence, body dysmorphia, and the suffocating expectations placed on women and girls weave in and out of the album’s distorted, chaotic soundscape. Teenage Whore is a brutal rejection of purity culture, exposing the contradiction of being both shamed and sexualized. Babydoll plays like a manic fever dream, directly criticizing the pressure to be young, submissive, perfect, and still desirable. Sonically, Pretty on the Inside is abrasive and confrontational—an album that doesn’t ask for your approval.
Its chaotic sounds are best suited for Stercus by Orto Parisi (luxe pick) or Demimonde by Treading Water Perfume (affordable pick).
Stercus is complicated—both dirty and sweet, with notes of anise, almond, rose, musk, agarwood, leather, and heliotrope. The leather and musk dominate, creating a smoky, animalic presence that leans deeply into its oud-like richness. But the heliotrope adds an unexpected softness, preventing it from becoming completely overpowering. It’s unsettling yet addictive, the perfect scent for an album that thrives on tension and contradiction. You can also buy a decant from SmallFlower.
Demimonde is sharp and dangerous—sweet, but never soft. It opens with bold notes of leather, rose, blood, amber, and cardamom, creating something punchy and abrasive, almost overpowering at first. The leather and rose play off each other beautifully, and as it dries down, the rose becomes more dominant—not powdery or delicate, but spicy, sharp, and untamed. This scent feels like girlhood at its most volatile—beautiful, brutal, and always a little on the edge.
Live Through This (1994)
Live Through This—the album that changed everything. Arguably one of the greatest rock albums of all time, I've spent hours crying and screaming to this. Released in 1994, just days after Kurt Cobain’s death, it was quickly followed by another loss—bassist Kristen Pfaff’s passing just two months later.
The months leading up to its release were chaos. Cobain and Love’s relationship was splashed across tabloids, a messy spectacle that threatened to overshadow the music. But Live Through This cuts through the noise. It’s survival in album form—violent, hungry, and unflinchingly raw. Every song rips into the twisted reality of being a woman. I Think That I Would Die reflects the media’s obsession with Love’s motherhood, while Miss World and Violet dissect body image, addiction, and the suffocating demand for perfection. I suggest pairing it with Girl of the Year by Thin Wild Mercury (luxe pick) or 401 by Bon Parfumeur (affordable pick).
Girl of the Year is perfect for the girl of the century—a messy homage to girlhood. Notes of lipstick, incense, leather, orris root, and sandalwood give it a distinctive edge. The dry down leans smoky, leathery, and powdery, eventually settling into something warmer with impressive wear time of about eight hours. It’s a complicated scent that has to grow on you, but like Live Through This, each spray (or listen) reveals something new. Aggressive yet warm, bold yet intimate—just like the album.
401 Cedar, Candied Plum & Vanilla is a woody-fruity mix with sweet, powdery notes. Layered and unexpected, it carries a fruity, earthy potpourri energy, with plum notes that add a tart richness against the warmth underneath. There’s a nostalgic feel, but the mix of fruit and wood gives it an offbeat edge—comforting yet slightly discordant, much like the album itself.
Celebrity Skin (1998)
Celebrity Skin is a sharp departure from Live Through This, and at first, fans saw it as a sellout move. But it’s sleek, polished, and the ultimate rockstar album—sharp, aggressive, and deliberately accessible. It tears apart the delusions of fame, critiquing the industry, women’s roles within it, and the world’s obsession with youth, wealth, and perfection in a way only Courtney Love could. Grunge was dead, and Celebrity Skin leaned pop—but not explicitly. Tracks like Malibu and Awful are easy to swallow sonically, but beneath the gloss, the cynicism cuts deep.
For the ultimate cynical sellout experience, I recommend pairing it with Black Citrus by Vilhelm Parfumerie (luxe) or Lone Wolf by West Third Brand (affordable).
Black Citrus is sleek and sexy, a sophisticated citrus that perfectly captures the essence of Malibu. Notes of cardamom, bergamot, violet, birch, patchouli, and vetiver create a scent that’s effortlessly cool, refined, and slightly smoky. The vetiver and bergamot stand out the most, giving it that sharp, polished edge. Wear time is around six hours, but it lingers just enough to leave an impression—one of my absolute favorites.
Lone Wolf is a true aromatic citrus, with grapefruit, bergamot, lime, jasmine, nutmeg, amber, and cardamom. It’s clean, sharp, and pulled together, making it a perfect companion to the sleekness of Celebrity Skin. It’s fresh without being too light, structured without being too stiff—the perfect balance between casual confidence and something a little more refined.
Nobody’s Daughter (2010)
Perhaps the most complicated album on this list, Nobody’s Daughter began as a Courtney Love solo project before being reshaped under the Hole name—without any original members. Written in 2005 after Love’s stint in rehab, it started at Linda Perry’s urging and later pulled in Billy Corgan, leading to conflicts over tracks like Samantha. The album was plagued by funding and sponsorship deals, disputes with Eric Erlandson, and creative differences with Corgan, arriving to mixed reviews. Love has since regretted releasing it under Hole, but it remains a raw reflection on addiction and survival. This album is best paired with Tears by Régime des Fleurs (luxe) or No Way to Say Goodbye by Lush (affordable).
Tears is complicated—melancholy, broody, and deeply reflective. Notes of green cognac, pink pepper, mandarin orange flower, lilac, orris, olibanum, frankincense, ambergris, and musk give it a layered, introspective feel. The lilac adds a soft floral touch, but the frankincense keeps it from feeling too delicate, adding depth and a sense of longing. Wear time is solid at eight hours, though it tapers off and wears close to the skin—much like Nobody’s Daughter, a scent that feels self-destructive yet delicate, fading but never truly gone.
No Way To Say Goodbye is tart, sharp, and just a little unpredictable—a warm, woody-fruity fragrance with notes of rose and blackcurrant. Some find it medicinal, while others say it leans sweet and juicy, making it a divisive scent—much like Nobody’s Daughter. It walks the line between bitterness and beauty, never settling too comfortably into any one category, which feels fitting for an album that never quite found its place.
****
Music, like fragrance, is about memory—it lingers, it clings to you, it can shift and change with time. Hole’s discography is full of those moments—unpolished, angry, glamorous, broken, and resilient. These scents don’t just match the albums, they mirror the feeling: messy girlhood, survival, the high gloss of fame, and the inevitable crash after. Whatever your favorite Hole era is, there’s a fragrance to match the mood.
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