For years, Zendaya didn’t take any fashion-house brand ambassadorships or exclusive contracts. That changed in 2023, when she became the house ambassador for Louis Vuitton. That move surprised me, because LV hands out brand ambassadorships like candy, and I can’t imagine those contracts are worth much money. I also believed that Zendaya probably could have had her pick of major brand ambassadorships, you know? She clearly has good relationships with tons of designers. The only good thing about Zendaya’s LV contract is that it’s not exclusive in any way – she isn’t contractually obligated to wear LV on every red carpet, nor is she precluded from taking other contracts. Hilarious. That’s how much LV wanted to be in the Zendaya business. All of which to say, Zendaya is now the face of a Prada fragrance – a perfume called Prada Paradoxe Sweet Chemistry. She recently chatted to Vogue about fragrance, cold plunges and how she relaxes.

Working with Prada: “My first introduction to the Prada fragrances was through one of my best friends. He wears Prada Paradoxe Eau de Parfum Intense, and I would always love it when I smelled it on him. I decided to test it out at the 2025 Met Gala, and I kept getting compliments on it, so it became my signature scent.” Now, Sweet Chemistry—with its notes of blackcurrant syrup and neroli—is on rotation, too.

Changing up her hairstyles: When Zendaya chopped it off late last year, she set off a tidal wave of requests for the bixie—a cut sitting somewhere between a bob and a pixie—at salons across America. “My different hair colors and cuts are like markers of different eras of my life,” she says. “When I was younger, I was on television, and I had an experience I think a lot of young women, especially young Black women, go through, which was not really understanding how to care for it on set and not having the right kind of people looking after my curls.” After dealing with intense heat damage, all she wanted to do was focus on repair and growth.

She’s not interested in cold plunging. “I’m definitely not a cold water girl. I like to take very long, hot showers. Everybody knows that’s my thing. When I’m overwhelmed, I just need to go sit in the shower. Sometimes I’ll even bring in an iced tea or whatever, and just sip my little drink.”

She & Tom Holland have outdoor decompression sessions. “I love to go on a walk with our fur babies, just seeing them happy and going to the park. Going on a nice walk, having a silly little drink. That’s ideal for me. As long as I have my allergy medicine, that is.”

She’s very nostalgic. “I have movie tickets from special experiences when I was a teenager,” she says. “I saved every birthday card.” She’s the same way with clothes and accessories; her first major purchase was a purpley-blue Prada bag, which she still has. “I use it all the time!”

[From Vogue]

I used to love taking long, hot showers no matter the season, but now I only go those in winter, when I really need to warm up. I used to be cold-water adverse too, but now I LOVE an icy shower in the summer months. I could probably do cold plunges at this point, but I’ll stick with my cold showers in the summer. As for this perfume contract… my thing is that I dislike when young women wear really heavy scents. And this sounds like a heavy, more mature perfume. But if Zendaya likes it, so be it. I hope she’s getting a fat check for this.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.