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Until recently, it was enough to be a critically acclaimed recording artist, a one-woman corporation reporting year-over-year revenue growth, and a pop icon without hyperbole. From today on, in addition to the other duties involved in being Christina Aguilera, she will assume another role she was born to play: cofounder and chief brand advisor of Playground, a boutique range of personal lubricants intended to elevate sexual health. Subtract petrochemicals and shame; add skin-care ingredients and the word "wellness."
Founded in 2022 by beauty commerce veteran Catherine Magee and product development expert Sandy Vukovic, Playground's ambitions scale well beyond 3.7 fluid ounces. The brand's tagline is "Up for fun, down for anything," which may explain the decision to bring on an internationally famous executive at the outset of its next growth chapter. It's a savvy move for all involved: The sexual wellness market is growing rapidly — and its climax is nowhere in sight.
It's a wonder Aguilera has any time at all, let alone 15 minutes to Zoom with a stranger (I'm being coy — we've met once before), but she made herself available (camera off, display name "xtina"). She is clearly passionate about this project, acknowledging the vogue for celebrity-fronted brands while emphasizing that there is no brand she would rather front than this one.
For one thing, intercourse has been a recurring theme in Aguilera's creative work. For another, her eight-year-old daughter, Summer, has passed the age Aguilera was when she started performing and the mission to set a positive example has become personal. Aguilera does not call herself a sex symbol, but she is acutely aware of how she symbolizes sex. "I've always wanted women to feel comfortable enough and safe enough to explore what it is that makes them feel good," she says. "It's a no-brainer that I'd do this."
Allure: How's your day going so far?
Christina Aguilera: Really good, really chill. I'm excited about this. This is something that is like a personal project for me, so it's — Oh, my God! I just felt my shirt. Literally, I asked if there was a tag in my shirt, because I was like, “I can't.” When my makeup artist was helping me get ready today, I said, “Make sure there are no tags in my shirt.” I reached back there to itch myself, and there's a tag in my shirt. Anyway…
Allure: I love the idea of a fresh garment on you. Let's talk about the project a little more. How did you come to this opportunity with Playground?
Aguilera: It was a completely natural progression for me, considering the career I've had, from "Dirrty" and "Beautiful" — embracing sexuality to feel empowered and raw and out there, if that's the kind of woman that you want to be. Playground is by women, for women. We know from experience what [sex] should feel like, how good it should feel. When I was looking into the ingredients and testing the product myself, I fell in love with it. So again, this is something that I'm wholeheartedly inside of.
It's also a part of my personal journey, being the next progression as a mother and raising a daughter. That's why it's so important for me to almost pass on my life experience from growing up in this business when I was her age too. I guess that's why at 21 I decided to take my own power back with my body and draw the line.
Allure: Can you explain what that moment at 21 was for you?
Aguilera: I started performing at six or seven and doing the Mickey Mouse Club. So I have had this work ethic inside of me from a very young age. In this business, you're going to have a lot of opinions coming at you about your body, about your sexuality, what's too much, what's too little. A lot of it comes from male opinions and older businessmen's opinions, which should have nothing to do with your body and your self-image. When I recorded my first album, it was very label-dominated, from "Genie in a Bottle" to "What a Girl Wants." Amazing that I got my foot in the door that way, but I wasn't creatively giving messages that truly embodied who I was.
So my sophomore album was called Stripped. People always thought that had a sexual kind of connotation, but if anything, it was me speaking my truth of what it felt like to be me, embracing my body and being a woman outside of other people's ideals. From songs like "Beautiful" to "Dirrty" to "Fighter," these were all different emotions of being a woman and those are all things that I've embraced.
"Lady Marmalade" — being extroverted and over-the-top and playing with glam and makeup. I've never been one to shy away from new things and experimenting. If I can give other women that courage to step out or explore themselves, then my job is done.
Allure: I think a lot of our readers are not quite sure what it means when someone like you is involved with a brand like this. Can you tell me a little about the business behind the scenes and what your role was?
Aguilera: Well, I was drawn to what makes it different, what makes it special. First of all, and again, I love that it's made by women.
I learned that [the personal lubricant market] is a 120-year-old space, but the ingredients have had harmful chemicals to women in particular and it was not an equal playing field. I like being a part of something that creates things that are not only pleasing but good for you and your vagina, which is the epicenter of everything for us. It's pleasure, but it can also be painful. It can be the birth of life. The vagina goes through a lot, so we got to let it feel good. We got to make sure we pamper and nurture it.
One thing I always say, and I was very interested in: A lot of celebs go into businesses and we think as consumers too. We all go to the grocery store or the drugstore and we shop for something for the hair, something for the face. We all need to be putting the same time and attention into our lower regions. That's where we get into the wellness aspect of it, because it's one thing to talk about sexuality, but this is overall wellness, and it's healthy. We don't think about those things.
Allure: Was there anything you felt particularly suited to in partnering with this brand and bringing these products to market?
Aguilera: Well, I can account for loving to be a part of the testing process. Love the textures, the different scents and things involved. Each one has its own scent. I love the names. I thought they were really fun: Love Sesh, Date Night. Date Night is my favorite. Even if you don't have a partner, you can definitely have a date night with yourself.
But the testing… You've got to test what you're doing. I do that across the board, and I like safer approaches to everything. I try to be really conscious about what I put in my body, what my daughter sees me put in my body. We have conversations like, “What's a tampon? What's your period?” She's eight, but education is everything. And breaking down the conversation in digestible components that are easy to understand helps us take the fear and stigma out of things. Everything across the board as a female, especially pertaining to your body, should be something you feel good about sharing.
Allure: On that note, and in as much detail as you're comfortable with, what was the product testing process like?
Aguilera: There's testing on myself, testing with a partner. Sexuality is fun! Exploring yourself should feel empowering and something that we all feel safe about doing.
Every woman is different. Every one might gravitate toward a product for a different reason. Some women have problems achieving orgasm. I mean, that's a very common thing for women to feel and do, and the more you can explore feeling safe with your body and knowing what you like, you can better infuse that into sharing with a partner.
I mean, look, we all can be prone to yeast infections, vaginal dryness. Some women experience pain during sexual intercourse, so the more we know about our bodies and how we can best take care of them, that's where wellness comes into play.
Anyway, getting back to my own experience with it… Yeah, it is fun to explore and experiment. You can put it on yourself, your partner, you can put it on toys. There's things you can do. Have a good vibrator, you know?
Allure: Do you have a good vibrator?
Aguilera: I actually do. There's a brand called Lelo I like. I try different ones. When I travel, I used to do these little bullet things for easy access, in your fucking pocket purse or whatever. Sorry — I don't want to swear at you, but when she's passionate about something… But yeah, no, I think maybe this is a whole different conversation.
Allure: Something that's been on my mind, and for a lot of readers too, I think, is that we're in this time when people are having less sex than they ever have. Everybody agrees sex is good for us, but I'm wondering what you would say to those who aren't having it?
Aguilera: We need to change the statistics. There's also a skyrocketing surge of depression. Maybe that correlates. We're all consumed with our phones and things like that. I think we need to step away and do more things for ourselves and connect. We get so busy, and we think of sex, sexual awareness, sexual health as something on the back burner that's irrelevant. But I think this should be something that is a part of every woman's beauty routine. It's like a vitamin for yourself, and it's an energy booster. I think it's a life enhancer, to be honest.
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Read more about sexual wellness:
- TikTok's Romance Novel Revival Is Changing How We Think About Sex
- 17 Best Remote Control Vibrators for Hands-Free Sexual Stimulation
- I Didn't Start Masturbating Until After I Turned 30
Watch Christina Aguilera break down her most memorable music video looks:
