These days a couple of years of fame are enough to be on the radar for a celebrity scent, aka a perfume launched on the sheer power of the "of the moment" bouncing effect of a well-known name. Lady Gaga is THE name of the last couple of years, obviously (Has it been as long? You could have fooled me) and therefore the perfume deal couldn't be too far behind. TMZ reports: “the fragrance company behind Gaga’s upcoming scent has filed trademark paperwork for the name ‘Monster’ — with a specific use of ‘perfumery.’” Is this what you had expected from a woman infamous for wearing raw meat? Apparently, raw meat will not feature as a note in the new fragrance by Coty Inc which will debut in spring 2012 (Will mince-meat pie filling do? I wonder...). But we could be hopeful: after all this would be something to really get us out of the zonked-out boredom range of most celebrity perfumes. If Gaga can't do it, no one can.
Can I just yawn my way out of all these celebo-scents? Theoretically, there is nothing wrong with a famous person having a fragrance out bearing their name and ugly (or pretty, as the case is) mug on the bottle, but so very often the juice inside is just swill... Not to mention it's often unlikely that there would be any class involved (see this) or innovation (see that) or at the very least a sense of continuity with the "brand? (see that, for Pete's sake). At any rate, who else but Lady Gaga, the major pop culture phenomenon of the last -oh, how long was it, again?- years, to bring out a new celebrity fragrance. According to People, Gaga has signed a deal with Coty to launch her own fragrance, set to be in stores in spring 2012. The lady herself has been known to wear Chanel Gardenia. Go figure! Who knows how the new fragrance will smell like, but I guess we're to be greeted with news of "rock accords" and "jarring fashion sense chords" soon. Wondering what will really set it apart? Perhaps much like the eponymous pop star's garments, it will require special staff to hold on and use for its designated purpose. Or something...
Photo of Lady Gaga in all her feathered glory via zimbio
In a chat on her official fansite, Rihanna Daily, Rihanna(identified by a special pink admin name) told fans she’s done recording the entire album and promises it won’t disappoint. [...] The pop star also revealed the name of her new fragrance, which will be out by the end of the year, and it’s a familiar name to the Rihanna Navy: Reb’L Fleur. It’s much like the new tattoo she recently got on her neck, “rebelle fleur.” [source] Guys, it's official now!
Update: According to the Parlux press release the new Rihanna scent is "Daring, sexy and truly memorable, Reb’l Fleur is as much in tune with Barbados-born Rihanna’s roots as it is with the glamour of her present life in New York City." The bottle design is rather quirky: an inverted stiletto heel wrapped with satin ribbon and topped with a gold ring. Reportedly, however, industry professionals weren't wowed and I kinda see why. The scent will be available for purchase from February 2011. Reb'L Fleur by Rihanna includes fragrant notes of tuberose, violet, hibiscus, and coconut water [source].
Top pic via popcrunch ,second pic via Rihannadaily.com, bottle pic via Parlux
"Racy": really? I thought it was rather predictable. What say you?
Intimately Yours duo of fragrances (for him and for her) by David & Victoria Beckham is set to be the 5th launch of the super-duet, promising it's the steamiest of their celebrity scents offerings so far. They would, wouldn't they?
Jennifer Aniston went topless for the promotion of her new scent Lola Vie (basically LOL @ vie, which means "life" in French, as we had pointed out when first announcing the news on the scent). The campaign was shot at Cabo San Lucas in Mexico which happens to be Jennifer's favourite spot. The New York Daily News mentions: "In a series of sexy black-and-white shots to promote her new scent, Lolavie, the 41-year-old actress looks stunning as she poses topless, covering her chest with just her arms while wearing nothing but a white skirt hung low on her hips." The international campaign starts on Wednesday at Harrods department store in London where she will meet and greet customers and sign bottles for them. Personally I don't think the campaign looks half bad. It's suggestive but not vulgar. What do you think?
EDIT TO ADD: A reader informs me that despite aspirations, the name was dropped in favour of simply "Jennifer Aniston" due to concerns over the already existing Lola by Marc Jacobs.
Britney Spears on the other hand isn't known for her non vulgarized image. In fact I'd bet there are good bucks to be made in actually condoning a vulgarized image, for some reason! Anyway, the troubled Pop princess has a lucrative business in the perfume segment nevertheless with 8 fragrances under her belt and counting...The 9th one, Radiance is set to launch this coming September 2010 and is purported to be a ‘stylish’ perfume. Encased in a faux rhinestone encrusted bottle, the girly design is blue and pink. Radiance by Britney Spears will smell like a bunch of ‘wild berries and soft, dewy petals’ which will include tuberose, jasmine, orange flower and iris. According to reports the new scent Radiance is set to be released in September. Prices? It will retail for $63 for 50 mL; $78 for 100 mL. Where? At Ebay, Sears and Pharmaprix/Shopper’s Crug Mart. Possibly the new fragrance will tie with a new album set to be released this year according to inside gossip. We'll see. In the TV commercial, Spears sneaks out of a theatre to avoid a waiting crowd of photographers and fans. She then visits a fortune-teller, who asks the singer if she wants her to tell her about her future. “No thanks, I choose my own destiny,” replies Spears. (we will update when the clip becomes available)
Kim Kardashian, the reality-TV persona and perpetrator of a celebrity to her name already, Kim Kardashian (which we discussed on this space) is issuing a second one in February 2011, since sales for the first one went so well. According to blurb on her own blog: "I am so excited to tell you guys that my second fragrance will launch in February of 2011!!!!! I wanted to let you guys know here first so you can all share the excitement with me :) I’m at the commercial shoot now and cannot wait to get all glammed up! Look at these amazing dresses I get to choose from! I’ll keep you guys updated on all my fragrance news here on my blog!"
The devotion to celebritoids is blind as attested by one reader commenting [sic]: "Im so glad bc honestly your current fragrance didnt work for me, I really wanted to like it, I bought to support u bc I love u and am a big big big fan, but the scent was to “flowery” for me. Hope your new one is different, so i can wear. But regardless I will purchase it!" And in case anyone thought guys would be left hankering, here is a nudge from one of the XY chromosome type readers: "So cool, you need to do a men’s fragrance next!"
The photo is from Kim's photo shoot for the second, upcoming Karashian fragrance.
The latest celebrity to join the ranks of celeboscents (fragrances produced with the added cachet of bearing the name of a celebrity) is Bruce Willis, inextricably tied to his Die Hard days (pity, does no one recall the masterpiece that is Twelve Monkeys?) The new scent being launched today across Europe captures his "strength, self-assurance and single-mindedness". This translates into a smell that combines cedar, vetiver (an east-Indian grass), pepper, grapefruit, orange and geranium leaves, we're told. The NYMag is rehashing the linked BBC article which follows, precluding that it wouldn't smell that good anyway. To my mind, withholding judgement until sniffing, the really interesting -and potentially problematic- thing is how this would play in a demographic (the one hankering after celeboscents is routinely aged 16-25) which is so far removed from the actor's own age and "golden years of fame" (the 1990s)
In an article appearing on BBC, there is extended commentary on how the industry of celebo-scents works, out of which we have weaned the most memorable quotes: One in five of women aged between 16 to 24 wears a celebrity scent [in the UK], according to market researcher Mintel. "It's about buying into a lifestyle they aspire to", it says. "Celebrities nowadays are looking for as many way as possible to monetise their fame," says Hamish Pringle, director general of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising and author of Celebrity Sells. "The attraction of doing a fragrance deal is that toiletries and cosmetics are more amenable to celebrity endorsement than some other less personal products. Plus the perfume houses have got more scents and bottles on their lab shelves than you can shake a stick at and they think putting a celebrity on the label is a really easy way to stand out from the crowd." Roja Dove links this to the celebrity-mania that infests our society, arguing that perfumes have always reflected societal mores. But things are getting a little prosaic too. "Smell is a really powerful sense and one people really underestimate," says Prof Jacob. "The celebrity perfume market depresses me because it is short-sighted. The fragrances are usually thrown together and sold off the back of a big name. They're simply an excuse for not trying to create something truly original and beautiful."
Last but not least, let's once again break the myth that celebrity scents began with Elizabeth Taylor in the early 90s and Jennifer Lopen in the 00s, as Denise Winterman notes in her otherwise very interesting article. We have established on our own site (click for The Cult of the Celebrity Scent: Perfume History, with photographic proof no less) that that was not so, through numerous examples of celebrity scents from the past expanding their own brand, namely themselves. It's just that the phenomenon has mushroomed beyond all control nowadays...
Pic of Bruce Willis with baby via sofeminine.co.uk
According to Net coverage, singer Peter Andre was envisioning ...leading man George Clooney when he was giving the directions for his male celebrity fragrance Conditional (I'm almost this close to saying "Conditionner", although I realise it's a quip to his female one called Unconditional) 'If you can imagine George Clooney walking down the red carpet and how he would smell. That's how I try to imagine this smell,' femalefirst.co.uk quoted Andre as saying. Eh....riiiiiiiiight! Now, what's the use of issuing an eponymous celebrity fragrance when you're setting the notes, so to speak, for consumers to fantasize about another celebrity in regards to it...that beats me!!
The formidable (and talented) M.J Blige is coming out with her own celebrity scent soon, called My Life in co-operation with Carol's Daughter, to whom Blige is an investor in the first place, thus marking a break with usual business practices. The brand does an estimated $30 million-plus in retail sales, with My Life expected to add a significant amount to that annual tally. “The whole notion of ‘if you can’t smell it, you can’t sell it’ wasn’t on my radar. “Everyone can choose how they want to sell. We chose to capture Mary J. Blige’s life and tell it to 93 million people,” said Stoute.
“I wanted my fragrance to be something special for my female fans,” said Blige of her new fragrance named for her landmark* 1994 recording of the same name. (according to WWD) *Mary J.Blige admits being a victim of abuse winding into depression and contemplating suicide at some point in her life.
The scent was developed by Firmenich, with the help of "Aunt Pam". Who is Aunt Pam? Pamela Baxter, president and chief executive officer of LVMH Perfumes & Cosmetics North America, married to Blige’s husband and manager, Kendu Isaacs's uncle! “I’ve never done it, but it was so much fun because I have a keen sense of smell. I knew exactly what I wanted and would ask for an incense smell, a musk smell, a wood smell. I also wanted florals, but edgy florals." Apparently she didn't like too much wood, so that got deducted. The official info appearing on WWD really wants to make it sound like M.J Blige really got herself involved (and I guess she did smell and approve/disapprove the 6 "mods" before finalisation) which was to be expected. What's the scent like? The opening relies on gardenia petals, Bartlett pear and white freesia; the heart expands into lush florals such as tuberose, blooming jasmine, gold lily and apricot flower, and the base encompasses cashmere woods {i.e. aromachemical Cashmeran}, praline, sesame and incense. Sounds totally wrong which might actually prove to be totally good; we'll see! It will retail for $46 for 1.7 oz. and will be sold with a clutch purse. The launch will of My Life by M.J.Blige will be solely on HSN during six shows on July 31, thus breaking any tradition of prestige fragrance retailing. "The scent will be sampled at the Essence Music Festival the first week in July. Carol’s Daughter, which has had a pop-up store at the festival for the last few years, will be taking pre-orders for the scent at the festival, and Blige —who will perform July 4 — will sign autographs at the Carol’s Daughter booth".
Photo of M.J.Blige with bottle of My Life by Anthony Mandler, via WWD
Finally, did I hear you ask? For years perfume enthusiasts have wondered how it is possible that even Z-list "celebrities" have their own juice out while Madonna, an affirmed perfume lover (as per our celebrity list) hasn't. Well, not anymore!
The question by now was whether such a fragrance would actually sell well, taking into consideration Madonna has the bulk of her career behind her: Neil Katz, CEO of Parlux Fragrances, which markets the Paris Hilton scent, says, "Years ago, she could sell fragrance. But I don't know if at this point in her career, she still has that strong a following. I don't know." "She has most of her career behind her," Bousquet-Chavanne notes, but "she has a universality to her and a timelessness." Judging by her 1979 nudes inspiring the visuals for unrelated fragrance, well... What is news is that perhaps this venture will market not the adults who grew up with her but the pre-teens, aged 6-14, who are the audience for her books and their parents who buy them. The news is actually even more complicated, as it will be the culmination of a wider project which involves a clothes and accessories brand. According to Happi.com: "MG Icon, the newly formed joint venture between Madonna and Iconix Brand Group, has announced its first direct-to-retail license agreement with Macy's, Inc. for Material Girl, a new fashion line, which will eventually include beauty products. Inspired and designed in collaboration with Madonna and her daughter Lourdes, the Material Girl junior collection will launch exclusively in approximately 200 Macy's stores and online in August. It will feature footwear, handbags and jewelry priced between $12.00-$40.00. According to MG Icon, future expansion plans call for Material Girl to be active in the beauty sector, with a fragrance bowing in 2011." Could it be called Candy Perfume Girl?
In a sea of celebrity scents (ie.commercial fragrances fronted by celebrities who lend some of the glamour into pushing -often mediocre at best- juice) another newcomer is ready to strut her foot into the mess and with a flick of her honey-gold mane make us look and hopefully sniff long enough to buy: Friends show and several movies' star Jennifer Aniston, also known for her marriage to Brad Pitt.
"According to OK!, Jen has been developing the perfume for nearly two years, although she is apparently on the fence about what to call it. The actress "has yet to get 100 percent behind any name," says an insider, "but the one she favors is 'Aniston.'" Not so, says her spokesman, who calls the eponymous perfume speculation "wrong." "It will not have her name," he assures us. Another moniker that was apparently nixed: Echo. "It’s all about capturing the idea of romance and freedom at any age," the source explains to the mag, "but it's hard to do that in just one word." [source] Tell us about it! No word on the juice...it's all about the name! We'll update when more info becomes available.
Edit to Add: According to UsMagazine "A rep for the actress, 41, confirms that her first fragrance will be named Lola Vie, which roughly translates into 'laughing at life' in French" {sic} and is being developed by the Falic Group which is also behind Eva Longoria's eponymous fragrance. I would rather think that it takes texting in mind, as in LOL @ Vie (where throughfully vie means life in French) "I've worked on it for over a year," Aniston recently said of her scent to London's Capital Breakfast Show. "When they asked, I don't think they really expected me to be [so] picky. But you've got to have it smell right."
According to recent reportage, Aniston, a former fan of Miss Dior and Anais Anais in her formative years, has progressed from the "heavier" scents and is now aiming for a "non perfume-y" scent that will have people exclaiming "What is that smell? You smell great!" I'm supressing a yawn as we speak, but maybe there might be something decent in the works, who knows? The advertising campaign makes ample use of ms.Aniston's lithe body, clad in only a towel, sitting on the rocks of a deserted beach.
Photo collage created by Perfumeshrine. Photo of Aniston for the ad campaign through Popeater.com
After bootylicious star Beyonce with her Heat, another celebrity (albeit famous for less creative endeavours) debuts her eponymous celebrity fragrance (will there be no end?), named after her: Kim Kardashian and developed by Lighthouse Beauty. Between that and Carl's Jr salads commercials, the starlet famous for her Keeping up with the Kardashians participation hasn't been idle.
The advertisment has the booylicious Kim dressed in vintage pink lingerie (the push-up bra being a little too modern maybe) and a marabou coat, swinging from a circle-trapeze burlesque-style. I personally think her best feature (her warm softness) is traded for some "hardened" glam-shot in which her face appears a little too austere, perhaps in an effort to lend some retro high-cheekbones and dark-lips-on-white-canvas drama. The trapeze mirrors the smoky bottle ~with some necessary pink on the neck, let's not forget~ bearing her initials; one K mirrored-into the other like the two faces of Janus. On a sidenote, funny how all the Kardashian sisters have names starting with a K! It would be hard to position themselves if they all started producing their own fragrances, but anyway. Kim Kardashian the fragrance could have been a bootichouli: After all, who better nowadays than realistically curvaceous women to bring back those unabashedly feminine compositions. But no, it will be a white floral instead (yawn?) with a sensual soft base, encompassing jasmine, tuberose and gardenia at the heart and tonka bean coupled with sandalwood for the base. Sounds rather nice, if a little "been there, done that", no? Prices will start from super-affordable $16 for a 0.33-oz. rollerball and up to $65 for a 3.4-oz. spray bottle. The Kim Kardashian fragrance debuts in February, exclusively at Sephora.
The celebrity scent phenomenon seems to be the defining moment of pop culture of the 00s alongside the free (pirate) download of clips of intimate and not-so-intimate moments of the stars. Just when we thought the trend was ebbing, here is proof that everyone, simply everyone who has their name known by more people than their spouses, their mother and their pets (no offence to them), is having their own 15 minutes of consumer-sneeze-inducing, thanks to Coty, Parlux and other plutocratic powers that be (enter sarcasm). And who could beat the morbid idea of aping dead celebrities via their (ficticious) scent? You see my point...
Eva Longoria Parker of Desperate Housewives' fame is the latest with her Eva by Eva Longoria. According to Women's Wear Daily, the Latina beauty Eva has “always been somewhat allergic to all perfumes” and therefore the actress and L’Oreal spokesmodel is creating her own scent. How original...And please note the "somewhat allergic" line which really elevates vagueness (and inaccuracy) to a whole new dimension! Interestingly, my own sources wanted her to be a white-flowers girl, opting for Kai and Fleurs d'Oranger, a choice that could have suited her wedding admirably too, as hypothesized on these pages in the past. “I really wanted to create something that every woman could wear,”Eva said. “So I decided to create my own fragrance that is light, fresh and unique.” "The perfume features citrus, violet, freesia and sandalwood notes and is housed in a curvy bottle meant to mimic the contours of a woman’s bottle". [source] Additional notes according to the Frisky include begamot tea and jasmine. Fresh allright, as to unique, well... The bottle was designed by Wilhelm Liden de Paul Meyers & Friends and was produced by Bormioli Luigi. Eva by Eva Longoria is set to launch in the United States next spring and has been developed by the Falic Fashion Group, while the fragrance was composed by Takasago. I find the wordplay at the very least intriguing and hope the humour is not lost on the advertisers. On second thought, at the 45$ to 58$ price range it seems fit to cater to the audience that helped make Desperate Housewives, a series that had spawned its very own collective celebrity scent named Forbidden Fruit created by Coty, a household name. Not exactly a cutting-edge audience appreciative of sarcasm, perhaps? At any rate, Eva is probably exploiting all possibilities of her famous face and who can blame her? Certainly not us.
But Women's Wear Daily also has news on another celebrity scent: Race-car driver Danica Patrick will launch a new fragrance in March called Danica Patrick for Her. The scent will retail for $29.50 to $54.50 and will be promoted at NASCAR and the Indy Racing League. No word yet on what it will smell like according to the nymag.com, although the commentator is confident it will be better than the upcoming scent of Sarah Jessica Parker based on popularizing body odour, on which we had reported recently.
Sarah Jessica likes her own mixture of her beloved Bonne Belle Skin Musk, Comme des Garcons Avignon and Abdul Kareem's musk oil* The effect is positively naughty, as she jokingly intimated, yet for her first foray into fragrance, Coty Inc. decided to start with something decisively tamer and pretty (Lovely), while her second fragrance, Covet, was more unusual, yet still nowhere near what Sarah Jessica truly envisioned, apparently! For her the essential component in a sexy smell is a little...body odour! And that's what the next Sarah Jessica Parker celebrity fragrance under the aegis of trusty partner Coty is going to be after! Before you frown your pretty little face into a disgusted grimace, let me remind you that there is a primal instinct associated with a little body odour, that fresh sweat can actually smell rather good and that animalics are very popular on these pages, so I am assuming you have cottoned up to the fact that we're interested, by now. So what does Sarah Jessica Parker's upcoming new fragrance entail? And did she take a page off Matthew McConaughey who likes his body odour and doesn't wear deodorant?
The Sex & The City star told WENN: "I'm working on a new genderless fragrance that's not out yet. I can't even tell you what it's called."It has taken me three years to decide on the scent because I really like B.O. and I think it's sexy. I wanted to figure out a way to make it palatable to everybody."I was like, 'How do you get B.O. in a bottle and make an atomiser of it?' Then it was all about trying to capture the sense of naughtiness in a bottle that it would be good for a man and a woman." [source] In the interim "Parker has been trying out the new scent on journalists and bloggers during her press tour for new movie`Did You Hear About the Morgans?`, in which she stars with British heartthrob Hugh Grant".[source] Talk about stinky word of mouth! We will see, I guess, although I wouldn't exactly assume the glands of human beings would be squeezed out of their appecrine emitions or she'd target bromhidrosis exactly...That wouldn't be "palatable to everybody". But the desire to be clean yet smell a little skanky, a little 'rolling out of bed' ~that bed not exactly equipped with chastity belts~ seems like a sexy idea!
*[The latter wasn't revealed via Burr at all; in fact this is journalistic conjecture on our part, since she has been great friends with Narciso Rodriguez and a fan of his perfume ~Lovely was fashioned after Narciso, after all~ and Rodriguez had been inspired for his first fragrance by a musk oil that his muse Caroline Bessette was buying for the three of them in New York City, which was revealed to be Abdul Kareem's posthumously.]
Black & white photograph of Sarah Jessica Parker in a bikini via msanto/photobucket.
"If you ever wanted to smell like Elvis or Marilyn Monroe? Now you can. According to the Daily News, a company in Beverly Hills is formulating a line of "antiquity" fragrances. The scents are based on the DNA of dead celebrities. Bottles of the perfume are sold online for about $60. Other celeb scents include Albert Einstein, Michael Jackson and Richard Nixon". [quote]
The famous supermodel is accused of cutting her longtime associates out of their profits share in her eponymous celebrity scents brand.
"Moodform Mission is a partnership of Campbell's former London modeling agents and a cosmetics outfit based in Miami Beach, Fla. The firm worked for years _ even designing the perfume bottles _ to line up a 1998 fragrance deal for Campbell with a German company that later became part of Procter & Gamble Co., said Moodform Mission lawyer Daniel R. Bright.[..]The lawsuit, filed late Monday, said Campbell violated a 1998 contract with Moodform Mission by inking a new fragrance-licensing agreement, costing the company a portion of the proceeds from such scents as Naomi Campbell, Cat Deluxe and Seductive Elixir." [source and reproduced] The reputation of Naomi Campbell for fiesty episodes enters the equation in both articles, despite it having nothing to do with legal actions. Campbell herself is confident of winning the case. It remains to be seen.
I just got sent the most disturbing news. OK, I should probably tone it down because it's not as if I found out having multiple sclerosis or some such debilitating disease or learning that my on-the-side "dough" for a tough day has magically gone up in smoke due to some accountant investement malhandling. No, the news is much more sedate, yet it does still have something of the creepy in it.
The news came in the form of an email by Laurie Pike who writes for the LA Magazine and I am quoting verbatim, because it's perfectly worded: "Malibu is known as an enclave for celebrities, a surf haven, the subject of a Courtney Love song. It's a surprise that the name of the storied town hasn't been used before for a fragrance. Can't you just imagine? Notes of sea air and orange blossoms, perhaps? Maybe a little essential oil of patchouli to reflect the hippie vibe? Now: consider Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Evocative of spring break and, for old timers, the setting of the Connie Francis film Where the Boys Are. And, um, not much else. So why on earth is Pamela Anderson launching a fragrance called Malibu way the hell down there? The event takes place November 5 at a club called the Living Room. Whatev!"
I mean, whatev! I'm sure it will be claaaassy (please don't remind me how she must have smelled when she had filmed that little yachting clip with then husband Tommy Lee) and right at the synchronicity when Pamela is looking for scraps of fame in the dustbins of younger, comelier (ooops) contestants. Just when we were saying that the celebrito-trend is withering and dying, eh? Now, I've seen it all. Oh, wait, the judge of Britain's Got Talent Simon Cowell is issuing one too, perhaps it's "got talent" as well.
For some relentless but witty and creatively hillarious celebo-parody in both prose and imagery, you really shouldn't miss this page on Galley of the Absurd. This is true pop-culture-of-the-moment and Damien Hirst has nothing on it! Really, click on the link, it's unmissable.
pic of Malibu ad via lamag.com and X-ray Pamela Anderson via funslol.com
In the last 10 years everyone who is recognised a bit more widely than their schoolmates, their own mother and possibly their hamster seems to have issued a fragrance bearing their name in gilt lettes on bottles produced by Parlux and Coty (mainly). The phenomenon nicknamed "celebrity fragrances" had accumulated epic proportions in the last couple of years when even reality game players had their own eponymous scent on the market (no disrespect to poor late Jane Goody), adding to a massive churn-out in the class of the hudnreds. Thankfully (to many, ourselves included) it seems that, despite Beyonce, Kim Kardashian and Peter Andre all having a scent in the works, the trend is on its waning phase.
"[...] it has recently been revealed by retailers that these products don't have the longevity of classic fragrances and that customers actually don't want to smell like someone off Big Brother after all. Jason Zemmel, founder of online discount store halfpriceperfumes, said: “It’s a fickle market with celebrity scandals and poor album sales having a direct effect on sales of celebrity scents. It used to be the biggest stars that brought out a scent but we now have all manner of C-listers churning out fragrances whenever they have something to promote.”
Adding that:
“Whilst some, like the Britney Spears range sells well, we’ve found many have shunned the scents of lesser known celebs. We’re now seeing resurgence for classic scents such as Christian Dior, Elizabeth Arden and Chanel, that have been around for years,” said Zemmel.
Parlux is on record for losing $4.3m last year and a reported $2.5m loss in the second quarter of this year. Whether the economic recession is having any relation to the buying patterns of consumers who would rather spend their money on something they really perceive as necessary (or as prestigious, when they do spend over budget)is not accounted for. It does seem that overexposure to specific names has created satiation and boredom and that only strong names are surviving, such as the Jennifer Lopez empire of scents or the Beckham duo. Shall we all heave a collective sigh of "oh good!" and forget about the overexposed faces that greet us with their candid shots on the front pages of Hello magazine? Here's to hoping! Or at least that from the collective stink only the nice fumes (no matter how few) will surface victorious and sustain their life on the shelves.
Daphne Guinness, an extraordinary clothes-horse always immaculately decked in high heels and designer attire is launching her eponymous scent, called Daphne. Another celebrity scent you might say, and after news of the new Amy Winehouse project we revealed a few days ago, one can expect anything, yet this one presents something unusual (and might I say without jinxing it, optimistic):
"She has created a perfume in collaboration with Comme des Garcons, called Daphne, which is launching in store next month. She has been perfecting her own scent for years, and obviously quite successfully too as she claims that taxi drivers regularly ask her what she's wearing. So why has she always been so interested in perfume? ‘It's very difficult to describe in words. It's a mystery....Sometimes when you fall in love with people, you actually fall in love with their smell.' Daphne says that she likes a ‘woodsy and kind of jasmine-y, tuberose-y, sort of thing'. (quote via Graziadaily.co.uk)
I recall how Carolina Herrera, the famous designer, was saying how her personal mix of jasmine and tuberose essences had the New York City taxi drivers enslaved, prompting her to commission her first Herrera feminine fragrance (the one in the white box with gold dots), so I have some hope for the new Daphne, coupled with Guinness's own dramatic and arresting style. At any rate, we will see how it plays out in about a month's time.
"Amy Winehouse is reportedly eyeing a deal with a perfume house to launch a range under her name. The singer was said to looking to bag a deal worth more than 750,000 dollars under the guidance of her father, Mitch" according to the Indian Express. “They want it to reflect her style with a classic smoky 1950s look and smell. Amy is keen to expand her brand and wants to latch on to the celeb perfumes bandwagon while she can". The news is also broadcasted on Starpulse Entertainment news. The initial reportage is owed to The Daily Star, but in a world when porn stars have issued their own celebrity scents, a (talented, if troubled) singer's juice doesn't seem as far fetched.
Will it be "Eau de Funk" like reported on Ear Sucker? "A namless {sic} industry insider seems to agree with me saying: “Frankly, she doesn’t look like she smells that nice, so doing some positive publicity to prove it doesn’t just smell of stale booze and fags would be vital.” according to Fashionindie.com
The "while she can" line sounds a little desperate...even if 50s fragrances are indeed often an affair of booze and cigarette smoke, let me remind the nameless industry insider.
At any rate, for her sake, I hope this move (if confirmed) is the nudge to tilt her out of the downward spiral of dependency...
What would you like to see featured in Amy's scent? Or which celebrity (who hasn't yet) would you like to see launching a fragrance?
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These days a couple of years of fame are enough to be on the radar for a celebrity scent, aka a perfume launched on the sheer power of the "of the moment" bouncing effect of a well-known name. Lady Gaga is THE name of the last couple of years, obviously (Has it been as long? You could have fooled me) and therefore the perfume deal couldn't be too far behind.
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