celebrity scents

[beachroses]

From TheStreet.com:

Scents Fall Out of Style: So Over It http://bit.ly/MumLT

I am grateful to have the extra shelf space for scents I am more interested in at our local dept store.

[Jane Daly]

Morning T Thanks for this link.

The celeb scents were really just looking like a cash grab rather than doing it for the love of perfume.

[Mimi Gardenia]

When Shrek gets to have a perfume- it's time to drop the celebrity perfume game !

[kumquat]

Parlux (Celebrity Scents) is losing money. Great, but I doubt that will slow them down. They will probably come up with even more ridiculous stuff. 'Muppet' fumes or whatever.

[Mimi Gardenia]

I think what irritates me about celebrity perfume is multi faceted.Just my 2 cents.

1. Perfume making celebrities are laughing all the way to the bank / tax free havens
2.I find it hard to believe that many of them wear their namesake perfumes.
eg. India Hicks has a line with Crabtree and Evelyn but she has a bespoke perfume made for her by Creative Scentualization .An element of hypocrisy perhaps...
3. Some of the perfume names are tacky. eg. Britney Spears' Circus Fantasy
4. Their belief that the general public are stupid and will buy anything ( this one is debatable )
5.They dilute the 'concept' of what perfume is

I would like to know how interested they are in the creative process of perfume.

[beachroses]

Does India Hicks not use her own too? I kind of like them... but hers are marketed more as a lifestyle line which I found attractive. I know some of those celebrities were just causing family conflicts at the perfume counters in this country because mothers did not want their daughters emulating some of their trashy behavior. Some of them had creative input in the scents, at any rate.

(PS I was disappointed to see C&E discontinuing their Naturals line, the Black Tea, Vetiver & Sugarcane is one of my summer faves and the body creams had great ingredients. I probably would have added more to the line each year rather than d/c it.)

[mashu]

Celebrity scents are just not very good. They are all set up to appeal to the masses and take no risks. Most IMHO are rather innocuous and have never WOWed me. So i usually dont even give them a second glance.

That said--they are often discounted and make decent gifts for people who just want a pleasant frag.

[ECaruthers]

Many people want to feel a contact with celebrities. (I don't know why. I'm not one of them.) Wearing a fragrance Britney Spears is not wearing seems very similar to reading gossip about things Britney is not doing. Except that buying the fragrance sends her a little money.

BTW, am I the only one who read The Perfect Scent and was disapointed not to be able to buy the perfume Sarah Jessica Parker actually wore and initially wanted to sell?

[Primrose]

Many people want to feel a contact with celebrities. (I don't know why. I'm not one of them.) Wearing a fragrance Britney Spears is not wearing seems very similar to reading gossip about things Britney is not doing. Except that buying the fragrance sends her a little money.

BTW, am I the only one who read The Perfect Scent and was disapointed not to be able to buy the perfume Sarah Jessica Parker actually wore and initially wanted to sell?

I think what irritates me about celebrity perfume is multi faceted.Just my 2 cents.

1. Perfume making celebrities are laughing all the way to the bank / tax free havens
2.I find it hard to believe that many of them wear their namesake perfumes.
eg. India Hicks has a line with Crabtree and Evelyn but she has a bespoke perfume made for her by Creative Scentualization .An element of hypocrisy perhaps...
3. Some of the perfume names are tacky. eg. Britney Spears' Circus Fantasy
4. Their belief that the general public are stupid and will buy anything ( this one is debatable )
5.They dilute the 'concept' of what perfume is

I would like to know how interested they are in the creative process of perfume.

People have always been fascinated with the concept of celebrity. We are interested in the clothes they wear, the stores they patronise and who they are dating, marrying, divorcing, etc.

In modern times, this means movie stars and other media celebrities.

In the past, the nobility/royalty of Europe functioned as celebrities. People wanted to patronise businesses that were used by the aristocracy: toiletries, clothing, etc. A Royal Warrant, issued by many monarchies, functions as the official patronage of royalty. Modern companies (such as Creed) seem to imply having the British Royal Warrant by using a three-plumed logo which imitates the arms of the Prince of Wales. To my knowledge, there is no Royal Warrant for Creed.

Ditto for Parfums D'Orsay. The company was started up in 1908 by a conglomerate of European investors, and the company cultivated the fanciful "legend" that the namesake, Comte d'Orsay (a real French aristocrat), was the creator of his own perfumes. (See "Perfume Presentations," and "The Perfume Handbook" for this history.)

By associating scent with fashion icons (such as Empress Eugenie of France, Empress Elizabeth of Austria, and the Anglo-French Comte d'Orsay), there is the association with beauty, elegance and leisure. BTW, all three of these mentioned aristocrats were the beauty icons of their day. Even Grace Kelly, a princess by marriage, inspired the Hermes Kelly handbag, which is now a perfume.

A real princess is much like a "media princess": admired for her beauty, life of leisure and fashion sense. Buyers want to "steal" a little of that elegance for themselves by buying the scent.

BTW, Jessica Simpson was sued by her jeans company for not promoting her own line of clothing. In an interview, when asked her favourite jeans, she replied, "True Religion."

So much for wearing one's line of clothing or perfume.

There was also a recent article on Basenotes that reported that Paris Hilton is contracted with Parlux to promote several more perfumes with her name for the next five years. (OK, her recent Siren is not too bad, but some say it's a knockoff of Viva La Juicy by Juicy Couture.)

http://www.basenotes.net/industry_ne...is-hilton.html

[Mimi Gardenia]

I am going to sound dated by starting with... " In the old days..."
Celebrities have been involved with perfume in 3 ways.
They had perfume commissioned for their own use which later was released to the public. eg. L'Interdit by Givenchy for Audrey Hepburn . So L'Interdit became synonymous with her and Jasmal Creed for Natalie Wood.
A celebrity inspired a perfumer to produce a scent capturing what their beauty or charisma was like. eg Princess Diana and Creed Royal Water after her death.
A perfume becomes famous and sort after because a certain celebrity wears it ,so again it becomes synonymous with that person.

I just think the whole celebrity perfume thing is out of hand . Like they have discovered a really easy cash cow to milk.
Also if a perfume is good enough to bear your name - then why isn't it good enough for the said celebrity to wear it ? Why must they have bespoke perfumes for themselves when they already have their own , bearing their name. Making your own perfume line takes some work / money surely - if you truly believe the perfume is THAT good, my gosh , I expect the celebrity to wear it .
I am sure not all celebrities are guilty of this- apparently J Lo loves to wear her own scents but I think it would be the exception to the rule.

I am also not saying all celebrity scents are bad just because they are celebrity endorsed/ made . Britney Spears Midnight Fantasy received 4 stars from Chandler Burr and is well made. But again , it is an exception.

I'm sorry , it just annoys me a little ...and I find the whole celebrity perfume phenomenon a bit distasteful.

[auee]

I would never purchase a fragrance because it contains the name of a celebrity. On the other hand, I do not reject it for that reason alone. I have not sampled many, but I am crazy about Carlos Santana ( a great musician and not a celebrity to me) for Men. IIt is fabulous and very reasonable. It would be my loss if I did not give it a try simply because it is the product of a celebrity.

[Jane Daly]

J Lo has made more money off her perfumes than her music/films to date.

A celebuscent is a business based product. I guess the difference is that a celeb scent is based on "wow, there is money to be made with perfume. lets make one that will sell tons and make me lots of money" whereas a perfumer is more like "mmm I love perfumes and hope I can make one that others will want to buy so I can earn a living on doing what I love"

After awhile, celebs seems to just want money, and what they "love" and feel "passionate" about becomes more vague. Jessica Simpson for example. Who cares about her music? Does she? When was the last time she was even remotely relevant in entertainment (besides tabloids)? Perfumes, shoes, handbags....more like, how many things can I attach *my* name to that will generate cash??

Paris Hilton...well she is so irrelevant and blatantly out to make money on her name that I find it a turn off. "Hey stupid public, I have put myself out there, now you know me, now buy my stuff because I am a fame whore and you eat it up"

Chandler Burr likes Midnight Fantasy? Did he break his nose? Blech.

[tang]

People have always been fascinated with the concept of celebrity. We are interested in the clothes they wear, the stores they patronise and who they are dating, marrying, divorcing, etc.

There is a boutique in Iowa that carries a few non-department store perfume lines such as Miller et Bertaux, Fresh, Tocca, L'Occitane, Diptyque, TokyoMilk, L'Aromarine, Voluspa, and Kai. It's not high-end niche, but it's the only place I've found that offers anything beyond the usual Macy's perfume counter.

Celebrity has become a factor with this store, because Iowa was offering tax credits for filmmaking, and we've had several Hollywood personalities around as a result. The boutique owner likes to name-drop about the actors that have received goody bags from her or have browsed through her shop. She posted on Twitter about having a certain actress in her shop who was trying to decide between two different fragrances (I'm being vague here, but she named the actress and the fragrances). I know this name-dropping is not unusual, and it's a way for her to draw customers, but it bothers me.

[Mimi Gardenia]

Chandler Burr likes Midnight Fantasy? Did he break his nose? Blech.

*LOL* Surprising , eh ?!

Tang- which boutique in Iowa ? Is it in Des Moines ?

[tang]

*LOL* Surprising , eh ?!

Tang- which boutique in Iowa ? Is it in Des Moines ?

It's a shop called Eden, in DM.

[Guest 3]

(whispering)...I bought Midnight Fantasy.

But I swear that's the only celeb scent I own...er...except for the Barbie pink mini. And a sample of Manilow that Ubu sent me because I wanted to know what a Barry Manilow fragrance smelled like.

And my resolution is to be more discriminating in the future!

Adding...I don't notice many new non-celeb releases that are a whole lot better in terms of quality of composition. Different point, though, I suppose.

[tang]

(whispering)...I bought Midnight Fantasy.

Hey, lilybelle - I bought a mini of MF, too, partly because of your comments about it. It's jammy & sweet & not-so-elegant, but maybe it's that tomboy in overalls, picking blackberries warmed by the sun...a fun, casual, summertime scent.

I'm not scared to admit I like it (a là our Scared to Admit I'm Wearing It Synchronization last year), but I kinda hate to admit to myself that I have it, and that I put any money in her pocket.

[Primrose]

Even Amy Winehouse was being courted for a perfume in her name.

I can see it now...the rop note would be cigarettes.

I don't have a down on cebebuscents. I have SJP Lovely and Paris Hilton Siren.

[Mimi Gardenia]

It's a shop called Eden, in DM.

Next time I go to Des Moines, I'll have a look. I have family in Des Moines - Jordan Creek is a pretty nice mall in West Des Moines. ( I used to love the old Younkers in downtown Des Moines till they shut down in 2005 )

[Guest 3]

Hey, lilybelle - I bought a mini of MF, too, partly because of your comments about it. It's jammy & sweet & not-so-elegant, but maybe it's that tomboy in overalls, picking blackberries warmed by the sun...a fun, casual, summertime scent.

That's it! It really does have that tomboy vibe - riding your bike in summer, wind in your hair, finding some wild blackberries, a hole in your sneaker, sun beating down, sucking on a sour ball candy. You nailed it, Tang. I wore it last summer, but I've been wearing Pure White Linen mostly this summer. I guess I'm being all ladylike now.

I'm not into putting yet more money into celebrity pockets either (that includes movies), but sometimes I cave.

[tang]

When Shrek gets to have a perfume- it's time to drop the celebrity perfume game !

Shrek perfume... Shrek, Shrek 2: The Donkey, Shrek 3: Princess Fiona, etc.

[Jane Daly]

Oh I don't want to offend or insult anyone who likes Britney's scents. For me, personally, her scents are so sweet they nauseate- more like a hot mess than something perfumed. But I also cannot abide Angel so I think that is just me

It is just the shamelessness of the already ultra rich wanting to get richer that bothers me.

The last time I chaperoned an event at my 12 yr olds Jr High the overwhelming Pink Sugar/Britney Spears cloud was migraine inducing.

[Mimi Gardenia]

Shrek perfume... Shrek, Shrek 2: The Donkey, Shrek 3: Princess Fiona, etc.

*LOL* FragranceX calls this perfume " Shrek 2 Donkey Perfume " ! Oh Lord ,help me !

[Jane Daly]

*LOL* FragranceX calls this perfume " Shrek 2 Donkey Perfume " ! Oh Lord ,help me !

LOL I think I just saw a pig fly by my window

[Guest 3]

Oh I don't want to offend or insult anyone who likes Britney's scents. For me, personally, her scents are so sweet they nauseate- more like a hot mess than something perfumed. But I also cannot abide Angel so I think that is just me

No offense taken at all. And even if I thought you were being intentionally insulting, it isn't something I would get all that upset about.

It is just the shamelessness of the already ultra rich wanting to get richer that bothers me.

This is why I don't do a lot of things, and it keeps my money in my own pocket. What are they ever going to do for me? Spending on the arts/culture is a different thing entirely.

[Brielle87]

I own one Celebrity scent; Le temps d'aimer by Alain Delon and it is wonderful. The thing is with this scent, he actually put effort into creating a scent he would want to smell on a woman who was near.

The big difference between celebrity scent of the past and now is; in the past a scent was worn by someone important, which gave it celebrity status; these days celebrities create scents out of their own thoughts on what they may (or most likely don't care) want a scent to smell like, then it sells on their name alone-not because they wear it and it makes a statement.
I loved L'Interdit long before i knew of its association with Audrey Hepburn, same with Fleurissimo and many others. I never understood the draw of celebrity branding, but i usually follow the beat of my own drum.

[aaz]

Oooh, I do have Alain Delon's Lyra (quite a nice oriental) and one just called 'Alain' in a green box - could not find any info on that one but a nice woody scent - almost unisex. I have to agree that Alain Delon's scents are usually very well made - I do have several of his mens' scents and I do like them very much, in particular Alain Delon Homme in the blue and grey box, wonderful cypress and woody notes. Have smelt Le temps d'aimer in the past and was very close to getting a bottle. I usually don't go for celeb scents but here's admitting to owning Pavarotti for men (lovely honey woody notes), Julio Iglesias for men and Elizabeth Taylor's Passion for men which is not a bad scent at all. The one celeb perfume that I would really like to own is opera singer's Renee Fleming's La Voce which retails for US $200 for a 50 ml EDP (made by Coty) description taken from The Met's website - 'Inspired by the artistry of the singer, La Voce by Renée Fleming is a sophisticated floriental fragrance that opens with top notes of passion fruit and white truffle accord and transcends to a rich floral heart of jasmine and lily of the valley. Notes of dark chocolate mousse and ebony wood winds complete this luxurious fragrance' - sounds quite sumptious but here's wishing ......

[Primrose]

*LOL* FragranceX calls this perfume " Shrek 2 Donkey Perfume " ! Oh Lord ,help me !

ROTFL! Now I wonder what the notes might be? Grass and hay?

[Redneck Perfumisto]

*LOL* FragranceX calls this perfume " Shrek 2 Donkey Perfume " ! Oh Lord ,help me !

OMG! LOL!

Now, the big question. Is Eddie Murphy the celebrity here? Did he have artistic input? Or was it the Linux geek who set up the farm of servers for the animation?

PS - Love the green cappage.