Celebrity Fragrance
Today's popular culture is absolutely obsessed with celebrity, from the tabloid press right through to prime-time television and topical news headlines. The advent of Big Brother-type entertainment saw an increase in an overwhelming interest in all things celebrity and made "stars" overnight of some of the contestants.
Coupled with this, the rise of the "super-wag" and the continuing popularity of pop stars, saw magazines and tabloids heaving with celebrity gossip. We all lapped it up!!
Many entrepreneurial celebrities, (WAGS, film stars and music artists), soon looked to various other ways of earning a living, and clothing brands and fragrances were released. They have been growing in popularity over the past five or so years and now account for around 40% of the perfume market – and that’s not to be sniffed at (excuse the pun)!
This celebrity ownership is, in my opinion, somewhat of a double-edged sword. On the one hand you have the whole image and lifestyle package that a particular celebrity brand of fragrance symbolises. They can be modern, glamorous and cutting-edge and receive critical acclaim - Or - (with those celebrities with a bit of longevity) could be pigeonholed as being classic, sophisticated and timeless.
The downside is that, once a celebrity falls on hard times with the paparazzi, their “tarnished” image could be seen to devalue any fragrances that they may be endorsing. A fragrance could be seen to be "cheapened" in the consumer’s perception. Who wants to wear a perfume whose endorsers name is synonymous with bankruptcy, custody cases or racism rows?
Whether or not a celebrity releases an own fragrance, or endorses a famous brand, it must be borne in mind that, regardless of what sort of person the media may be portraying them as, they did not actually create the fragrance single-handed.
Professional perfumers would have been employed to create a fragrance that would be in-keeping with whatever mood, style and age-group the fragrance would be required to represent and appeal to (generally, celebrity fragrances are targeted at a younger demographic). Indeed, some (most) of these fragrances are really rather good.
Can the public, in general, separate between the celebrity persona and the scents merit in its own right? Possibly not, after all, it is the celebrity’s fame that ensures the fragrances popularity!
Some of the more well-known celebrity fragrances are:
Sean "P Diddy" Combs - Unforgivable for Men and Unforgivable for Women
Usher - Usher He and Usher She
Paris Hilton - Paris Hilton and Just Me
Coleen McLoughlin - Coleen X
Kate Moss - Kate
Enrique Iglesias - True Star (Men)
David and Victoria Beckham - Intimately for Him and Intimately for Her
Jennifer Lopez - Glow and Love at First Glow.
Sarah Jessica Parker - Covet and Lovely.
Kylie Minogue - Sweet Darling.
Christina Aguilera – Inspire
Britney Spears – Believe and Hidden Fantasy
Gwen Stefani – LAMB L
Mariah Carey – Luscious Pink
I have reviewed the ones mentioned above that I have worn:
Britney Spears – Believe
When you first apply this fragrance is surprisingly strong, so in my opinion needs a little time to settle, so apply it half an hour before you leave to go out (assuming you are going to be wearing it out).
This fragrance smells deliciously fruity, mainly guava'ish, as I cannot immediately identify other fruits. Once it has settled a little, you can detect a little floral mid-tones for a few hours (very pleasant) and then it finally drifts into slightly faint earthy tones (patchouli). This fragrance certainly has staying power!
Although this fragrance is obviously aimed at a younger age-group, it's fun and lively and great to wear in the office as well as in the evenings, making it quite versatile.
Kylie Minogue - Sweet Darling
Aptly named, as it is far sweeter than the original Darling. It is certainly a fruity gourmand style perfume with an element of candy in addition to fruit fragrance. It fades out nicely to spicy oriental tones. It’s a nice daytime perfume, but lacks a little staying power and may need "topping" up during the day if you wear it to work. Possibly a bit too girly and sweet for me though.
Sarah Jessica Parker - Lovely
This fragrance really does have its fans! It is a bit of a surprise if you are expecting something sweet, "pink" and fluffy – as it certainly isn’t! It’s a sophisticated and balanced floral/musky chypre-type scent with almost legendary staying power. I really like this as it is so unusual. You get floral tones initially that fade into woody and musky notes. It can be worn on all occasions to – making it different and versatile.
Personally, my loyalty and preferences lie with the classic fragrance; but it would be silly and dismissive of me not to want to keep trying and buying some of the perfumes that have been created for celebrities, as you can see from my brief reviews, on the whole I have been pleasantly surprised, perhaps you could be too?
About the author
Debbie Cave works in Quality Assurance for a large home improvement retailer. She lives in Hampshire with her partner and dog. Amongst numerous interests and hobbies, Debbie has held a lifelong love of fine fragrance and hopes to be able to share some of that passion with Perfume Fairy readers.
