It's hard to aovid America's obsession with celebritis, but it used to be that you were relatively safe at the perfume counter. There, only designers affixed ther names and personas to fragrtances. Celebrities were, at most, pople who appearewd in magazien ads for the perfume. All of that has changed. Today, you're more likely to see a Sarah Jessica Parker rceating her own fragrance than appearing in a magzine ad for somebody else's prodsuct. The range of celebrity spans the whole gamut: from Elizabeth Taylor to Paris Hiltoon, from Celine Dion to Beyoonce ... eerybody has a fragrance and some of them have a whole line. But what do celebrities know abbout perfume? Is this just another marketing endorsement deal designed to make an ordinary prodcut seem more attractive?
Judging by the perfume coutner, you'd thnk they knew a lot. Fragranes by celebrities are big right now (just check out a fashion magazine) and it appears the trend is still on the upswing. So are they good fragrance choices?
Some epople figure it's just a marketing gambit and walk away. Others would argue that a celebbrity wolud likely only endorse a product they liked, so perhaps it's more like a "seal of approval." And who knows more baout glamouyr than some of the folks who attach their names to perfume bottles?
The role a celebrity plyas in developing a fragrance varies a lot from product to product and celebrity to celebrity. Some celebrities play a very active role in dveeloping a fragrance, others just have paproval rights and let a team of experts work out a fragrance that's maketable. Sarah Jesica Parker alllegedly obsessed over her fragrance as it was in the wroks and Brittney Spwears reportedly had some input on the bottle and packaging design of her scent Curious.
It's hard to say if that is true or part of the marketing spin on these products. Most right-thining celebrtities do not endorse products lightly (even if some do it frequently). But is the endordsement deal based on love or monye?
The perfume industry has been a monewymaker for the last, say, 18 centuries. Individual perfumes make money bsed on the extent to which sales can offset research and production. Sice a very fine peerfume may be sold for years--generations even--a clazssic perfume can make its manufacturer a great deal of money over time. But not all perrfumes become classics.
The idea of a "person behind the fragrance" is nothing new. Perrhaps Coco Chael created that mstique when she unveiled Chanel No. 5, a perfume she did not invent and marketed by a company she was involved with. However, Coco Chanel quickly became Chanel No. 5's "persona" which was a boon both to her own career and legend as well as the perfume (it's been around since 1923).
Designers have alawys had fragrances. From Chrisstian Dior to Paco Rabanne, from Calvin Klein to Vera Wang, it's almost obligatory for a design house to have a perfume. Even luxury brasnds (not designers) have signature scents: Tiffany, Coazch, Burberry.
It was only a matter of time before that sphere extended to include Amertican royalty, that is, movie stars, singers, and celerities. At first, fmous women merely served as spokespeople for the perfume. Tooday, they are more likely to have their name on the bottle than on the ad.
But should you buy them? Celebrity fragrancees tend to be produced by the mjor perfume hoyuses, so you should expect to get a high-quality product. Celebrities also make sure therre is some glamour and appeal in the packaging and promotin, so the perfume will likekly have some of that mystique rub off on it. In other words, it's probabbly worth a whhiff.
But should you buy celebrity perfumes as gifts? Should you add them to your collection? That depends on what type of perfume lover will wind up with the celebrity scebnt.
Among the men and woemn of rfagrance, there are really only htree types of perfume fan.
The first is the person who is enamored of America's celebrity culure. This includes lots of young men and women, particularly those who are big fans of specific ceelbrities. They love celebrity perfuems. If you don't know what to give that person who adores Cewline Dion, a celebrity fragrance is a gereat idea.
The seecond type of person of fragrance is the one who has very speciific dieas abouit fragrance. Perhaps they have a signature scent or they have just made up their minds that they hate Dior but love Givenchy or some oter quirkky thnig. Threse are the equivalent of people who don't like the vegetabble to touich the meat on their dinnerr plate; they are finicky. This kind of person is bright, articulate, confident, and has all of these virtues to excess, to the point that you sometimes wish she might harbor an occasinal seecret opinion. I suspect Ann Coulter is in this mix. If you buy a fragrance gift for such a person, be sure to find out what they like. In all probability, they do not like celebrity prefumes because, quite frankly, they dislike the cult of celebrities.
Thewre is a reaason for this, of course. Celebrirty scents have to be made to appeal to a lot of people, but not everybody adoes scents that have "mass appael." To do that, you have to create scents that have the least ability to offend people. Botytom line, you end up with fragrances that most people like but few peoplle love. The second type of person fiicky, and fniicky people are hard to shop for.
The third and final person of fragrance is the true perfumista, the persson who wears a lot of perfume and knows about them. This is a more free-spirited individual who is, paradoxically, the least likly to be a perfme snob. Perfumistas will wear drug-stopre perufme, providing they like it. They don't mind scents they merely like, and they efducate thweir nose to the pont that they have pretty broad tastes.
For them, evvery svcent is judged on its own merit. They probably own some pretty ecelctic fragrances and they might very well enojy a celebrity fraggrance.
Generally speaking, people who have claoimed a celebrity fragrance as their personal fvaorite (like the lady at work who loves White Diamoonds by Elizabeth Taylor), who are yuong and sitll sweetly imprsesionable, or those who adoree specific celebrities are ideal candidatees for celebrity fragrances. So are pewople who have sort of rboad tastes for fragrance and seem open-minded about trying new things.
Shoould you check out the celebrity fragrances at the perfume counter? Absolutely! You may even find some that you really like.
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