In the 1996 movie “Michael” John Travolta plays a down-to-earth angel landed in the Midwest. Hardly your stereotyped heavenly being, he’s a drunk and a prankster, swears a bit and is somewhat of a ladies man. Even so, he has a certain disarming manner that makes people want to be around him. And he turns out to have one particular irresistible quality that attracts both men and women alike: he smells like warm chocolate chip cookies.
While that may be some people’s idea of the ideal cologne, others have a more sophisticated view. Walk down the cosmetics aisle of any major retail outlet, and your nose will be assaulted by a hundred different scents. Many carry revered and storied names from the fragrance and fashion industry, such as Chanel and Dior. Others have become modern classics, like Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein. But the latest interlopers have a pedigree that runs less to several decades of high style, and more to several issues of People magazine and high scandal.
That’s because the fragrance industry has discovered that the future lies not with Park Avenue matrons buying Estée Lauder and Elizabeth Arden, but with X-gens, teens and tweens clamoring for Paris and Britney. While the overall market for perfumes tips the scales at over $25 billion, premium products are growing at rates over a percentage point lower than mass-market ones. With that trend showing no signs of abating, companies are trying to turn more celebrity scents into dollars and cents.
It’s a smart business decision for all concerned. The stars get to trade on their one true asset, their names, stroking their egos and extending their brands with a minimal amount of effort. The companies get a product with a pre-made market base in the form of the fans, who have demonstrated their penchant to use their disposable income for non-essential purchases. And fans get a connection to a glamorous lifestyle, the same way that the smell of new car makes you think you’re driving a Jaguar even if you’re in a Chevy.
To be sure, celebrity perfumes are hardly a new invention. Twenty years ago Elizabeth Taylor had “White Diamonds” and Cher had “Uninhibited.” You didn’t even have to be alive to cash in. The estate of Marilyn Monroe had their own scent, because “After all, there’s a little Marilyn Monroe in every woman.” There was even a Michael Jackson perfume which never made it to market, and featured a hologram of Michael himself (pre major plastic surgery).
But it took Jennifer Lopez in 2001 to show what could be done with a dollar, a dream and some aromatic essence. Her “Glow” fragrance tallied $18 million in its first month, hitting $47 million in under six. She continued to kick nose and take names, ending her first year in the spritzer with a reported $100 million in sales.
Experts say part of the appeal of J. Lo’s products is that she didn’t just lend her name, but professed to be “intimately involved” in the creation, design, production and marketing of her offerings. She described the perfume as “fresh-sexy-clean … what I want for myself.” And the curvy shape of the bottle for Glow calls to mind Lopez’s prime asset, her derrière. In other words, purchasers aren’t just getting a perfume, but rather, as Fashion magazine aptly points out, buying “a 50-millilitre representation of all that is J. Lo.”
Seeing the goldmine of their own fans sitting there just waiting to capture a sniff of stardom, a bevy of other notables have come to market touting their own personal aromas of heaven. There’s Britney Spears and “Curious,” described as a “floral scent of Louisiana magnolia blended with jasmine.” Paris Hilton has “Paris Hilton,” which smells like “frozen apples entwined with mimosa blossoms.” And like its namesake, “Donald Trump: The Fragrance” is as over the top as they come: "Bright citrus notes are sparked with hints of refreshing mint. Cucumber notes, fluid and fresh, are complemented by crisp herbaceous accents of black basil. Next comes a masculine blend of select green and aromatic notes that includes extracts from the sap of an exotic plant. It finishes with warm woody undertones and spicy notes.” No doubt about it: this one should be fired.
Taking it one step further, made-for-media star Jessica Simpson created a fragrance described as not just aromatic, but edible. Her “Taste” product brings to mind white chocolate and coconut cream. But users be warned: in one episode of her recent show “Newlyweds," Simpson had to keep licking the product during a photo shoot. Viewers might have noticed that she spent half the time in the bathroom throwing up. Yes, it might have been the stomach flu she professed to have, but then again...
Lest you think the market is saturated, guess again. Kylie Minogue, the 37-year-old Australian pop singer, has a scent ready to be released shortly. Also in the pipeline are fragrances from Hilary Duff, Victoria Beckham, author Danielle Steele, Mariah Carey, Nicole Richie, Antonio Banderas, Maria Sharapova, Shania Twain and even the TV series Desperate Housewives.
Just to make sure no demographic is being overlooked, even rock and rollers of all stripes are looking to cash in. Paul Stanley, the lead singer for KISS, says that the band's upcoming fragrances for men & women will be "Unrepentantly sexy, and a little naughty". And goth-rocker Marilyn Manson is toiling and troubling over a witches brew to be released later this year. No word as to whether it will contain bat’s blood or eye of newt, but according to the singer, “It will be androgynous in the spirit of Salvador Dali."
So regardless of your taste or sensibilities there is likely to be a scent that you can call your own. And while they may differ as to whether they are based on floral or spicy notes, all these potions do have one thing in common: the underlying aroma is the smell of money.
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Marc Wollin Bedford prefers the smell of fresh air over any perfume. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review and The Scarsdale Inquirer.
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