They have done it for food products. They have done it for soaps,creams and face washes. They have done it for pens. Just about everything. Here,'they' stands for celebrities and 'it' refers to their endorsement of products. The trend of celebrity endorsement of products is really picking up all over. And,perfumes are not at all left behind in this. Celebrities - be it a novelist orsinger or actor - are creating their own fragrances and endorsing them.


If the rising sales of celebrity perfumes is anything to goby, it would not be wrong to say that the trend is picking up greatlyeverywhere in the world. This article studies the trend of celebrity perfumesas a whole right from when it all began to an overview of what expertsbelieve about the future of this fad.


Celebrity brands


Today, almost all major celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood have their own specialized fragrances. This trend has spread among celebritiesfrom other spheres as well.


Hollywood celebrity Paris Hilton has launched her perfume brand named afterherself, which is a sweet-smelling mixture of the fragrance of lilies, jasmine,mimosa and sandalwood. She has also launched other brands of perfumes, namelyHeir, Heiress, Just Me, and Can Can. Titanic fame Kate Winslet endorsed aperfume named LancmeTrsor. Some of the other reputed perfumes endorsed by Hollywood actorsinclude Blue Seduction, Mediterraneo, Diavolo Hypnotic, Spirit, Diavolo Donna,and Diavolo by Antonio Banderas; Elizabeth Arden Provocative Woman and Red DoorRevealed by Catherine Zeta-Jones; With Love Hillary Duff by Hillary Duff; IsaBella, Daring, Storia and Manifesto by Isabella Rosselini; Lancme Miracle byUma Thurman; Lovely and Covet by Sarah Jessica Parker; and Alan Cumming by AlanCumming.


Lomani Perfume for Men developed a special fragrancethat was endorsed by the Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchhan. It is a colognefor men, and named after the great actor himself. The famous King Khan akaShahrukh Khan, in collaboration with Jeannes Arthes, endorsed 3 perfumes,namely SK, SK Silver for men and SK Gold for women. Famous Bollywood actressShilpa Shetty launched the perfume S2 in co-ordination with Mark Earnshaw. Theheroine of yesteryears, Zeenat Aman, has endorsed a perfume named Zeenat.


Renowned music artiste Beyonce Knowles has launched afragrance named True Star. It is a blend of the scents of grains and flowers,and the smell is quite exotic. Britney Spears, another star from the musicindustry, has endorsed several fragrances, namely Curious, Curious: In Control,Curious Hearts, Believe and Midnight Fantasy. Curious was the first brandlaunched by her, which is a sweet Louisiana magnolia fragrance, a tribute toher native land. Celine Dion has also endorsed a number of perfumes, namely Celine Dion, Notes, Belong,Always Belong, Memento, Enchanting, Spring in Paris, Paris Nights, and Sensational.Similarly, Jennifer Lopez has launched JLo Glow, Still, Miami Glow, Love atFirst Glow, Live, Live Luxe, Glow After Dark, and Deseo. The legend of Hindifilm music, Lata Mangeshkar, has also endorsed a fragrance called Lata Eau DeParfum in conjunction with Gandh Sugandh.


Romance novelist Danielle Steel has launched her ownpersonalized fragrance called Danielle. Jade Goody of the Big Brother fame haslaunched ShhThe sports celebrities Maria Sharapova has brought out her ownbrand of perfume named after herself, while Michael Jordan has launched 2brands one named after himself and the other called 23.


 

The origin and growth of the trend


As such, the trend of celebrity endorsement of perfumes is a fairly recent one in the world of fashion. However, the concept originated a long time back, maybe more than a century ago. It is believed that the perfume used by Queen Victoria was developed exclusively for her at the Perfume House of Creed. When awareness about this fact spread in the society, the demand for Creed perfumes grew significantly. This concept was known as 'fragrance hawking' in those days.


The Perfume House of Creed developed personalized fragrances for their clients. Their client list grew to include other dignitaries like Napoleon III, Queen Christine of Spain, and Empress Eugenie. More recently, celebrities like Richard Gere, Kevin Costner, and Pierce Brosnan have had their personalized fragrances developed by Creed.


The current trend of celebrities endorsing their own unique fragrances was probably started by actress Elizabeth Taylor in the year 1995 when she endorsed the perfume brands White Diamonds, Passion and Black Pearls. The launch of the brand was met with strong criticism, and it was believed that celebrity perfume endorsement was a fad that would soon die away. However, the trend persisted and a number of celebrities from different fields went on to launch their own brands. Interestingly, White Diamonds remains a best seller perfume even now.


It has been a matter of debate as to how far celebrities are actually involved in the development and use of the fragrances that they endorse. This would ultimately depend upon the celebrity and their level of interest. Celine Dion was one celebrity who was actively involved in the process of development of her personalized fragrance, and also in the packaging and marketing of the same. Similarly, Jennifer Lopez was also involved completely in the production of her perfume brand. When the base was almost ready, she added a touch of sake, which gave a unique effect to the scent. Likewise, during the process of packaging of the perfume, she added a fake diamond ring to the neck of the bottle to indicate her love for jewellery. Novelist Danielle Steel states on her website, "Creating the fragrance was very much a team effort, blending the inspiration of many people, how they perceive me and how I perceive both my readers and the world I try to create with my books."


Involved or not, the demand and sale of celebrity scents has been rising constantly in the past decade. As per statistical figures, the sale of celebrity-endorsed perfume brands comprised about 23% of the total sale of women's perfumes in USA. This indicated a rise from the 10% sale of the same that was recorded in the year 2003. The trend of celebrity fragrances revolutionized the perfume industry worldwide and jolted it out of the stupor that it had settled into. With this trend, the number of customers under the age of 40 rose considerably.


Celebrities and their lives have always interested common man. Celebrity perfumes gave people a chance to know what kind of smell their favourite celebrities liked. Of course, celebrity-endorsed perfumes are costly; but the rising sales are indication enough that people do not mind paying a bit extra for the scent of the celebrity they love, packaged in an attractive bottle.


Passing fad?


Experts believe that this is a passing fad and will soon wear away. With the lifespan of newly released celebrity scents going on decreasing, it is clear that the market is becoming highly saturated, with the entry of too many celebrity brands, and this trend has no way out but to die away.


 

According to Marie-Claud Sicard, a brand analyst and strategy expert from Paris, "There is a kind of exacerbation of the phenomenon right now which makes me think we are not far from the breaking point." President of the New York-based Fragrance Foundation, Rochelle Bloom, believes, "It will never stop, but it will slow down certainly from the rate that it is at now." In the words of Diana Dodson, Senior Industry Analyst, Euromonitor International, "With so many new releases, manufacturers are running the risk that consumers will become increasingly confused and frustrated by the never-ending choice. "


USA industry experts predict that as the trend of celebrity perfumes dies down, the market for perfumes in the country would go down by about 25% by the year 2010. They believe that the market would now be dominated by quality perfumes rather than celebrity-endorsed scents.


Ultimately, whether a certain celebrity perfume would survive or not depends upon the product itself and not upon the name tag attached to it. If a fragrance is of good quality and is liked by the people, there is no reason why it should not succeed.


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