Pride, Prejudice & Perfume; Celebrity Scents

I know that many of you would have seen the word ‘celebrity’ in the same sentence as ‘fragrances’ and felt either a surge of anger, or a wave of indifference. Really, it was something of a gamble to put ‘celebrity’ in the title, now that I think about it.

Yes there has been a surge in celebrity scents over the past five years. Yes a lot of them are really a waste of time, money and the energy it takes to inhale nasally. Yes the world would be a better place if Paris Hilton hadn’t released a series of fragrances using alternative references to herself (Paris, Just Me, Heiress). But it’s not all bad news. In amongst the rubble of self adulation and greed, lie some gems of fragrances even though you may need to cough slightly as you tell someone you’re wearing Britney Spears. ‘Fantasy’ weaves into a throat-clear really well. Try it.

So, because I know the world is divided into two people – those who think celebrity fragrances are like buying fake bags, and those who think celebrity fragrances are another brilliant way to be closer to their Hollywood Other, I’m going to break it down for you.

Sarah Jessica Parker

SJP knows a thing or two about fragrances, and I daresay she’s the lone celeb in the celebrity perfume stable that actually does (beyond, of course, knowing what is ‘so me’ and that it ‘great reflection of me’.) Prior to developing her own fragrance line, SJP wore a blend of vetiver (a favourite of mine, which makes SJP and I practically sisters, if not the same person) and musk, a conventionally masculine combination if ever there was one. This is why it came as a bit of a surprise when her first fragrance was so unashamedly feminine and came complete with a campaign featuring her in a Marilyn Monroe-esque tutu.

Lovely is lovely. There is literally no other way to describe it. Okay, so there is. It’s pretty, floral, crisp, warm and sensual, somehow all at the one time. Its middle notes are decisively woody, which counter-act the floral-citrus opening, and it warms up on the skin, courtesy of amber and patchouli. Another lovely thing about Lovely, is that it smells different on everybody. This could be because its top note is absolutely jam-packed, when traditionally most fragrances only have 3 or so ingredients up top.

Top: mandarin, bergamot, rosewood, lavender, apple martini

Middle: cedar, amber, musk and woods

Base: patchouli, the scent of paper whites, creamy orchid

Covet is the fragrance SJP wanted to make first, which Coty told her wouldn’t sell as a debut fragrance.  And they were right. Lovely sold outstandingly well, and if Covet were a movie, it would have failed to launch (yes, I am patting myself on the back for that one). But, I love Covet. It is luxurious and extravagant and unusual and warm. You want to nuzzle into yourself and lick your own skin and wear a cocktail dress with a tulle skirt in a Parisian apartment, all at the same time. If Lovely is a burst of sunshine on a crisp, Spring day in New York, Covet is cashmere scarves, spiced coffee and Belgian chocolates on a Winter’s day in Europe.

Again, SJP went for a very big top note – and it’s unusual, a lot of people don’t know what to make of the chocolate/wet green combination. But it’s a big, glorious, rich burst, and dries down quite quickly, to a warm, softly spiced base.

Top: lavender, lemon, wet greens, chocolate, geranium

Middle: magnolia, honeysuckle

Base: amber, musk, vetiver

NB: There is a Covet Bloom which, as far as spin-offs go, is lovely (sorry). Fresher, lighter, Covet Bloom retains the musky, amber base of Covet but plays around with far more florals and a touch of fruit.

Jennifer Lopez

Another member of the Coty family (which is home to SJP, Celine Dion and the Beckhams) Jennifer Lopez has come out with no less than nine fragrances since 2002.

Still is J-Lo’s most ‘sophisticated’ fragrance which, given we are talking about Jennifer Lopez Beauty does need to be taken with a grain of salt, but it is a very pretty perfume. It came out as she made the leap from J-Lo to Jennifer Lopez – a fragrant leap from wearing a jewel encrusted J-Lo necklace around her neck, to Ben Affleck’s pink diamond on her ring finger. The advertising campaign said something about her being still in the eye of a storm, which one can only assume was a reference to the paparazzi frenzy which led to the demise of Bennifer mark 1. Still is fresh, elegant and pretty and very much the black sheep of La Lopez’s fragrance family. It’s a floral, there is nothing showy about it, a la Glow After Dark, Live, and she doesn’t overdo the fruit factor which she (or whoever created the fragrance for her) is apt to do.

Top: sake note, white pepper, mandarin and earl grey

Middle: pink freesia, honeysuckle, orange flower, rose, wild jasmine

Base: sandalwood, musks, amber, orris

Deseo is J-Lo’s latest, not counting the spin-off, Live Platinum (which I don’t count because it’s just another way to make money out of an old fragrance at the same time as make money from the new one you’re spruiking). It’s a summer fragrance, pure and simple, made with the thought of sashaying through a tropical garden at midnight (her words, not mine, except the sashaying part) in mind. It is very simple and crisp, thanks to the geranium and bergamot. For me, it is more swimming in a celebrity’s pool in the Hollywood Hills with a strong mojito, over a midnight stroll through a tropical garden. I think having a ‘tropical plants accord’ in the top note of a fragrance that is supposed to be inspired by the tropics isn’t quite enough – after all, the top note of a fragrance fades within twenty minutes. Even so, I still own it, and it’s one of her best.

Top: tropical plants accord, bergamot

Middle: orange blossom, pink geranium flower

Base: mineral accord, amber

Britney Spears

As Britney’s mental breakdown was photographed, filmed, documented and exploited to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars by paps and trash mags, she continued producing fragrances. And with those fragrances came images of Brit cavorting in enchanted forests, or gazing coyly at the camera, smooth of skin, luscious of mane, even though everybody knew her luscious mane was last spotted on the floor of an LA hair salon. All that aside, Britney has produced six perfumes, and I’m pretty sure her first effort, the elusive Curious is the highest selling celebrity fragrance of all time (or at least on par with Elizabeth Taylor’s White Diamonds, which is hilarious in itself. Oh Elizabeth, you are timeless. )

Fantasy is my favourite, even though it typifies, in some ways, many of my disparaging comments re celebrity fragrance – ie: it’s painfully sweet, in a crass bottle and is splashed on the décolletage of any tween worth her weight in essence of cupcake. But Fantasy is like my shameful, indulgent secret. Quite similar to my near-purchase of the matching Olsen Twin fragrances, LA and New York Style. Mmmmm.

Anyway, if you don’t have a sweet tooth, don’t bother with Fantasy. It is obscenely sweet. But not in the typical manner of sweet celeb fragrances – it’s creamier, with wood notes in the base, that warm up beautifully. Even the fruit notes are restrained – no coconut, pineapple or berries in sight.

Top: red lychee, quince, kiwi

Middle: cupcake, white chocolate orchid, jasmine

Base: creamy musk, orris roots, wood

Beckhams

The Beckhams have leapt at the opportunity to produce fragrances with the type of fervour reserved for expert self promoters who see a potential advertising campaigns in everything. That being said, I have a soft spot for the Beckhams, inexplicably. I think it is something to do with Victoria’s perseverance with being generally bizarre. She never backs down.

Intimately Beckham for Her is very simple, there is no exotic this and that, no made-up ingredients, no strange accords. Just a pretty combination of English florals – rose and lily, with the fresh creaminess of orange blossom (my most beloved of fragrance notes) and a soft base. I know it’s Victoria Beckham, and I know it is difficult to admit to wearing her scent when people comment – and they will – but this is the garden party of celebrity fragrances, perfect for sipping Pims and lemonade in floral print, whilst ogling the men in their argyle jumpers.

Top: rose petals and bergamot

Middle: orange blossom, tuberose, Casablanca lily

Base:  sandalwood, vanilla, musk

Gwen Stefani

I didn’t like Gwen’s when I first smelt it. It was slightly underwhelming and I was jaded. It came off the back of a rush of celebrity fragrances and my schnoz was done inhaling half baked attempts that belonged in an Impulse can. But, as all good things to, this one took time to grow on me, and I am now the proud owner of a 100ml. It took a lot to twist my arm.

L, the first of a planned series of 5, is very fresh, very green and very unusual. There are a lot of floral notes, but it’s not an overly floral fragrance – florals suggest femininity, and I wouldn’t say L is conventionally feminine. That being said, you do get a lot of the white flowers – orange blossom and frangipani, after the fragrance settles. The peach in the base note is also prominent. It’s the kind of fragrance you want to bathe in on a forty degree day in California, and I highly recommend you do.

Top: water hyacinth, white freesia, pear, violet leaves

Middle: jasmine petals, rose, lily of the valley, sweet pea, orange blossom

Base: frangipani blossom, peach skin, heliotrope flower, musk

NB – For those considering the lure of a $29.95 Paris Hilton fragrance this Christmas …

Paris Hilton, her first fragrance is the most bearable in a faux-Ralph Lauren Ralph kind of way. The rest of them? Avoid. Like. The. Plague. I have never smelt a more heinous scent than Just Me, closely followed by Heiress. I shudder to think what she could have done with Fairy Dust. I suspect she came out with that one, largely to satisfy a life long desire to be photographed as Tinkerbell.

Q&A

I want to buy a super fruity/perhaps coco-nutty fragrance for summer (one for day, one for night?) any tips oh wise one? – Tammy, Australia

• Escada brings out a new fragrance every summer, with each fruitier than the last. You can’t get Island Kiss anymore (I don’t think) but Rockin’ Rio and Pacific Paradise are good ones as well.
• The Incanto series by Ferragamo are also beautifully fruity.
• I love Juicy Couture - not fruity so much as edible, and perfect for summer.
• Lancome Cyclades – the name says it all, it’s a Greek Island in a bottle. More floral than fruity, though.
• To avoid having what everyone else has, ship in a perfume from the Comptoir sud Pacifique range.