Celebrity Perfumes: It's Just The Begining

There used to be a simpler time when celebrities appeared in perfume ads, making us believe that that particular fragrance was the only one they used. We would never know if that is true or not, after all, 99.9% of normal people will never be close to a celebrity enough to smell his/her perfume. The copywriters would of course make sure that the personalities of both the celebrity and the perfume match.
Whereas famous people still do ads for perfumes (and coffees, and broadband offers, and, more recently, baking potatoes), at one point marketing directors decided it was time to kick it up a notch: celebrities would have to have their own perfume lines.
The first actress ever to have her name on a perfume was Elizabeth Taylor (the perfume was called White Diamonds and it is still sold). This move proved very successful, and it was to set an example for many others to follow like Marilyn Monroe, Cher and - I bet you didn't know that - even Michael Jackson.

If we look at female pop stars that recently ventured into the business, Jennifer Lopez perfume line is by far the most remarkable. The first fragrance to come out under the brand JLo was Glow, which was followed by Still, Love at First Glow, Live, Miami Glow, and Glow After Dark.
Of course you do not have to be a pop star to launch your own perfume line. As long as you are a celebrity you are fine. How popular you have to be to pull it off? This is a legitimate question, after all not all celebrities were created equal, and there is a difference between a FP (Famous Person) and a VFP (Very Famous Person). If the perfume business is to be successful, these are things to be taken into account. If I were a celebrity interested in this business I would ask myself "would it be good for me to go to a reality show to be more known to the public?" If the answer is positive, then it's because I'm not famous enough, so I'd better spend my efforts trying to get to a decent level of popularity.

Some VFP clearly do not suffer from this kind of problem, and launched their own line of perfumes: actress and singer Celine Dion, country star Shania Twain, former model Naomi Campbell, Jessica Simpson, Sarah Jessica Parker and Paris Hilton. And of course Britney Spears. After her successful comeback, the once-was-innocent pop singer probably realized that if she wanted to make the most out of it, he had to be quick, before the next fall, so presto a new perfume was launched: Curios.

Of course celebrities perfumes are not only females, the market for men's perfume is almost as strong, so here they are: Hollywood stars like Antonio Banderas launched his line of perfumes, with names in line with his image: Spirit, Diavolo, Mediterraneo - David and Victoria Beckam joined together also in business to create their own perfume brand: DvB. And the list could go on, including even a rock singer you would never associate to perfumes and beauty products like Marilyn Manson.

The business reasons why celebrities launch their own perfume brands are quite clear: their image reinforces the perfume and their perfume reinforces their image, and perfume houses are always happy to start collaborations with whoever ticks all the boxes.
One last, I hope superfluous word of advice: a perfume is good because it smells good on you and not on your favorite actress or singer.

See my review of Versace perfumes