Christina Aguilera to launch perfume
Christina Aguilera is to join contemporaries such as Jennifer Lopez by launching her very own perfume. The diminutive popstar, who has made no secret for her love of fashion, has signed an agreement with U.S. consumer giant Procter & Gamble for its first fragrance for the singer, with whom it signed a licensing agreement in January of this year. The perfume, called Simply Christina Aguilera, will be launched globally this autumn.
Presented in a curvy glass bottle, intended to mirror the singer's silhouette, the fragrance will be supported by a print ad campaign featuring Aguilera's bare back painted with a black lace design. It features the tagline: "Sometimes it's all you need to wear." Popstars such as Kylie Minogue, Madonna, Lily Allen and Gwen Stefani have all launched fashion collections in recent months. Will perfumes be the next big collaboration?
www.christinaaquilera.com
11 May 2007
Theo Fennell to launch fragrance
Upscale British jeweller Theo Fennell will launch his first fragrance, Theo Fennell for women, in February 2007. Described as "an unashamedly feminine fragrance designed to be worn in the evening", Theo Fennell will include notes of saffron, cardamom, lily, rose, orchid, jasmine sambac, orange flower, cumin, cinnamon, patchouli, tonka bean, labdanum, sandalwood and benzoin. Theo Fennell jewellery has been worn by major celebrities and well-known faces around the world, and the company hopes to achieve similar success with the new fragrance.
The jewellery combines modern, elegant design with traditional craftsmanship to create beautiful, often theatrical, and stylish collections. The company's first store opened in Fulham Road in the 80's and letter moved to Chelsea, which is still the company's flagship and workshop, and further has an in-house design team.
Part of the company's success is its populist approach to everyday objects. Fennell's silver sleeves and lids for Marmite pots, Heinz ketchup and Smirnoff vodka are but a few examples. Theo Fennell also operates a concession in Harrods.
www.theofennell.com
19 December 2006
The scent of celebrity
Celebrity endorsement has reached an all-time high and every A-lister – and B-lister seems to be launching a label, a cosmetics line, an album, a lingerie line, a supermarket product, a sportswear collaboration, a how-to guide, jewellery, or the ultimate: their own perfume. From Paris Hilton to Scarlett Johansson, celebrities are fighting for star-struck consumers to ‘wear them', ‘eat them', and ‘smell like them'. With Christmas around the corner and consumer spending expected to reach an all-time high, celebrity endorsed products are making their way to store shelves at rocket speed this season.
So much so, that celebrities are fighting for shelf space at stores. 2006 sees a record of celebrity scents with as many as 37 endorsed having launched perfumes in the past few years, and the number keeps on growing. Everyone from Pavarotti to David Hasselhof to Elizabeth Taylor is targeting the celebrity-obsessed consumer to become a part of their intimacies. Perhaps this is the payback for our obsession with the private lives of celebrities, as the rich and famous strike very lucrative deals launching their own brands, even if the product isn't always cutting edge quality.
This Christmas, you can surprise loved ones with scents from David Beckham, Hilary Swank, Desperate Housewives. And let us not forget Jennifer Lopez, the ultimate celebrity endorser. The actress is now also a designer with her own Sweet Face fashion label and a perfume.
The first celebrity to promote her own perfume was Elizabeth Taylor, back in 1991, when the actress launched the successful “White Diamonds” scent. The trend really gained momentum with the success of Jennifer Lopez's perfume "Glow," which was launched in 2002 and generated more than $80 million in sales in its first year.
Since then, the trend has reached fever pitch, with luxury beauty brands favouring famous faces such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Nicole Kidman and Catherine Zeta-Jones over models. For celebrities, product branding gives another allure and keeps their face in the media. For marketers, it is often an easy way to sell a product as celebrities are already well known. Eau de Stroppy Diva, anyone?
Kylie Minogue signs fragrance deal
Coty, the world's largest fragrance company, has signed a deal with Kylie Minogue to create the singing star's first exclusive fragrance. The line of eau de toilette, eau de parfum and ancillary products will be available from fall in her hometown Australia , the UK and Ireland and subsequently throughout Europe and Asia .
Commenting on the partnership, Coty's CEO Bernd Beetz told WGSN: "Kylie Minogue's incredible appeal among women transcends borders and ages. Her successes as a performer and a businesswoman, combined with her grace and perseverance in the face of personal adversity, have not only made her a role model but also have forged a tremendous bond with her fans."
Kylie stated: "The launch of my new fragrance coincides with a new chapter of my life. I chose Coty as my fragrance partner because there passionate and intimate approach to fragrance is similar to my passion as an entertainer. Sharing that same vision of fragrance made the partnership easy, smooth and exciting."
Villepin’s model children
Who says fashion and politics don’t mesh well? The daughter of French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has been chosen to model for the newest perfume of Givenchy, ‘Angel or Demon’. Marie, 20, has already modelled for Elle magazine and has done stints on the catwalk. She also had small roles in three films. “She perfectly matches the concept of ‘Angel or Demon’, an oriental floral perfume of a sensual strangeness,” Givenchy said in a statement. Her younger brother, Arthur, 19, has also worked as a model.
www.givenchy.com
4 July 2006
Comme des Garcons perfume launch
Comme des Garçons has continued a guerrilla campaign for its latest fragrance launch. The fashion brand has introduced a scent duo called Guerrilla 1 and 2 that was inspired by its retail strategy — since 2005, Comme des Garçons has opened ephemeral boutiques, named "guerrilla." These were launched in various locations and remained opened for one year in spaces whose original decor was not changed.
Guerrilla 1 is inspired by Comme des Garçons' first such location — a butcher shop in Berlin, which the brand took over in March 2005. "If you think of a butcher shop, you think of meat, blood, smoked meats, wood, and then the very clean, bleached aprons and metallic hangers for the meat," said Givaudan perfumer Marie-Aude Couture-Bluche, who concocted the scent. "It's carnivorous, but we added the Indonesian flower champaca, so it's sensual, and then orange, so it's fruity, with jasmine and gardenia, too."
For Givaudan perfumer Nathalie Fesithauer, who blended Guerrilla 2's juice, the word Guerrilla conjured up the color red. "I took everything that was red — raspberry, cumin, pepper," she said. Top notes include pink pepper and ginger, with middle notes of red pepper and raspberry and base notes of cedarwood and musk.
Like their juices, the fragrances' packaging is also non-traditional. Both Guerrilla 1 and 2 are contained in black lacquered square glass bottles. Guerrilla 1 is flanked in its black box by five fake black foam bottles, and Guerrilla 2 is flanked by five red fake foam bottles in a red carton.
8 June 2006
Ralph Lauren launches new fragrances
Ralph Lauren Fragrances has unveiled two new feminine scents: Ralph Hot and Ralph Lauren Pure Turquoise.
The former, described as sexy, flirty and fun, targets females aged 15 to 25, who are “youthful but sophisticated”, according to the company. It complements Ralph Hot, which was unveiled two years ago.
The fragrance will be launched in June in Europe and Asia, with the Americas rollout scheduled for June-November, depending on the different territories. The fragrance is presented in a purple flacon, accented with bold splashes of turquoise, yellow and hot pink. The outer carton echoes this colour-scheme.
The recommended price points are €47 for the 50ml edition and €65 for the 100ml.
In other news, Ralph Lauren is launching Pure Turquoise, a high-end fragrance, with more selective distribution. It is being introduced this month into certain travel retail markets such as in the UK, Dubai, Moscow, the Mediterranean and Asia. The perfume, topped with a genuine turquoise stone, has been designed to appeal to collectors.
5 May 2005
Perfume Shop to expand UK business
The Perfume Shop plans to double the number of stores in the UK during the next three to five years. The perfume shop has 114 stores all of which are within shopping malls. The parent company, Merchant Retail Group, was acquired by AS Watson the Hong Kong based health and beauty retailer for £221.9m in May.
Philip Newton Chief Executive said “Our stores are as far north as Inverness and as far south as Poole , We are looking to fill the gaps” “The usage of perfume in the UK is about half of that in France and there is significant opportunity for growth.”
13 August 2005
Britney VS JLo
Celebrity fragrance launches are fashionable. Or so it seems. What began with Glow by JLo in September 2002, is now a battle for A-list and B-list celebs to launch a self-titled, self scented, Eau de Moi. And it's about to get more intense. This fall, Jennifer Lopez, the celebrity who single-handedly revived the genre by racking up first-year global sales of $100 million with a debut perfume, is going head-to-head with Britney Spears, the celebrity who blew out $30 million worth of her first fragrance in a mere three months last autumn, earning her number-one launch props.
Fragrance companies are rushing to sign their own celebrity deals. The field currently includes, Lopez, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kimora Lee Simmons, Shania Twain, David and Victoria Beckham, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Celine Dion, as well as Enrique Iglesias, Beyonce Knowles, Donald Trump, Paris Hilton, and even Alan Cumming.But let's be honest. Of all the choices available - classics such as Calvin Klein, Hermes, Caron and Chanel will never go out of fashion - why would anybody opt for a JLo scent to smell like a stroppy diva?
24 June 2005
Unilever Sells Fragrances Division For $800m
Unilever is selling its fragrances division, which produces Calvin Klein and Vera Wang perfumes to Coty for $800m (£440m). The perfume brands, which unilever has manufactured under licence from their owners, will join similar licensed products made by Coty such as Adidas and Jennifer Lopez frangrances.
As well as the perfume licenses for Calvin Klein, Cerrut, Vera Wang, Chloe and Lagerfeld, the business includes a manuyfacturing and distribution centre in New Jersey and another in France. The UCI division had suffered from the effects of Sars and the September 11 terrorist attacks in America because so much perfume is bought at airports, but recently seemed to be turning around.
As part of Unilever's path to growth strategy, the fragrance division was restructured. The company also signed the actress Scarlet Johansson as the new face of ck Eternity moment. The company, which had been criticised for not introduc ing new fragrances qui ckly enough, had launched a number of summer scents. The UCI division had sales of more than $600m last year.
Coty, which has been concentrating on launching further celebrity fragrances, with the addion of Sarah Jessica Parker and David Beckham perfumes this autumn, said that the deal would increase its sales in the US and Europe and give it a much stronger presence in Asia.
22 May 2005
Matthew Williamson launches perfume
London Fashion Week favourite Matthew Williamson is to launch his first perfume exclusively at Harvey Nichols.Entitled Matthew Williamson Fragrance, the scent is a playful use of jasmine, Madagascan Vanilla and magnolia, along with woodier top notes of cinnamon leaf and neroli.
Williamson, who's A-list following include Kylie Minoque, Sienna Miller and Jade Jagger, says the fragrance embodies the true essence of the brand, which is sexy, feminine and uplifting.The elegant glass bottle is sleek and modern with a vintage touch. The eau de parfum costs £42 for the 50ml and £55 for 100ml. Available at Harvey Nichols from May 26.
29 April 2005-04-30
Fashionable Scent
A Diptyque Candle by the bed is the long-standing barometer of a fashionable sense of scent. The haute list of candle stylists: Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Agent Provocateur, Julien McDonald, and now D.L. Co from Douglas Little, a Los Angeles based alchemist, have a wide selection of luxurious candles to cater to any fashion mood.
Whatever scent you're partial to, you can't find a better accessory than a luxuriously scented candle. Even better when its fragrance matches your surroundings.
5 November 2004
Cliff's Scent
British singer Cliff Richard is joining the ranks of other celebrities who have launched their own perfume. Sir Cliff's new fragrance sports the romantic name "Miss you nights" and is now exclusively available at The Perfume Shop across the UK.
The perfume was developed with the help of Sheila Pickles, an expert in the scent business with 23 years experience at perfume house Penhaligon's under her belt. Sir Cliff's scent is inspired by his childhood in India, and therefore includes exotic ingredients such as sandalwood. A host of UK celebs, like Joan Collins and Lorraine Kelly, are said to have endorsed the fragrance.
www.widemedia.com
12 October 2004
New fragrance Davidoff: Echo
Lancaster, the luxury division of US beauty group Coty, is launching its sixth perfume under the Davidoff umbrella. “Echo” aims at the 25-35-year-old urban man with a fragrance created by Alain Astori. This new fragrance combines notes of living liquid air, metal aldehyde and white suede. The fragrance is aimed at a more mature age group than Coolwater, Davidoff’s 12-year-old highly successful range.
Echo’s bottle, designed by New Yorker Karim Rashid, was created to evoke the city surroundings while staying tactile and ergonomic. France-based design agency H5, created the outer packaging, in minimal silver with a white corner detail. Olivier van Doorne directed the advertising campaign. It features the bottle and a new male model. French photographer Jean-Baptiste Mondino shot the print campaign.
Echo will launch in March 2003 in Spain and Italy, in April 2003 in the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Benelux, and in May 2003 in the Middle East, France and Greece. Lancaster plans to roll out the fragrance to around 8,000 European doors, mirroring Cool Water’s distribution strategy. The Australian, Latin American and Asian launch will follow in September 2003. Prices range from 59 euro for a 100ml bottle to 19.50 euro for a 75g deodorant stick.
www.davidoff.com
January 8, 2003