treasure hunt

Starstruck (Inspiration)

2009-11-09T15:00:17-08:00

How Your Favorite Celebrity Fragrance Lines Came To Be

One of the perks of being a celebrity is having the money and connections to pull off any product line penchants you may find yourself having. Anytime you find a favourite thing, place, person or feeling, you can (pay others to) capture them in a clothing line, cosmetic, or fragrance.

Take an inside look at the inspirations behind some of the largest (and most surprising) celebrity fragrance lines on Perfume.com.

Andy Roddick
This American pro tennis player played Wii tennis with Bloomingdale’s customers last spring to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Lacoste brand, while lamenting his own retail shortcomings. “[We’ve] sold nine bottles of [my cologne]. Wait, is it ten? Did we sell another one today?” The cologne is called Andy Roddick (“We paid a huge creative team for that name”) and yes, he wears it. But then, he admits, he might not be the right guy to take fashion and grooming tips from. “I wore a neon visor for a while. I’m not really proud of that.”

Antonio Banderas
After the relatively large success of 2005’s Zorro movie and its corresponding men’s Zorro fragrance, Antonio got a taste for the art of perfumery— and today he boasts a number of scents released under his own name. And created under his sturdy gaze, apparently; Antonio is rumored to be a bit of a control freak behind the scent scenes. So he was obviously intimately involved in the development of many of his later scents, including Spirit for Women, in aspects from product development to marketing, and even distribution.

Britney Spears
Brit’s fifth fragrance Circus Fantasy was inspired solely by her album Circus and corresponding Circus tour. “I fell in love with the circus story we created with my tour and am really excited to be able to bottle it up and share it with my fans,” said Ms Spears. Circus is the first time Elizabeth Arden has created a fragrance named after, inspired by and entirely aligned with, one artist’s album and tour. Princess gets what she wants!

Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera might have been Dirrrty in the past but the pop star put the microphones aside and, only eight months after giving birth to her first child, created and presented the perfume Inspire. Far from being an amateur in the world of perfumes (she has half a dozen fragrances under her name), Christina’s most recent launch was inspired by her vision of everything she believes a female perfume should be: classic and timeless, sexy, sweet and exciting.

Derek Jeter
The Derek Jeter cologne, called Driven, was designed to capture “ambition, courage, passion and confidence”. Avon Products Inc. teamed up with the New York Yankees shortstop to develop this list of attributes to be captured in the baseball player’s signature men’s fragrance. Jeter was involved throughout the development process— and claims he knows what makes for a scent home run and what makes for an olfactory foul ball. “I knew what I wanted. I didn’t want it to overtake a room.”

Donald Trump
Estee Lauder reportedly grabbed Donald Trump for a cologne collaboration because “his commitment to excellence and desire for perfection is unparalleled.” Aiming to capture the essence of the American Dream, Estee Lauder felt that men of all ages would want to experience Mr. Trump’s passion and taste for luxury. What inspired Mr. Trump to get on board? Well— what’s ever inspired him? Money and his own ego! “My new partnership with Aramis and Designer Fragrances is huge. They are leaders in the industry. Donald Trump, the fragrance, will be the best men’s scent available and the must-have gift for the holidays.” (We’re pretty sure he went on to say, “All other colognes, you’re fired!”)

Gwen Stefani
Gwen Stefani was always more than a performer, also creating her own clothing and inspiring a global following of her personal style. After being introduced to French haute couture fashion (which inspired her L.A.M.B. clothing line) Gwen successfully branched into fragrance and released L in 2007, working on the brew diligently alongside perfumer Harry Fremont. Her newest string of fragrances is inspired by the hippest niche of Tokyo culture and the region’s Harajuku Girls, who represent as Gwen’s back-up dancers and were the inspiration for much of Gwen’s style, substance, and now, fragrances. Stefani has released five Harajuku Lovers scents.

Halle Berry
The X-Men star apparently spent two years fussing over Halle, a woody-oriental mix tailored exactly to the star’s tastes and specifications. Halle reportedly spent years mixing and matching her own fragrances, and was tired of searching for a scent to represent her. She said of Halle that “after two long years of work, the scent is a real, true expression of who I am.”

Jennifer Lopez
Following the female version of Deseo (a name which means Desire, and scent that was inspired by her Latin origins), J-Lo launched a men’s version by the same name, stating that the way a man smells should evoke three fundamental things: “fresh masculinity, sexy allure and daring attitude.” Perhaps an off-shoot of all this desire, her next scent My Glow was inspired by the joys of motherhood and love for her family.

Jessica Simpson
She might question the origins of tuna but Jessica knows diehard romance, and her new scent, Fancy Love, captures just that: the soft but outrageous, uninhibited, all encompassing feeling of falling in love. “Romance has never been more important to me so I wanted to celebrate that special feeling with this new fragrance.” Despite the star’s single status, Jessica is known to be forever inspired by the goal of a loving and successful partnership.

Mariah Carey
Divalicious Mariah Carey was admittedly never a perfume wearer until she was able to create her own fragrances, making them especially personal. Her new scent Forever reflects where she is currently at in life. For M the inspirations were multiple, including places she’s traveled and unspecified childhood memories. For Luscious Pink, perfumers used the singer’s voice as inspiration to compose the sparkling floral scent. So in short, Mariah fragrances are like everything else Mariah— just all about Mariah!

Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen
In 2003 the Olsen twins added fragrance to their giant empire of products, working with Coty to develop simple fragrances and body mists to be sold at Wal-Mart stores. Ever the level-headed workaholics, the inspiration for this development was simply a desire to tap into an available niche of bringing fine fragrances to what they perceived to be an under-marketed teen segment. Snooze! Even the titles lack real inspiration: Mary-Kate & Ashley 1 & Mary-Kate & Ashley 2.

Paris Hilton
The American socialite has just launched a new perfume to add to her growing empire of fragrances, shoes, clothes and hair extensions; and dont forget her music, television and movie career, as well as her inheritance from the Hilton hotel chain, which is a job on its own to spend. Her fifth perfume, Fairy Dust, with slogan Do you believe in fairy tales? suggests that Paris’ inspiration was to enchant women around the world with the help of her magic wand and a sprinkling of fairy dust, to remind them that dreams come true if you just think happy thoughts! (and have rich parents!)

Queen Latifah
Queen Latifah has recently entered into a partnership with Parlux Fragrances to create a series of empowering fragrances for women. Despite weight struggles, Latifah has never stopped believing in her inner beauty. “For me, beauty really does start on the inside. It’s like a state of mind, a state of love if you will. So I see fragrance as a natural expression of this state of love: scent expresses a woman’s confidence and sensuality; it’s how she embraces her body, her mind and her strength.”

Sarah Jessica Parker
SJP is as vocal about her fragrance inspirations as she is her love of shoes. Her second fragrance, Dawn, reminds her “of being a child, walking into a botanical garden and being completely enveloped by the smell of orchids. It also represents the sheer loveliness of dawn, where a lovely day unfolds in individual lovely moments. Dawn is a fresh canvas, a new adventure, a lovely moment of your own.” Seems like a little of Carrie Bradshaw’s writing abilities rubbed off on SJP!

Sean John
Larger-than-life rapper, producer and entrepreneur Sean “Puffy” Combs takes his inspirations from close to home. “My grandmother always used to say, ‘You are what you say you are,’ and she called me her little king. [I Am King cologne] is about your father, your brother, your boyfriend, your husband — the kings in your life. It’s about self-affirmation.”

A Fashion Fantasy: The Legend of Valentino Captured on Film

2009-11-27T12:31:09-08:00

Valentino Garavani, the lavish Italian designer who set the pace for elegance and extravagance in an already glamorous fashion world, set down his thread and needle for the last time a few years ago—- but this was not the last to be seen of the deeply bronzed 70-year old with vivacious blue eyes.

Since his retirement, the man who clothed everyone from Jackie Kennedy and Audrey Hepburn to Jennifer Lopez and Madonna has been traveling the world, hosting extravagant parties and soirées for some of the most newsworthy crowds ever to be seen— not the least of which was found at his large bash in New York City, celebrating the release of the documentary film about his life and fashion legacy: Valentino: The Last Emperor, onto DVD.

The Last Emperor traces the chaos and charm of Valentino’s last few years in the fashion world, leading up to his retirement in 2007. Described as “a display of fashion fantasy,” The Last Emperor shows a world of glitz, glam and celebrity (with everyone from Joan Collins to Elton John and Anne Hathaway making appearances) but allows a glimpse into the more human side of Valentino as well— through his 50-year business and personal relationship with Giancarlo Giammetti. Even Valentino’s beloved pups are featured: five pug dogs named Molly, Milton, Monty, Margot, Maggie and Maude— one of whom wears a pair of (real) diamond earrings!

Valentino Garavani was never one to live in anyone else’s realities or by anyone else’s rules. Never a slave to trends or styles of the moment, Valentino gave women the little red dress and all of the sleek and elegant silhouettes he stuck by fervently throughout what he saw as the “distasteful” powerhouse 80’s and 90’s grunge trends he deemed “offensive” to women and femininity.

Love him or hate him or just irritated by his tan, Valentino is a confident man and brilliant designer who stuck by his guns and his visions. “I know what women want,” he was fond of saying. “They want to be beautiful.”

Celebrate the almost 50-year career of renowned designer Valentino by picking up one of his scents today!

WHAT'S That Smell??!?

2009-09-09T15:58:44-07:00

The Hunt For The Strangest Perfume Ingredients

Reading up on the history of perfume in Perfume.com’s 101 section, you’ll see that fragrance has undergone quite a few changes since its beginnings in ancient times.

In large part, these changes have to do with ingredients— which are at times re-invented, altered, synthesized, or simply brought in and out of popularity as trends dictate. The availability of resources needed to make these ingredients also affects a fragrance’s recipe. In today’s advanced world we are able to create artificial scents to mimic anything we want; however in the past, economic, social or technological constraints have limited the ways we were able to create scents.

Sometimes then, along the way a nez would have to get creative and draw out ingredients from the most unlikely sources; likewise, due to perfumes often seductive nature, sometimes marketing plans or artistic visions for fragrances have gotten a little out of hand. This article pays tribute to the weirdest ideas and concepts to not so gracefully grace the world of perfumery.

STRANGEST INGREDIENTS

WHALE VOMIT? Referred to more pleasantly on labels as Ambergris, although (for the most part) synthetic versions are used today in place of ambergris in its raw form. Believed to be regurgitation from the sperm whale after their favourite meal of squid, ambergris is found washed up on the shores of South America and Australia and has a sweet, earthy odor.

COW DUNG? Surprisingly, a rather sweet vanilla scent can be extracted from cow dung. A one hour process of heating and pressurizing a cow’s poop allows for the creation of vanillin, the main component of vanilla bean extract. While gross, this is an environmentally-sound option for obtaining the popular ingredient. It’s also cheap: production costs for using dung are less than half of what it costs to get the extract from vanilla beans.

ANAL GLANDS? Civet has long been a popular ingredient in fragrances— giving perfumes a raw, sensual, sexual edge. Although it is produced synthetically today, for a long time perfumers obtained civet naturally: by extracting the pungent fecal paste from the anal glands of the civet cat, which resides in Africa and Asia.

GENITAL SACS? In the past the European beaver was hunted almost to extinction, both for its fur and for castoreum: the yellowish secretion mixed with urine taken from the creature’s castor sac. Castoreum has long been used in fragrances to add a sensual and leathery edge, and is widely considered to be an aphrodisiac.

OH, DEAR! “Musk” was the name originally given to the odorous secretion obtained from a gland found between the stomach and genitals of the male musk deer. It has long been a heavily and widely used ingredient in fragrances, as well as being one of the priciest; today musk is recreated synthetically in a variety of alterations, although it is still sought after in its natural form for its healing powers in traditional Chinese medicine.

HOLY S**T! Hyraceum is the petrified and rock-like excrement of the Cape Hyrax (essentially an African guinea pig) that, when hardened and aged, gives off a complex scent that resembles a mix of musk, castoreum, civet, tobacco and agarwood. It is often used as the “ethical” substitute for deer musk and civet.

WEIRDEST SCENT CONCEPTS

1. Graveyard Liquid Perfume by Goth Rosary: A green, floral scent. The smell of rich turned soil, fresh green grass and a fresh floral bouquet

2. Flame Body Spray by Burger King: Rich, with subtle hints of flame-grilled beef.

3. Crayon Cologne by Demeter: Think outside the box. Inspired by childhood, Demeter’s Crayon Cologne smells just like a fresh box of waxy crayons.

4. Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Fragrance by Nature’s Garden: Who doesn’t want to smell like booze? The sweet aroma of wild grapes enhanced with strawberries and sugary notes with a light alcoholic background.

5. Wicked Liquid Perfume by Goth Rosary: The smell of supple black leather and fresh tobacco.

6. Egg Nog by Demeter: A creamy concoction with touches of nutmeg and a dash of cinnamon.

7. Republican Fragrance by Nature’s Garden: Well-grounded notes of fresh sage and McIntosh apple, a floral heart, and happy citrus top notes. “A strong, bold scent that should be enjoyed by members of all political parties.”

8. Stilton Blue Cheese Perfume by Stilton: Claims to “recreate the earthy and fruity aroma” of the cheese “in an eminently wearable perfume”. Notes include yarrow, angelica seed, clary sage and valerian.

9. Money Cologne by Liquid Money: Sweet smell of success? Each bottle comes with real shredded U.S. currency packed inside.

10. Sushi by Demeter: The fresh scent of just-cooked sticky rice and straight from the seaside seaweed, laced with hints of ginger and lemon essences.

DNA Message In A Bottle

2009-11-10T10:52:07-08:00

Would you spritz the DNA of Michael Jackson on your wrists? Would dousing your pulse points in the genetic makeup of Einstein make you feel just fine?

Advancements in genealogy and DNA research have attributed to some major disease cure discoveries and glimmers of medical hope. The latest in DNA science presents an exciting opportunity for the fragrance world: the My DNA Exclusive fragrance line, with the opportunity to bottle your DNA in an individual-specific composition of notes and accords. My DNA Fragrance launched the line in 2007 to a test market, and once word began to spread the company was inundated with requests from around the globe to bottle customers’ chemical make-up into a fragrance.

Most recently however, the company penned a deal with John Reznikoff (a man known the world round for his collection of celebrity hair strands) to extract DNA from his private collection of famous hair follicles for the creation of a unique fragrance line that would bottle the stars DNA to be sold to the public. Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Joan Crawford, Katherine Hepburn and Albert Einstein are among other celebs to be featured in this collection of Antiquity Fragrances. Reznikoff has been featured on multiple media for having the largest authenticated hair collection of famous people in the world.

My DNA Fragrance CEO Carlton Enoch first envisioned the concept of a DNA-based fragrance in the 1990s, but the only recent affordability of DNA testing and lower rates of skepticism concerning DNA in general has launched this concept into a full-scale trend frenzy.

The Antiquity Fragrances were launched in a test market last fall and will be available in stores in 2010. A portion of sales profits will be donated to the estates of these celebrities and some of their chosen charities.

Charles Jourdain

2009-09-11T14:23:04-07:00

The Comeback

In line with the steady holding of the return of vintage is the re-blowing up of the Charles Jourdan design house. The iconic shoe brand was re-launched last October during Paris Fashion Week, and its classic Charles Jourdan le Parfum and Individuelle scents are being snatched up off perfume counters in celebration.

Charles Jourdan, a shoemaker by trade, began a launch of cutting-edge women’s footwear in 1919; he was so immediately popular that after only two years, had over 30 people working under him. In the 1930s he was the first shoe designer to place advertisements in high-end fashion magazines, earning his group the title of a “haute couture house.” In 1957, Charles and his two sons opened their first boutique in Paris, and were granted a license to design and manufacture footwear under Christian Dior’s label just two years later.

The Jourdan house gained notoriety for their material usage innovation in women’s shoes after World War II, and garnered more hype in the 1960s and 70s by pairing up with surrealist photographer Guy Bourdin to promote their line with avant garde advertising. It was around this time as well that they began releasing fragrances, to much the same tune of excitement as their footwear inspired. Their signature scent Charles Jourdan le Parfum is heralded by scent expert Michael Edwards as “the sexiest fragrance of all time”; they released Stiletto in 1996 to recognize the 75th anniversary of the company and to honor Paris, and the bottle was shaped like the Eiffel Tower. These were the sorts of inspirations that set the Charles Jourdan house apart.

After Charles passed away his sons continued running the company, the house gaining unintended (but welcomed) publicity when Imelda Msarcos exposed her excessive shoe obsession, many in her collection a Jourdan stiletto. Imelda, the widow of the former president of the Philippines, has publically plead guilty to being the “greediest for the good, true and beautiful.” Jourdan was also a favourite designer and nez of icons such as Brigitte Bardot and Princess Diana. In 1999 their flagship store was moved to Paris’ renowned Champs-Elysées. But shortly after 2000, the house went bankrupt after a retail focus attempt flopped.

Always cutting-edge, the Charles Jourdan design house is set to be a hot topic on everyone’s tongues, feet AND wrists once again!

Pick up the classic treasure that is the signature of this design houses essence, Charles Jourdan le Parfum.