I try to avoid Celebuscents, those fragrances with a celebrity name on the label, because I find them to be a vast wasteland of mediocrity. The great majority of them are cynical excuses to get a consumer to buy a fragrance based on the celebrity name. From the perfume side of things they are also equally cynical in that they use their market research to stuff them full of consumer pleasing notes like citrus, vanilla, rose or jasmine. So if I think the sector is nothing but dreck why am I writing about it?
Yahoo! Shine is starting a new monthly feature called the “Get It Guide” and their first subject is Celebrity Fragrances. I was asked to comment and here is what I think. The way they go about choosing what appears in the “Get It Guide” is extremely capricious. The four celebuscents they picked are Heat by Beyonce, Jennifer Anniston by Jennifer Anniston, Justin Bieber Someday, and Britney Spears Cosmic Radiance. How do they choose these fragrances you “Got to Get”? By picking the top four searches on Yahoo! Shine. This seems like the most ridiculous way to choose fragrances to recommend. Especially since all four of the names attached to these mediocrities are probably the source of the search heat and not the fragrance.
Because I would like to see the Celebuscents out there that are very good get some deserved exposure I’m going to give you celebrity alternatives to each of the awful choices the “Get It Guide” is offering.
When Heat by Beyonce was released it felt like a watered down re-make of a different celebuscent Queen by Queen Latifah. Where Heat has none and feels like a knockoff found on a blanket in Union Square. Queen is the real deal and it takes everything Heat is trying to be and just does it better. Another choice that is similar to Heat is Boyfriend by Kate Walsh. Boyfriend is one of the most surprising Celebuscents I’ve come across in the last few years a really good fragrance meant to evoke the smell of your boyfriend after he has left the bed.
Jennifer Anniston by Jennifer Anniston would be a candidate for Worst Fragrance of 2011 if I was going to make that list. This fragrance is so misguided and confused it went well with the advertising campaign which showed Jen alone and looking plaintively off to a horizon for what I don’t know. There is almost no celebrity fragrance I wouldn’t recommend over this unmitigated disaster. If you do want a floral celebrity fragrance that actually shares some of the personality of the star on the label I would suggest trying Sarah Jessica Parker Lovely which actually captures the sophistication and fun of SJP’s alter ego Carrie Bradshaw in this perfume.
Justin Bieber Someday is a flat out ripoff of another fragrance three letters down the alphabet Marc Jacobs Lola. This is when Celebuscents truly hit new lows; when they slap the celebrity name on a knockoff of a better fragrance. Justin Bieber Someday is the perfume equivalent of a 12 year-old singing into a hairbrush on YouTube; on key but with no originality. A great alternative to this wan cover tune is With Love…Hilary Duff. I know Hilary’s day has passed but when she was supernova hot she also produced one of the best Celebuscents.
Britney Spears Cosmic Radiance is not a good example of Britney Spears’ fragrances. I would say Britney’s line is the most successful line of Celebuscents and while Cosmic Radiance doesn’t radiate for me both Fantasy and Midnight Fantasy do. Those two are some of the best fragrances one can find in your local drugstore and they are top of my list when it comes to both economical and good. Now I just have to get over recommending a fragrance by Britney Spears.
A few other excellent celebrity fragrances for those of you who actually are interested in not being part of the crowd influenced by popular Yahoo! Searches and are more interested in smelling great are:
Etat Libre D’Orange Tilda Swinton Like This– This is a perfect fragrance for Autumn as it is chock full of the smells of Fall; ginger, pumpkin, and maple syrup in the form of the flower immortelle. This won a French Fragrance Foundation Award earlier this year.
Sean John Unforgivable for Women– Diddy knows how a lady should smell and got it in the bottle. This is an example of what a fruity floral can be when done well.
Andy Warhol Silver Factory by Bond No. 9– A strong modern incense fragrance.
2nd Cumming by CB I Hate Perfume– A truly unique men’s fragrance loaded with weird quirky notes like peat and rubber. This is only for the most adventurous of fragrance wearers. Very emblematic of Alan Cumming of “The Good Wife”.
All of these would have been on my personal “Get It Guide” of Celebrity Fragrances but then I spend my time sniffing around 400 perfumes a year and don’t let search engines determine quality.
As with any fragrance recommendation go to the store and spray some on and walk away. If you still like it 30-60 minutes later it should be something you consider buying. Don’t get fooled by the top loading of quality components a lot of fragrances try to get away with. Always, always sample before buying to make sure it smells great on you. In the end any fragrance you wear should make you feel like a star on your own red carpet whether there is a celebrities name on the label or not.
Disclosure: This post was written to promote the new Yahoo! Shine Get It Guide.
–Mark Behnke, Managing Editor
Editor's note : www.fragranceandarts.com offered a 1.7 oz of two of mine: EDLO Like this and Rossy de Palma Eau de Protection.Yahoo shine was unable to offer a draw. But show Mark some Love ! what is your favorite celebrity fragrance? Bonus question: why is there a tequila note in Queen