These days everybody seems to be obsessed with the celebrity status. There are people who act like one, try to be one or just simply want to be around one. Everybody wants a tiny little piece of the celebrity glitzy life. Scarlett Johansson once blew her nose on a tissue paper and placed it up for bidding on EBay. She said charity, I say publicity stunt. But some celebrities managed to turn this obsession into something that really benefits them. They make serious amount of money out of it. Products ranging from figurine and clothing line to hair extension and stripper-pole have celebrity names (and faces) stamped all over it. Jessica Simpsons, Gwen Stefani, David Beckham, Kim Kardashians and Paris Hilton, all have at least three to four products under their belts. But they do have one particular product in common and that product is fragrance. I am not referring to celebrity endorsed fragrance like Beyonce for Tommy Hilfiger True Star, Justin Timberlake for Givenchy Play or Chloe Sevigny for Chloe, but original fragrance created by the celebrity.

Celebrity fragrance is the smartest and easiest way to reach out to these celebrity-obsessed mass.  They cannot become one, so why not let them smell like one? That is if the celebrities really care to use their fragrances. But the big question now is how are these celebrity fragrances competing with other well known designer house fragrances in the market? And are we really that celebrity-obsessed that we ditched our Chanel No.5 for Paris Hilton Heiress and Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male for Sean John Unforgivable?

With these questions clouding my head, I headed to the nearest perfume counter and try to get first hand point of view. I managed to talk to Sophia from SaSa in Mid- Valley and asked her the whole truth about the celebrity fragrance. According to Sophia the top three best selling celebrity fragrances at their store are the fruity accented Paris Hilton Heiress, Britney Spears Fantasy with its feminine floral scent and a personal favorite, Sean John Unforgivable. But when being asked about fragrances by other celebrities like Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Tim McGraw and Sarah Jessica Parker, Sophia told me that she either “never heard of them” or some of these fragrance s were sold at the store for a little while before they decided not to have it restocked. I think we know the reason why. But she did mention how SJP’s Lovely and Covet were doing quite well, although she was not quite sure whether they are being discontinued. As for the price, celebrity fragrances are a little bit pricey compared to other designer house fragrances by additional RM100.

I went on to Michelle who works at the Ralph Lauren fragrance counter of one of the leading department store in Malaysia. Michelle has different take on the celebrity fragrance. She told me that most of her customers still go for designer house fragrances. “The customers still prefer brands like Ralph Lauren, Gucci and Christian Dior”, she said. But if she has to pick one celebrity fragrance that is doing well at their store, “It has to be fragrances from J.Lo’s line. David Beckham’s DVB was well received upon its launch but has slowed down after that”. She thinks that people always buy celebrity fragrances out of curiosity and keep them as personal collectible item. “Or maybe they just want to smell like their favorite celebrities”, she added.  She gave Sarah Jessica Parker’s fragrance as an example. Michelle told me that, “People always come to the counter for samples but they never really decide on actually buying the fragrance. They always go back to the fragrance that they used to and comfortable with”.

At the end of my perfume-filled day, I realized that a bottle of Paris Hilton or Sean John fragrance in our wardrobe does not make us celebrity-obsessed.  Sometimes we are just curious of what Jessica Simpson or Jennifer Lopez smells like. These fragrances might not be as innovative or iconic as CK One or Dior Addict but they are not night market knockoff quality either. In fact, Glow by J.Lo and Sean John Unforgivable have been voted by readers of countless magazines as their favorites. As for me, I stick to my Dior Homme and it has nothing to do with Jude Law being the face of the campaign.

Photos taken from: fragranceonline.co.uk

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