Perfume Blog

U.S. cosmetics and perfume company Elizabeth Arden Inc expects its growth in the next 10 years to come from international markets, its chief executive said on Wednesday.

Elizabeth Arden expects that in the “next 10 years, growth is going to come all from international,” CEO Scott Beattie said at the Wachovia Nantucket Equity Conference, monitored by webcast.

Currently, the United States accounts for about 60 percent of the company’s business, Beattie said, while international sales make up the remaining portion.

Strong markets for the company include Eastern Europe, Italy, South America, Spain and the Middle East, Beattie said.

The company has perfume brands such as Mariah Carey, Britney Spears and Hilary Duff. It also sells skincare and cosmetic products carrying its namesake brand.

Recently, Elizabeth Arden signed a long-term licensing deal to make, distribute and market Liz Claiborne Inc’s fragrance brands, including Juicy Couture and Usher.

Arden shares were up 84 cents or 5.7 percent at $15.70 in late afternoon trading, after rising as high as $15.78 earlier on Nasdaq. Its shares have traded as high as $28.05 and as low as $12.81 in the past 12 months.

read comments (0)

It seems like everyone and their Chihuahua has got a fragrance these days. It used to be that Elizabeth Taylor ruled the roost when it came to celebrities offering consumers their unique bouquet in a bottle, but nowadays, it’s officially a trend. A big one.

Perfume profits
So why are so many celebs jumping on the perfume bandwagon? Well, who wouldn’t want to secure a toehold in the billion-dollar-a-year fragrance industry? Jennifer Lopez really kicked things off with the launch of her debut fragrance Glow in 2002. The fragrance launch by the sexy, sultry songbird became the second most successful perfume launch ever, falling just behind Calvin Klein’s 1994 launch of CK. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Now, stroll through the fragrance and cosmetics aisles at any major department store and you’ll see the names and faces of your favourite celebrities, plastered all over jars and bottles — their images gazing at you from slick marketing materials, urging you to smell just like they do.

Perfume as a brand extension
Kirk Brierley, education and communications manager for Elizabeth Arden Canada says that celebrities view fragrance launches as an opportunity to extend their brand name. “Many are timing fragrance launches to coincide with other pursuits such as album launches and they reinforce each other,” he explains. “As well, if they are a creative personality, which many celebrities are, it gives them one more outlet to express themselves. Celebrities such as Mariah Carey really do get involved in the juice and the packaging.”

2007 alone saw the launch of a plethora of new celebrity fragrance launches: Shania Twain, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kate Moss, the Beckhams, Britney Spears, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, even Antonio Banderas have attached their names to perfumes and colognes.

Style in a bottle
“I think that celebrities are being celebrated more than ever for their sense of style and personality, which are two elements in choosing a fragrance,” says Brierley. “Does it fit your sense of style or the personality that you wish to convey? Many consumers relate to certain celebrities and their fragrance is simply an extension of that. Wearing it brings them closer.”

Well, they must be doing something right. As you may or may not have guessed, Elizabeth Taylor’s White Diamonds is the most enduring celebrity scent on the market. “It completely captures that glamour that is Miss Taylor … from the packaging to the juice, and it is now a classic,” says Brierley. “Typically, it’s the (celebrity’s) first fragrance launched that does the best and is the most enduring, but in this case it is Miss Taylor’s second, after Black Pearls.”

With Miss Taylor’s incomparable career and contribution to the world of film, it’s not all that surprising that one of her fragrances sets the gold standard. But she’s not alone. Famed Canadian designer Alfred Sung experienced similar success with the launch of his first fragrance, Sung, which is celebrating 20 years on the market this fall. “This still holds a place in the hearts of Canadian consumers,” says Brierley. “Ultimately, it is the quality of the juice that will endure.”

Longevity and fragrance trends
Which of the new up-and-comers will secure a spot as a consumer favourite and earn the kind of longevity Miss Taylor achieved? As Brierley says, ultimately, it’s the quality of the fragrance that counts.

So what kinds of fragrances can we expect to see from celebrities this year? According to Brierley, pretty feminine florals are back but, he says, we can’t ignore the gourmand influences. “Two of our biggest successes have come from incorporating “edible” qualities to the fragrance. For example, M by Mariah Carey has a unique marshmallow accord that runs throughout the fragrance. Fantasy by Britney Spears has a cupcake accord that gives it a very special tone.”

6 favourite fragrances:

1. Covet by Sarah Jessica Parker
2. Enchanting by Celine Dion
3. Starlight by Shania Twain
4. M by Mariah Carey
5. Believe by Britney Spears
6. L.A.M.B. by Gwen Stefani

read comments (0)

Find out what’s hot in summer perfumes and get great advice on how to wear your favourite fragrances without falling prey to overpowering scents

Pack up your scarves, cableknits and mukluks, summer’s coming! Oh, and pack up your perfume, too.

Yes, just as it’s time to trade in your heavy winter gear for airy dresses and strappy sandals, it’s time to switch to a lighter summer scent. “We reflect our surroundings through what we wear,” says Sixth Scents’ Marian Bendeth, an internationally known Toronto-based consultant who uses her formidable fragrance expertise to help clients build fragrance wardrobes that fit their personalities and lifestyles.

Bendeth points out that winter is all about dark colours and rich, cosy textures, and that summer is about fresh air, green grass, hot sun, cottage getaways and glowing sunsets. “We have appropriate clothing for those things; it makes sense to have appropriate scents, too.” Here are her tips for smelling scent-sational this summer.

1. Lighten up

Heavier fragrances work better in cold weather than in warm — heat activates the perfume oil to release more scent,” Bendeth explains. As the air warms up, heavy perfume can become overpowering, so consider switching to something lighter.

If you can’t bear to break from those heavier notes, don’t worry: Fragrance lines often include companion products such as shower gels and body lotions, so you can hydrate and scent your skin with your favourites without the intensity of the actual eau de parfum or eau de toilette.

2. Look for summer versions of your faves

“Fragrance companies know you have your favourites and they want to keep you as their customer,” says Bendeth. “Many, like Stella McCartney, Issey Miyake and Jean Paul Gaultier, offer summer editions of their best-sellers, lighter versions that pump up the softer notes and knock back the intensity of others. Some, like Calvin Klein with Eternity, release entirely new scents designed to appeal to a brand’s established consumer.”

3. Let seasonal activities inspire you
Summer is about sipping cool beverages, lounging in the garden, relaxing at the cottage and frolicking at waterfront picnics. “Hold off on incense-inspired, intense vanilla, very sweet florals and sweet fruity fragrances,” advises Bendeth. “Think energizing citrus, fresh white flowers, crisp green, woody or aquatic scents.”

In the citrus family, try Fresh Sugar Lemon or Elizabeth Arden Pure White Linen Light Breeze. If white flowers appeal, try Vera Wang Sheer Veil. Demeter Grass hits the green notes, and Miss Boucheron is a sophisticated woody scent. In the aquatic arena, go for Davidoff Cool Water Woman Freeze Me and L’Eau d’Issey Summer Eau de Toilette.

4. Give up the alcohol
Alcohol in your fragrance isn’t a problem in winter but in the summer, sun exposure plus alcohol can irritate the skin and make the scent smell funny. “Summer scents usually substitute water for the alcohol, so the fragrance will sit lightly on the skin,” says Bendeth. “Because these formulas are so light, you can spritz on a little more — in fact, you can spritz them all over your body.”

5. Avoid extended sun exposure
Yes, this tip is about sun damage — but not as related to SPF. “The sun can react with fragrance to discolour the skin and turn the scent bitter,” Bendeth cautions. “As well, it can attract insects.”

6. Try something a little headier for evening
Sexy and a little naughty certainly works for hot summer nights — Jean Paul Gaultier Classique Summer Fragrance or Ed Hardy Tattoo would turn up the temperature on a dinner date.

Bendeth suggests Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Figue Iris for an indoor rendevouz, and Givenchy Harvest 2007 Organza Jasmine for an evening under the stars. “Just be careful if you’re going to a night-time barbeque,” says Bendeth. “You don’t want to attract bees and mosquitoes!”

7. Um… are there year-round fragrances?
“Of course,” says Bendeth. “Soft florals are always in season, and they’re appropriate for most situations, including work.

Rose is another all-year-long scent, but those tend to be more romantic, more heady, so save those for non-work environments.” If you like soft floral scents, try Celine Dion Sensational or India Hicks Island Living Spider Lily. If you like rose fragrances, try Jo Malone Red Roses, Demeter Bulgarian Rose, Lacoste Dream of Pink or Valentino Rock ‘n Rose Pret a Porter.

Whatever your “scentsibility” (sorry, couldn’t resist), breezy summer scents round out your wardrobe of floaty frocks and kicking-back gear. More than that, they banish the last wretched threads of a most bitter winter — and who doesn’t love that?

read comments (0)

By Tulip Heaven

May be Pop princess Britney Spears’ new-year resolution. The toxic girl wants to come back in 2007, may be with an underwear covering her assets and ensuring bottomless days. Of course, a new album may be in the offing to strengthen her profession in 2007 after the last hit, Toxic.

Recently, the party girl’s snaps appeared in leading press across the globe showing her partying without her underwear. She was seen along with celebrity socialite Paris Hilton.

Though Spears has admitted that she is taking the newfound freedom ‘too far’, the religious clerics around the world may take it seriously this time. She may be hinting that the recently announced divorce from husband Kevin Federline is ensuring more freedom to ‘divulge’.

But the entertainers are still waiting to see more action from Kevin too, who threatens to ‘divulge’ more by showing a steamy video of the ex-couple. Since this video was taken during their family life, Spears, a mother-of-two, 25, who went on a shopping spree to buy more underwear, cannot do much now. Spears had filed for divorce from her husband of two years on November 6, 2006.

Her dancer husband, Kevin, is planning to sell x-rated homemade footage, which is said to feature the newly wedded couple’s steamy activities on their honeymoon, to David Hans Schmidt, online porn seller.

But Spears has a solution to stop her estranged husband Kevin from raking in money. Spears may herself put the sex tape on the Internet and it may be free. The footage is reported to be worth up to £120 million. Spears, who became famous for her clean-cut, wholesome image in the early stages of her career, has already topped Yahoo!’s annual list of the most-searched names.

Since the birth of her first child, Spears’ music career had taken a beating and Spears, who has sold over seventy-six million records worldwide, is trying for a come back with a cool, fun, and sexy video in 2007.

The recent divorce, pregnancy and two deliveries in 15 months, has not affected her revenue streams. The Britney Spears industry is still in demand. For instance, Spears endorsed a fragrance, “Curious”, and earned a reported US$12 million. After one year of sales, Curious, which was named the best selling perfume of 2004, fetched more than US$100 million.

The next product endorsed by Spears, who is also making news with four books published including A Mother’s Gift, was Elizabeth Arden fragrance, “Fantasy”, in September 2005, and it was another big hit at department stores. Following the successful launch of Fantasy, Spears announced the launch of Curious: In Control, a limited edition perfume. Midnight Fantasy will hit the market in the near future.

Hope that her December 31, 2006 resolutions, which may be yet another midnight fantasy to have more hits in her career, come true that will help the world’s music lovers to love her more. Spears ranks as the eighth best-selling female artist in American music history, and the entertainment industry wants her to come back with more hits after her Toxic.

read comments (0)