CELEBRITY FRAGRANCES Archives

April 1, 2024

5 REASONS TO LOVE DOLLY PARTON*

1) From her dirt-poor Tennessee background (one of 12 children) to 100 million+ records sold, she’s a pop culture institution.

2) Don’t be fooled by the larger-than-life persona, she’s a smart businesswoman with an estimated worth of $650 million. Apart from the rights to her songs, she’s the force behind Dollywood theme and water parks, diners, merchandise, books and more.

IMAGE: Maverick Family Life blog.

3) She can laugh at herself while laughing all the way to the bank, with memorable quotes such as:

“If I hadn’t been a woman, I’d have been a drag queen”,

“The higher your hair, the closer you are to God”,

“It costs a lot to look this cheap”, and

“I’m not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb… and I know I’m not blonde.”

IMAGE: shop.dollyparton.com

4) Despite the increasingly rabid polarisation of American politics, she’s remained resolutely apolitical, which only increases her broad appeal.

5) Proving there’s still life in the genre, she joined the celeb fragrance game in 2021 with Dolly Parton Dolly Scent From Above EDP.

IMAGE: dollyfragrance.com

As with many in the category, it’s sweet, but Dolly’s undeniable charm must be working on me (it always does). Its fruity-floral aspect (peony, pear, blackcurrant, jasmine) meets the woody depths of sandalwood, patchouli and fir album, underscored by powdery musk, hits the D-spot with its uplifting quality.

In my recent interview with perfumer Gabriela Chelariu, she had this to say about working with the superstar on Dolly Scent From Above EDP.

“Dolly Parton is one of the most gracious people I have worked with. Although I’ve never met her in person, she was deeply involved in developing the fragrance and was precise in what she wanted it to be.

“I refined it until she found the signature she envisioned. I remember every time she wanted another adjustment, she always apologised thinking that she is too demanding. She is very considerate and has a lot of respect for the creative process, being a creative force herself.”

*This isn’t no April Fool’s joke, y’all.

Dolly Scent From Above EDP is available from Scent Beauty.

June 13, 2023

Billie Eilish Eilish EDP Review: More Sophisticated Than You Might Think

Sooner or later, it happens to all celebrities when they’re hot property… They’re faced with the big question: why don’t you launch your own fragrance? And so we shouldn’t have been surprised when Billie Eilish Eilish EDP joined the ranks of celebrity scents in 2021.

And just in case, if you’re wondering why the American singer-songwriter is such hot property (timing is everything in the celeb scent market), here’s a reminder.

Since her emergence in 2015 but especially with the success of her debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? and the single Bad Guy, Billie Eilish has bagged numerous Grammy, American Music, MTV Video Music, Billboard Music and Brit awards, among others. She’s also won a Best Original Song Oscar for the Bond tune, No Time To Die.

IMAGE: Billie Eilish Fragrances.

We can add her debut perfume, Billie Eilish Eilish EDP, to her list of achievements (it triumphed in The Fragrance Foundation’s 2022 Fragrance of Year – Popular category). What do I think of it? And does it herald a revival in the celebrity fragrance market?

IMAGE: Billie Eilish Fragrances.

PERFUMER

Steve DeMercado is the man behind a whole bunch of fragrances, including Calvin Klein Escape For Men EDT (1993); Marc Jacobs EDP (2001); Escada Magnetism EDP (2003); Guess Man EDT (2006); and Vince Camuto EDP (2011).

IMAGE: OK Fine Fragrances.

The master perfumer is also the go-to-creator for celebrity fragrances. He created Paris Hilton EDP (2005); Jennifer Lopez Love At First Glow EDT (2005); Harajuku Lovers G EDT (2008) for Gwen Stefani; Queen Latifah Queen EDP (2009); Jessica Simpson Fancy Nights EDP (2010); Nicole Richie Nicole EDP (2012); and Rihanna RiRi EDP (2015).

He launched his own niche perfume company, OK Fine Fragrances, with Michael Simpson in 2020.

SO WHAT DOES BILLIE EILISH EILISH EDP SMELL LIKE?

“Sugared petals” may be listed in the official notes, but I reckon that’s a sugar accord at work. It enhances the notes of mandarin orange and red berries with a soft sprinkle of sweetness.

It’s gourmand territory with the combo of creamy vanilla and earthy cacao. Powdery cinnamon features in the general spiciness. And there’s a delicate floralcy in the background. The warmth extends to the drydown where an amber accord is paired with lots of musk.

Billie Eilish wanted the olfactory equivalent of a warm embrace and this scent does just that in a cosy and comforting way. While it adheres to the gourmand template common to many celebrity fragrances, it’s sensual, sophisticated and more grown-up than you might expect (that sophistication extends to the bronze bust bottle – standout elegant stuff in a category that tends to be girlie-girl and sometimes, dare I say it, tacky). It’s sweet but not in an overpowering way.

Billie Eilish Eilish EDP has broad and accessible appeal, even if you’re not a fan of the star’s music and aesthetic. Kudos to her for asserting its unisex credentials by describing it as “a scent for everyone”.

BOOM OR BUST?

The mega success of Jennifer Lopez JLo Glow EDT (2002) motivated other celebrities such as Britney Spears (2004), Sarah Jessica Parker (2005), Halle Berry (2009), Beyoncé (2010), Rihanna (2010), Madonna (2012) and Lady Gaga (2012) to launch their own perfumes.

When I interviewed Glow’s creator, Louise Turner, this is what she had to say about the fragrance: “The licence was with Coty at that time and Jennifer Lopez was directly involved in its creation – she wanted the smell of clean and fresh skin.”

“With the rise of niche brands and more demanding consumers, the category seemed out-dated and had a strong whiff of fakery.”

It was all going so well and then around 2016, the stats started to tell a different story. Celebrity fragrance sales had declined from 12% of the US market to 4%, according to Euromonitor. Things were equally grim in another key market, the UK. So much so that analysts proclaimed the celebrity fragrance market to be dead. With the rise of niche brands and more demanding consumers, the category seemed out-dated and had a strong whiff of fakery.

Fast-forward to 2023 and the success of Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish and Rihanna, with their emphasis on sophistication, authenticity and quality could see the sector back in business.

Billie Eilish Eilish EDP is available in South Africa at Dis-Chem.

December 28, 2018January 3, 2019

Caroline Sabas Interview: “I Work On Anything. I’m Up For Any Challenge!”

I first started chatting to perfumer Caroline Sabas a couple of months ago on Instagram when I inadvertently didn’t credit her contribution to the creation of Britney Spears VIP Private Show EDP. Since then I’ve been wanting to interview the 44-year-old who has created a very diverse selection of fragrances over the years. These range from Etat Libre d’Orange You Or Someone Like You EDP, Elizabeth Arden Sunflowers Summer Air EDT and Narciso Rodriguez Santal Musc EDP to Rihanna Reb’l Fleur EDP and Commodity Vetiver EDP.

Caroline Sabas grew up in the heartland of French perfumery, Grasse. Her perfumer father had a big influence on her decision to pursue the career she says she was “born into”.

In this interview, I asked Caroline Sabas questions about her work, her ultimate ambition and her favourite ingredient to work with, among others.

Where were you born?

I was born in Cannes, France, and grew up in Grasse.

Where did you study perfumery?

I studied at ISIPCA in Versailles and my apprenticeship while in school was at Chanel.

Where are you based now?

I moved to NYC a year after I finished ISIPCA, which is 21 years ago. I’ve been working at Givaudan New York for 15 years now. I love New York. It has such a great vibe and so much energy.

Caroline Sabas - Elizabeth Arden Sunflowers Summer Air EDT

SUMMER EFFECT: Elizabeth Arden Sunflowers Summer Air EDT is one of the fragrances created by Caroline Sabas.

When did you know that you wanted to be a perfumer?

As I lived in Grasse and my father was a perfumer, I can say that I was born into it. Growing up surrounded by all those amazing naturals, such as mimosa, jasmine, honeysuckle, rose, moss, just to name a few, made me aware at a very young age that my nose was a great asset. I’ve always been sensitive to smells around me and they always provoked in me a lot of emotions. Then when I was 16, I stepped into the lab of my father’s company. Working with all those gorgeous materials was like a dream. I felt like a chef or a painter. From that moment on I knew this was exactly what I wanted to do.

“Working with all those gorgeous materials was like a dream. I felt like a chef or a painter.”

What do you remember most about studying perfumery?

I loved smelling and having to memorise olfactively both natural and synthetic ingredients. Learning about the classics and how they had been created. It’s such a fascinating world and I couldn’t wait to be part of it.

Caroline Sabas - Britney Spears VIP Private Show EDP

FRAGRANCES FOR EVERYONE: “I do not want to be labelled as a certain type of perfumer. Therefore, I work on everything…. mass, prestige, celebrities, designers, niche, women’s, men’s,” says Caroline Sabas.

What’s your ultimate ambition as a perfumer?

I would like to be able to create fragrances for absolutely everyone. I do not want to be labelled as a certain type of perfumer. Therefore, I work on everything…. mass, prestige, celebrities, designers, niche, women’s, men’s, etc… I’m up for any challenge! And ultimately I am hoping that one of these creations will end up being a best-seller. Mostly because it makes me so happy and moves me when I smell one of my creations on someone else. It is the best feeling. I realise that I touched someone’s heart.

One of my favourite fragrances you’ve created is Etat Libre d’Orange You or someone like you edp. How did you create this fragrance?

This was a fantastic project. A great collaboration between Chandler Burr and myself. In 2009, Chandler Burr wrote the book You Or Someone Like You. Later on, Etat Libre d’Orange approached Chandler about making a fragrance having the same title. Chandler asked me if I could be the perfumer behind it. I was more than happy to accept, as I had never approached a project with such a different concept.

Chandler and I started to work together and tried to create what would be the perfect fragrance for the novel’s narrator, Anne Rosenbaum. She lives in LA, is reserved and is an avid reader. She is a gardener as well. Chandler and I kept talking about what kind of notes would be perfect for Anne. But mainly, the fragrance that was created for her is not a perfume. It is a scent. We do not talk about ingredients or notes as we describe it. It is an experience. It is what you want it to be. That’s how Chandler described it to me before I started the creative process.

“We do not talk about ingredients or notes as we describe it. It is an experience. It is what you want it to be.”

You’ve created several celebrity fragrances. Is it different creating a celeb fragrance, as opposed to a designer or a niche scent?

I find the process a little bit different, yes. When I create a fragrance for a celebrity, I have to think about all their followers, their fans. It seems like the crowd to please is very big, so I need to make sure that it has a broad appeal from top to bottom. Whereas for a designer, or a niche brand, I can really think out of the box and pour my creativity into it, without thinking too much about who I am going to please. Here, I am inspired greatly by the designer’s vision that they seek to capture through scent.

Do you have a favourite ingredient?

It is hard to come down to one ingredient when we have so many beautiful materials around us. But I will say my favourite is Vetiver. Five years ago, I travelled to Haiti to experience the vetiver harvest. Haiti is where the very best vetiver in the world is grown.

Givaudan has a very important platform of ethical sourcing, which we call Sourcing for Shared Value. We are dedicated to strengthening the vetiver supply chain, including supporting a co-operative in Les Cayes which helps the farmers and villagers to have a better life. It ensures that the vetiver producers can benefit from a guaranteed minimum price and regular technical support from both Givaudan’s and our partner teams. Our initiative aims to ensure that appropriate practices for vetiver harvesting and distilling are in place.

EARTHY: Caroline Sabas loves vetiver for its many qualities.

This process produces the highest quality oil. I experienced the whole process of distillation, from the fields where the farmers uproot the plant, clean it, and then send it to the distillation factory. At the factory, the air smelled wonderful. I felt like I was wearing a blanket of warm vetiver. It is such a faceted material, woody, sensual, unctuous, golden, elegant, earthy, warm. Very addictive to me. Vetiver had been used so much in men’s fragrances. But with this quality, we can create a gorgeous woman’s fragrance as well, using a classic and beautiful ingredient that supports people and the environment.

“It is such a faceted material, woody, sensual, unctuous, golden, elegant, earthy, warm.”

Do you a travel a lot for your work?

I do travel for work and I enjoy spending time in our office in Paris and our office in São Paulo. This allows me to stay current with marketplace and lifestyle trends and also participate in various projects in places other than New York and spend time with my colleagues in other countries.

Caroline Sabas - Vince Camuto Divina EDP

DIVINE: Caroline Sabas also created Vince Camuto Divina EDP. It was released in 2018.

Which fragrance do you wish you’d created?

There are a lot of fragrances that I wish I had created. Starting with Chanel No 19, which I find exquisite. Also, one that set such a huge trend and influenced the fragrance category is Angel, which is a Givaudan creation. I am inspired by these classic trend-setters that were so different, so sensual, so disruptive for their time.

Do you have a mentor?

My mentor is David Apel [her husband and vice-president senior perfumer at Symrise]. I love what he taught me and always value the incredible education on perfumery he shared with me: from ingredient expertise to his creative approach. He is one of the best perfumers in the industry today.

October 31, 2017November 1, 2017

Antonio Banderas Interview: The Business Of Seduction

It’s not every day that a celebrity is in Johannesburg to promote his latest fragrances, Antonio Banderas The Secret Temptation and Antonio Banderas Her Secret Temptation. And do good while smelling good.

Antonio Banderas is best known for his films with director Pedro Almodóvar (Matador, Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown) and Hollywood hits (Philadelphia, The Mask Of Zorro, Spy Kids, the Shrek franchise). What’s not so well known is that the Spaniard is also a photographer. Funds raised from the sale of his photographs at a gala event auction will benefit Nkosi’s Haven, an HIV/Aids NGO.

Antonio Banderas Her Secret Temptation And Antonio Banderas The Secret Temptation

THE TEMPTATIONS: Antonio Banderas with Her Secret Temptation and The Secret Temptation. All portraits of Antonio Banderas courtesy of Puig.

It’s fun to be part of the whirl for the four days he’s in the city, attending the press conference and gala event. But the real reason I am excited is the one-on-one interview I have with him, in which I plan to focus on his fragrances.

“Unlike many other celeb scents which crash and burn, the Antonio Banderas fragrance range is doing quite well, thank you.”

Unlike many other celeb scents which crash and burn, the Antonio Banderas fragrance range is doing quite well, thank you. Originally launched in 1997, the line now includes 20 fragrances and has bagged some awards along the way. All of them play on the theme of seduction and why not. Antonio Banderas has used his Spanishness to great effect in his films and his fragrances shamelessly ooze seducción.

Antonio Banderas fragrances are smartly positioned and priced. They cost more than the average celeb scent, but are considerably cheaper than designer fragrances. Although I have not tried all of the fragrances in his range, those that I have tried offer surprisingly good quality at the price.

I arrive early for the interview (officially I have 10 minutes), dreading a haze of ego and entourage over the swanky and secluded hotel he’s staying in. When I meet Antonio Bandera in the flesh, I am immediately put at ease. He’s utterly charming, professional and looks good in blue jeans and a T-shirt. Before the interview kicks off, we chat about how he reduced his caffeine intake and stopped smoking after having a mild heart attack in January 2017.

When we start talking about his fragrances, he’s visibly animated. I take that as a sign that I am not asking him the same questions as everyone else. Or he’s such a pro, he answers them like it’s the first time he’s been asked that question.

Shall we talk about your fragrances…

I’m not a chemist. I’m not a perfumer. I kind of understand the process, but I’m not the one signing the fragrance. What I give is a tremendous amount of information when I sit down with the perfumer.

Something very interesting happened when I first started doing this. They gave me as a gift a briefcase with a bunch of different scents inside, with no names on the front. They told me to open them, smell them and tell us what it is. I opened one and said, “My God, I know this. What is this?” And then I turned the bottle around and it said “Sunday morning”. Wow! They can synthesise Sunday morning, or they can synthesise recently washed sheets in a 19^th-century closet. They play with all of these things and this is way, way, way more sophisticated than I thought. I didn’t know the combinations they could use to have this effect on your brain.

When I arrive in Malaga, I know I am at home. You don’t have to tell me. If it’s springtime, it’s the smell of the flower of the orange tree, the ocean. And if it’s Holy Week, the smell of the incense. Together that is a package that makes me back to being seven years old and phew… [he laughs].

“When I arrive in Malaga, I know I am at home. It’s the smell of the flower of the orange tree, the ocean, the incense.”

That’s the power of fragrance. It’s an art and a science. You think you have forgotten something, yet a particular smell can trigger something from your childhood. What’s your earliest scent memory?

Oh yes, you don’t smell with your nose. You smell with your brain and your memories. My mother! Her scent of woman. The kind of feeling you want to throw it here [he laughs like a naughty boy]. That and my home town, with the strong smell of the ocean from the apartment terrace.

You’ve been in the fragrance biz for 20 years and launched with Diavolo in 1997. What was your original motivation when your first started?

The motivation wasn’t mine. A lawyer friend Paco said to me, “Why don’t you diversify everything you do. We create a little company, you work with them and get a percentage of the sales.” For me, business at the time was something cold, dry, things I didn’t like. Paco taught me that you can be very creative with business.

At the beginning it wasn’t easy. Paco, me and the company Puig said we have to sacrifice time, slow-cook this thing – that’s how you do things that are successful. The third or fourth year our head came out of the water and my obligations became bigger and bigger. Now we travel all around the world and sell in 83 countries. And then it’s your baby and love what you are doing!

You didn’t expect such longevity…

No. The maximum they gave us was five years. Now we represent 7% of the whole company that has Paco Rabanne, Jean Paul Gaultier, Carolina Herrera, Nina Ricci.

“Now we represent 7% of the whole company that has Paco Rabanne, Jean Paul Gaultier, Carolina Herrera, Nina Ricci.”

THE FAMILY WAY: Marc Puig, the CEO of Puig.

Congratulations! A lot of celeb scents come and go.

We’ve put a lot of work into it and they believe this company is a part of my life now. I go to Barcelona and see the CEO, Marc Puig. We are received like we are part of the family. And it is literally a family, the Puig family [founded in 1914, Puig is a third-generation family-owned, Barcelona-based business]. Next year we will celebrate the 20^th year with special limited editions. I use all of them. This is the truth. Since 1997 I have not used other perfumes.

So what are you wearing today?

The first one, Diavolo. Tonight I will wear Temptation. But in the morning I need Diavolo, because it’s still my younger me [laughs]. It’s more lemon-ish, it’s more fruity, it’s almost like an eau de cologne. You feel very fresh. The afternoon you need something more complex.

“In the morning I need Diavolo, because
it’s still my younger me.”

I am wearing a combination of the King and Queen of Seduction to test you, to see if you will notice your own fragrances.

[Huge laughter] That’s an interesting mix!

One of my favourite characters that you’ve played, well, it was more the voice, was Puss in Boots. Which fragrance of yours would he wear?

Diavolo, for the name. He is a little devil. And, of course, King of Seduction. Because that’s the way he can conquer women! Oh yeah, PUSS IN BOOTS!

Antonio Banderas The Secret Temptation EDT, R455 for 50ml and R570 for 100ml. Antonio Banderas Her Secret Temptation EDT, R455 for 50ml and R570 for 80ml.

Tag: CELEBRITY FRAGRANCES

5 REASONS TO LOVE DOLLY PARTON*

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