Paying too much for perfume? The Conseil de la Concurrence, a independent agency responsible for regulating market competition in France, has fined 13 perfume makers and distributors for price fixing:
The Conseil de la Concurrence said famous cosmetic brands such as Chanel SA, Yves Saint Laurent and Guerlain agreed with perfume chains Marionnaud, Nocibe and Sephora to have their products distributed at the same price in the three stores of the three chains…
Coty has paired with superstar athlete David Beckham to produce his first men’s fragrance, Instinct. A sporty and fresh scent, Instinct was created by perfumers Alain Astori and Beatrice Piquet and has notes of bergamot, orange, mandarin, star anise, cardamom, red pimento, vetiver, patchouli and white amber.
Though I didn’t have high hopes for this one, being both a product of Coty and another “celebrity” scent, I’ll admit that it’s pleasant. Reminding me of Dior Higher Energy with main notes of citrus, vetiver and musk, Instinct opens with a rather nondescript citrus accord, sweetened by white amber. Though the olfactory notes would suggest something darker, and slightly spicy, the fragrance basically stops here, continuing on the skin as a sweet citrus. The pimento makes a brief appearance, though really doesn’t bring much to the composition other than a slightly watery green edge. The scent has very little sillage and 2 full sprays to the left arm lasted about 2 hours. I keep wondering where the patchouli and anise are, expecting this scent to take a dark turn…but to no avail…
Sean John Combs (aka Puff Daddy, aka P Diddy) launched his first fragrance, Unforgivable, in 2005 under the slogan “Life without passion is unforgivable”. It is targeted at men in the 18 to 35 age group; per Combs, “There are millions of men taking my lead, and I have to take them to the promised land of sexy.” (via Daily News Record, 8/29/2005) It is probably no surprise that his idea of the promised land of sexy ruffled a few feathers.
The Unforgivable fragrance was created by perfumer David Apel and features notes of lemon, bergamot, tangerine, grapefruit, birch leaves, juniper, champagne accord, Mediterranean air accord, basil, iris, clary sage, lavender, cashmere accord, sea moss, sandalwood, rum, amber and tonka bean…
A little rant on the subject of celebrity perfumes in The Age includes this nugget of wisdom:
…Donald Trump – The Fragrance….has reportedly failed, maybe because it smelt of a cross between a dead racoon and money.
The Donald's faltering is a rare thing in the age of celebrity, where it seems any event, any product, any thing becomes more real when a celebrity, whatever their wattage, is in attendance.
And to prove that point, look at what Paris Hilton has done for Parlux Fragrances, Inc, her parent company…
A few little tidbits ~
Marilyn Manson on his upcoming signature fragrance: "It will be androgynous," he said, "in the spirit of Salvador Dali." (via Women's Wear Daily)
And Paul Stanley, the lead singer for KISS, on the band's upcoming fragrances for men & women: "Unrepentantly sexy, and a little naughty". (via Fox6 link no longer working, sorry!)
No word yet, unfortunately, on what they'll actually smell like.