Consumers Turn Up Noses at Celebrity Scents

Consumers who hit the stores Friday were greeted with a veritable who's who of celebrity perfumes. From Paris Hilton to Donald Trump and Survivor's "Boston Rob," the air was thick with 'eau de celeb.' But consumer response to the new scents was decidedly mixed. Some shoppers described the new "Paris Hilton" perfume as "skanky," while one teen had to be rushed to the hospital after contracting a rash from a knockoff of "Britney Spears Curious."

From Paris to "the Donald," shoppers explore 'what it smells like to be a star.'

by Deanna Swift

WICHITA FALLS, TX—By 10:00 AM on the busiest shopping day of the year, the line across the Sikes Senter Mall stretched from the Dillard's perfume counter all the way to the Swiss Pretzel stand. The occasion: the debut of a new perfume by the socialite, celebrity and film star Paris Hilton.

13 year old Katee Willett said that she'd already put the perfume, called "Paris Hilton," on her Christmas list, but couldn't resist a trip to the mall to get a sniff of the heiress' new scent for herself. By the time she'd reach the cosmetic counter, the perfume would be long gone; Katee would have to be satisfied with a liberal spray from the sample bottle. What did she think of her new smell?

"It's supposed to be like frozen apple and flowers but that's not what this smells like," said the teen, wrinkling her nose. Katee's mother agreed: "This has a strong musky scent. Not what we had in mind at all."

The sweet smell of success
Fortunately for the Willetts, there are dozens of celeb-inspired perfumes and colognes to  choose from this holiday season. Besides "Paris Hilton," there is "Britney Spears Curious," a scented tribute to the pop star; Jessica Simpson's "Taste," a sugar-sweet combination of white chocolate and coconut cream; and Celine Dion's ode to motherhood, "Parfume Notes."

And it isn't just the ladies who are cornering the market on the scent scene. Donald Trump is the inspiration behind "Donald Trump: The Fragrance," a clean, peppery cologne for men. Even b-list celebrities are getting in on the act. Rob Mariano, or "Boston Rob," the Survivor All-Star who became a household name last year, is currently peddling his own new fragrance in between appearances at charity events. The scent, called "Foreman," a reference to Mariano's pre-Survivor job as a construction foreman in the Boston area, is said to combine notes of juniper and clean sweat.

Industry analysts say that naming a scent for a celebrity is no guarantee that a perfume will take off. In recent years, failed fragrances by such marquis notables as Shaquille O'Neil, Elton John and the Olsen Twins have disappeared from cosmetic counters and drugstore shelves after consumers, particularly teen shoppers, turned up their noses at them. Success, says scent scientist Branson Dray, who has designed perfume bottles for celebrity fragrances for Cher and Derek Jeeter, depends on three ingredients. "You need an appealing scent and a star with a following, but that audience has to want to smell like the star," says Dray.

A rash of complaints
At the Burlington Mall in Burlington, MA, there was a mob scene at the Walgreens, but not for a reason that any celebrity perfume marketer would want. Crowds of "rubber neckers" craned and gawked as 12 year-old Bethany Formisano was carried out of the mall by paramedics. Formisano apparently developed a severe allergic rash after spraying herself with a knockoff of Britney Spears Curious. The scent, an imitation of the pop-star's jasmine and magnolia infused perfume, is being sold for a fraction of the price that the real thing commands.

"It was really scary," said Formisano's friend Courtney McMacken. "We sprayed some on and Bethany got these big red bumps. She looked like she had some horrible disease."

Deanna Swift can be reached at deannaswift1@yahoo.com

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