Weekly Discussion #11: Celebrity Scents. Let's analyze.
9 years ago
I am reviewing a celebrity scent tonight because of a request form a Forum member, so these types of scents are on my mind.
Some people scoff at these scents, touting that they are cheap and synthetic, others feel that they are equally as good as their more expensive counter parts are unjustifiably given a bad wrap.
I am in the middle. There are some celebrity brands that I adore (ie. Elizabeth Taylor, Madonna) and other lines I avoid (ie. Brittany Spears, Taylor Swift). I tried to sit and really understand why I find some of these scents so polarizing and others not so much. I think I have come to a conclusion.
It has nothing to do at all with quality (except perhaps for Fame) but everything to do with taste. The celebrity lines I find most offensive are all part of the sweeter, candied fruitchouli genres. I believe because I already have a rather negative feel for this genre, in general, I am less forgiving of any synthetic or cheap undertones that they might have. Perhaps I am more sensitive to the failings of these lines because I wouldn't be interested in them to begin with.
For example, I do not like the scents put out by Nicole Richie, Hillary Duff, Brittany Spears, Taylor Swift, etc.
I love and own all the scents by Elizabeth Taylor and Madonna.
Are the Elizabeth Taylor and Madonna scents really all that different in quality from the others, and It's just my personal taste, or is there really a difference in quality?
Also, I'd like to discuss the overall "celebrity scent" idea. Are they just scents for the masses, like the cheap fluff novels of literature, with no plot, or real talent in their creations? Do you feel that there really isn't a place for these scents in "real" perfumery? That perhaps they give this art form a bad rap? Maybe you feel that they are only good for people with no "real" appreciation of the art of perfume? Conversely, do you feel that all scents (even cheap mass media ones put out for those with no appreciation of their olfactory nerves) have a place, even if it tarnishes the overall "art" of scent creation?
Men please chip in with the examples from the men's side of the house!
Some people scoff at these scents, touting that they are cheap and synthetic, others feel that they are equally as good as their more expensive counter parts are unjustifiably given a bad wrap.
I am in the middle. There are some celebrity brands that I adore (ie. Elizabeth Taylor, Madonna) and other lines I avoid (ie. Brittany Spears, Taylor Swift). I tried to sit and really understand why I find some of these scents so polarizing and others not so much. I think I have come to a conclusion.
It has nothing to do at all with quality (except perhaps for Fame) but everything to do with taste. The celebrity lines I find most offensive are all part of the sweeter, candied fruitchouli genres. I believe because I already have a rather negative feel for this genre, in general, I am less forgiving of any synthetic or cheap undertones that they might have. Perhaps I am more sensitive to the failings of these lines because I wouldn't be interested in them to begin with.
For example, I do not like the scents put out by Nicole Richie, Hillary Duff, Brittany Spears, Taylor Swift, etc.
I love and own all the scents by Elizabeth Taylor and Madonna.
Are the Elizabeth Taylor and Madonna scents really all that different in quality from the others, and It's just my personal taste, or is there really a difference in quality?
Also, I'd like to discuss the overall "celebrity scent" idea. Are they just scents for the masses, like the cheap fluff novels of literature, with no plot, or real talent in their creations? Do you feel that there really isn't a place for these scents in "real" perfumery? That perhaps they give this art form a bad rap? Maybe you feel that they are only good for people with no "real" appreciation of the art of perfume? Conversely, do you feel that all scents (even cheap mass media ones put out for those with no appreciation of their olfactory nerves) have a place, even if it tarnishes the overall "art" of scent creation?
Men please chip in with the examples from the men's side of the house!