In
today’s society it seems we can’t escape celebrity culture. It’s no longer
models gracing the covers of luxury magazines, it’s our favourite singers,
actors and TV stars. Searching the market for a new phone, TV, holiday
destination or family car? Chances are that one of your favourite celebs will
be selling it you, dangling the carrot of a lifestyle just like theirs if you
indulge in the latest must-have product they are endorsing.
The
fragrance and perfume industry is a key area of the beauty world that has been
hit by the same celeb-endorsing bug. Celebrity fragrances are now a lucrative
business, everyone from Rihanna to Lady Gaga has released their own signature scent,
with teen sensation One Direction recently announcing plans to launch their own
sweet scent. The prestigious fragrance industry is seeing the market saturated
with these scents, creating a new generation of consumers choosing their fragrance
purely based on the image on the packaging and a targeted advertising campaign
to tap into the millions of fans ‘on-trend’ celebs have. Seventy three
celebrity scents were launched in 2012, I’m sure such an excessive number must
be taking away from the art form of perfumery and the longevity many of the
most prestigious, luxury brands pride themselves on having in the market.
Brad
Pitt’s advert for Chanel was recently voted the worst advert of 2012,
considering he was paid millions to star in the adverts, was his involvement really
worth it to such an established brand as Chanel? Or was the perfume giant
simply trying to keep up with the growing move towards celebrity endorsement? Call
me cynical but I wonder how involved some of the celebrities are in the
creation and design process. If we are forever bombarded by how busy such
mega-stars are, how do they find the time to create their fragrances? Something
which takes even the most experienced of perfumers months, sometimes even years,
to finalise. The creation process is often an all-consuming development over an
almost holistic and at all times, authentic journey for the most dedicated of
perfumers. Worryingly, thirty-one of the top one hundred selling perfumes in
2012 were endorsed by a celebrity, leaving one to wonder if such entries really
are the best products or simply supported by a marketing machine worthy enough
to push such big-name brands.
A
worrying development is that perhaps the face of the brand is now more important
than what is actually in the bottle. The next generation of consumers are unfortunately
so highly influenced by their favourite musicians and actors, that their
choices in life are so easily guided by the likes of Justin Bieber, Britney
Spears and Beyonce. The small light at the end of the tunnel is that the
average lifespan of a celebrity fragrance is just three years. Could this
signal a change in the industry? Could some young consumers be taking more
pride in choosing their scent and paying more attention to the work of the perfumer
instead? Let’s hope so. Here at Mitonia, we represent many of the world’s most
unique scents, bringing a variety of luxury, niche brands to our fans in the
GCC. Brands such as LINARI, BOIS 1920, Ineke and
Humiecki & Graef are created using the finest raw materials,
resulting in a combination of superior quality and a high olfactory complexity.
Individualism is key, leaving little room for celebrity endorsement by the latest
pop star to reign supreme in the charts.
Let’s
hope the sweet smell of success for niche fragrances continues to heighten and
our celebrity-crazed culture takes note.
For more
information on Mitonia visit: www.mitonia.ae
