Hello delicious Olfactoria’s Travelers,
Portia with you today from Australian Perfume Junkies and Perfume Posse.
It is with much delight and no small shame that I open my heart today to you all. I am a not so secret wearer of fragrances made for, and bearing the moniker of – celebrities.
Yes, those much maligned smells where often the celebrity in question comes in on the first day and gives a brief and last days, then smells a few offers and decides. Not all celebrities do this, some are heavily involved and invested in the process. Some, whether by good luck or good management we will never know, are quite good. Wearable, fun, cheap and cheerful fragrances that after a year on the market can be found for a song at discounters.
We all know that SJP works at her scents, that JLo was a perfumista before being a perfume brand and that Kate Walsh brought out a hit but there are others who have done a good job of making wearable affordable fragrance for the masses, today I’d like to look at a few of them that have made it into my fragrance wardrobe.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Jessica Simpson: Fancy Nights
Righto, well this is an all time favourite of mine and gets a LOT of skin time. I have shower gel and lotion and find Fancy Nights a thicker, more dense version of Shalimar as if Shalimar had been tweaked for heft. The amber/vanilla and patchouli present right from the outset and Fancy Nights is a warm, vanilla-d up feeling chypre, without the austerity I feel is part of the style. I wear Fancy Nights like a blanket and always feel comfortable and secure when I wear it. Longevity and projection are excellent and I never regret my choice to spritz.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Madonna: Truth or Dare Naked
Honeysuckle in its cleanest form braced by neroli and orchid opens what has sadly been a bit of a flop for Madonna. The month after it was released in the USA Tom (from Perfume Posse) and I had to traipse all over LA to find it. There was only one department store still carrying Madonna’s Truth or Dare Naked and, thinking it would vanish without trace, I bought a few. The flowers segue into a chocolate/amber/praline with definite nods to nougat on my skin. The faux oud is about as clean as it gets, washed of all its more confrontational aspects and dry down is lovely. Madonna’s Truth or Dare Naked could have been part of one of the Pierre Guillaume ranges and would not stand out as unworthy.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Paris Hilton: Siren
Winner of the tackiest and cheesiest advertising campaign and packaging. Paris Hilton did herself no favours when listening to her crew on Siren. It looks ghastly, the pictures, costume, bottle are all definitely budget, budget, budget. The juice though? Well it’s a fun, flamboyant, fruity, white floral, a little bit edgy with the white flowers breathy and honeysuckle just steering clear of urinous, the peach is not overpowering and it dries down nicely to a generic sweet musky woods that will offend no one. I often get compliments from women when I wear Siren, and questioned about what it is. Wear time is good, projection moderate after the first 20 minutes and so cheap that everyone can afford to smell nice.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Queen Latifah: Queen
Vanilla, cognac, tonka and patchouli. Queen goes on sweet and sizzling citrus that never fails to make me smile. Quite an intricate fragrance it ducks and weaves between light and shadow, sweet and green. One minute teacle sweet and the next hints of a dark green-ness and herbal backbeat. Queen has the most extraordinary staying power so you need to be committed to a day of smelling it. Excellent for long days or nights where the object is to maintain your sweet aroma indefinitely. The dry down is a very sensual warm haze of musk/vanilla skin. MMMMMMMMMMM
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Sarah Jessica Parker: Twilight
A fizzy opening of pink pepper and citrus paired with galbanum. A lovely light and breezy opening that remains cool and pretty into its heart of amorphous floral bouquet. It really is like being outside in spring as the warmth of day cools and the fresh breeze or lack of direct sun changes the mood. It’s the packing up of things and going home. As Sarah Jessica Parker’s Twilight moves through to dry down it remains remarkably cool on my skin for an amber and I think incense and peony keep it that way. I love the way the musks create a lived in, end of a beautiful day smell and after a couple of hours the amber/woods warm through slightly like an amber necklace on your skin. This is as comfortable as your favourite T-Shirt.
So, there you go. I would like to add honourable mentions to With Love by Hilary Duff, Queen of Hearts by Queen Latifah, Mon Parfum by Paloma Picasso, Keith Urban’s Phoenix, Laguna and Salvador Dali EdT and I even quite enjoyed Our Moment by One Direction.
Now, unleash your shame. Which celebuscents do you spritz? Who would you LIKE to see do a scent? What would you put in your favourite celebrities fragrance? What would you put in your LEAST favourite celebrities fragrance?
Come on, it’s all in good fun and I love to read what you say.
Portia xx
Olfactoria's Travels 
I love these reviews Portia. I can smell them in my head. Which saves me having to try them. Bussi. x
HA HA HA! Val you are my favourite snob EVER!!
Bussis right back
Portia xx
Hi Portia,
All of the above (and more) are mine. Mariah Carey’s M is my latest fun fragrance (thanks to Katrina). I also admit to shamelessly wearing Elizabeth Taylor’s Black Pearls. What is my least favorite? There are several but I have put them out of my mind. Who should launch the next celebuscent? I vote for a politician. How about a Sarah Palin fragrance with top notes of screechy black tea?
Azar xx
Hey Azar,
Black Pearls has long been on my radar. You know Elizabeth Taylor is still the best selling celebrity fragrance line. She sold about 20 miliion US dollars worth more than her nearest rival in 2013 Jennifer Lopez.
Cool huh?
Portia xx
hahaha! I nearly snorted my oolong tea as I was reading this – Sarah Palin’s “screechy black tea” – priceless!
SallyM,
I saw that and though I know vaguely that Sarah Palin is/was the Alaskan senator it didn’t really get me? Why is it so funny?
Portia xx
Interesting topic, thanks for an inspiring post, Portia!
My favorite celebrity fragrance is Dita Von Teese (it’s called Dita Von Teese, too), which is a sensual and sexy white floral in a distinctively nice and funny bottle. I don’t own it yet, but it’s very affordable and easy to get, though I might buy a bottle eventually. (Today??)
(Btw, I thought of you yesterday while watching the bonus features of “Little Britain abroad” – it’s a documentary on their tour through Melbourne and Sydney – so much fun!!!).
Though I never did watch Little Britain Anka I did see that documentary of their Aussie tour. They meet Kath & Kim? Is that the one and the girls are super drunk?
I too like the Dita Von Teese very much and went through a 30ml bottle in weeks.
Portia xx
Ha, I had to google Kath & Kim, yes, that’s the one – and afterwards they meet with Barry Humphries, who is rather popular here.
Yes. Craziness. Thanks for thinking of me during it. I feel loved.
Portia x
I have Fancy Nights because of you. I think Queen is highly underrated and that it’s a great scent for the price. I never was able to find that Madonna scent but I keep waiting for a bottle to show up at a discounter. I have her first perfume. Not all the celebrity perfumes are crap. Once in a while there are good ones. Oh, another I like is SJP’s Covet.
Heya Poodle,
I wanted to write about the SJP that may have flown under peoples radar. Covet is fabulous, I love it so much. What a fragrance and practically free!
Naked is about $14 for 75ml at FragranceNet http://www.fragrancenet.com/perfume/madonna/naked-by-madonna/eau-de-parfum#!250964
You’re welcome,
Portia xx
Alright, I am caving and looking at bottles of Fancy Nights on amazon. You two enablers!!!!!
HA HA HA HA HA!!
It’s the cheapest thrill you’ll have this month Daisy. I hope you enjoy it.
Portia xx
I picked up a bottle of Truth or Dare Naked very cheap and I think it’s very good. Still widely available in Australia, as I’m sure you know. I do find it a bit too gourmand for my chypre loving heart, but it’s lovely as a change. You have to mess things up a bit sometimes, right? 🙂
That Paris Hilton bottle is so bad it’s good! Very much in keeping with her … um … style (for want of a better word).
Hi there AnneMarieC,
Yes, I am quite annoyed that it came to Oz for very reasonable prices. I could have three for what I paid for one in LA. Still it does wear very nicely and I am so glad I have it on hand.
Portia xx
My mother loved the Elizabeth Taylor scents. She was easy to shop for since those scents are found everywhere. A friend of mine, a famous author, loves Queen and thinks that it fits perfectly with her skin. I try to find it for her when she visits. I like several that were made for Jennifer Lopez.
Hi there AnitaThePianist,
Those Elizabeth Taylor scents stay on my skin for ever. DAYS! They are three shower fragrances. You really have to be committed to smelling like an Elizabeth Taylor fragrance for a while.
It makes me happy that a famous author loves Queen too.
Portia x
I do not own or wear any celebuscents. I don’t even test any of them on skin. Why? There are too many great perfumes that don’t get [enough of] my attention so I just don’t see a point in trying most mass-market perfumes. And celebrity perfumes in my hierarchy are even lower that many mass-market perfumes. Yep, I’m a perfume snob.
Absolutely, snob away Undina,
There are plenty of fabulous, expensive, interesting frags that get overlooked in my collection and and I go spritz the celebuscent. It’s baffling. I really LOVE the ones I love and some of those happen to be celeb frags.
No real reason but that I like them so much.
Portia x
❤
I truly love Fancy Nights. Between your recommendation and the love it gets on the Makeupalley fragrance board I got a bottle at the end of our long torturous winter and it was the perfect pick up, I wore it for days. I liked Queen but it skewed a bit too Angel for me and since I already have Angel, I swapped it but I do enjoy the Queen body cream. Also picked up a bottle of Kate Walsh Boyfriend dry oil on sale and it’s a great base for many of my favorite scents. I’ve read good things about Adam Levine scents, have you tried them, Portia? I would value your opinion 🙂
I think it’s just a matter of time before Bruno Mars and Pharrell have perfumes, if they don’t already.
Ahhh, I too have read some good things about the Adam Levine scents. He is one of my partner Jin’s fave performers. You have given me an EXCELLENT Xmas idea.
Thanks,
Portia x
I LOVE Queen! And thank you for the tip on where to find Truth or Dare Naked. I got a sample after reading your review at APJ and then couldn’t find it anywhere. It kind of reminds me of Givenchy Organza.
And the “screechy tea” reference is to Sarah Palin’s “leadership” of the Tea Party movement in the US, which is prone to demands to “take our country back,” from whom they never seem to specify, although coincidentally, this movement arose after the election of our first black president.
YAY LaurelS! Glad you liked the Truth or Dare Naked. So under rated.
Thank you for clearing that up. Your politics over there is WAY more entertaining than ours. Though we both have some pretty big problems it’s so nice to mock the powers.
Portia xx
Wasn’t there a Jessica Simpson fragrance that people were saying was a knock-off of Bombay Bling? Can’t remember which one…
In any case, this post made me chuckle and then laugh out loud. Good for you for owning and owning up to Siren!
REALLY!!! Jessica Simpson did a pineapple to woods fragrance? If I didn’t love her before ( I did) I certainly do now.
Making you laugh is a great reason to be alive BaconBiscuit212 (Daisy right?)
Portia xx
I’m trying to find it and I think I mixed Jessica Simpson up with Hilary Duff’s With Love. I forget the blogger who brought it up. Many apologies for the mix-up! I should write this stuff down!
And yes, it’s Daisy 🙂 Birgit tells me you are coming to NYC sometime soon?
Yes, The plan is to arrive Thanksgiving and spend a few days. VERY excited. I haven’t been to NYC this century.
Portia xx
Very exciting indeed! I’ll be in town this year for the holiday. Maybe our paths will cross!
I found it! Taylor by Taylor Swift. That is the brazen hussy who ripped off Bombay Bling.
http://anotherperfumeblog.com/2013/11/26/taylor-by-taylor-swift/
Natalie always knows how to put it so succinctly, doesn’t she? Next time I’m at the mall I am going to see.
You are so cute, I can just see how excited you were to find this.
Portia xx