National Fragrance Day: The worst celebrity perfumes
Ever since Elizabeth Taylor wooed the world with her White Diamonds signature fragrance back in 1991 with Elizabeth Arden, the celebrity fragrance has become almost a rite of passage for many a singer, actor and sports star. With the likes of Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and David Beckham taking home millions in profits from their eponymous scents it is no wonder that everyone wants in on the olfactory action. However whilst these often sickly sweet perfumes go down a treat with most, there are some stars who really should have stuck to the day job.
IBTimes gives you a run down of some of the most awful celebrity scents of all time:
There is absolutely no reason to state the obvious fact that those investing in a One Direction fragrance are not looking for a base note of the highest quality oud. Nevertheless, this is still a hilariously bad perfume and the best bit it is that the boys (even Zane) knew it too. The promotional advert features them doing their best impression at sniffing flowers and berries in a pretence to cooking up some olfactory masterpiece before reverting back into mocking the whole idea of the fragrance and sitting back, pouting and waiting for the cheque like any sensible celebrity perfume face would do.
The sickly sweet scent of Ariana Grande is hardly surprising but the advert that accompanies the perfume just tips it over the edge of saccarin slaughter. Bubblegum pink and more music promotion that perfume power, Ari is said to open with sparkling fruits and end with the addictiveness of marshmallow so anyone over the age of 6 or diabetic should make sure to avoid this at all costs.
'Gold' by Jay Z
The first sign of a bad celebrity fragrance is when the celeb in question cannot even bear to wear it and after launching his scent in October 2013, Jay Z failed to do any promotion for the product and ended up getting sued last year for $20 million by Parlux Fragrance who produced Gold, the eau de rapper.
'Snooki' by Nicole Polizzi
Jersey Shore's finest export Snooki took to the labs to create one of the most nausiating fragrances that smells even worse than the cybergoth-sweetheart leopard packaging. The inspiration for the scent that blends kiwi and beach flower was tanning oil as well as boardwalk wood from Jersey so you can happily walk around like a tanned piece of wood all day with this scent.
'Seduction in Black' by Antonio Banderas
Banderas is the male Paris Hilton of the fragrance world with 12 questionnably named scents under his belt. Aside from the 'Her Golden Secret' range, 'Seduction in Black' is by far the worst. The whole idea behind the celebrity scent is that you feel somehow affiliated with that person, and the idea of Banderas followign you open shirted around the city giving you tips on seduction is a tad claustrohphic. The scent itself is an un-offensive light, musky blend but you can definitely do better.
There are few presidential candidates that begin their campaign with a fragrance launch, but Trump has continuously proven himself to be a stand out campaigner for one reason or another.
After the fragrance partners Five Star Fragrance Company dropped his previous scent 'Success' in 2015 following Trump's negative comments about Mexican immigrants, Empire was the phoenix from the Trump fragrance ashes that rose out in its retro packaging, golden crest and masculine scent that apparently 'captures the spirit of the driven man'. In reality it looks more like the last fragrance left on the TK Maxx bargain shelf but the blend of iced redcurrant, juniper, coriander and frozen ginger are said to create a powerful presence that wasn't hated by those who have experienced it.
'Absolutely Private' personal edition by Bruce Willis
There is something mildly terrifying at the promise of an Absolutely Private personal edition of Bruce Willis being in your home and Willis' line of fragrances move from caricature to just mad. His first scent, launched in 2010 promised to be 'the most manliest in the world' which may sound like a homemade Bruce concoction of sweat and oil but the ingredients are more along the lines of cedar, vetiver (an east-Indian grass), pepper, grapefruit, and, geranium leaves. Absolutely Private is an equally manly follow up with 'leather notes compined with lavenda and tabacco leave no space for comprimises' apparently.
Most people would assume that the true scent of Prince's seduction could never be bottled by a mere mortal, and they were right. Although Revelations Perfume & Cosmetics launched the womens scent 3121 in 2007, Prince himself clearly did not agree that this was his true musk and did no promotion for the product at all. Unsurprisingly he was sued by the company the following year. In 2012, the Purple Rain star was ordered to pay the company $3.95 million for loss of earnings and has not released any princely scents since then.
'Unbreakable Bond' by Khloé and Lamar
As the advert read 'There's something sexy about a couple sharing a scent' which can be true, except perhaps when that scent becomes another thing to be split when you divorce. Khloé and Lamar's unfortunately named fragrance was actually more successful than the pair's marriage. The mixture of citrus and cedar tones blended in the unisex fragrance proved particularly popular with fans of the show but in terms of a long term branding strategy this was a massive fail.
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