Most perfume enthusiasts and collectors believe that perfumery is an art form. Oftentimes, they’ll heap praises on niche or expensive brands for being daring or innovative, declaring them to be true works of art. Celebrity perfumes, on the other hand, are often ridiculed by self-proclaimed “fragheads,” saying that they’re only there to satisfy fans and people looking for budget-friendly alternatives to designer perfumes. Currently, the market is filled with hundreds of celebrity perfumes, ranging from those by Academy Award winners such as Lady Gaga and Elizabeth Taylor, to perfumes by Grammy-nominated artists like Diana Ross.
And yet, some celeb perfumes are killing the game and are gaining accolades from industry experts. Not to mention, they’re also coming out with some of the most in-demand fragrances across the globe. Take for instance Ariana Grande’s Cloud perfume– according to reports, a bottle of this fragrance sold every 11 seconds in 2021. But fandoms aside, what is it about celebrity perfumes that has people coming for more? Here are the celebrities with perfume lines who are winning over the perfume industry.
Sarah Jessica Parker
Some celebrities entrust master perfumers to create fragrances on their behalf. Meanwhile, others make it a point to get into the lab and learn about fragrance notes so they can have a hand in the creation of a potentially iconic perfume. Such is the case with Sarah Jessica Parker, who was heavily involved in the making of Lovely, which is her best-selling perfume. Lovely, a clean musky floral with notes of mandarin, apple martini, lavender, and white amber, among others, was launched in 2005, and it became a cult favorite since it was classy and easy to wear. Through the years and ever-changing trends, sales for this fragrance remained consistent. But in 2021, demand for the perfume rose and sales went up by 91% after the actress announced the reboot of her hit HBO series, “Sex and the City.”
Lovely isn’t the only perfume from the SJP line that’s being praised by perfume enthusiasts– there’s all the Lovely flankers such as Lovely Sheer, Born Lovely, Lovely You, and Lovely Lights. There’s also Stash, an edgy perfume with notes of black pepper, pistachios, and musk, and Covet, a sexy scent with notes of chocolate, Sicilian lemon, magnolia, and amber.
Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande has been making waves in the perfume industry since she released Ari, her first perfume, in 2015. What came next was Sweet Like Candy, a gourmand fragrance that smells like pure sugar. However, no one was prepared when the “God is a Woman” singer released Cloud in 2018. Cloud is a gourmand perfume with notes of lavender blossom, pear, creme de coconut, and praline, and it’s Grande’s best-selling perfume to date. According to reports, the singer has already earned over $1 billion in global retails sales for her fragrances, with a big chunk of them from Cloud alone. Although many fragrance enthusiasts love this perfume for its longevity and versatility, some of them hoard bottles of it since it’s said to be a dupe of Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540, which was the most popular perfume of 2021. While Baccarat Rouge costs $325, Cloud can be a part of anyone’s collection for less than $50.
Britney Spears
Britney Spears has one of the most enduring and successful fragrance lines in the world. Ever since the pop singer launched her first perfume called Curious in 2004, fans have been buying bottle after bottle of her fragrances, and reports claim that Spears’ fragrance sales have already passed the billion dollar mark. Curious is a teenager-friendly blend of white peaches and lotus flowers, and while it did appeal to the singer’s fans, her other releases, such as her Fantasy line, have also been included in older collectors’ fragrance shelves all across the globe.
Perfume trends come and go, but these celebrities have a firm grip on what sticks in the fragrance industry and are serving hit after hit with their perfume launches. It’s expected that more celebs will be following in their path as perfume collectors continue to search for the next big thing in fragrances.