At one point in the early 2000s, it seemed like there was a new celebrity fragrance hitting shelves every day. While they might seem like a modern invention, celeb-endorsed scents have been around for a while now. Elizabeth Taylor brought her star power to Elizabeth Arden in 1987, releasing the enduringly popular Passion. But Taylor would be only the first in a long line of actors, athletes, singers, and reality stars to find more fortune by breaking into the fragrance market.
While some buyers might prefer the iconic aromas of Coco Chanel, there’s obviously a sizable appetite for celebrity beauty brands and fragrances. The market was worth more than $1 billion and revenues are moving in the right direction. Below, we’ll take a look at a few famous faces behind some of the best-selling fragrances of recent years.
The Signature Scents of Hollywood Stars
While some stars wait to be approached by fragrance houses, others take matters into their own hands. Sarah Jessica Parker is one such self-starter, who’d always had a keen interest in perfumery. After pushing her agent to put a few feelers out, Parker’s luck came good when she was given the green light to create her very own scent. Partnering with Laurent le Guernec, Parker was actively involved in creating her scent, eventually dubbed Lovely. It might not have matched the sales of heights of other celeb perfumes, but it still has its fans and remains readily available.
Like Elizabeth Taylor before her, movie star and sitcom royalty, Jennifer Aniston was approached by Elizabeth Arden to create a scent of her own. Keeping it simple with a fragrance named after herself, Jennifer Aniston was released in 2010. While initial sales were disappointing, they were convincing enough for Aniston’s new business partner, with a further eight fragrances released.
When Pop and Perfume Collide
At the turn of the century, Britney Spears was raking in more from endorsement deals than her music career. While she was willing to attach her name to everything from soft drinks to sunglasses, it’s the leap into the fragrance market that proved to be her most lucrative commercial deal. In 2004, she joined up with Elizabeth Arden to release her first signature scent, Curious. It would prove to be a smash hit for both parties, with the legendary cosmetics company counting record-breaking first-week sales. Further fragrances would follow, with global sales surpassing $1.5 billion within a few years. Britney’s perfumes continue to be popular with consumers with her forty-second fragrance, Jungle Fantasy, landing in 2023.
Never one to be outdone, Britney’s pop contemporary and one-time love rival Christina Aguilera has also maintained a lucrative side hustle selling perfume. After dabbling with some short-lived endorsement deals, she made her first major foray into the fragrance market in 2004. Working with Sarantis, a Greek brand, she helped create a trio of scents for the brand’s Xpose collection. While these perfumes weren’t sold outside of Europe, they didn’t go unnoticed elsewhere in the world.
In 2007, Aguilera partnered with Procter & Gamble to launch her own perfume brand. Her eponymous debut scent proved particularly popular, with the line gradually expanding to include sprays, lotions, gels, and more. Since then, a further 16 lines have been released, with Aguilera’s perfumes proving big sellers in North America and the United Kingdom. The brand has also gone down well with critics, receiving plenty of column inches from magazine editors.
It’s also earned some high-profile accolades, including a prestigious FiFi Award.
Do Celeb Fragrances Have a Future?
While a slight dip in sales suggested consumers were losing interest in celebrity fragrances, the market has come on leaps and bounds in recent years. The same old stalwarts are dominating the sector, although the likes of Britney Spears have been joined by contemporary chart-toppers like Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish. What’s more, you only have to look at the continued success of the scent that started it all, Passion, to see consumer appetite for celeb scents is far from satiated.
