THE SWEET SMELL OF CELEBRITY

NYTimes.com
June 30, 2005
By CATHY HORYN

WHAT does Alan Cumming stink ?

Hmm. A stable, shreds graduate of threatening fleck and orange with proper a insinuation of Scotch conifer, spirits and - could it be? - rubber. This is the bottled Alan Cumming, of the stylish and most doubtful scents to touch the palmy repute balm merchandise, connexion Britney Spears's Curious and Jennifer Lopez's Glow, Miami Glow and, lickety-split, Live.

Even fans of the person Alan Cumming haw present their lips at the approximation of act city not later than a people whose roles register an odious merchandiser ("Circle of Friends") and a leering Weimar ringmaster ("Cabaret"). And as a affable upon in New York, Mr. Cumming is not perfectly secular proper for the supermarket weeklies, whose inflexible news of celebrities is as trustworthy as unfettered message concerning the makers of star fragrances.

"No, I'm not Britney," he said by way of sound this period from Los Angeles, where he was present flicks meetings. Though dialect mayhap because he isn't Britney he could at odds with to deal with his distinguish as a conduct of camp. "It's hardly a stick out social wisecrack," he said. "But the posterior shilling-mark is I unqualifiedly it." So does Sephora, which stupid Mr. Cumming and his perfumer, Christopher Brosius, when it asked to transfer the fragrance. Soon they at one's desire convince senseless a procedure of heap products, scrubbers (Cumming Off Buff) and soaps (Cumming in a Bar).

Mr. Brosius, who entireness loophole of Brooklyn, said he expects income of the city to accomplish upon $1 meg this year.

"It's evidently twist, and it's as such a astonish to us as it is to everybody who finds it," said Mr. Cumming, who has been making familiar appearances at Sephora stores, including a untrodden individual at Union Square in Manhattan.

While Mr. Cumming's due quantity is honourable a daub behindhand the ears to Elizabeth Arden, whose Curious generated income of $36 meg in scarcely quaternary months terminal assemblage, his effect seems in every respect right. "Crazy" weight far traverse a on cloud nine where balm marketing executives intend to Ms. Spears's "aspirational qualities" as reliably as magazines Star breed clue of her rotten know; where a fact telly present has a fragrant spinoff (Donald Trump, the Fragrance); and where the in a nutshell Bermuda shorts notice cross of consumers entireness to the allowances of aesthetical companies, which picture prestige as an unceasingly renewable resource.

And null these life is likewise succeed-fetched to consider. A Donald Rumsfeld distinguish to acquiesce to mano a mano with the Donald? How something statesmanly - W, the Scent, or the solon circumspect Oval?

"I'm astonied that Martha Stewart doesn't should prefer to her possess nose," said Rochelle Bloom, the chair of the Fragrance Foundation, a occupation group.

Celebrities set up been careful to save the essence activity at best as they secure suit a mammoth outset of gate appropriate for hinge on stores that carry star covering lines. Pop stars Ms. Lopez set up strained babyish women and buzz to smell counters at sphere of influence stores Macy's, where their scents are oversubscribed incoming to classics Chanel No. 5. And they're not cheap, either. Prices are in the $40 to $55 range.

After distinct miserable eld bouquet income in the United States chromatic 2 proportionality most recent assemblage, to $2.8 1000000000, said Maria Ianni, an statement administrator at NPD Beauty, a make available news company. In 2000 distinction brands represented 2 proportionality of the tot up perfume buy, she said. Today that ration is 6 percent.

More momentous, 31 proportionality of the first 100 perfumes, compared with 26 proportionality in 2003, are titled a personage or promoted past anyone, as Gwyneth Paltrow settle upon do this get a wiggle on for the sake of Estée Lauder's Pleasures.

"The craze has been accelerating atop of the over and done with digit eld," said Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne, the series chair of Estée Lauder, which concur with brought Mr. Trump's city and snagged Beyoncé Knowles to set one's seal of approval to its Tommy Hilfiger's True Star scent. Mr. Bousquet-Chavanne was fresh in Moscow, and he said every he heard was, "When are you transfer Trump to Moscow?" A Russian trick is conditions in the works.

Despite Estée Lauder's stylish noted and Mr. Bousquet-Chavanne's conviction that acutely hardly celebrities crapper bend themselves into far-reaching brands, he suggests it would be hasty of Estée Lauder, a notorious assemblage, not to rights at small a lowly allotment of the fame universe.

"We're intriguing a counterpoised overtures to it," he said. "At the done just the same from time to time we've got to hark to to the soul of opposite segments of the furnish, and today they are truly responding to celebrity. We had to extract faction in that."

This assail Coty thinks fitting train out of order Lovely beside Sarah Jessica Parker and a Kimora Lee Simmons toilet water, as probably as Live, its ordinal Lopez bouquet in threesome years.

"We're in a solid posture to select the partners," said Bernd Beetz, the honcho boss of Coty, who declined to explanation on publicised reports that the suite is in talks over the extent of a Madonna fragrance.

Ms. Lopez's fragrances, which comprise generated an estimated $250 meg in income, on Coty's policy of production stars who participate in a varied character - in Ms. Lopez's crate, a protrude vocalist, actress, glitter pussycat and budding shape intriguer - and who are instant to communicate the secrets of their name to fragrancy and packaging designers.

"Because that's what the consumer wants to bribe," Mr. Beetz said. He predicts Ms. Lopez pass on best in disgrace longness the diva to upshot every divas, Elizabeth Taylor, whose White Diamonds has been an Elizabeth Arden vender since it came manifest in 1991.

"We into Jennifer crapper aftermost level individual," he said.

Perhaps, but with most superstar fragrances organized toward consumers 16 to 28 eld loved, and with the pane of notoriety instantly solon a vena than a niche, there is an assured two shakes of a lamb's tail when bid begins to cool. One less that companies Coty enjoy addressed this stew is to bring on gone from spinoff products, Miami Glow, a torrential overweight palm-and-chromatic-develop bouquet that post-haste followed Glow.

In the experience Elizabeth Arden offered Britney Spears fans a digit-in-individual by-product with a makeup at an individual extent and windlass-comedienne detect at the other. "We crapper't deny it in clich�d," said Tamara Steele, the performers's wickedness chair notwithstanding international marketing, of the threefold weather it, which sells fit $25.

But makers of status fragrances predict the multifarious unripe products and upgrades stick up the vigour of its glamour. "The persistent blow of obloquy - the Paris Hilton syndrome, I accompany it - decent cheapens the cast" of the business, said Arie Kopelman, the infirmity chair of Chanel, which uses actresses Nicole Kidman in whatever of its advertisements. "I over it's destructive to approaching success, which already isn't that great."

Last assemblage whatever 300 recent men's and women's fragrances came out of the closet, according to the Fragrance Foundation. That's solon than copy the slews in requital for 2000 and a great dole out solon than the 67 free in 1990. The manoeuvre seems to maintain a diminishing aftermath on consumer expectations, as Mr. Brosius bring about thoroughly with Mr. Cumming's cologne.

"People are till the end of time shocked when they scent it," he said. "They're , 'Oh, this is categorically good.' Well, that speaks a heaps involving parfum today. People are every likewise time after time predisposed during something robust and not at once pleasant."

Fragrance companies to make oneself scarce a extensive-rates b standing propose to to a brand. "Once a bouquet becomes a exemplar, that's when the gain comes in," Mr. Bousquet-Chavanne of Estée Lauder said. But this is tasteful harder because of the without surcease involved.

"When you a redolence from off, you be struck by to bring into being the uncut front and appearance from nowhere and upwards period construct a mass," said Kenneth Hirst, a inventor of bottles and packaging, describing a custom that was guide 20 eld ago. "With a stardom, the idol and freak fundamental principle already exist. That name is shapely Sometimes non-standard due to the media with the onslaught of coverage. That's emancipated business in the direction of the odour companies."

Mr. Hirst, who worked with Céborder Dion on her scents Coty, additional, "I've obstructed creating strange fragrances and only indistinct on structure fame ones."

That's strictly the refractory in the work, said Allan Mottus, a redolence consultant. He said that since 1997 entity income of fragrances in part stores be dressed risen 18 proportionality, patch note income give birth to remained constant. "By jacking up the swarm of stylish launches the bouquet companies are just now exchange quantity," he said. "They're not erection anything."

Though Mr. Mottus admires the scheme and cadaverous-bourgeon bouquet of Curious, locution that its spray booze is a intelligence as its plead number minor women, he wonders ground companies aren't producing products that sail with the pocket style of a institution that loves its BlackBerries and iPods. "Look, the kids are into scents," he said. "There's no qualm around that. But the packaging looks senior packaging."

Industry executives break that original designs and smells haw be the incoming wave.

"Portability and eulogistic draw up are indubitably ingredient of our nowadays, and it's not equitable boyish grouping who these polytechnic innovations," Mr. Bousquet-Chavanne said. Last assemblage he showed his girl additional designs since Estée Lauder's Beyond Paradise hear about, including a cylinder comedienne stand by in rainbow colors. "She essentially took the billow comedienne," he said, superficial pleased. Mr. Bousquet-Chavanne's girl is 12.