Why no one wants to smell like a celebrity any more
For the past few years, the big fragrance houses have relied on celebrity scents to bring in the cash. And it’s worked. Back in May 2013, women’s fragrance sales had grown by around 5 per cent, year-on-year, but the celebrity fragrance market had grown by more than 14 per cent in the same period.
Little wonder, then, that the likes of coty and Elizabeth Arden were happy to churn out scents on behalf of Beyonce, Britney Spears, Sarah Jessica Parker and pretty much anyone else, from one direction to david Beckham.
But something’s begun to smell a bit off. in May this year, it was reported that sales of coty fragrances, which include Beyonce’s and Lady gaga’s, had fallen by 4 per cent — the seventh consecutive quarterly fall.
And just last week it was announced that beauty giant revlon is buying Elizabeth Arden, the company that makes scents for Taylor Swift, Britney Spears and Justin Bieber, which has posted losses of more than £270 million in the past two years.
Perhaps it’s not surprising when you take a look at what’s going on in department stores across the country.
Walk behind the usual perfume counters plastered with offerings from megabrands, and you’ll find another world of perfume entirely.
Here are brands you’ve probably never heard of that were once stocked only in independent perfume boutiques — names such as illuminum, Le Labo, Etat Libre d’orange.
These artisan, or niche, perfumers aren’t driven by a commercial imperative to create a scent that has mass appeal, and instead tend to produce complex fragrances that evolve over time, and polarise opinion — you either love them or hate them. THEY don’t produce millions of bottles as the big conglomerates do, and while they may well be more expensive than the latest offering from rihanna or Hugo Boss, they often contain higher concentrations of ingredients, so last longer.
They’re about as far from the world of celebrity scent as you can get — forget A- list faces on billboards or in glossy magazines, these sorts of perfumes don’t advertise, their popularity grown instead by word of mouth and online blogs.
And there’s clearly a demand for what they’re offering, which explains why department stores are starting to stock them.
According to research from market analysts Mintel, 14 per cent of Brits say they are willing to spend more on unique or hard- to-find scents. And while sales of mass-market fragrances dropped in 2014, sales of fine perfumes actually rose that year, driven, says Mintel, ‘by the rise in niche and artisan fragrances’. As if to underline this, in the same year, Estee Lauder companies acquired two of the biggest names in boutique scents — Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle and Le Labo.
So why are we all suddenly turning up our noses at the big boys?
‘ culture has changed,’ says fragrance expert Michael donovan. ‘in the Eighties and nineties it was about brands, but in the 21st century it’s about celebrating individuality.’
And that presents something of a problem for the big brands, as Lawrence roullier-White, who sells niche fragrances in his East dulwich lifestyle store, explains.
‘Mass-market fragrances can’t afford to take a risk,’ he says. ‘Millions of pounds are ploughed into their marketing and so they have to be very commercial, they can’t experiment in the way that a smaller, independent brand can.’
James craven, of fragrance boutique Les Senteurs, adds that niche perfumers ‘ tend not to work to deadlines but labour on until they have a unique perfume to offer.
‘Their packaging tends to be less showy but the end result is more interesting and engaging.’ And because the smaller fragrance companies aren’t spending on ad campaigns, it means a greater proportion of your cash goes on the actual perfume.
‘it’s about what’s in the bottle rather than on it or outside it,’ says roullier-White.
He also points out that boutique scents tend to evolve over time and last longer.
‘When you go into a department store and you’re sprayed with something, you have to make an instant decision — so these perfumes are designed to give you an immediate hit, they usually don’t get any better than that very first spray,’ he says.
‘But with a boutique fragrance, it changes — i’ll often tell people to go away, have lunch and then come back and make a decision.’
And that’s not the only difference when it comes to buying artisan.
‘Usually when people go into a department store, they know what they’re looking for,’ roullier-White adds. ‘They go to a specific counter and want to try a specific perfume. in a boutique environment, they’re open to suggestions and discoveries.’
So when you walk into Selfridges’s new niche fragrance department, into roja dove’s Haute Parfumerie in Harrods, or an independent perfumery such as London’s Les Senteurs or Burgins Perfumery in York, staff will talk to you about what you like and dislike.
Everything from existing perfumes, genres — such as orientals or florals — or particular notes (rose, sandalwood) will be taken into consideration.
Then staff will start to suggest scents from different brands that you might like.
‘You end up finding the fragrance you never knew you loved,’ says James craven.
in the box on the left are five names to watch within the boutique fragrance business, the new scents to sniff out and where to find them . . .