From Marketwatch via The Youngstown Vindicator January 22 2007.
They may be called Eternity, Addict and Obsession, but fragrances, and their makers, are struggling to captivate an increasing fickle customer.
Blame it on the unquenchable thirst for novelty and a shrinking attention span, but while consumers were once loyal to a scent for years, most now own a half a dozen(or a couple hundred) different fragrances, dabbing a drop of one or the other to suit a mood, an outfit or season.
That's put cosmetic firms on the back foot, forcing them to innovate, repackage and promote many scents each year than they marketed even a decade ago. The trend to repackage & tweek fragrances is something that irks me. I spent a good 15 minutes trying to tell the difference with all the versions of Stella McCartney. I will never get those minutes back!
Of course, there are exceptions, like Estee Lauder's So Beautiful (This juice is so damn pretty) and the Prada Amber(If you can find it!).
Paris based L'Oreal, the world's No 1 cosmetic group known for its Lancome and Carcharel lines said in October that lackluster third-quarter U.S sales were partly due to a loss of sales momentum by fragrances. Please whatever you do...do not take Mille & Une Roses away. This is the best fragrance you have. It needs to be promoted and cherished. Why did I have to read this? Now I am scared and feel like hoarding bottles.
Meanwhile, at department stores cosmetic counters, the gloves are off. crap
With limited edition, extravagant bottles and vials, and celebrity endorsements When will this madness end?, the beauty giants are sparing no expense to set their latest liquids apart from their rivals. They are also trying to rip each other off or come out with their very own version of Angel.
As Estee Lauder, which owns more than 100 fragrances and uses Gwyneth Paltrow as its ambassador said in its most recent report: "A scent is never just a scent. It's an image, an aspiration, a mood, a statement." I love Lauder.
Still, the market's ruthless, and a weak debut can spell a speedy exit from the shelves. I wonder who will get kick to the curb?
What would you like to see at your local perfume counter?
What are you looking for in a fragrance?
photo: Blogdorf Goodman
posted by Annieytown @ 8:22 PM
12 Inspired Comments
12 Inspired Comments:
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I am getting a lot of strange spam. Is anyone else?
My HG perfume is Oui-Non by Kookai. I received a bottle at christmas 1993 and fell in love with it.
Naturally it is now discontinued :(
FOr me it is a rich and lively fragrance that always make me feel special.
And I've only got 2 small sample sizes of it left after I found them last year... still smells just as i remember...
(Since i'm awful as discribing perfumes... scentdirect.com says:
TOP
Bergamot oil, Green Note, Peach, Pineapple, Plum, Violet,
MIDDLE
Damascene Rose, Heliotrope, Jasmin, Lily of the Valley, Orris,
BASE
Amber, Cedar, Musk, Vanilla,
I'm looking for a timeless quality. A fragrance that never goes out of style, because it just that good. Perfumes that follow trends seem to die when the trend dies. I want infinite elegance and femininity. Above all, I don't want a trendy, hot-right-now, teeny-bopper, fruity, pink fragrance.
Great photo of part of your collection. The tops of the frags. make a really interesting viewpoint.
I look for a frag, that simply makes me swoon, or just makes me want to sniff and sniff it. the most swoon worthy( and expensive, therfore I sparingly use my large samples) to me is Nuit D'Amour by Guerlain.
I too,love Mille et une rose, and they can't stop making it till I actaully have some.
PS Have shout out to you on my blog today.
My signature has always been Chanel 22 - it figures I would have to fall in love with a Chanel fragrance that's almost never stocked. :)
But this year I am seeking out some of the richer, deeper romantics - sometimes florals, sometimes muskier/earthier scents. I'm definitely one of those girls who matches fragrance to my mood.
This past year, I've really been loving Valentino's "V", Gaultier Classique ... and even B&BW's Sensual Amber, and Body Shop's Cassis Rose.
I like ones that when I smell it makes me happy. I usually tend to go with the floral scents...
I'm a fickle one. I use scents to make me feel a certain way. Or to remind me of an event, time or place. It all depends on my mood that moment. And how much of a headache I have.
I've loved classic chypres since I first wore Cachet many, many years ago. They are still my favorites. My beloved Deneuve is also a chypre!
txteva: That sounds very lovely. I love plum notes.
Flor: You said it prefectly.
anjali: I know!!!! I will hoard and hit every Lancome counter in northeast Ohio.
Dartz: I am all about swooning.
There are so many Guerlains that slay me. I want them all.
I will check out the shout out tomorrow morning! Thanks D!
Barbara: That B&BW Amber is pretty nice. I have been fighting liking it because I was so loyal to their other amber scent that had the tea note. I was addicted to that one. It killed me when they discontinued it. I grabbed what I could.
Dinah: I also go for comforting scents. POTL makes life less hectic and stressful.
I think I am going to wear it tomorrow.
Emily: You are not fickle. You just love and appreciate many scents. Thats a great thing!
Hi P: I was thinking that they need to make a great chypre again. I love my Jolie Madame.
I've been getting quite a bit of weird spam, too. No idea what's up with that. And some of the emails people are sending me are also on the wrong side of things.
As for fragrance- I want deep, interesting perfumes, concentrated and long lasting. In small bottles. Part of the marketing strategy seems to be supersizing. I don't want that. I'm buying so many bottles every year and will never be able to use a 3.4 oz bottle. Then again, I hardly ever buy my perfumes at Macy's. None of us is the average target audience, which is probably why we so often find ourselves desperately seeking a discontinued item.
What am I looking for in a fragrance??? Talk about a loaded question! LOL!
I want everything! But it's not possible for me to find that in one perfume, so I will never have one "signature" fragrance. I love variety, but *not* a billion variations on a theme. I wish they'd spend more on developing unique scents and less on marketing and celeb endorsements.
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