The economy today has had an effect on retail sales across the board. Even celebrity fragrances have been hit with tough times.  Oh the inhumanity! *snicker*

Just two years ago, Forbes reported that according to Euromonitor International, (a Chicago-based market research firm) sales  totaled $353.6 million for the top seven celeb fragrances. Geez! No wonder why so many stars have their own scents.

This year however, overall sales are down 10%. Yep, the celebrity fragrance market is just not as hot as it used to be. Perhaps people just can’t afford it. Or maybe people are wising up to the fact that celebrity fragrances are just plain silly and embarrassing to wear? Could that be the culprit?

The celebrity fragrance market unlike other fragrances are way more fickle. If a celeb was caught in a scandal and their career turned lukewarm in the public eye, it can put a big damper on the popularity of the scent. Because that’s just how silly people are. Ridiculous but true.

So which celeb’s scents are currently top sellers?
Well, P Diddy, or Sean Puffy Combs, or Sean John, or Sean Combs, or just plain Diddy (wish he would make up his freakin’ mind) had a best seller with Unforgivable  that brought in brought a whopping $74.9 million in the past. And Britney’s scents are still selling VERY well and defying all odds even with the recent slump of other celebs fragrances. Maybe Diddy’s and Britney’s stuff just smells better?

The NY Daily News reported:

Fragrance peddler Parlux France relies heavily on its celebrity branded scents and has taken a hit for it. The company produces Queen Latifah’s Queen, Jessica Simpson’s  Fancy and Fancy Love, Andy Roddick’s Andy Roddick and all of Paris Hilton’s many fragrances (Paris Hilton, Paris Hilton for Men, Heir, Heiress, Just Me, Can Can, Fairy Dust and Siren).

The company lost $4.3 million last year and $2.5 in the second quarter of this year alone.
While the prestige fragrance market as a whole is down 10% from last year, Britney Spears is one celeb who appears to be bucking the odds.

Sales of her fragrances – Fantasy Britney Spears, Britney Spears Believe, Curious Britney Spears and Curious in Control Britney Spears – rose 13% in the June quarter. Elizabeth Arden, the company behind the ageing pop tart’s perfumes, just brought out Circus Fantasy, named after her latest tour and album. Then again, she’s global.

“More than half of the sales of Britney brands were sold of outside of North America,” said an Arden company spokesman.
Also doing well are classics like Chanel’s Coco, Mademoiselle and No. 5 and Dolce and Gabbana’s Light Blue. But it remains to be seen how Forever Mariah Carey, Derek Jeter Driven Black or Sara Jessica Parker’s Lovely will fare in recessionary times.

So even if the scent is sold globally and has a huge advantage over others, it still seems more important if the star selling the perfume is currently a hot commodity. Perhaps Paris Hilton’s perfumes have taken a nose dive due to her failing popularity. I think people are just sick to death of her. I know I am.

Mariah Carey’s ” Forever”is due to hit this September because she has a new album coming out. She also has a movie coming out this November. Anyone remember her movie *cough* Glitter?  Only time will tell how long ”Forever” will be around.

With over 100 fragrances coming out each year both from stars and regular companies, the market has become flooded. The competition has become fierce for celebs to have their scent be the next big hit. So many celebs in the music industry are scheduling their fragrances to coincide with their CD releases. This can be a risky move if the album totally bombs, because then the fragrance becomes a reminder of that failed album and then in turn becomes an embarrassment to wear to most.

Some celebs fragrances have stayed around for a while, like Sarah Jessica Parker’s Lovely and Covet .  Covet debuted two years ago when her Sex In The City Movie was released. Perhaps Sex in the City’s popularity has kept it’s ratings up? (the perfume that is)

I am sorry, I just think the whole celebrity fragrance thing is so cheesy. What’s next celebrity scented candles?

Especially for the fact that these fragrances’ popularity stem from whether or not the star is hot or not. If you find a fragrance you like and it was put out by a star that everyone now thinks is washed up or has failed in the popularity poles… would you stop wearing their fragrance even if you liked it? Would you be embarrassed to say,  “oh yes I still wear Clay Aiken’s Evening In The Stable” *snicker*
But this is exactly what happens.

I am not a big fan of perfume to begin with. I can’t tell you how many times someone has walked by me and I literally choked from whatever perfume that took a bath in before they stepped out their door. Some people slather it on so heavy, that their perfume arrives before they do and stays long after they’re gone. Thank God Poison is no longer popular. That stuff used to literally kill me. It was appropriately named.

One time I actually had to change my seat on an airplane due to the women sitting next to me. She must have dumped an entire bottle of Woah! Do I Stink! all over herself. I got an immediate headache, my throat was closing up, and I couldn’t even breath. I say wearing heavy perfume should be banned on airplanes. And that goes double for any of my gal OR guy pals who want to climb in my car. Whatever happened to the oh so silly move of spraying the room and then walking into it? *snicker*

Ok, enough of my drama on perfume.
Except I have to say that I would never buy something based on a star’s popularity and I have never bought a celebrity fragrance.
I have been wearing Alyssa Ashley Musk by Houbigant for ever. It’s less than $30.00 for a good sized bottle and I have received mega compliments on it over the years. It’s all I wear AND I am proud to wear it. I am just not caught up in the whole perfume mania. You will never hear me say “oh I am wearing The Beckhams Intimately Line” (you would actually have to pay ME to wear it)  Their promo picture alone is beyond pretentious.

Look How Sexy We Are!

Speaking of which, I wonder why Beckham’s  BFF Tom Cruise hasn’t come out with an entire line of Scientology cult scents yet? I am sure he would be able to talk Scientology cult members into buying Galactic Spice, or how about KSW Cologne (their acronym for Keeping Scientology Working), OT Orchard  for the gals or perhaps a line of body splashes like Body Thetan Splash. Oh I can go on forever, the possibilites are endless.

Of course Cruise would never use those particular names because….what is the first rule about Scientology? Don’t talk about Scientology.
So maybe he would have to kick it old school and name it something like Risky Business. After all, the name Risky Business does describe any company investing in any new movie projects with Cruise now. Oh snap!
But at the very least, we all know he would be the authority on fragrances. *tee hee*

Awesome! Got My First Order!

Aaaaanyways….
If you are going to buy celebrity fragrances in the first place, than you should buy it because you like it. Don’t be like all the other sheeple who buy what’s popular because the celebrity had another hit movie or a CD release. Because if this is the way you think, then that sixty clams you once plunked down for Jaylo’s Glow *snicker* has surely been wasted. Unless you want to lie about what your wearing. Yes some people are that ridiculous.

One fragrance that has stood the test of time is the hilarious Elizabeth Taylor’s White Diamonds (of course with the much older crowd)

Sorry Liz, no dis intended, but White Diamonds always reminds me of a friend of mine whose husband bought her White Diamonds for Christmas. She hated it, but didn’t want to hurt his feelings so she acted appreciative. She left the bottle in plain site unopened, hoping he would get the hint that she never used it. But the following Christmas she received yet another bottle. We laughed are asses off. Men!

Perfume’s popularity has gone through many changes over the years. Sure the old standards like Channel No. 5 are here to stay. But the classics are a breed all their own, and cost a lot more to boot. I think celebrity fragrances have their own little group.

bellasugar posted The Top Ten Fragrances that You Loved or (Hated) in Jr High School.
 Which was a blast from the past.
They listed Jean Nate, Charlie, The Body Shop Perfume Oil, Heaven, Electric Youth,The Entire Roster of Designer Imposters, Sunflowers, Exclamation, Ck One, and Love’s Baby Soft.

The most popular fragrance when I was in school, was Patchouli Oil. And yes I wore it for quite a while, and I stil like it, but I haven’t worn it since then. So I guess I am guilty of changing fragrances for the changing times. (I also don’t want my car searched if I am pulled over) *snicker*

I also remember using  “Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific” shampoo, which was so fragrant, it killed two birds with one stone. Sure wish I can find some of that stuff today just to smell it once again.

There were plenty of fragrances that used to be popular way back when. (including the guys stuff)
Some biggies were English Leather, Old Spice, Aqua Velva After Shave, Tabu, Tigress, Shalimar, L’Eur Du Temps, Windsong, O’ de London, Rive Gauche, and the infamous Evening in Paris, just to name a VERY few.

Whoops! Almost forgot Hai Karate After Shave!
Who can forget their commericals of girls going wild?

Today it has been replaced with the more updated AXE which uses the same girls gone wild idea for their AXE “you have been warned” commercials. YouTube has many parodies of their commercials, but one of my all time favorite fragrance parodies was for a pseudo cologne, called Douche Cologne. Click here and giggle. (it’s a tad racy in one part, so if you are easily offended, you may want to pass)

It’s any one’s guess which celebrity fragrance is going to be the next big seller and if it has any staying power in today’s economy and the fickleness of the market. With over 100 fragrances coming out each year world wide, the market has become flooded. The competition has become very fierce to have that next big hit.

I am surprised others in the music industry haven’t come out with their own fragrances. Doesn’t seem to be any rocker’s fragrances . The Stone’s Brown Sugar would be a no brainer, and I am sure with all the Beatles flap lately, if they were to come out with a fragrance it just may work. It would probably have hints of Apple *tee hee*

OR how about for the younger crowd? Perhaps Green Day Garden or Blink 182 Bouquet would sell? Probably not. The target audience is not the same. But you never know. Hey I want 10% if I see any of these on the market!

Even other celebs like Donald (ick) Trump and Simon (ick) Cowell jumped on the fragrance band wagon. I guess they needed the cash?
Wonder how Donald Trump’s stuff is selling? Maybe it’s selling better than his Trump Water?

Who would ever admit to wearing Trump or Cowell’s stuff anyways?
Or maybe your more of an Antonio Banderas fan? Look he even has his hand extended on the display, as if to say (in Antonios’s accent of course) “Come… come… take a whiff of sexy” *snicker*  

Speaking of celeb fragrances that people may be (or should be) embarrased to wear…
How about Britney Spears new Circus Fantasy?

Some how the name Circus Fantasy doesn’t sound appealing to me. I know it is a reference to Britney’s album and tour, but Circus Fantasy? Really? Has Elizabeth Arden lost their damn minds?

Even the packaging looks tacky. Looks like it comes with candy circus peanuts (the worst candy ever). And at $55.00 a pop, it should come with popcorn or a candy apple at the very least.

Sorry, but a perfume with the word circus in it, reminds me of  clowns and something that would smell like elephant poop stuck to a clown’s shoe and cotton candy all in one. Others may be reminded of a sexy trapeze artist, or perhaps a day at the circus with their family? Or dancing circus dogs in little hats and tutus? Ummm…. again, I just dont’ get it.

But hey, maybe she will be laughing all the way to the bank with this one. After all her fragrance Curious was a best seller in celebrity fragrance world.

For me, the word circus makes my mind go right back to the image of CLOWNS. Scary freakin’ clowns.
And clowns have always freaked me out! *shudder*

And that of course begs the question:  Does anyone truly care?

Rumors are flying hot and heavy that Mariah’s little fantasy land will soon have a new occupant:

Spies in LA saw the songbird [...] coming out of a well-known ob/gyn’s office on North Crescent Boulevard, “clutching what looked like a sonogram and being greeted by her entourage with cheers. She was ebullient.” It was the same type of paper that Minnie Driver was holding when she found out she was pregnant at the same doctor’s office.

Mariah has, of late, said that she totally wants to be knocked up:

The Hero singer said: “It’s (having children) part of the whole purpose of getting married.

“I’d just want our children to have the best childhood and upbringing they possibly could.”

And it is at this point where I remind people of probably one of the most insane things I’ve ever heard a star say (and remember, I’ve written about Britney Spears):

“It’s hard to have kids in this world,” she told OK! magazine. “I don’t think I could properly educate a child right now. Maybe in the future, but I actually haven’t thought about it.

“For now, I enjoy my dog Jack’s company. It’s definitely because of childhood traumatic stuff. The whole not wanting to have a baby as a baby.

“I never wanted to feel violated and I know that’s a kind of weird thing to say, but that’s how I am.” [emphasis mine]

Now, let’s look at the dates of those two statements, the first of which was one of the first times she actually came out in public and said she wanted kids:

• She made her “I’d feel violated if a fetus shared my body” statement in late April 2008.
• She got married on April 30, 2008.
• She made her “Oh wait, I want to be a baby mama after all” statement in early May 2008.

Seriously, like two weeks apart.  Right in the middle of that, she got married to a man she’d dated for only six weeks.  Yes, she’d known him for a few years, but I knew a lot of guys for years that I didn’t suddenly get married to.

But here’s my question…does she realize that babies like to play with toys?  She might have to share some of her stuff with the alleged child.  She’d better put a lock on that Hello Kitty bathroom (if she already hasn’t…she probably had ten kinds of fits thinking about poor Nick Cannon totally laying a log in there).  Oh yeah, and they do things like poop on your white carpets and throw food all over your expensive kitchen.  Did anyone tell her about the stretch marks?

Somebody should also tell her that all attention in the room goes to the smallest, cutest, most helpless thing…which is usually either a baby or a kitten, depending on which entered the room last.

Note to Mimi:  Babies are not for photo ops, sound bites, or to further what is left of your so-called career.

“In love witchu”?  Don’t try so hard, you’ll hurt yourself.

Mariah Carey’s new video has come out, and it looks and sounds like pretty much every other Mariah Carey song that has come out.  It starts off soft and ends up with Mariah screaming and showing off her vocal range while dancing around and touching her heaving bosoms.  Yeah, we get it, you can hit the high notes…and by the way, thanks for ruining millions of talent shows all across the world as entirely too many pimple-faced wannabees who stopped vocal lessons after the “project your voice” class try to be you.

Plus, this video is nothing more than an almost four-minute commercial for Mariah’s perfume.  The logo is on the wall behind her as she dances as well as on her boot (which you see in the first few seconds), and just in case we missed the total subtlety of it all, she is seen applying the scent to her cleavage in the first fifteen seconds.  Because “subtle” is Mariah’s middle name.

And just in case all that wasn’t enough, not only is Mariah trying too hard to be Mimi From The Block, but her song features such soul-stirring lyrics as these:

It cuts so deep
It hurts down to my soul
My friends tell me
I ain’t the same no mo’…

Oh, wait…that’s totally different.  I can see now what the fuss is about.  I’m framing those lyrics and hanging them on my wall.  I need such inspirational thoughts to help get me through my day.  Because, after all, I have to suffer through life without a Hello Kitty bathroom.  The agony!

Girlfriend is going to get whiplash if she keeps turning around this fast.  A few weeks ago, Mariah Carey declared that she would feel “violated” if she became pregnant, but now says that she’d love to have a little bun in the oven:

The Hero singer said: “It’s (having children) part of the whole purpose of getting married.

“I’d just want our children to have the best childhood and upbringing they possibly could.”

The pair expressed their love for one another in the most modern of romantic gestures, by getting tattooed:

Speaking for the first time about their speedy marriage to American magazine People, Mariah revealed she had got a ‘Mrs Cannon’ tattoo before the nuptials, with Nick getting a simple ‘Mariah’ etching.

He proposed to her in a surprisingly fitting manner for her personality…by using a kiddie candy ring (which was actually kind of cute, imo):

Nick proposed to Mariah on April 26 on the roof of her Manhattan apartment as they watched a lighting display on the Empire State Building to celebrate the success of her new album E=MC2.

He surprised Mariah by presenting her with a kids’ ring pop candy ring, which had a £1.25million, 17 carat diamond ring hidden inside the plastic casing.

Nick said: “She ran away and got all shy.”

During a helicopter ride over the city later that night, Nick proposed again and Mariah finally accepted.

And by the way, those rumors that she didn’t have a prenup?  Rubbish, according to her:

Mariah apparently told a mutual pal of ours: “Anyone who thinks we didn’t have a prenup is smoking something!”

Hmm.  Quickie wedding, sudden u-turn on having kids?  I think she’s in the club.

Don’t you just love that “Oh my goodness, how embarrassing to be caught out, let me put my hand with the enormous ring on it up to my face in an attempt to look properly shy” look she’s rocking in the photo?  Nick just looks…shellshocked.  He’s got to learn how to work it like Mimi if he’s gonna roll with her.  She’s gonna go home and beat him with one of her zillions of shoes for screwing up her photo op.

Placing bets on how long this lasts?  Either way, Nick Cannon is set for life.  (I still wonder if she lets him use the Hello Kitty bathroom!)  I hope he gets used to catering to her every whim, however…there’s no way she’d ever let anyone upstage her.

And get this…she done went and got hitched without a prenup, to a man eleven years younger than she is.  Yes, reports are that Mariah and Nick Cannon got married yesterday, and nobody even saw it coming:

Carey married TV actor Nick Cannon at the home she just bought in Eleuthera in the Bahamas, a source close to the singer said.

“They have been smitten with each other for days, weeks,” the friend said. “And she’s always had a crush on him.”

And about that absent prenup thing?  Apparently, they were in too much of a rush to get married to worry about it:

“Everyone is happy to see her happy,” Carey’s friend told The Post. “And it could work out – some people know each other for five years and get divorced. Maybe this is true, instant love.”

Not everyone is so over the moon.

“There was no prenup – there wasn’t time,” said another worried source.

You’d think that someone who has been around the business as long as Mariah has (and with one divorce already under her belt) would know better than to get married without a prenuptial agreement.  If they were able to keep things under wraps so well thus far, then what was the big rush?  I might say it’s the tried-and-true reason that most people rush weddings (that Cannon shot her full of lead, if you get my drift), but everybody knows that she’d feel too “violated” to get pregnant.   And we wouldn’t want to steal the spotlight from Mariah, would we?  Stock up on those Trojans now, Nick!

I don’t care about the age difference thing, but for someone as wealthy as Mariah to marry without a prenup is pretty foolish.  She’s been through this once…she should know that sometimes it isn’t always “true love”.

Well, I hope Nick can learn to sleep in a room where there are twenty humidifiers surrounding the bed.  That is, when he isn’t lining her path with scented candles and a red carpet.  Wonder if she’ll let him use the Hello Kitty bathroom?

Good luck, buddy…you’re gonna need it.

I’m going to be honest with you and tell you that I have no idea what she is talking about, but apparently one of the reasons Mariah Carey won’t have kids is because she would feel “violated“:

So staff may be breathing a sigh of relief that pop princess Mariah Carey says she doesn’t want to have any kids in the foreseeable future.

Perhaps there is just not enough room in the world for two Miss Careys.

But in a somewhat bizarre explanation, the singer has claimed that having children would leave her feeling ‘violated’.

“It’s hard to have kids in this world,” she told OK! magazine. “I don’t think I could properly educate a child right now. Maybe in the future, but I actually haven’t thought about it.

“For now, I enjoy my dog Jack’s company. It’s definitely because of childhood traumatic stuff. The whole not wanting to have a baby as a baby.

“I never wanted to feel violated and I know that’s a kind of weird thing to say, but that’s how I am.”

Well, hmm. I’ve heard rape victims saying they feel violated, and I’ve heard people who have been victims of a burglary say they feel violated, and I’ve heard victims of a violent crime say they feel violated, but I’ve never heard anyone compare having a baby to feeling violated.

I mean, when you feel violated, it is a feeling that someone has come in and invaded and defiled your most sacred personal space. So Mariah is saying that a baby would invade her body, and defile her sacred personal body space? Having a baby is a scary proposition, but is it a violation or fear? I agree that stretch marks and cellulite and morning sickness suck; but is it a violation, or just vanity?

I agree that having kids in this world today is a hard job. It’s a 24/7/365 commitment, and when you have those kids, it’s for life. And I agree that if you are used to being a “baby” yourself, having a baby probably isn’t the smartest decision you could make. Babies require bucketloads of attention, and quite honestly, some people (even non-famous, everyday people) just can’t handle having the spotlight taken from them and shined on a little infant who can’t even control its bowels.

So it’s probably good that Miss Mariah feels she isn’t ready for kids. Unfortunately, far too many people only discover that fact after it’s too late and the kid is already here.

But wait, there’s more…

 

Earlier today I wrote a piece on Mariah Carey’s interview with Glamour magazine, where she opened up about her life, her music, and her huge, 12,000 square foot home (complete with a 3,000 square foot closet for clothing, but not lingerie…that is a different closet, you see).  I wondered, at the time, why Mariah would choose to open up her life to the cameras now.  I know she has an album coming out, but that couldn’t be the only reason.  After all, she’s had other albums released.

Then, I was scrolling through Perez Hilton and came across this little blurb:

Felicidades, Mami!

Mexican pop star, actress and entrepreneur Thalia and her husband, music mogul Tommy Mottola, welcomed their first child on Sunday, PerezHilton.com has learned.

The girl, named Sabrina, weighed in at a very healthy 8 lbs 4 ozs and came into this world after a trying 20 hours in labor.

Mother and daughter are resting comfortably.

I was another couple of articles down the page before it clicked.  Wait…Tommy Mottola is the ex-husband of Mariah Carey.  He and his wife just had a baby, and he seems to be thrilled at the new addition:

“Mother, father and baby Sabrina are all healthy and very happy and will be residing at their ranch in Colorado,” the singer’s rep said in a statement. [...]

Asked for Mottola’s opinion about expanding the family, Thalía, 35, told PEOPLE EN ESPAÑOL that her husband, 58, has wanted to have kids together for years.

“If it had been up to Tommy, I would have had children from the first day we married. I would already have three or four,” she said.

Mariah, on the other hand, claims that she is in no hurry to have children, despite being thirty-seven years old:

The Grammy-winning singer also says she’s not in any rush to have children. “What I want is to have children in a good way, with the right husband, with the right family life.”

Asked if that means she’d only have children if she were married, “I think so,” she says. “But who knows? Five years from now I might get hysterical and say, ‘I have to have kids!’ But I don’t think so.”

And she admits that she’s never been in love:

“With a human being I don’t know, but definitely with a pet. [Laughs.] I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a relationship of the caliber I write about in my love songs.”

Timing is everything.  The week before ex-husband Tommy (with whom Mariah never had children and whom she divorced after four years of marriage) and his wife had their baby, an interview with Mariah is published in which her lavish lifestyle and luxurious home are splashed across the glossy pages of a magazine.

It beggars the question:  Is Mimi trying too hard?

Now, this is just my opinion, but it appears that M is attempting to justify her extravagant lifestyle and home to herself, if to nobody else.  It just screams, “Look at me….I am a success!  Look at my expensive furniture, look at my beautiful chandeliers and fixtures, look at my opulent lifestyle, look at my humongous closet filled with shoes and clothing and accessories that I never wear, look at me….all of this makes me a success!”  And in the meantime, her ex and his new wife are making beautiful babies together and are, by all accounts, very happy.

Is living well truly the best revenge?  I guess it depends on your definition of “living well”.  Suddenly, the Glamour interview makes perfect sense.  I’m not sayin’, I’m just sayin’.

 

Okay…I’ve let this go long enough.  I was going to write about this the other day, but I just couldn’t believe it was real.  Surely someone was exaggerating.  But no…it does appear that this story is true.

Mariah Carey is a self-important beeyatch with no brains and lots of money.

I could post a pic and end the article right there and go away happy, but I think I’ll expand a bit on that thought.  I mean, this is already general knowledge, right?  And I am not here to post stuff that is general knowledge.

Mariah gave an interview in Glamour in which she states, among other things, that she doesn’t know how many bathrooms she has in her 12,000 square-foot triplex in NYC’s Tribeca district:

“I don’t………”

WAIT a minute.  Stop the quote.  I think my eyeballs just had a hemorrhage.  12,000 square feet?  She lives in a triplex that has a square footage of 12,000 square feet?  WTF?  It’s HER.  No kids, no husband, HER.  Maybe some pets.  But I’m positive we aren’t talking about elephants here.  Or maybe we could be…it IS Mimi, after all.

“I don’t know! Do you really want me to try and think about it?” she says in the new issue of Glamour magazine.

The 37-year-old singer has an entire bathroom dedicated to Hello Kitty. “I’ve liked Hello Kitty since I was little,” she says.

She has a 3,000-square-foot closet and a separate closet just for lingerie.

WAIT.

But wait, there’s more…