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 jeans tight enough to show what religion you are need not apply:

She said: “I think guys should wear jeans big and baggy, with a big pair of boots or flip-flops-exactly how you see David when he’s out in his jeans and T-shirt.

“Do not pull them up tight and have your bulge showing. Let it hang!”

The jeans will come out as part of Beckham’s dVb label. She told men’s fashion website DNR: “These are not skinny jeans. They are what I call proper men’s jeans.

“If you are a man that likes really skinny jeans, very fashiony, this isn’t really the line for you. I didn’t want anything too tight around the crotch.

“That really repulses me. It might be fashionable, but you are not going to get that from dVb.”

While she’s at it, she gets in a little dig at people who don’t do their fashionista homework:

Beckham, the creative director of the brand, went on: “I’ve used the best Japanese denim, and I think I’ve created a fit that is very flattering and very comfortable.

“I’m a complete control freak and I want everything to be perfect. I’m not doing a Britney Spears and just putting my name on something and saying, ‘Sell this perfume.’

Ooooh, burn.  I believe homegirl has a case of the OCD.  But she does have a point…if I had my name on something, I’d be sure to know everything about it before I ever let it go out with my signature.  People associate it with you.  I’d definitely want to make sure the product, be it jeans or perfume or microwave popcorn, was top-notch.  Unlike Curious.  So anyway:

The jeans, sourced in Asia and Morocco, will retail from $220 to $285 USD, she said. They are expected to be sol

Wait, what?  These are still jeans, right?  They don’t have diamonds or jewels embedded in them, correct?  They are denim, which is basically cotton twill, right?  They don’t come with motorized zippers or a pocket full of cash?

And people actually pay prices like this?  For jeans?

I think I’ve just met people who annoy me more than Mad Posh.

 

Don’t you know how people are, nobody loves you when you’re down on the floor after you fell off your shoes because they’re stupid and everybody is laughing at you?  (My apologies to John Anderson)

Baby needs a new pair of shoes, but these are evidently for people with more money than brains:

The 5 1/2in creations by Briton Antonio Berardi can hardly be described as high heels, since they lack the most important part – a heel.

For the bargain price of £1,800, the wearer will get to totter around with all her weight balanced on a thickened platform sole.

Unsurprisingly, fashionistas are jostling to buy a pair.

Stars including Gwyneth Paltrow and Uma Thurman invested in a black patent version costing more than £1,100, shortly after they were unveiled in Berardi’s spring/summer collection in Paris.

And Victoria Beckham apparently has a snakeskin pair.

They are going on sale in Browns stores in London, where they have to be ordered up to five weeks in advance.

Lincolnshire-born Berardi, 39, said he was inspired by Latin American music and 1980s post-modernism, adding: “When you walk, it is almost on tiptoe. You look really dainty.”

Uhm, no you don’t.  You look like an idiot.

Maybe this explains the “dainty” appeal of the shoes:

A spokesman for his Paris-based fashion house said: “The shoe has a bigger platform sole which stretches back further than normal and gives support under the arch of the foot.

“When walking though, you have to put your toe rather than your heel down first and you cannot wear them for very long.

“They are not dangerous because you would have to lean quite far back before you fell over.”

A reminder…don’t drink and couture. 

Seriously…$3600 to traipse around on my tippietoes, with my foot bent into a position feet are not meant to be bent into, just for a pair of shoes?  No thanks…I’ll stick to my crocs.  At least my feet don’t hurt and I don’t have bunions the size of ostrich eggs.

Oh yeah…and at least I have a brain and know how to use it to be individual, instead of being a slave to every crazy fashion that clomps down the runway.

We here at GlossLip are not immune to the plethora of lovey-dovey sentiments that rain down on Valentine’s Day (or, as it is more commonly known, The Day Card, Chocolate, And Flower Companies Recoup All Their Losses For The Year Day).  So, we decided to see just which Conversation Hearts our favorite celebs might be receiving this V-Day.

And yes, these are actual sayings off actual Conversation Hearts that I purchased at an actual store and am actually munching on now.  I have sat here and laboriously picked through them, searching for just the right ones, drawing from a bowl purchased specifically for this auspicious occasion.  Oh, the sacrifices I make for my art.

But wait, there’s more…

 

Who?  Oh yeah, that one guy who tells us who dressed horribly the year before.   Anyway, he has decided that Mad Posh, also known as Victoria Beckham, was his official Worst Dressed Celebrity of 2007:

The fashion maven’s 48th Annual Worst Dressed Women List, released Tuesday, placed the Spice Girl at number one, a dishonor that was accompanied by this biting remark: “In one skinny-mini monstrosity after another, pouty Posh can really wreck-em.”

I could have told you that without a press conference.  Glad nobody’s releasing a Worst Pun Used To Describe A Fashionista list.

I have to say, I agree with him.  Rarely have I seen a woman with so much potential to be a beautiful style icon, screw it up so badly on such a consistent basis.  I’d also like to see her favorite fashion accessory, David, on some sort of a list as well.  I’m sorry, but you can just tell these two fight for space in front of the mirror.  Your man shouldn’t look more stylish and put together than you do.

Noticeably absent from the list is Britney Spears, because he believes that she needs to get her life in order before he picks on her bad clothing choices.  Well, at least he has a heart.

But I have to agree with the other women on his list as well.  They are, in order: 

1. Victoria Beckham
2. Amy Winehouse
3. Mary-Kate Olsen
4. Fergie
5. Kelly Clarkson
6. Eva Green
7. Avril Lavigne
8. Jessica Simpson
9. Lindsay Lohan
10. Alison Arngrim

WAIT a second…Alison Arngrim?  Nellie Oleson from Little House On The Prairie?  Uh oh…Mr. Blackwell’s skinny behind is in for it now.  Crazazy bizzle will kick some gay boo-tay for putting her on this list.  I hope he has a well-dressed security guard, because don’t nobody diss Nellie without some hair getting pulled out.

Now THAT’S may-jah.

I was told once to never brag about how great your sex life is or how well-endowed you man is, for someone may come along and covet what you have. I guess no one bothered to let Posh know that. In response to rumors her hubby stuffed for his photo shoot for Emporio Armani, Victoria didn’t just deny those rumors, she offered just a little too much information (at least for my delicate sensibilities).

Contact Music quotes Victoria Beckham on the now infamous Armani photo shoot:

The L.A. Galaxy player lying seductively across a bed, proudly showing off a bulging groin – which fans speculated was computer-altered. But the Spice Girl insists what’s pictured in the pair of white briefs is all his. She says, “I’m proud I still have a really good sex life with David. He is very much in proportion. He does have a huge one, though. He does. You can see it in the advert. It is all his. It is like a tractor exhaust pipe!”

Wow, that’s a classy way of putting it. Any man would be proud to have their wife say he’s laying pipe the old fashioned way. What happened to discretion in the bedroom? Jeebus people, it’s the holidays, can’t we have a little decorum?

Some people just LIKE to make baby Jesus cry.

Assholes.

Did Mad Posh go under the knife and have a certain set of, um, assets downsized?  Or did she just forget her push-up bra at home?

Here is a shot of Mad Posh at the Dancing With The Stars finale:

Another shot:

Here she is at their concert about a week ago:

And here is a picture of the chesticles in all their glory:

Personally, I hope it’s true.  She looked too much like Strumpet Spice Barbie with those half-cantaloupes.  They hang correctly, they look nice.  At least now she looks relatively normal…well, as normal as she can look.

Now if she’d just smile more…

Ever wonder what your favorite celebrity wears for Halloween?  Wonder no more, we here at GlossLip have scoured the world searching for your favorite star trick-or-treater!  See who gets the good candy after the jump!

But wait, there’s more…

Mad Posh done went and got her hair did.  Which look do you like better?

Blonde Posh bob?

Or retro Spice Girls look?

The Daily Mail says it is a wig, but I’m not so sure.  As seen in the above photo, she’s let the Posh Bob grow out quite a bit, it isn’t as asymmetrical as it was before.  The new look seems to be the same only darker.

I sorta like her hair darker.  She doesn’t look all ice queen fakey LA soccer mom with it darker.  She’s quite pretty if she’d just stop trying to be the International Pout.

Apparently the new look is for the upcoming Spice Girls tour set to kick off December 2.

Okay, I admit it.  I’ve never heard a Spice Girls song, that I know of, and I had never heard Mad Posh speak until her NBC special earlier this year.  That show didnt make me a fan, either…I understood her dry “British Humour” (and yes, I got that she was being facetious and self-depreciating to Perez when she said she could never be caught smiling or eating, and she had to look miserable), but I found her entire attitude towards everything condescending and trite.  And let’s face it…seeing her constantly pouting is just irksome. She’s rich, thin, and relatively pretty, she has a loving husband and three beautiful children…what’s to look so unhappy about?

But stop the presses….it seems that Victoria can actually (wait for it) smile.  dun-dun-dunnnnnnnn

She appeared on a game show in Japan, Smap Smap (translation?) as part of promoting the upcoming Spice Girls reunion, and in the process relaxed her facial muscles and smiled for the camera.

You know, I like her smiling.  She looks nice when she smiles…she looks calm, gracious, and like she’s having fun.  Like she took the stick out of her bum.  Like she’s warm and friendly.  Like…a very pretty woman.

I like these photos…she doesn’t have the Frankentits going, she doesn’t have on some weird feathery leathery mess, the hair isn’t all did…this is an excellent look for her, and she should consider looking like this more often.  Even though they were being silly on the show, she seems to be taking it all in good humour, and that’s a very important thing to remember in one’s life, not to take oneself too seriously.

She really should consider smiling in public more often.  She doesn’t come across as “Posh Spice”, the International Pout; she comes across as Victoria Beckham, wife, mom, daughter, yes a celebrity, but an attractive woman.  It’s amazing how one simple action can change one’s entire look…she went from haughty to soft in one second.

Oh, and here’s one for you…a few weeks ago, her husband, David Beckham, actually had her laughing!  Could the more relaxed attitudes of the US be rubbing off on her?  This looks nice!

Remember, Victoria, a smile is your best fashion accessory.