Scent is intensely personal. It has been said that there is no sense more strongly tied to memory than scent. Whether it's your mother's signature perfume, or your father's favorite aftershave, fragrances can be as personal and memorable as a warm embrace or a special milestone in your life. For instance, when you smell a fragrance that reminds you of someone you love, you instantly recall fond memories of that person, or when you smell certain flowers that grew in your grandmother's garden, it brings back intense memories of a certain time and place. Scent has a truly magical way of creating and solidifying memories in our minds. Does your signature fragrance create memorable experiences and the perfect first impressions?

The fragrances we choose to envelop ourselves in say a lot about us. Whether you're a romantic at heart who prefers warm and floral scents, or a bubbly and lively personality who loves fresh, effervescent fragrances, one's fragrance choices are intimately tied to the wearer's moods and personality.



Fragrance is also a great way to incorporate your favorite designers into your everyday ensemble. Whether you live for the fashion-forward designs of Costume National, the sublimely graceful style of Vera Wang, the timeless glamour of Carolina Herrera, or the classic and contemporary Prada, your signature scent speaks volumes about your overall sense of style. Another great thing about fragrance is, even if today's economy doesn't allow you to afford the luxuries of a head-to-toe couture wardrobe, you can still indulge in your favorite designer's signature scents.

What better way to create a lasting impression than to have someone say, "You smell great! What fragrance are you wearing?", and with a knowing grin, you can casually say, "It's Prada."

It was bound to happen, she took longer than most to do it, but Ms. Halle Berry has finally thrown her sophisticated hat in the fragrance ring. That’s right folks, Ms. Berry will launch her very own fragrance this winter. The fragrance, Halle by Halle Berry, is the second baby of sorts for Ms. Berry in less than a year, as the Academy Award-winning actress gave birth to her first child, a daughter Nahla Ariela in March of this year. Halle, in her interview with WWD on Friday, October 3, described the process of creating a scent in partnership with Coty as, “I have a baby, and this baby — my fragrance — is about to be born.” Berry is said to have wanted her first scent to be a partnership experience, being involved in every step along the way, and to have it be a sensual signature fragrance, or in fragrance speak, to have a woody oriental juice.

Coty brought International Fragrance & Flavors (IFF) to the partnership table to create the juice with Halle, and to have it incorporate two of her favorite notes, mimosa and fig. IFF then added in African root (a spice), sandalwood, Sicilian bergamot, fig leaves, pear blossom, hibiscus flower, ultra mimosa (of course),driftwood and sensual amber. The bottle, which all lovers of fragrance and perfume know is as important as the scent itself, is an easy-to-hold glass rectangle with a wavy-beach textured back, a rose gold-toned neck with the juice being rose gold-tinged as well.

Of course, what celebrity fragrance launch would be complete without the celebrity print campaign? These days, none. After all, it is an assured marketing route to getting the masses to purchase the scent and its accompanying accoutrements. Who doesn’t want to look sexy draped over a hammock a la Jennifer Lopez in her Deseo ad, or water-baby beautiful a la Mirah’s Luscious Pink, or pouty and provocative a la Christina Aguilera’s INSPIRE? Ms. Berry’s campaign will be no different, as she stars in the campaign, natch, and can be seen looking serene and sensuous on a beach in a bikini and white cover up, with just the right amount of laissez-faire mixed in and the perfect touch of beach wavy hair.

Somehow it seems more than fitting that Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs' new men’s scent is named I Am King. After all, he reigns over an impressive empire comprised of restaurants, clothing lines, retail stores, recording artists, vodka and reality shows; he dresses in bespoke jackets and suits; he carries himself in the manner of a Casino Royal movie with private jets, stately manors, luscious locales, beautiful jet-set beauties. But perhaps the best example is what Diddy thinks of himself. He is a very confident and driven man who only wants the best, and believes he is a true descendant of royalty. “I Am King is a statement about all men,” Combs said during his interview with WWD as reported in their August 8 edition. “We are all descendants of royalty — and if we carry ourselves and respect ourselves in that manner and believe in ourselves, then we are all kings.”

The scent, developed by Estee Lauder Companies and Combs, in cooperation with International Flavors & Fragrances, has top notes of tangerine zest, juicy orange, cranberry and a proprietary Imperial French berry note; middle notes of kir royal, crème de cassis, premium champagne (my personal favorite) and cooling Mediterranean water accord; with base notes of key lime pie, lemon cream, rich labdanum extract, cedarwood, vetiver and white moss with powdery undertones. Of course the ad campaign for the scent, commercials and print, would not be true Diddy fashion, if it was not an over-the-top production, in this case very James Bond. The ads show Diddy on jetskis speeding around St. Tropez and Monaco in a tuxedo, in a Casino Royal setting playing the tables at Casino de Paris in Monte Carlo, stepping out of his private helicopter with the beautiful models Bar Rafaeli and Ana Paul never far behind. Ah yes, true Diddy style.

The I Am King collection will include a 1.7 oz and 3.4 oz eau de toilette, aftershave balm, shower gel and deodorant. The collection will bow at Macy’s in the U.S. and Debenhams in the United Kingdom. And as for the reign of the female scent, the I Am Queen coronation will be in the Fall of 2009.

Well, as in her new fragrance name, that is. Jessica, along with Parlux Fragrances Inc., is launching her first scent, a floral oriental, which will launch in August and be available at Macy’s, Dillard’s, Belk and Bon-Ton in addition to additional stores in the US and Canada, as reported on July 18 by WWD. The fragrance is composed of pear, apricot nectar and red fruits in the top notes, gardenia, jasmine, toasted almonds and caramel for the middle notes, and sandalwood, vanilla creme and amber crystals for the bottom notes. If any of you are familiar with her Dessert line of body care products, you will recognize the similarity between the two (vanilla creme, caramel).

Ms. Simpson has been very busy over the last three years, and not just in her social life. In that time, she has developed her Hairdo line of hair extensions with Ken Paves, the Dessert body care line, the successful and ever-expanding shoe line, her swimwear, handbags, intimate apparel/shapewear (p-2376 in the Couture blogs on July 10th) and eyewear. Ms. Simpson choosing this time to add a fragrance to her empire was the logical next step. Whether or not the market can bare yet another celebrity fragrance (Mariah Carey’s fragrance is due soon, as well), remains to be seen, but that won’t stop many from lining up to not only look like, dress like and have hair like, but now have the opportunity to snap up the fragrance to smell like Jessica, too.