Posts Tagged ‘Halle by Halle Berry’

Perfume sales have not been good this year; although this can be hard to believe when out on the streets, embattled by the force-fields of over-enthusiastic Armani and cK supporters. In order to keep our attentions on all things fragrant, the perfume companies are falling back on their old friends the Stary-Army to convince us to keep the tide of bio at bay.

Faith Hill and Halle Berry have recently pledged their allegiance to the cause, as has Pamela Anderson who apparently spent more than the usual half day working on her Malibu scents, which hit stores in November.

Even though she has been battling demons of a rather different nature, Britney still apparently shifts the scents, launching her new Britney Spears’ Circus this month. Even Antonio Banderas is in on the act, rolling out his sixth scent called Seduction in Black.

With 40-50% of all perfume sales recorded in the months of November and December you can see why these slightly cynical, ‘buy me’ tactics are employed. But I can’t help feeling a little patronised by this. When cult scents like Shalimar by Guerlain, Farouche by Nina Ricci and Tabac Blond by Caron were created, the process took over 2 years and employed trained noses who had spent their lifetimes studying this art.

Is the general public really this gullible?

Maybe it is not the economy that ails this industry, but the quick-buck strategies of the board rooms that drive generic product creation and these unimaginative marketing strategies to try and sell them. A regression to the artisan processes of yesteryear might be just the ticket to create a new star in its own right – alexia inge