Cult Fragrances: Celebrity Favorite Perfumes

Perfume is one of the most lucrative branches of the beauty industry, with nearly $6 billion in sales in 2007 in the U.S. alone, and the biggest trend in the perfume industry today is celebrity fragrances. Every actress, model and singer imaginable lends her name, her face or both to one or more scents. (J. Lo leads the pack, with more than four fragrances bearing her imprimatur.)

It is hard not to be cynical about these celebrity perfumes, as money is clearly the motivating factor behind them, and the market is becoming saturated with them. Finding racks of celebrity perfumes on clearance at your local TJ Maxx or Marshalls indicates that a backlash may be underway, and by the time Jessica Simpson's new perfume comes on the market later this year, there may not be any market share left for her.

The reasons for the overproduction of celebrity scents are many. For one thing, fragrances have a very high profit margin. They are also products that can easily be modified to sell more units-- if the perfume is a success, the cosmetics company will come out with a body lotion, shower gel and scented powder, as well as making lighter and heavier versions of it, but even if you like the fragrance that doesn't mean you want to wear all those products at once!

Finally, cosmetics sales in general have historically improved during poor economies because they're a relatively inexpensive morale booster, and that relationship holds true today. The fashion world has become part of everyday pop culture due to such hit television shows as "Project Runway" and "Ugly Betty," but the average working mom cannot afford high fashion like Dior couture, for example. However, for $45 she can get a bottle of Dior J'Adore and feel like a movie star every time she wears it.

So what do you do if you want to smell like success, but quality and exclusivity are important to you? The answer is to find out what celebrities really wear when they're not hawking products. Following are some celebrity favorite cult fragrances, as well as a description of the scents so that you can decide which famous beauty you want to emulate with your perfume:

Jessica Alba is a fan of Turquoise Perfume Oil by Sage, according to www.luckyscent.com. This perfume comes in the unique form of a roll-on, which makes sense due to her active lifestyle. This is a marine fragrance with citrus, musk and white floral notes.

Cameron Diaz favors Monyette Paris, which was voted in the Top 5 cult fragrances by www.style.com and is also worn by Gwen Stefani, Rebecca Romijn, Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon and Debra Messing, among others. This fragrance is a sexy white floral with creamy vanilla notes, for the beauty who is not afraid of attracting attention.

Fergie may be a trendy celebrity, but her favorite perfume is a classic, according to www.makeupalley.com. Amarige de Givenchy graces her dressing table. This much-loved fragrance (with a beauty of a bottle as well) is sweet and romantic, with fruity and spicy notes.

Jennifer Garner is an all-American beauty, so her choice of Perfect Veil by Creative Scentualization fits her perfectly. This fragrance is intended to smell like clean, naked skin, so it's perfect for women who are shy of heavy perfume but still want to smell nice.

Finally, for those who dream big: Katie Holmes had the eyes of the world on her during her wedding to Tom Cruise, but anyone who got close enough to her to smell her fragrance would have been experiencing the delights of Clive Christian # 1, a version of which comes in a crystal bottle that makes it the most expensive perfume in the world at almost $22,000 an ounce (the cost is because of the bottle, which contains a diamond). An ordinary bottle of this fragrance costs around $400, so it's pricy even then, but this fresh and elegant fruity scent is perfect for women who hope to marry movie stars.