Der Flakon ist echt häßlich

The juice has topnotes of Louisiana magnolia along with golden Anjou pear and dewy lotus flower. The heart is of tuberose, star jasmine and pink cyclamen, while the drydown is of vanilla musk, creamy sandalwood and radiant blond woods.


"NEW YORK — This fall, department stores are going to get a dash of Britney Spears’ *** appeal.

And she’s no virgin when it comes to striking while the iron is hot, unleashing her first fragrance a mere three months after inking a deal with Elizabeth Arden.

While the pop princess was sidelined with a knee injury, her fragrance team was out in full force at the Four Seasons Hotel Thursday morning, presenting Curious Britney Spears, the songstress’ first scent — first to the beauty press at breakfast, and then to a lineup of department store retailers at lunch.

Arden chief executive Scott Beattie, executive vice president of global marketing Ron Rolleston and vice president of global marketing for fragrance Tamara Steele, among others, were on hand to present the strategy for the new fragrance, which industry sources estimate could do $40 million to $50 million at retail in the U.S. alone in its first year on counter.

The scent will roll out in Arden’s U.S. prestige department store lineup — currently about 2,000 doors — as well as Australia, a huge Spears market, in late September, and to the rest of the globe next spring. Curious Britney Spears is expected to be the first in a Spears series. Arden will also distribute the scent to some prestige department stores that do not currently carry Elizabeth Arden-branded products, including Nordstrom.

As reported first by WWD at the beginning of March, color cosmetics and skin care with Spears’ nameplate are expected to follow within the next two years. Spears joins two other famous faces working for Beattie: Catherine Zeta-Jones, the face of the Elizabeth Arden brand, and Elizabeth Taylor, who oversees the fragrances branded with her name. The age target for Spears’ fragrance — 15 to 30 — is a younger demographic than those targeted by Taylor and Zeta-Jones. “There is clearly a huge demand by retailers and consumers for brands that are relevant to consumers in the 15- to 30-year-old age group,” said Beattie, adding that he is open to signing additional celebrities to deals.

Rolleston added that the team has a number of initiatives in place for Curious Britney Spears to help drive new consumers into department stores — including one where women representing the fragrance will be sampling the scent to consumers strolling in the mall. Awareness campaigns through cell phone text messages and the Internet — on both Spears’ and Arden’s Web sites — are planned, with a bounce-back via area and zip code to the appropriate retailer in the consumer’s area. Another planned initiative includes partnering with Spears’ record company. “We needed new ways of talking to consumers,” Beattie said.

While Arden operates in both the prestige and mass ends of the beauty business, Beattie emphasized that Curious Britney Spears has, from its inception, always been planned as a prestige product, particularly designed to draw a young clientele into the stores.

Pricing is at the moderate end of the prestige spectrum, aimed at giving access to as many Spears fans as possible. Eaux de parfum will be available in two sizes, 1.7 oz. for $39.50 and 3.3 oz. for $49.50.

The Curious Britney Spears bottle is of azure blue multifaceted glass topped with pink heart-shaped charms. The larger of the two eaux de parfum is topped by an antique-looking blue atomizer, which Spears felt gave the packaging a little added sophistication, said Beattie. Outer packaging is of Spears’ two favorite colors, pink and azure blue, with a matte black top with cutouts exposing the fragrance’s logo. When the box is opened, it expands like a flower, exposing the bottle and the pink lining of the carton inside.

Also expected to appeal to youthful consumers: ancillaries that explore, well, the more adventurous side of Spears’ persona. They are Deliciously Whipped! Body Soufflé, 6.8 oz. for $24; Lather Me Up! Shower Gel, 6.8 oz. for $20, and Write On! Perfumed Shimmer Stick, 0.5 oz. for $20. Fragrance salespeople will reinforce the saucy names in-store, with plans for them to wear Deliciously Whipped! T-shirts while selling the products.

The juice, by Claude Dir of Quest International and Ann Gottlieb of Ann Gottlieb Associates, has topnotes of Louisiana magnolia, a nod to Spears’ home state, along with golden Anjou pear and dewy lotus flower. The heart is of tuberose, star jasmine and pink cyclamen, while the drydown is of vanilla musk, creamy sandalwood and radiant blond woods.

While executives from the company have declined repeatedly since the deal’s announcement to comment on the details of Spears’ contract, industry sources speculate that it is a five-year, royalty-based deal that could net Spears a minimum of $10 million — and as much as $30 million — over the next five years. It is thought that Spears will receive a 5 percent royalty.

In addition to a yet-to-be revealed print advertising campaign, breaking in September, Arden plans TV advertising, both at launch and around the holidays. The print ad was shot by Patrick Demarchelier; the TV ad has not yet been done. It is likely that the spots will showcase Spears’ singing and dancing prowess.

Beattie also noted that there are plans in play for Spears to do personal appearances this fall to promote the scent, although a final schedule has not been determined."