Actress Eva Longoria Parker, best known for her roles in The Young and The Restless and Desperate Housewives, will launch her debut fragrance, Eva by Eva Longoria, in April:
I have always been somewhat allergic to all perfumes and really wanted to create something that every woman could wear. So I decided to create my own fragrance that is light, fresh and unique. I think the scent of a woman is extremely sexy and this scent will prove that.
Eva features notes of citrus, neroli, bergamot tea, aldehydes, sheer jasmine, muguet, violet, freesia, skin musk, amber and sandalwood.
Eva by Eva Longoria will be available in 50 and 100 ml ($45-$58) Eau de Parfum. (via wwd)
Well, the fragrance sounds nice enough for what it is, but the amount of retouching in that photo should be illegal. She looks just like Katharine Ross at the end of “The Stepford Wives.” Ack!
I don’t know what she looks like untouched, but yes — she could pass for a Stepford Wife!
she looks like shes morphing into Angelina Jolie.
Boy, the celebrity scents just keep coming, don;t they?
Yep.
This will sound cranky…but I’ve heard that “I don’t really like most (or any) scents so I decided to create one” line as part of celebrity fragrance PR too many times before. The implication is that their fragrance is better than anything out there currently–from Chanel, Guerlain, Caron, Amouage, Lutens. Malle, etc, etc–which is of course utterly ridiculous. It would be refreshing to hear one of them say “I’m cashing in on my celebrity…” Or “I know I can’t touch the artistry of Vol de Nuit (or —– fill in the blank) so I’m not going to launch a scent.” I know, I know…not gonna happen.
Yes, yes — and somebody else said specifically that they were allergic to perfumes just recently, before launching her own — was it Mariah Carey? Or somebody like, at any rate.
Yeah, it was Mariah.
Thanks, thought so.
So true, Gilty. Great observation.
Beyonce possibly?
The allergy angle really bugs me. Honestly, why would a celebrity fragrance think to go there? Aldehydes and musks are a big no for my friends with serious, throat-closing perfume allergies. So much for something every woman can wear, unless it comes with an EpiPen gift with purchase. That aside, the notes sound pretty.
“Somewhat allergic to all perfumes” is silly anyway — what does it mean? I assume she did not have a true allergy or she would hardly have been able to go through the process of developing a perfume.
Not only is she a perfumer, but she practices immunology on the side! Who knew?
…you guys crack me up! 🙂
I am surprised that they say so in their publicity releases. “I am allergic to most perfumes” for me = I don’t wear/know anything about perfumes.
It doesn’t necessarily mean “=”: I’m allergic to all perfumes, they all give me rash. But I wear them and can’t say I don’t know anything about them.
You’re absolutely right. I have little patience for people who throw “perfume allergy” around. Feeling overpowered, as Daisy says, or getting a headache from certain compounds are quite different things from breathing difficulty or getting a rash.
You’re so right.
“Somewhat allergic” can mean that, like in my case, some of them give her more or less sever rash…
Yes, it could mean that, but it could also just mean she doesn’t like most perfumes, or that many perfumes bother her in some way — I don’t think we can count on the word being used in this context with any sort of precision. That’s what is annoying to me about the quote.
Hey ladies! 🙂
I don’t mean to ruffle any feathers, but I actually was excited when I read Eva’s interview because I myself LOVE perfume, and I really am “somewhat” allergic to all/most that I have come across. I just have very sensitive skin, many allergies to various ingredients ie musk and I have asthma, so most of the beautiful fragrances that you guys have spoken of can not come near me at all. I just took her statement to be one to reach out to the woman who might have specific needs and sensitivities, and I believe she also stated that she had similar sensitivities.
I am noooooo expert, and i really don’t know anything about beautiful perfumes, but I hope maybe you ladies might be able to recommend some fragrances that are partial to the extremely allergy-prone 🙂
Thanks! 🙂
There is, literally, no such thing. If you have skin sensitivities, they could be to any ingredient…nobody can know in advance what will bother you and what won’t. The ingredients that have been shown to cause widespread skin allergies have already been taken out of all the perfumes on the market under IFRA regulations, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still ingredients that will cause allergies.
Ditto with the asthma — there is no way of knowing which ingredients will bother you. If I had serious asthma, I would not wear perfume.
I do not mean to make fun of EL, but she is apparently not knowledgeable on this subject.
EpiPen GWP…hilarious. I’d like to see that in a Macy’s ad…
Make it stop! Who’s next? The third runner up on the third season of Survivor?
Cracks me up that I read at least once a week that the celebrity perfume craze is over. Uh, not hardly.
Maybe if they write it enough, it will come true 🙂
Seems like it works out the opposite: the more I read it, the more new celebrities join the party.
I think about now the world needs a scent by Christopher Walken. Perhaps ‘More Cowbell’? 🙂
HA — I’m sure that’s coming soon!
Yep, and he could borrow Beyonce’s tagline. I’d certainly make a point of sampling it, too. 😉
Really, I thought the whole DH crew was launching their own character frags but I don’t know if those ever went anywhere. And yes, the whole “I can’t wear any other frags but the one I made.” sounds so ridiculous. That’s like saying,”Oh I’m allergic to chocolate, so I decided to grow my own cocoa beans.” *scratches head* Perhaps the person in charge of writing the ad copy needs to have a BS in spotting bs in the ad before it goes to print. There’s already plenty of anemic frags out there. I think the world would still manage to turn with one less. 🙂
That was great! “Oh I’m allergic to chocolate, so I decided to grow my own cocoa beans.” thanks, Abs, I’m going to be chuckling over that all day!!
BTW–thanks for the nifty samples! —I’ve got things to send you I just can’t seem to get my fanny in gear! 🙂
I’m glad you got them. I wasn’t sure how long it would take with the mad Christmas rush at the post office. I hope you enjoy them. They’re some of my faves. 🙂
Lol Daisy! I’ve wished for one of those now and again. Sorry, Eva. You’ve been gonged! 😀
If a fragrance by Christopher Walken had his delightfully droll sense of humor, I’d be first in line to try/buy it.
Genius! Love that SNL skit.
I hardly watch tv, but am I wrong in thinking her popularity and/or marketability peaked about two years ago? Is DH a bit passe or as popular as ever? Is she even still on that show (I’m thinking not)?
Agree with everyone on the asinine “allergic” and “every woman” quotes.
I really don’t know…never watched anything she was in. Isn’t Desperate Housewives still big?
I’m allergic to Eva Longoria.
And yes–she is *SO* two years ago!
LOL! Mee-ow, Miss Kitty! Actually I’ll chime in with the catty comments: I always thought she was beautiful but as soon as I heard her speak, I couldn’t stand her!
Oh good lord! She lost any credibility right at the onset with the “I’m somewhat allergic to all perfumes…” comment! If someone else wrote that for her to say—they should be FIRED immediately for stupidity. Come up with some decent schmoozy comment like that she finds most perfumes to be overpowering and how she wanted to create something that enhanced a woman’s beauty rather than overshadowing it..blah blah yada yada…. allergic…ha.
We need one of those really big shepherd’s hooks like they had on the Gong Show when I was a kid and when a celebrity is just too annoying , we just hook them and drag them off…..I can see it in my head, and it pleases me.
LOL!
Daisy, do you think we could rake in the dough if we started a perfume PR consulting firm? Let’s work on the business plan! Either we’ll be a hit, or else this is the kind of job they give to 21-year-old interns who make $12 an hour and think they have a “glamorous” job. I will just cry if there’s a VP of Marketing at Parlux or Coty who’s coming up with these campaigns and pulling down $175K or something. 😉
Joe, they’d be in much better hands with you and Daisy. It’s pretty shocking that this is the work of (supposedly) professional PR people…
I think we’d be a hit! and then we could hire some 21 yr old interns and make them do the drudge work. I can guarantee we’d never ever use that “I’m allergic” and “great for every person on the planet” BS. (we can come up with much better BS) 😉
Has anyone observed her L’Oreal Preference hair color commercials? My guess is that she has had some type of bovine toxin injected into her nasolabial area one too many times because it seems to have trouble moving when she speaks. I assume that her comment of, “somewhat allergic” is probably referring to the degree of her reaction in her own opinion. Well, that’s like saying,” I can ride a bicycle a little.” You either can or can’t, are or aren’t. What a cheap marketing tactic. Just because she won’t have a reaction to her own fragrance ( Heavens, no! Think of the publicity!) doesn’t mean someone else won’t.
Aleta- LOL @ the epi-pen idea. Perhaps she could alternate between that and offering dex- sp pens as well.
😛
Haven’t seen those…
Before I step off my soapbox, sometimes allergies can resolve themselves. Mine did. My poor hubby is not so fortunate though.
I have also removed my fangs from the prey!
It seems that all celebrities are either – A: Allergic to perfumes or – B: Never liked or wore perfume. Yeah, right. Sheesh. However, and I hate to say it, this doesn’t sound too shabby – but I’m so annoyed by the ad that it makes me want to walk right past it when it becomes available. We’ll see. BTW – hello to everyone. I’ve been so busy with holiday stuff, I haven’t been here much. For all of you who will be celebrating something – have a wonderful time! 🙂
I was good this year and got all my Christmas shopping done early, so not as busy as I sometimes am in late December. Hope things will calm down on your end!
Speaking of…. will the Q4 damage topic be coming soon? In the new year?
I need to add totals and add in time for grieving because of all the wreckage….
Early in the new year!
Oh – you were so good! Not only was I behind to begin with, we ended up going away for a week [which of course is a good thing, but I’ve been playing catch up ever since].
You as well Rustic Dove. Nice to hear from you again.
Thank you Dolly. 🙂
What is this snobbery towards celeb scents? Some have been marvelous. I suspect some subliminal jealousy. At any rate, I’m tired of it. It’s old and it’s childish.
Snobbery? Sorry you see it that way. In my experience, plenty of readers here are happy to give due credit to any well-made scent, celebrity or no (cf. SJP & Halle). Also, no one’s really made fun of if they enjoy Britney Fantasy or Paris Hilton. I think the real target is idiotic marketing copy and unoriginal or horrible smelling fragrances. I hate the PR quote above, but the notes sound good to me and if the actual fragrance smells nice, I’d be happy to say so.
Yes it is snobbery I mean I can understand if her fragrance has been tested but it didn’t even come out yet.But , just the mere mention of a celebrity fragrance and its one negative comment after the next.I didn’t think Halle’s fragrance was good at all and I am really surprised it got good reviews.I found it to smell rather cheap.SJP fragrances are overrated too.
Celebrity scents are not the only types of fragrances that tend to elicit negative comments even before anyone has smelled them — far from it — but interestingly enough, they’re usually the only ones that get these types of “you’re all snobs” comments. Many people, you included, commented that they figured the upcoming Jeanne La Rose from Lanvin would be dull — even though nobody has smelled it yet — but nobody complained about the snobbery.
The simple fact is that the vast majority of celebrity fragrances — just like the vast majority of fragrances in general — do not turn out to be the stuff of genius. If people want to express their cynicism, why shouldn’t they?
Very well put Robin. I agree 100%.
There really are a few good celeb scents. But there are so many celeb scents at the moment. Maybe it is also coming from the PR. They develop a scent and then they are looking which celeb could sell this scent and they put her/his name on it. I don’t know, but maybe it is that way. I think commenting on a perfume has nothing to do with snobbery or jealousy, there are also well known perfume houses who have scents that are not very good.
I have purchased a couple of Celeb scents. My main issue with this was the disingenuous ad for the fragrance. I just found it hard to swallow.
Hi Gael, it was so kind of you to register for an account just to let us know, thanks!
I really think that most of us who are complaining are more offended by the ad than the celebrities as people. Ad copy so often treats us all like we’re idiots, and no one likes being treated like an idiot. The other thing that I think sets us off is the “wasted opportunity” the ad copy represents…..they spend huge amounts of money spouting a bunch of crap when they could be talking about what the fragrance is really like! They could impart some real information but instead they fall back on tired, inane or just plain ignorant type tripe. Personally I don’t care about Eva L. one way or the other –she’s an actress, she acts and that’s pretty much it.
Her ad is no different than ads I seen for Halle and Nicole Kidman and a host of other fragrances.I mean the ad is there if they spend a zillion dollars on it or not whatever thats their money.And they will get it back and then some.Its all about making money.And yeah Chanel does it and Guerlain does it too they all do except some niche brands because they put more of their money into the fragrance.But, you choose what you like leave what you don’t.
True, true….and if you tune in when those ads come out you would see that we treat them to heaping helping of scathing comments as well. For the most part perfume ad copy is ridiculous to the point of being insulting ,and, I for one, cannot help but respond to it. For the most part it’s not the celebrities themselves who are being dissed (unless its Paris Hilton then I just can’t help myself). As for dissing fragrance before it actually comes out? Happens all the time. The good news is that people will generally give the fragrance a sniff when they cross its path and you will often see comments like “I sniffed that at NM last weekend and it was better than I thought it would be.” of course you’ll also see ” I tried that and couldn’t wait to scrub it off!” .
It will be interesting to see how “unique” this one is. The notes dont sound bad, but they sound like something that has been done time and time again. For a celeb scent, it sounds kinda unique. Will try it when I see it. It could be a nice surprise. She looks beautiful in the ad. Im not liking the cap of the bottle at all. The bottle itself could b worse. : )
Again, I think these things often come down not to who the celebrity is, but to who holds the license. In this case it’s Falic Fashion Group, who hold the license for Perry Ellis, among others. This is their first celebrity fragrance, I think, so we’ll see. In general, if it isn’t Coty Prestige or Estee Lauder, I’m usually less hopeful, although Elizabeth Arden also does a good job.
Well of course EA does a good job. They do Britneys!! LOL! : )
I give her credit for using Neroli that is a strong note that I like.The bottle could of used more imagination.But, it might me nice worth the try.
Thanks for the comment Joe, as I feel exactly as you described. I have no fragrance snobbery whatsoever, be it celebrity or otherwise. I feel that chintzy marketing tactics that these people employ only serves to further educate the public about just how senseless these people can be for a quick cash in.
Oh yes, also I am biased on something just not being well done. Pride in achievement should account for something.
I understand your point but lots of fragrances out there are not being done well.I mean look at Stella McCartney she is coming out with all these really bad flankers of Stella.And YSL is trying to cash in after missing with Elle so is Guerlain.And many others just because its a celebrity fragrance doesn’t mean its not done well they have perfumers make these fragrances too.But, to say its not done well without trying it doesn’t seem fair.
You must have missed all the wailing, gnashing of teeth, and general lamentation about the fall of the House of Guerlain. Believe me, we have been plenty scathing about their ads, copy, general lack of imagination, selling out, and what have you. We are generally equal opportunity snarkers – fashion houses, venerable perfume houses, celeb fragrances, designers – you name it and we’ve probably both bashed and sung the praises of one of their products. And many of us will probably sniff both this and the Kim Kardashian fragrance when they come out – and admit it if we were wrong and they are amazing. Or even well-done and not our cup of tea.
And I’ve never seen anyone give anyone a hard time about anything that he or she likes – celeb fragrance or not.
LOL…….Brava! I’m giving you a standing ovation currently. My dogs are too!!!!! (cute little buggers that they are)
No, I have read and heard about Guerlain I am very aware of that.I just used that as an example.Its just the snobbery that can be a bit much because it doesn’t matter a good perfume is a good perfume to me.Doesn’t matter if its a celebrity fragrance or not.But all the negative comments is kind of annoying but yet if it was a Creed it would be a whole different attitude.The last Creed was horrible IMO.Its just annoying how the fragrance is dissed even before its been tested.
Actually, I think MOST Creeds are just this side of vile.
There was a discussion of these issues on NST about a week or so. There was a feeling that celebrity fragrances are less likely to be good because less time and money is put into the development, and less money into good raw materials. Others who commented said that the same can be said of many a department store fragrance and even some of the stuff put out by the prestige houses. I thought it was a pretty fair discusssion.
On NST there is plenty of derision heaped on over-priced limited edition fragrances. And as Daisy says above, it is common on NST for people to say that they will give a new celebrity fragrance a go if they get the chance. It pretty clear from the comments of regular contributors that most of us have collections that include a whole range of fragrances, from mall scents to the high end stuff, and everything in between. We all just love perfume!
I could not agree more Annemarie.
I did not imply that EL’s fragrance is not well done or would not be well done. What I meant was that I am against anything not being well done for the sake of a buck. I certainly would not pass judgement on something without even trying it.
Like I mentioned earlier, I have no fragrance snobbery whatsoever. There is good and bad in all brands.
If you read my post, it is the cheap marketing tactics that are my target. Why would I point the finger at a product that has yet to exist? I am sorry you misunderstood.
I guess we’re all entitled to our preconceived notions too yes? I think that would also be considered fair. Fair…..it can be such a tricky little word……
I have to agree w/the idea of the ad campaign being totally …..unappealing. The first sentence makes me want to ignore this completely. The notes sound fine but she (they) make perfume sound like it’s been an after thought to her for most (all) of her life. And frankly~the idea of wearing something every woman can wear is a major yawn of an idea as well. Why would I want to smell like everyone else?
There’s w/out a doubt a market for this fragrance and I’m sure it’ll do well. I know I won’t be seeking it out however. I might give it a good sniff and be pleasantly surprised.We’ll have to be at the same place at the same time of course.
I prefer things that aren’t as mainstream for the most part. That’s my thing. To those of you for whom this is their thing~I hope it’s a wonderful new addition for you…….
I don’t mind sticking my neck out to suggest that it is surely possible to have a mild allergic reaction, or an intolerance maybe, towards perfume and this perfume seems to be marketed in that direction. (A friend of mine says that perfume makes him sneeze. Nothing more, just that.)
But still, if that is the strategy, it’s not working too well. Just looks dumb.
Not only dumb, it just doesn’t ring true.
It certainly doesn’t look like it’s being marketed that way…I think this was just an offhand comment.
The line that pushes my belligerence button the fastest is one we’ve seen several times—a variation on this theme: “I’ve never liked perfumes….” or “I’ve never worn perfume…” I realize that the front person isn’t doing the mixing in the lab and most likely is given a set of samples and asked to pick one……but it’s like asking someone who hates pie to select a tasty pie for me….WHAT I WANT is a pie connoisseur to do the selecting! Someone with experience and a passion for a subject just seems like the one who would do a better job. I’m just sayin.
But that has nothing to do with the issue of foolish ad copy.
Exactly, Daisy!!! Leaving Eva L out of this, it’s just silly to write copy like that… the instant response in my head is, “REALLY?! Out of the 800+ annual launches the past few years, PLUS the back catalog of classics and not-so-classics, not ONE has sung to you and THAT’S why you’ve decided to launch your own??”
Better to just say something that’s still a cliché, but at least more believable, e.g., “I wanted to put out a scent that I enjoy and that think reflects [x, y, z] about myself.”
Bingo! Well put Daisy. Wasn’t this a fun little controversy?! 😉
Well said!
I smelled it in Allure today. From the test strip, its nice. Its more zest of a citrus than the acutal juice. Its very sharp and nothing light like Light Blue. I wasnt thinking much of it but after liking the smell on the strip, I really want test it now. The ad didnt say where u can get it. Weird? : )
I refuse to open that strip — I hate those things! It’ll be in stores soon I’m sure.
It’s now available on Macy’s.com
Saw that this morning, thanks!