Many celebrities seem to release fragrances about the same time a new album or film comes out. Britney Spears is already on tour with her Circus Tour in 2009 and, at the same time, her perfume of the same name comes out. Essentially, releasing a celebrity fragrance and a movie/album/tour at the same time is like saying, “Buy my music… And my fragrance!” Too bad the two aren’t packaged together or even that the latest Britney Spears perfume isn’t sold on the merch table after the show. Spears already has two fragrances to her name, both released to the perfume market before her infamous meltdown and phoned-in Blackout album, and Circus makes a third. But how does it stack up against the others and will more than Britney fans want to buy it?

Reviews of this Britney Spears perfume are already on the internet, and, like many celebrity fragrances, Circus by Britney Spears is, really, just another hit-or-miss fruity perfume. To recap, Spears’ original scent was a floral concoction reminiscent of magnolias, while Curious was an overall-sweet perfume with cupcakes, white chocolate, and floral notes going all over the place. Like Britney Spears’ communication skills, Curious was unfocused. Both perfumes were geared toward teens and Britney Spears fans (hopefully they are one in the same), and have stayed around, so far, because of that market.

Spears has a large enough fan base that this perfume will probably sell well, although, according to reviews, Circus is primarily a milky and floral scent. But, as an improvement over the unfocused palette of scents for Curious, Circus refines this formula and sticks to milky and floral notes. The scent doesn’t seem too artificial but, overall, the perfume is still a fragrance geared toward teenage girls. Will it become a classic perfume? Probably not, but with Spears career not dying as of yet, her fragrances will last as long as people buy her albums.

So far, in regards to fragrances, this blog has discussed which celebrities have scents to their names, but what about what the stars are actually wearing? Do the stars wear their own perfumes, if they have a brand to their name? IVillage published a list of some of the perfumes worn by various actresses and singers, and many of the scents are classic scents. While celebrity perfumes often take a backseat to handbags – can you always smell a perfume when someone wears it? – some of these stars aren’t wearing the latest fragrances but scents that have been around for years. While only a handful of prominent A and B-list celebrities were interviewed at the moment, all asked about what fragrances they wear pointed to timeless – or those lasting more than ten years – perfumes.

As seen on iVillage, some of the fragrances worn by stars include Angel by Thierry Mugler, Tuberose Indiana by Creed, Clinique Happy, Acqua di Gio, and Christian Dior Dolce Vita. Is there a trend among celebrities regarding fruit, water, or aqua scents? Out of this selection, Angel perfume is often described as an oriental and woody perfume, while Acqua di Gio, for both men and women, is essentially a high-end aqua perfume. Clinique Happy and Eau de Dolce Vita by Dior, on the other hand, are both flowery fragrances.

If you want to smell like some of your favorite celebrities, whether you prefer Gwen Stefani or Celine Dion, your best bet is to not wear their celebrity brand perfumes but, instead, find out what scents they’re wearing. More often than not, they’ll be wearing a classic fragrance or the latest perfume by a high-end designer like Armani or Dior. Madonna, for example, lists the Tuberose Indiana as a fragrance she wears but, if she ever came out with a perfume to her name a la Britney Spears or Celine Dion, would she wear her own perfume? Don’t bet on it.

Advertisements have appeared over the past few weeks for a new Mariah Carey scent called Forever. While some blogs, such as The Scented Salamander, have covered this fragrance, the scent actually appeared recently in September. Carey already has two scents to her name, M and Luscious Pink, and Forever, at the moment, coincides with an upcoming album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel and single “Obsessed” that was released over the past month. While “Obsessed” gives listeners a glimpse of what Mariah Carey sounds with Auto-Tune effects (and dressed as a guy), what does Forever give perfume wearers looking for something different?

Forever, as described in reviews on various perfume websites, has an overall floral scent, with a composition consisting of neroli, lotus blossom, dewy green apple, tuberose, gardenia, white musk and, woods. Many, in addition, cite that they like that the tuberose isn’t too overpowering in the overall body of the fragrance. Celebrity fragrances, generally, have been by company Coty, but, in the case of Forever, the scent was developed by perfumer Olivier Gillotin.

The scent itself seems fairly straight forward and innocuous, but, as with most fragrances, the question is, who will buy it? As seen on various perfume websites and message boards, those who seem to prefer this fragrance are, in fact, Mariah Carey fans who pre-order this fragrance, much like her upcoming album, to have everything Mariah Carey-related. Although following a particular artist is never a bad thing (unless, of course, you found Glitter enjoyable), this is essentially the strong market for any Mariah Carey perfume. The rest of us? Some have been trying the fragrance at department store counters and it appears hit or miss. Some, from various message board comments, find it smells like a cheap version of a Marc Jacobs perfume. So, when deciding if this is an Elizabeth Taylor Diamond (a classic) or a Debbie Gibson’s Electric Youth (a passing fad), what is the verdict? As with many celebrity perfumes, Forever will be the latter in a few years.

Regardless of where you go to buy perfumes – online, the drug store, department stores – you’ll notice that many celebrity fragrances are available. In fact, some celebrities have multiple fragrances attached to their names. Celebrity fragrances are nothing new, as even actors from the ‘60s and ‘70s like Alain Delon and ‘80s pop stars like Debbie Gibson have fragrances to their names. In the case of Delon and Gibson their body of work – movie Samurai and song “Electric Youth,” respectively – inspired the fragrances, but what can you say about Paris Hilton’s line of perfumes? Often, a well-known name attached to a fragrance appears to make the brand sell better. Although fragrance company Coty is more often responsible for these perfumes, the celebrity’s name often helps with marketing.

Although Coty is the maker behind Kate Moss and Shania Twain perfume brands, as well as Adidas perfumes, the celebrity brands sell the perfumes themselves. So, what is the appeal? Aside from marketing, the brief appeal of celebrity perfumes is being able to smell like a celebrity. Although celebrity perfumes generally aren’t found at drug stores – Usher and Antonio Banderas perfumes are an exception – the scent of each celebrity perfume is designed to, supposedly, smell like that celebrity. And, if you wear it, in theory, you could smell like that celebrity, too.

But, how logical is this? One of Britney Spears’ perfumes smells mostly of magnolia and Instinct, the David Beckham perfume, smells of amber, patchouli and bergamot. Does Britney Spears remind you of magnolias or David Beckham of amber, patchouli, and a citrus scent? Quite honestly, given their careers and lifestyles, both celebrities appear that they would smell of a combination of sweat and cigarettes. Unless, of course, Britney Spears covers up the sweaty smell from performing and clubbing with a magnolia-scented perfume but, ultimately, that still equates magnolia-scented sweat.

Finding discount designer clothing is often easy. Aside from shopping on sales racks, outlet malls over many options for finding designer fashions at prices that are within your budget. And, as mentioned on this blog with handbags previously, designed fashion often includes designer-inspired and knockoff clothing which, like handbags, easily stand out from the original designer fashions. But, what about fragrances? Many, including celebrities, have their favorite fragrances and, if you’re looking for a favorite fragrance of a celebrity, one of the first places to go is the perfume counter at a high-end department store. But, if a $50 price tag on a two-ounce eau de toilette bottle scares you off, where do you go to find perfume or cologne that’ll still make you smell nice?

Many websites online carry discounted perfumes, including websites like Kaufman Fragrance. What is the difference between buying a fragrance on one of these discounted websites versus at a department store counter? While the prices on discounted fragrance websites show that prices are marked down 20 to 70 percent from the original price, often the packaging is damaged in some sense so that the perfume isn’t sold at the full price.

However, although the packaging may be damaged in some cases, resulting in a lower price, the fragrance itself isn’t altered, and, if you’re looking for a familiar perfume, the fragrance that you’re looking for will ultimately smell the same as it always has. In addition, as with many websites, discount perfume websites have a variety of products, from the latest fragrances by top brands like Chanel and Gucci to hard-to-find and even perfumes that are no longer found in stores. Many discount perfume websites carry classic fragrances, such as Chanel No. 5 or Chloe, and even discontinued perfumes, such as Debbie Gibson’s Electric Youth perfume from the late ‘80s.