In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the most hip side project for a celebrity to do was to launch a clothing line. Now, instead of persuading their adoring fans to dress like them, celebs have moved on to a new hip side project that entails asking consumers to smell like them. These days, a horde of celebrities are launching their own fragrances, including most recently, Rihanna and Mary J. Blige. Heck, there’s even been talk of creating a Michael Jackson “tribute” perfume line, but that’s a whole ‘nother story.
The business of celebrity perfumes is pleasingly lucrative with the top 10 bestselling celebrity perfumes from 2010 bringing in $215 million in the U.S, according to Euromonitor International. Even more interesting is the fact that regardless if a fragrance does not not reflect the actual smell of the celebrity themselves, their fans will still run out to buy a bottle because it represents a connection to those celebrities. Forbes recently compiled a list of the top-selling celebrity perfumes, and here are a few black celebs that made the cut:
Beyoncé
Heat
$21 Million
When Beyoncé’s Heat launched last year, it wasn’t so much the perfume itself that initially caught the public’s eye–it was the steamy commercial she shot to promote the fragrance. Apparently, her commercial was a little too hot for the U.K. because they banned it from airing during daytime hours. But that little hiccup did nothing to affect sales, as the perfume line racked up a healthy $21 million in sales.
