Christian Dior’s ‘Poison’ Has Entered the Pantheon of Perfumes
Poison, Christian Dior’s dramatic floral perfume, was added to the Fragrance Hall of Fame this week during the Fragrance Foundation’s annual “FiFi” award ceremonies in New York.
The perfume, which took three years to develop and $15 million to create and launch, debuted in Europe in 1985 at a lavish “Poison Ball.” For the next two weeks, Dior has said, a bottle was sold in Paris every 50 seconds.
Poison is a blend of musk, orange blossoms, cinnamon and coriander, sold in its signature amethyst bottle and green moire packaging.
Other winners in the women’s categories, grouped by type and size of retail outlet, included Baby Doll, Yves St. Laurent; Gucci Rush, Gucci Parfums (Intercosmetics); April Fields, Coty; Snow, Demeter Fragrances and Dream Angels Heavenly, Victoria’s Secret.
Men’s winners were Salvatore Ferragamo Pour Homme, Fragrances Exclusive; Ralph Lauren Romance Men, Ralph Lauren Fragrances; Adidas Moves, Coty; Snow, Demeter Fragrances and Modern For Men, Banana Republic.
Awards were given for excellence in marketing, technology and packaging, while Allure magazine took the “Best Fragrance Feature” prize for its “Scents and the City” layout.
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Failed online clothing retailer Boo.com has been bought by the fashion portal Fashionmall.com, according to an announcement at Boo.com’s site.
London-based Boo.com, with its Lara Croft-like shopping assistant Miss Boo, allowed users to view its wares on a multimedia-soaked, resource-intensive 3-D site. But the company was perhaps just as well known for having spent its way through almost $135 million in six months of operation, prompting investors--including the Benetton family and Christian Dior’s chairman--to bail out in May.
Fashionmall.com, which features such clothing and beauty retailers as gap.com and eve.com, says it is repositioning Boo.com “as the ultimate global fashion portal” for a relaunch.
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Spa packages may not be at the top of the average Father’s Day gift list, but that’s not for lack of trying by the industry.
The Web site spafinder.com, which is staging a Father’s Day essay contest with spa certificates as prizes, says its research shows men now account for nearly 30% of all spa visits, up from less than 10% only a few years ago.
“Today’s spa attendance reflects an amazing change in men’s lifestyles and in their priorities,” said Frank van Putten, the site’s chief executive. “Men go to spas and are not afraid to admit that they love the experience. They talk about it at the office and with friends.”
Among other packages at vacation spas and day spas, the Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts chain is offering weekend spa packages for Dad at all of its 48 properties around the world.
“Spa has taken on universal appeal,” said Wolf Hengst, Four Seasons president and chief operations officer. “Guest usage of Four Seasons spa facilities everywhere has significantly increased--including among male guests.”
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On a somewhat related note, the June issue of Men’s Health magazine features the “average guy” list, based on statistics from university studies, research projects and government reports.
The average guy, according to the magazine’s research, eats fast food 1.4 times a week, drinks 3.3 cups of coffee daily and knocks down 1.2 alcoholic drinks a day. He eats steak twice a week and 245 eggs a year. To no one’s surprise, he has a 1-in-5 chance of being at least 30 pounds overweight.
