Sean Combs Cologne

Let the showdown begin! Sean Combs and Jennifer Lopez have each released fragrances in the past year: Jennifer's Deseo ($46–$56) and Diddy's Unforgivable Woman ($55–$75). It's not the first foray into the fragrance world for either, but with Deseo expected to make millions in its first year alone, and P. Diddy's nomination for a CEW award, these ex-lovahs both have a lot at stake. But whose scent is better? For a side-by-side comparison, read more

Eighty-four percent of you say you're sick of celebrity fragrances, but you must be anomalies—because celeb perfumes are selling like crazy. Some of the interesting bits from the story:

• There's big bucks in this business. Euromonitor International, a Chicago-based market research firm, reports that worldwide sales of the top seven celebrity scent lines—just the top seven!—totaled $353.6 million last year.
• Diddy's sitting pretty. A lot of you find his Unforgivable ads cheesy, but the scent is doing just fine. Last year, it did $74.9 million in sales.
• Inside the contract: Fragrance companies such as Coty and Elizabeth Arden produce and develop the fragrance, then the star's name goes on the bottle. Contract details are kept private, but the industry standard is to give the celeb 5–10% of sales, with a possible signing bonus.
• Jennifer Lopez has made many cents out of scents. Forbes writes: "In 2006, Lopez's net worth was about $110 million, according to Forbes' list of the 20 richest women in entertainment—but her last CD was a flop, as were her last several movies. Sales of her fragrances, including Glow and Live Luxe, totaled $77 million in 2006."

What I'd really like to know—and what the story doesn't reveal, unfortunately—is the extent to which celebrities are involved in creating their scents. I've heard that Hilary Duff had a lot of input and feedback on hers, and I can see Gwen Stefani knowing what she wanted for L. Somehow, though, I'm not convinced that Britney Spears was actively involved in making Believe—at least, not with all of her personal drama this year.