Celebrity Engagement Rings – Going for Bling?

In Hollywood, many celebrity engagement rings seem to be getting bigger and bigger! You can see some stars with sedate carat weights, and then you’ll see a star walk in with a blinding 18 carat diamond. It begs the question – what makes them go bigger or smaller? Is it personal taste? Is it the urge to be noticed?

One side seems to be personal taste. What feels good, what works on their hand, and their own personal style. These celebs know what they want and what they like. They’re going to work that into everything they put on – but most certainly their engagement ring! They are not out to be a trendsetter, but they’re definitely going to use their resources to find something totally “them.”

Another side seems to be because they can. They have the money now, and by golly, they’re going to use it! This seems to fall into the “be noticed” category. They know when they get engaged, the light bulbs are going to pop on that hand, and they want it to be spectacular. Period. Perhaps to them it is a status symbol. Perhaps they feel they have arrived. Perhaps they even feel it is expected.

There seems to be two minds in the bling category. One side says “this is my life, there’s no reason to make big statement.” The other says, “Ooooo! Shiny!” But let’s face it. When we hear that someone has gotten engaged, our eyes immediately turn to the fourth finger of the left hand. We want to see that expression of betrothal. That’s not a celebrity thing… That’s been going on since the advent of the betrothal ring tradition. Can we blame them when celebrities go big?

I leave you with some celebrity engagement ring stats…

• Khloe Kardashian – 9 carat radiant cut diamond engagement ring
• Hillary Duff- 14 carat princess cut diamond engagement ring
• Carrie Underwood – 5 + carat brilliant cut round diamond engagement ring
• Beyonce – 18 carat emerald cut solitaire diamond engagement ring
• Mariah Carey – 17 carat square emerald cut diamond engagement ring

Sarah Harris is the Marketing Manager at Adiamor Engagement Rings. Adiamor offers a large selection of engagement ring settings, loose diamonds, and other fine diamond jewelry at affordable prices.

The Sweet Smell of Money – Celebrity Perfumes

Author: Debbie Graf
It seems that launching a signature scent has become the norm as celebs expand their options and it’s no wonder – who wouldn’t want a slice of this multi-billion dollar industry? But don’t be too quick to judge celebrity perfumes. While many fail to impress beyond the initial hype, some actually do stand the test of time. After all, the proof is in the smelling and if you like a particular fragrance, it doesn’t really matter whose name is attached to it. Or does it?

Let’s take Britney Spears and all her troubles as a perfect example. Now I wouldn’t normally go out of my way to try Britney’s perfume but working as I do in the industry means that I get to try perfumes irrespective of my personal preferences. And you know what, I actually quite like Britney’s Curious (although I am partial to almost any vanilla-based fragrance). I’ve tried introducing Curious to friends and although some of them have liked it, they would never admit to wearing a Britney perfume. So it just goes to show, celebrity endorsement doesn’t always guarantee a winner.

Nevertheless, celebs know a money-spinner when they see one and continue to jump on the fragrance bandwagon. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that all celebrity perfumes are just about making money without any real commitment to the product. I like to believe that some celebs do actually have an interest and in some cases, even a personal say in the creation of their fragrances. JLo for example (another of my favourite brands incidentally) makes quite a lot of the fact that each one of her fragrances represents an aspect of her own life and personality and I for one believe her. Let’s face it, in celeb fragrance terms, JLo is an experienced professional, having launched her first fragrance, Glow, back in 2002. But I think that she’s the exception rather than the rule and I think most celebs are happy to sprout the marketing blurb that’s been written for them.

I’m sure it’s the success of fragrances like JLo’s Miami Glow which has spurred celebrity perfumes on but these days, they seem to be churning them out at an alarming rate. Mariah Carey is about to launch the follow up to ‘M’ with Mariah Carey’s Luscious Pink and Jessica Simpson is releasing Fancy. In the UK, B-list celebrities are also getting in on the action. We’ve had Kerry Katona with Outrageous and Jade Goody has just announced a follow up to her previous fragrance, Shh… Jade Goody, with a new one called Controversial. Now is it just me or does it seem like fragrance manufacturers are simply working their way through the dictionary as they name these fragrances? To be fair though, as I said in the beginning, the proof is in the smelling so I guess I’ll just have to test these fragrances before passing judgement.

Celebrity Perfumes (featured)

Similar to celebrity fragrance but slightly different is celebrity endorsement. This is where a celebrity lends his or her face (and very often body) to a particular fragrance brand. This is a win-win situation for both the brand (they retain branding of the product while still benefiting from the celebrity’s status and ability to sell) and the celebrity who gets money and much needed exposure. But this isn’t always a win for the consumer and you have to wonder how many manufacturers rely on celebrity endorsements to sell fragrances which would normally be seen as quite ordinary. A recent example would be Davidoff’s Adventure which used Ewan “Long Way” McGregor as its face but was panned by critics as being “anything but adventurous”. As with celebrity fragrances however, you can’t write off a fragrance simply because it has celebrity endorsement and I for one am looking forward to the release of Estée Lauder’s Sensuous which, although promoted by no less than four celebs (Elizabeth Hurley, Carolyn Murphy, Hilary Rhoda and Gwyneth Paltrow) promises to be Estée Lauder’s most exciting release in recent years.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/cosmetics-articles/celebrity-perfumes-the-sweet-smell-of-money-582321.html

About the Author:
Debbie is a Fragrance Foundation Certified Sales Specialist and owns DM Fragrances, a small online perfume shop selling a wide range of designer  womens perfume  and aftershave.