It’s the trendiest celebrity must-do: design and promote a signature fragrance that you bill as the scent that truly captures the essence of you. If smells could speak they would sing and shout that with each little bottle, the purchaser gets to take home a piece of the famous soul. So is it just a promotional gimmick or do these celebs really put their heart and soul into these perfumes?

We asked shoppers to take a whiff and try to name the famous guy or girl who attached their name to the fragrance. After a few hours, we found that the only folks who could make the connection between celeb and scent were the ones who already knew whose fragrance they were sampling. So we tried a different approach.

We showed unsuspecting shoppers pictures of ten celebrities and asked them to give us a few adjectives to describe each. We asked them, “Given what you’ve just said, if this personality had a scent which would it be?” Then they sampled the signature fragrances and were asked to play the matching game.

According to our smart shoppers, there are a few celebrities who really have created a fragrance that captures their own persona. For starters, Justin Timberlake. One panel member described him as smoldering, mysterious and fun. She identified his cologne after one quick sniff. “His cologne is spicy and manly, but it still has this undercurrent of a soft scent – it’s exactly what I think he must smell like!”

Jessica Simpson was another who “put herself into this bottle (well, I’ve never really seen or smelled her in person, but I bet this is totally what she smells like before she goes out!)” Jess was described as “exotic but innocent, feminine and sultry. Like someone who is trying to find herself in front of the eyes of the world.” Most shoppers matched her scent to her picture. “This is so what I imagine her to be. Her perfume has this great aroma when you first spray it, and it continues to develop as it lingers. It settles into this soft, sparkling scent.”

JLo’s fragrance is apparently as sexy and feminine as she is. While she was explained using every thesaurus word for smokin’ hot, her perfume was easily and repeatedly described as “gorgeous”. “It’s got just the right balance of soft and florally and spicy and feminine…I don’t know how to adequately articulate the complicated but simple way this smells –and makes me feel when I’m wearing it. I bet she can make people feel much the same!”

One big surprise was designer Calvin Klein. You may not think of him as a classic celebrity, but he was one of the top five identified in our line-up. People feel like they really know Calvin even though he doesn’t live in the spotlight like other celebs in our game. “I always imagine him to be this spicy, outdoorsy guy who is really clean. I imagine his house, car, office and him to be ultra clean. I don’t know why!” Well if Calvin Klein Euphoria is anything like Calvin himself, she’s exactly right. This crisp, citrusy scent is light and, of course, clean and well balanced with just the right amount of sandalwood to smooth out the zesty effect.

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