Sasha Fierce has finally succumbed to the temptations of the celebrity fragrance game: Beyoncé Knowles has signed a deal with Coty Inc. to produce her own perfume.Beyoncé’s fragrance — which will be sold in department stores globally — is scheduled to be launched in spring in the Americas, followed by the rest of the world in fall 2010. The deal could be worth up to $20 million for the singer over the next three years, sources estimated.Although the deal may have been a long time coming, it arrived the day after Beyoncé walked away with several awards at the MTV Video Music Awards, including Video of the Year, Best Choreography and Best Editing.But the night wasn’t without controversy after Beyoncé (who has often said her onstage alter ego is Sasha Fierce) was passed over for the VMA for Best Female Video — and was defended loudly by fellow singer Kanye West, who jumped onstage and interrupted the speech of the award winner, Taylor Swift. For her part, Beyoncé later invited Swift back onstage to give her interrupted acceptance speech.Now Beyoncé will have her moment on a different kind of stage this spring. “For me, fragrance reflects a woman’s attitude and unique sense of style,” Beyoncé said. “While I love various perfumes, I haven’t found a scent that truly personifies me as a woman. Working with Coty, I was able to turn my ideal fragrance into a reality by creating an alluring and sophisticated fragrance; one that’s reflective of my inner power.”Beyoncé has reportedly been wooed by a number of fragrance companies over the last few years, and talk intensified when the singer’s husband, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, signed a deal of his own this past spring with Parlux Fragrances Inc. It was widely speculated at that time that she would also sign with Parlux. With sales of more than 100 million records and countless awards, including 10 Grammys, Beyoncé was, until this deal was revealed, one of the few remaining superstars, along with Madonna, not to have a namesake fragrance.While this is Beyoncé’s first fragrance, she’s no stranger to the beauty world. In 2004, she appeared as the face of Tommy Hilfiger’s True Star fragrance, produced by the Estée Lauder Cos. Inc.’s Aramis and Designer Fragrances division, and in 2007, the singer signed on as the face of Emporio Armani’s Diamonds fragrance. She is also one of L’Oréal Paris’ celebrity faces.It is fitting the company responsible for kicking off the current celebrity fragrance craze in 2002 with Glow by JLo — which did $100 million globally its first year — is the one to sign Beyoncé. However, it’s a completely different game in 2009 than it was when Glow was launched. According to The NPD Group, the total prestige fragrance business from January through July 2009 was down 11 percent, to $1.072 billion. Of that figure, the women’s category is down 11 percent to $724 million, and the total men’s prestige business was down 10 percent, to $348 million. NPD also estimated the average celebrity fragrance generated about $2.5 million in 2008, a far cry from Jennifer Lopez’s payday.For 2008, sales in the women’s celebrity fragrance category were down by 7 percent, due mostly to the nosedive in gift sets, which account for at least 50 percent of the business. However, according to NPD, sales of the individual fragrance items, like eaux de toilette, or “juices,” were up by 7 percent in the same period.
