Beckhams launch 'his and hers' fragrances

LONDON - He has lost his place in the England squad and she has seen her queen Wag role usurped by younger rivals, but the David and Victoria Beckham brand-wagon has continued apace with the launch of "his and hers" fragrances.

Whether it was owing to shyness over their declining stardom, or an attempt to show they are still far too busy and important to attend such events, the couple sent two lookalikes to the launch of their aftershave and perfume ranges in London yesterday.

The "Intimately Beckham" scents for men and women are, according to the rather breathless press release, "separately superlative and yet together are beautifully complimentary, bringing out the best in each other", which may be one way of turning their noses up at rumours of an unhappy marriage.

For a pair who have developed an almost religious devotion to top-of-the range brands such as Versace, they have opted for the slightly downmarket Coty company to ply their perfume products, with a 30ml Eau de Toilette costing just under £20 from Superdrug and other High Street chemists.

So what do the Beckhams smell of? According to the blurb, David is "a portrait of modern masculinity", combining talent and a sexy edginess with a love of family and home life.

In fragrance terms, that means a bit of bergamot and cardamom mixed with grapefruit to supply a "woody-spicy accord".

Victoria, meanwhile, is "a multi-talented mother, wife, businesswoman and style icon" who is represented by an equally heady mix of lilies, tuberose, orange blossom, vanilla, sandalwood and musk.

A somewhat nervous Coty spokeswoman refused to comment yesterday on how she thought Beckham's omission from the England and Real Madrid squads would affect sales of their products, but the star still holds contracts worth millions of pounds with top-name sponsors such as Gillette.

Ian McCawley, deputy editor of Marketing Week magazine, said last week: "They are so well known outside of football and music as a couple and a brand that I don't see it having much effect.

"Anything associated with David Beckham is still going to be very popular."It is Mrs Beckham's first fragrance and her husband's second.

The first Beckham scent, Instinct, was launched by Coty last November and was an instant hit, with Superdrug selling more than 50,000 bottles so far.

Instinct is expected to generate first-year revenues of more than £20 million.

A spokeswoman for Superdrug said: "It has proved to be enormously popular and is one of our best-selling brands.

"The Beckham brand has a very wide appeal, particularly to people who read celebrity magazines and think that Posh really is fabulous.

"They will buy the fragrances because they like them as a couple and aspire to what they have."They are not the first celebrities to launch their own perfume ranges in a bid to capture a share of the UK's £1.4 billion a year scent market.

The Superdrug spokeswoman said: "The celebrity thing really took off a few years ago but it's all about famous endorsements now.

"Jennifer Lopez was one of the first who was really successful, but recently we've had Beyonce, Paris Hilton, Sarah Jessica Parker and Britney Spears.

"It's all about aspiration and having a glamorous endorsement from someone that people admire and want to be like."

It is not just younger stars who have got in on the act; Dame Elizabeth Taylor started the trend more than 15 years ago and Cliff Richard has also launched a best-selling range of scents.

Kylie Minogue is rumoured to be launching a fragrance later this year.

And the former Big Brother star Jade Goody even managed to eke an entire television series out of the launch of her signature scent, "Ssh!"

- INDEPENDENT