Fragrance’s Best Dressed

By Leah Genuario

For the past 34 years, the Fragrance Foundation has honored the best in the fragrance industry by hosting the FiFi Awards. Packaging excellence is recognized by the foundation in four categories: Women’s Prestige, Men’s Prestige, Women’s Popular Appeal and Men’s Popular Appeal.

This year, 60 women’s fragrance entries were received and 27 men’s fragrances competed for the title of Best Packaging of the Year in their respective categories. A panel of judges chose the winners. Armani Privé took home awards in both the Women’s Prestige and Men’s Prestige categories. Celine Dion Belong won in the Women’s Popular Appeal category.Avon’s Today TOMORROW Always for Men walked away with best packaging honors in Men’s Popular Appeal.

Armani Privé

Giorgio Armani Parfums, a division of L’Oréal USA

Armani Privé is a collection of fragrances conceived by Giorgio Armani. Currently four versions exist, with a fifth fragrance — Cuir Améthyste — expected to debut in September. The original set was launched in Nov. 2004 and is sold at Giorgio Armani Cosmetic counters for $185 per fragrance.

The bottles, inspired by a Constantin Brancusi sculpture, are made of dark, African Kotibe wood. The stone caps utilize an array of materials and were chosen with the corresponding scent in mind. Traditional Eau de Jade is topped off with jade. Pierre de Lune’s floral scent is enhanced with moonstone. Amber enhances Ambre Soie, a fragrance with an oriental flair. A black stone from Pantelleria, Italy — where Armani has a home — crowns spicy fragrance Bois d’Encens.

Unlike most fragrances, this collection was created gender neutral.

“All four fragrances were created to cater to both sexes. The Privé clients are Armani addicts, perfume connoisseurs and trendsetters. Each fragrance is not necessarily meant to be masculine or feminine — it’s merely meant to evoke a feeling. Anyone can wear it and make it their own,” says Ava Huang, vice president of marketing for Giorgio Armani Cosmetics.

The secondary package is in keeping with the luxurious, exclusive product. The bottle is housed in a box of paper with a suede look and feel. The package is wrapped in a leather strap and sealed by an engraved metal plate.

The Armani Privé collection also won the FiFi for Fragrance of the Year in the Men’s Nouveau Niche category.

Celine Dion Parfums Belong

Coty Inc.

Launched in spring 2005, Celine Dion Parfums Belong marks Dion’s third entry into fragrance. Dion was highly involved in its development and the scent and packaging aim to capture the off camera side of the singer.According to Coty, Dion believes in “being true to yourself” and “following your heart.”

Dion’s lucky number five is incorporated into the bottle form. The elegant pentagon-shaped flacon was designed by Ken Hirst and produced by Pochet. The final bottle form tested the technical limits of the glass industry.

“One of the biggest challenges we faced was to achieve an even distribution on all five sides of the pentagon-shaped glass bottle. We overcame this challenge by utilizing a high quality glass on the bottle, thus achieving a consistent glass distribution,” according to Coty’s marketing and creative team.

In addition to the custom bottle, the primary package also makes use of a silver cap and collar from Eyelematic, and is engraved with Dion’s name. A standard crimp on pump from Emsar was also utilized.

The transparent bottle showcases the clear juice, which aims at portraying Belong’s purity. It’s a vivid contrast to the vibrant violet secondary packaging. The carton, from Arko Paper Products, is intended to communicate joy.

“This fragrance is about celebrating life,” says Dion of her new scent. “Let the world see the real you and always belong to the moment. It’s about a woman’s inner beauty, her confidence, her passion and her sensuality. It’s the way I like to feel about myself.”

Today TOMORROW Always for Men

Avon Products

In addition to its win in the Best Packaging, Men’s Popular Appeal category, Today TOMORROW Always for Men captured the Fragrance of the Year FiFi Award in the Men’s Private Label/Direct Sell category. It’s the first male scent in the collection, joining the Today. Tomorrow. Always female trilogy, which launched in 2004, with scents two and three following in 2005.

The packaging for the men’s version exploits the scent’s color.

“The dark brown color in the [men’s] fragrance was picked to evoke a dark wood and brandy image in an upscale men’s club. It has a strong masculine appeal,” according to Dana Schiller, public relations and promotions specialist for Avon Products, New York, NY.

The rich brown juice is highlighted by a rectangular shaped, thick-walled glass bottle produced by Heinz Glas. The shape is a complimenting contrast to Today. Tomorrow. Always for Women, which utilizes an oval shaped flacon.

Produced by Moldeo de Plasticos FAR, the transparent symmetrical Surlyn closure used for the men’s fragrance features soft corners reminiscent of the softness found in the women’s asymmetrical fragrance caps. The pump, supplied by Emsar, is anodized bronze with a silk-screened logo. The actuator matches with an anodized bronze over-shell.

The brown color scheme is carried through to the secondary package. The outer side of the carton utilizes dark brown metallic board and features a shiny copper logo. On the inside, a light brown color is used. The secondary package is supplied by Arko Paper Products.

“Today TOMORROW Always for Men is a timeless bottle. The lines are simple and modern and the execution is very upscale. This kind of design execution is comparable to the most upscale department store brands,” according to Schiller. The fragrance retails for $20.-