“Deneuve” in 1986. Avon Products licensed French actress Catherine Deneuve's name for the scent and introduced it in stores in 1987. Created by Jacques Vermorel.
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Avon tested a specially created subsidiary, Avon Marketing Direct, which offered "personal beauty advisers who cater to the total woman." The "advisers" would give customers advice about both fashion and beauty. As full time employees, consultants "will not be in conflict with our representatives." The new distribution scheme aimed at the more affluent market Avon had targeted with a new subsidiary, Parfums Phenix, which will sell a $165-an-ounce perfume named Deneuve, after the French actress, in 1986. Avon first used mail-order magazine advertisements to sell the Deneuve perfume. A year later the pricey fragrance was introduced in 50 stores, by 1988, it was available in 300.
Catherine Deneuve was whisked around the United States in the Avon jet to promote her perfume at the better department stores in the major cities.
The Paris New (Paris, Texas), 1987:
Avon tested a specially created subsidiary, Avon Marketing Direct, which offered "personal beauty advisers who cater to the total woman." The "advisers" would give customers advice about both fashion and beauty. As full time employees, consultants "will not be in conflict with our representatives." The new distribution scheme aimed at the more affluent market Avon had targeted with a new subsidiary, Parfums Phenix, which will sell a $165-an-ounce perfume named Deneuve, after the French actress, in 1986. Avon first used mail-order magazine advertisements to sell the Deneuve perfume. A year later the pricey fragrance was introduced in 50 stores, by 1988, it was available in 300.
Catherine Deneuve was whisked around the United States in the Avon jet to promote her perfume at the better department stores in the major cities.
The Paris New (Paris, Texas), 1987:
"In a corner of the Beverly Hills Hotel reception room, Miss Deneuve submitted dutifully to the questions of a reporter. Why a perfume? “Why not? Like all women, perfume is something very personal to me, and something I have been wearing quite young. Given the opportunity to take part in the making of the product, it was something I found very exciting,” she said. “Because perfume is so personal, not all women will like mine. It is very romantic because it is very floral, very open in a way. I wanted something you could wear in the day and in the night, something you could use for a long time and not feel tired of it.”
Fragrance Composition:
So what does it smell like? It is classified as a aldehydic floral chypre fragrance for women. It begins with a green top,followed by a green floral heart, resting on a woody, powdery base.
- Top notes: black currant buds, lemon, mandarin, angelica, galbanum, bergamot, aldehydes, green notes, neroli, basil
- Middle notes: marigold, orris, jasmine, hyacinth, ylang-ylang, rose, lily-of-the-valley, violet
- Base notes: heliotrope, myrrh, vetiver, vanilla, patchouli, benzoin, musk, sandalwood, oakmoss, Virginia cedar, civet
Ancillary Products:
In 1987, Phenix Parfums introduced an ancillary line, Le Bain Deneuve. The bath line originally had only three products: a moisturizing bath and shower gelee, body lotion and glistening dusting powder and all shared the same three point formula of silk proteins for silkiness, collagen for suppleness and elasticity, and Vitamin E to impart healing. All products contain high fragrance concentrations of the floral, semi-oriental Deneuve fragrance.Later perfumed soap (Savons Parfumes), body cream, deodorant, and talcum powder (Talc Parfume) were added to the lineup. In store clinics were planned to show customers how to prolong the scent by layering the various products. A mini coffret of product samples, including a half ounce packet of each bath product and a matchbook sample of the EDT, were given out to customers.
Fate of the Fragrance:
The introduction of Catherine Deneuve fragrance won the Fragrance Foundation's "Most Successful Launch" (FiFi) award in 1987, but it was discontinued, by 1989.
Business Week, 1989:
"Early results were disappointing — its first fragrance, Deneuve, flopped."
Forbes, 1990:
"The flops notwithstanding, fragrance companies will continue to try to translate celebrity images into pleasing aromas. ... Avon Products licensed French actress Catherine Deneuve's name for the scent and introduced it in stores in 1987. The product hasn't taken off. Avon should have known better. Despite her stunning beauty and acting abilities, Deneuve's image apparently was not right for a perfume. Chesebrough-Pond's tested the idea of a Deneuve fragrance several years ago and rejected it, on the grounds that Deneuve's icy beauty came across to many women as just plain chilly. Avon has never made a dime on Deneueve, proving Chesebrough's market researchers right."