As critics, they are fierce, responding to certain fragrances with rapture or, as often, with venomous contempt. A perfume like Poison, from Dior, is especially polarizing to bloggers, many of whom are stay-at-home moms or professionals in other fields. An enthusiast on Now Smell This described Poison as "a warm, luxurious velvet blanket draped across a satin settee. On the same site, the perfume was assailed as "a railroad spike through the brain." Black Orchid from Tom Ford was praised as "melting cupcakes on hot skin." But a detractor called it “aged Romano in a carnivorous orchid hothouse."

When they wish to be especially withering, bloggers designate a scent as a "scrubber," the kind of smell you can't wash off fast enough. Their enthusiasm, though, can be infectious. Online scent aficionados have become a force to be reckoned with in the $2.9 billion high-end fragrance industry, which has had a slight decline in sales since 2007. Their interest in mostly unadvertised, limited-distribution brands has helped drive niche sales in 2007 to $253 million, a rise of 19 percent, said Karen Grant, the senior beauty analyst of the market research firm NPD. Niche brands have doubled in volume since 2005, accounting for 9 percent of sales, Ms. Grant said.

Not surprisingly, these critics' uncensored comments have been anathema to the Estée Lauders and Cotys of the world, industry giants that have relied almost exclusively on advertising and glowing magazine commentary to spread their message and spur sales. "No question, the industry people are unnerved," said Rochelle R. Bloom, the president of the Fragrance Foundation, a trade group. "I often get calls from executives pleading, 'Can't you do something about all this chatter.'"

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Marianne Diorio, a spokeswoman for Estée Lauder, acknowledged as much: "In the beginning we were nervous about the blogs. As with any new media, there were mixed emotions." Pointedly, she added, "Now we could never think of launching a fragrance without contacting the bloggers." The company engages in dialogues with critics, she said, and advertises some of its fragrances on sites like Now Smell This.

Every day, teen girls experience things that make them say, text or e-mail, "OMG!" Whether it's a pop quiz, a smile from the cutest guy in school or a bad hair day for class pictures, these OMG! moments are no joke. Girls may blush, scream or laugh, but with new Degree Girl anti-perspirant and deodorant, they can stay cool even during the biggest OMG! moment imaginable.

Actress and recording artist Ashley Tisdale, best known for her starring role in Disney Channel's "High School Musical," lives -- and creates -- OMG! moments in real life and on stage. In an exclusive partnership with Degree Girl, Tisdale will give some of her biggest fans the ultimate OMG! moment.

From April 1 through May 26, fans can visit DegreeGirl.com to catch up on Tisdale's latest news through a weekly vlog (video blog). These girls can also share their own OMG! moments via video or post their stories to the online blog form to enter Degree Girl's Ultimate OMG! Contest* where teens have a unique opportunity to meet Tisdale, attend an exclusive concert and much more!

"Everyone can relate to those famous OMG! moments right out of the movies, but I love hearing about my friends' and fans' moments too," says Tisdale. "We all have stories and one way I keep my cool is sharing my funny and embarrassing moments with my girl friends and just laughing it off."

A winner will be announced each week after girls submit their OMG! videos. Seven lucky girls, along with two guests plus a guardian, will win a trip to Los Angeles for their OMG! moment with Tisdale.

Degree Girl will be available at mass market retailers nationwide for an average retail price of $2.42 beginning in April 2008. For more information, visit http://www.degreegirl.com/.

Like red roses and heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, perfume has traditionally been one of the fail-safe offerings of Valentine's Day. But this year, as couples sit down to romantic dinners, a small but growing cohort of American women will emit scents that are more corporal and less Chanel. At a time when the number of perfumes on shelves has dramatically increased, consumption of fragrances is declining, industry analysts said. Last year, department stores carried 1,160 different fragrances for women compared with 756 in 2002, according to NPD Group, a market research firm that tracks consumer product sales.

Yet, last year in the United States, spending on upscale women's fragrances declined, as part of a multiyear trend. The group said $1.97 billion was spent, down from $2 billion in 2002. Like Ms. Ware, more women are forgoing scent altogether. Last year, about 15 percent of women said they did not wear fragrance, up from 13 percent in 2003, according to a survey of 9,800 women conducted by NPD. "That may sound like a small number, but nationally that translates into two million more women who are saying 'I don't wear fragrance,'" said Karen Grant, the senior beauty industry analyst at NPD. "Eighty-five percent of women are still buying fragrance, but an increasing number tell us they are wearing fewer scents, less frequently or not at all." Fragrance fatigue is probably inevitable, with heavily fruited scents wafting out of everything from dishwashing liquids to hotel linens to candle displays at the mall. But perfume aversion seems to be tapping into a larger societal phenomenon that may have its origins in bans on cellphones and cigarettes: the idea that the collective demands of the public space trump one's personal space. "People are shying away from fragrances not for the traditional reasons that you'd expect, that it is too expensive or that they are wearing alternative products like body sprays or lotions," Ms. Grant said. "Many people said it bothers them that fragrance has an effect on other people, that they are trying to be considerate by not overcoming others with scent."

"It's very flattering," said Sevigny on being picked to represent Chloé Eau de Parfum, before adding, with a laugh, "I'm concerned that the customers might be confused, though; I have the umlaut in my name while they have the accent. I'm Chloë, not Chloé."

And while Rubik stars in the current Chloé ad campaign, Poésy had an altogether uncanny connection to being a fragrance face as well. "I play a girl named Chloé in my film In Bruges," she laughed.

"Coco Chanel's strong personality, her bold temperament and her charisma were impressive," states Knightley. "There was no one like her in the world...her impact went beyond fashion and transformed society by liberating women in both a real and figurative sense."

In this cinematic dialogue, the essence of Coco Chanel lives on. Shot in five days in Paris, the film is a collaboration between Knightley and director Joe Wright. The production was overseen by Jacques Helleu, Chanel Artist Director, who has guarded and nurtured the image of Chanel for 40 years. The film's soundtrack, "L-O-V-E" is performed by the soulful voice of Grammy award winner, Joss Stone. The score was originally composed by Bert Kaempfert and Milt Gabler in 1964 for Nat King Cole.

Coco Mademoiselle is a fresh oriental scent created by Chanel master perfumer Jacques Polge in 2001. The fragrance represents the ever-evolving spirit of Coco Chanel in this feminine, sexy, young and exciting fragrance. A national cable television flight of 30 and 60 second spots will debut September 24th through October 7th.

The Yeah! singer has signed a deal with Liz Claiborne Cosmetics to launch his own fragrance in September (2007). Usher is also planning to sell his own clothing and accessories range.

The star will join fellow famous perfumiers Jennifer Lopez, Kylie Minogue, Hilary Duff, Paris Hilton, Naomi Campbell, Celine Dion, and Britney Spears.

The page is layered with watery graffiti images of the words "sex" and "today," and on top of that, as large as the models, two glass bottles shaped like rocket silos topped in white plastic casing and the name of the new scent: CK in2u.

Embedded in these images, as described by a half-dozen Calvin Klein and Coty executives gathered around a table, is a portrait of a generation they describe as physically bold but emotionally guarded, having grown up using computers as a primary means of interaction. Now young adults, they are post-Abercrombie, post-Juicy Couture and over any number of scents derived from the essences of Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.

The CK in2u bottle, designed by Stephen Burks, is made from the same materials - white plastic and glass - recognizable in an iPod. (Fabien Baron designed the original bottle.) The name is written in the shorthand of an instant message, a casual invitation to sex so immediate as to imply there was no time to spell it out: "in to you."

A typical line from the press materials for CK in2u goes like this: "She likes how he blogs, her texts turn him on. It's intense. For right now."

Which may turn off its intended audience by the tens of thousands.

Few consumers like being marketed to less than 20-somethings, and Calvin Klein and Coty know this because, as part of their development of CK in2u, they interviewed young consumers thought to be typical of their generation, including ones in the Dumbo and Williamsburg sections of Brooklyn.

Sales of Spears' fragrances have — not surprisingly — taken a hit recently. Spears first perfume was a top-seller when it was introduced in 2004 and her scents were her primary source of income for the last few years, according to OK!, which reports that sales over the holiday were "weak" and that there is concern about future sales.

Although Spears was estimated to be worth $123 million in 2002, a former employee of the singer tells the mag that the star has been "burning through money," as she has not put out a new album, toured or nabbed new endorsement deals in years.

Britney Spears celebrated the astounding success of her three fragrances, Curious, Fantasy and In Control, with Elizabeth Arden, the company that manufactures and markets the scents, at a celebration today at the Hudson Hotel. Her first fragrance Curious, became the #1 launch worldwide in 2005, and the only new launch to make the top 20 list globally. In the US, Curious achieved a top 5 fragrance ranking among fragrances launched in the past decade. Over 10 million bottles of the three scents have been sold -- an astonishing number considering that her first fragrance, Curious, was just launched in 2004.

A giant cake in shape of her fragrance bottle for Fantasy commemorated the occasion, and young dancers from Broadway Dance Center, where Britney had studied in New York before becoming a top-selling recording artist, helped her celebrate. Dancers competed in a dance-off judged by Britney. Twelve-year-old Marina Micalizzi was the winner. Britney Spears fragrances are sold in over 80 countries around the world.

The 21-year-old actress will appear in Chanel ads beginning in 2007, the company announced Wednesday. Knightley succeeds Kate Moss, whose contract expired last October. The 32-year-old British supermodel had starred in the Coco Mademoiselle ads since 2002. Moss lost several high-profile modeling contracts last year after a tabloid published pictures of her allegedly using cocaine in a west London music studio.

"Keira Knightley is a bright, young actress who has already made her mark in a diverse portfolio of films, including her Oscar-nominated performance in Pride & Prejudice, " said Chanel artistic director Jacques Helleu in a statement. He also said Knightley's elegance, beauty and modernity parallel some of the brand's other previous famous faces, including Catherine Deneuve and Nicole Kidman, who represented Chanel No. 5. "(I am) really proud to have been asked to work with such an iconic house as Chanel, and thrilled to follow the extraordinary women who have been associated with it before," Knightley said in a statement.

Carey will be personally involved in all aspects of product development, packaging and marketing, the company said in a statement. "She is, unquestionably, a star of incredible magnitude. All over the world, people aspire to the values she represents," said E. Scott Beattie, chairman of Elizabeth Arden, in a statement Thursday. "We look forward to launching an inspiring new global fragrance brand with Mariah that will be a timeless classic."

A spokeswoman for Elizabeth Arden declined to comment Friday on the terms of the deal or the details of the fragrance. Other celebrities who have launched Elizabeth Arden fragrances include Britney Spears for Curious and Fantasy, and Elizabeth Taylor for White Diamonds, Black Pearls and other scents.

The Constant Gardener star Rachel Weisz may have fit her pregnant figure into a sleek black Narciso Rodriguez gown when she accepted her Best Supporting Actress Oscar last week, but her face belongs to Burberry. The British actress, 35, who is seven months pregnant, is the new face of the British fashion house's fragrance, London, which is described as light and floral with a rich undertone.

Weisz, whose companion is 37-year-old director Darren Aronofsky, tells the Associated Press: "I'm British. I grew up with Burberry being the ultimate brand in chic, elegance and history. My granny, the chicest lady I ever knew, had a Burberry raincoat. Now it's a cool and edgy fashion house, too."

Weisz, admitting she's particularly fond of perfumes with a sandalwood base, says that that her sense of smell has been heightened by her pregnancy. She also says that she is craving cheese.

"Today, Guerlain expands its international presence by associating its name with a muse. More than just a face, Guerlain searched for a personality and character embodying the Guerlain spirit. Both a muse and a spokesperson, Hilary Swank will inspire and represent Guerlain for the next three years."

"Hilary Swank, two-time Academy Award winning actress, is an extraordinary woman full of beauty and passion. In her award-winning roles, both daring and unconventional, she captivated the world. Hilary is bold and confident, yet full of emotion and truly genuine. It is this remarkable spirit that appealed to the directors of Guerlain. Her charisma will shine through as she presents at the 78th Academy Awards ceremony on March 5th."