Justin Timberlake wants to be on the top in so many spheres! He is a singer whose songs are recognizable from the very first sounds, his William Rast fashion lines are extremely popular, he promotes young talents and now he is involved into the perfumery area.
Justin is fronting Play, that is, the Givenchy fragrance brand, which is set to be rolled out in the U.S. this fall. It firstly appeared in Europe a year ago and was a great success. The singer seems to be the best person to represent the brand.
We were looking for a man who’s recognized all over the world, someone new to the world of perfumery, and with great seductive potential,” said Pamela Baxter, president and chief executive officer of LVMH Perfumes & Cosmetics N.A. and president and ceo of Christian Dior Inc.
Most importantly, we needed to find a man who could embody the modern elegance specific to the Givenchy brand as well as all the facets of Play.”
Actually there are two scents Timberlake presents – Play and Play Intense. Both were created by Symrise perfumers Lucas Sieuzac and Emilie Coppermann with Françoise Donche, creative director for fragrance at Parfums Givenchy.
Both fragrances share a unique note — Caribbean amyris wood, a soft woody note similar to sandalwood and cedar.
Play includes notes of bergamot, mandarin orange, bitter orange and grapefruit; a heart of Caribbean amyris wood, black pepper and coffee flower, and a drydown of vetiver and patchouli. Play Intense has top notes of bergamot and mandarin, a heart of Caribbean amyris wood, pink pepper and coffee flower, and a drydown of labdanum, tonka bean, vetiver and patchouli.
The scents come in two sizes, 50 ml. and 100 ml. Play will cost $53 for the 50 ml. and $71 for the 100 ml.; while Play Intense will be priced at $57 for 50 ml. , and $76 for 100 ml.
About 1,800 department stores in the U.S. will sell the perfume, including Macy’s, Nordstrom, Dillard’s and Sephora.
The two scents are not new to the market and they began selling in Europe last August.
Because the U.S. is one of our largest markets, we wanted to work out any kinks in Play before bringing it to the U.S.,” said Alain Lorenzo, president of Parfums Givenchy.
Advertising with Timberlake was shot by Tom Munro and will break in September fashion, beauty and lifestyle magazines. Besides, an extensive Internet campaign is due soon.
However, this fragrance deal is not Timberlake’s only project these days. He also works on his ready-to-wear line, William Rast, and music-producing, and acting projects. And he is good at all of them and can fulfill them in time. How does he do that?
Well, you appoint and employ people who understand the vision of each brand — and you treat each brand separately, like the rest of them don’t exist,” said Timberlake.
It’s the same as in entertainment. Doing a film is a completely different process than, for instance, putting a song together. They have their similarities, but at the root of it they’re polar opposites. So, I think you just treat everything accordingly and specifically.”
He likes helping young and now infamous people to have good careers.
I have Esmée, we just put her single out in Europe,” he said.
I have a band from Memphis called Free Sol — like a rap-rock band, it’s really cool. And I also have an indie songwriter with an amazing voice, Matt Morris, and a girl named Bren from Staten Island. As far as music is concerned, my efforts are to focus in on that and get them off the ground.”
Timberlake’s plans do not include creating his own fragrances:
I don’t know that I would be completely comfortable with a my-name fragrance,” he said.
It feels like cheating, almost. It doesn’t seem like you’re creating anything.”
He added:
There’s some level of narcissism you have to put in check to do one”.
