Queen Latifah launches her debut fragrance

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Queen Latifah joins the list of celebrities trading their own scents. Among those who have introduced their fragrances to the market already we can name Paris Hilton, Jennifer Lopez, Jay-Z, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Usher, Britney Spears, Reese Witherspoon, Elizabeth Taylor and others.

To produce the perfume Queen Latifah teamed up with Parlux Fragrances Inc.

She said:

The company is the same company that did Paris Hilton’s perfume and they just did a deal with Jay-Z.”

They approached me about developing a scent and I thought if I could create something that is unique to me and special enough for women to want to wear it and maybe some guys, then I will be very happy with that. I personally like to wear a nice scent, and, if I like it, I’m buying it for years and years – so that could be really cool.”

I love fragrance and the idea of having one of my own, that was tailor-made for me and my own sensibilities, I thought it was a fantastic idea — ego aside,” joked the award-winning rapper, actress and singer in a phone interview from Los Angeles, where she was trying to select photos for the cover of her new album, “Persona.”

The fragrance was aptly named “Queen” and is described as “reminiscent of aged Tequila.” The scent contains citrus notes of Italian bergamot and Mediterranean mandarin. In addition, the rare Baie rose joins jasmine noir, while cognac meets Moroccan coriander. Base notes include also Indonesian patchouli and sandalwood as well as vanilla and Tonka Absolute. And the last to add is Egyptian incense and musk.

Initially a lot of the ingredients smelled nice, but they weren’t how I wanted to be represented for my first fragrance — they were a little too mature or a little too sweet,” said Queen Latifah, who had to smell about 50 different scents before she could come up with the scent she liked best.

The new fragrance is all about the “state of love”. This is what Latifah says about it:

For me, beauty really does start on the inside. It’s like a state of mind, a state of love if you will. So I see fragrance as justa natural expression of this stae of love: scent expresses a woman’s confidence and sensuality; it’s how she embraces her body, her mind and her strength”.

The ‘Queen’ eau de parfum spray will come in two sizes, 3.4 oz. for $59 and 1.7 oz. for $49. A body lotion will be priced at $35 as well as a body butter at $40.

The bottle to hold the perfume is ruby-red, “the color of sexiness and love,” as Latifah describes it. A square shape of the bottle is “to represent the strength of a woman,” while a raised heart on the bottle’s facade is meant to represent beauty from within.

Queen Latifah says she’s a pioneer of fragrances:

Queen doesn’t smell like anything else. That’s what you’re setting out to do — to create something unique. People tend to want to borrow from what’s popular, and me, I try to be a pioneer, a trendsetter.”

The photoshoot for the advertising campaign was made in February by Timothy White in Miami. The scent is to be launched in August. Can’t wait!