A few years back, a close friend received a once-in-a-lifetime invite to attend a fancy Oscars party and it turned out to be the ultimate people-watching event, packed with stars. The next day she couldn’t wait to give me a full report, including what certain A-list celebrities looked like in person, who they talked to and — specifically and in detail — how they smelled.
This might seem like odd info to share but, truly, if you’ve spent any time around famous people, you’ll notice their personal aromas are (often) astonishingly pleasant. Just ask Emma Stone, who, upon running into Jennifer Aniston at this year’s Golden Globes, exclaimed, “Jesus! You smell really good!” and, after giving the Friends actress a light sniff, asked, “What is that? Is that what you always smell like?” (Aniston, oblivious to her own super scent, modestly replied, “Yeah.”)
Truth is, Americans have been obsessed with what famous people smell like for decades. In 1952, sales of Chanel No. 5 soared after Marilyn Monroe told Life Magazine that she slept in nothing but a few drops of the famous French perfume. In the 1960s, high-end perfumiers began courting famous women to hawk their scents (Audrey Hepburn reportedly loved her custom Givenchy fragrance, L’Interdit, so much she asked the designer not to release it to the public. He eventually did, and she modeled for the campaign).
Amazon
That Jennifer Aniston perfume Emma Stone was overheard fangirling over? According to InStyle, it may have been this uber-popular scent from Jo Malone. The mag says this bright citrus-floral cologne is an Aniston fave (it’s also a signature scent of stylish celebs such as Katie Holmes).
Cacharel
However! According to Women’s Health, Aniston prefers this old-school Frenchy floral scent, which is, incidentally, the perfume I saved up for and wore in my suburban Philadelphia high school in order to seem worldly and très parisien.
Jennifer Aniston
OK, in the interest of fair and accurate reporting — I am a journalist, after all! — the only scent-savvy businesswoman Ms. Aniston has for sure recommended is, in fact, her own. This breezy perfume was “inspired by the beach at sunrise with new hopes at dawn” and is meant to reflect the actress’s “timeless beauty, spirited personality and serene elegance.”
The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.
