Star-studded scents: Tinseltown's brightest stars have created fragrances to suit their personalities; we help you choose the right one for you - Fit Hollywood

Shape, Oct, 2003 by Rebecca Sample Gerstrung

These days, it seems that everyone in Hollywood wants to leave not only their mark on the world, but their scent too--as more and more celebrities are creating their own fragrances or, at the least, actively endorsing them. "Fragrance makes statement about who you are or who you want to be," explains scent expert Marian Bendeth, owner of the consulting firm Sixth Scents in Toronto. And in our obsession for anything Hollywood, it's a way of capturing a little piece of the celebs' star power. "We may never meet them, we may never be able to afford their clothes, but we can experience something that expresses them," adds Annette Green, president emeritus of The Fragrance Foundation in New York City. So no matter what aspect of your personality you want to express most, there's a fragrance with a celebrity face on it to suit you.

You are/want to be ...

1. ultrafeminine

The star scent for you: Celine Dion Parfums ($32 for 1.7 ounces; 866-9CELINE) Celine Dion's first foray into scent is a floral fragrance heady with notes of waterlilies, orange blossoms and tiare flowers (an exotic floral). "There are not only notes in the music business, but there are notes in the fragrance world too," Dion says. "For more than 22 years I've been not only sharing my music, but I've been sharing my life. I'm so proud to have a new passion that I can share with my fans." The bottle comes with a (faux) five-yen coin--Dion's lucky charm. She found the coin in Japan when she was 12 years old, just before she won the World Music Awards.

2. romantic & nostalgic

The star scent for you: Elizabeth Taylor Gardenia ($32 for 1 ounce; at department stores) Elizabeth Taylor has launched seven successful scents, but her newest, Gardenia, a lush white floral, is her most personal to date. It's inspired by the heady scent of--you guessed it--gardenias, which Taylor grows in the garden of her Bel Air, Calif., home. "Gardenias are the most sensual and feminine of flowers," she says. "They make me feel warm and luxurious, like something wonderful is about to happen."

3. adventurous & free-spirited

The star scent for you: Mariel by [H.sub.2]O PLUS Eau de Parfum Natural Spray ($46 for 4 ounces; h20plus.com) Developed for Mariel Hemingway in 1992, this popular scent is an energizing mix of grapefruit, mandarin, freesia and rose. "Mariel is clean, fresh, not overpowering," Hemingway says. "There's a simplicity and a clarity to this fragrance, representative of my lifestyle--a mountain girl, active, all-American, healthy and confident."

4. classic & sophisticated

The star scent for you: Givenchy L'Interdit ($55 for 1.7 ounces; sephora.com) L'Interdit (French for "forbidden") contains bergamot, lily of the valley, jasmine and vetiver--richly classic notes inspired by Audrey Hepburn, for whom the fragrance was created by Hubert de Givenchy. She alone wore the scent until 1957, when, with her permission, Givenchy introduced the fragrance to the public.

5. sexy with an attitude

The star scent for you: Glow by J.Lo ($38 for 1.7 ounces; drugstore.com) "Fresh, sexy, clean. That sums up the fragrance, and it describes what I want for myself," says Jennifer Lopez of this fragrance (that's currently No. 1 worldwide). The notes include neroli, jasmine, vanilla and musk, which all evoke sensuality. There's also Lopez's newest scent, Still Jennifer Lopez ($49 for 1.7 ounces; at department stores), an opulent mix of sake, freesia, orange blossom, amber and sandalwood.

7 Star Picks

When asked what she wore to bed, Marilyn Monroe said, "Chanel No. 5." Thus started our obsession with the scents celebrities choose. "Every fragrance has its own personality and attracts a certain type of person," says Marian Bendeth, fragrance expert and owner of the consulting firm Sixth Scents in Toronto. The celebs' names may not be on the bottles, but their choice of scent gives us a sneak peek into who they are.

Kate Hudson

The scent: Angel Eau de Parfum ($95 for 1.7 ounces; nordstrom.com) This scent is classified as an "oriental gourmand" because it includes no floral notes and smells intoxicatingly like caramel. "Women who wear it are spiritual and very in touch with their senses," Bendeth says.

Liv Tyler

The scent: Very Irresistible ($63 for 2.5 ounces; sephora.com) If you like roses, this is the scent for you. There are five different varieties in this vibrant floral (along with a touch of star anise and verbena), inspired by the spirit and sensuality of Tyler.

Sandra Bullock

The scent: Annick Goutal Eau du Ciel eau de toilette ($65 for 1.7 ounces; at Saks Fifth Avenue) Eau du Ciel, French for "water of the sky," was created by perfumer Goutal to evoke memories of a summer day after a rain. The violet, iris, rosewood and linden-tea notes are delicate and ethereal.

Penelope Cruz

The scent: Ralph Lauren Glamourous Daylight Eau de Toilette ($55 for 3.4 ounces; polo.com) As the face of this fragrance, Cruz describes it as an "antiglamour glamour scent," one that can be worn with jeans. The scent includes plumeria, Casablanca lily, Siam wood and musk.