We’ve got a whole host of great Elizabeth Arden Skincare products at Fragrance Mad, and the best news of all is that for a limited time only they’re now in a big fat sale! Until 5th of February (or when stocks run out) we’ve got huge savings across our entire range, including Arden’s ever-popular Visible Difference. This is a redefining cream to claims to rejuvenate your skin, offering improved moisture, tone, and smoothness within just two to three weeks of beginning application. We sell bucketloads of it at Fragrance Mad, and right now you can pick it up for the handsome price of £16.99, a tasty 59% off the RRP. There are bargains to be had on a whole host of other Elizabeth Arden Skincare products, and prices start from £11.59, so hurry yourself along and take a look.

In much the same way that Michael Jackson dominated ’80s celebrity culture and Bodger and Badger were everywhere in the ’90s, Britney Spears has been a dominating figure in the Western world for over a decade now. Since being forced into showbusiness by her mother from a young age, Britney has lived out her difficult life in the glare of the public eye and endless cameras. Her first single, Hit Me Baby One More Time, was released in 1999 to huge success, reaching Number One in the charts on both sides of the Atlantic and selling millions of copies. This paved the way for her to shove aside the decaying Spice Girls and become the biggest music sensation of the ’00s, monopolising the charts with hit after hit. It seemed as if the public’s thirst for Britney was unquenchable, and she was harrassed by the press in a manner not seen since the Beatles. This attention proved overwhelming, and Britney’s public persona shifted from a carefully cultivated virginal choirgirl who slowly disintegrated into a wildchild, making increasingly ill-advised lifestyle and boyfriend choices.

Her life took a turn for the chaotic in 2004 when she hooked up with dancer Kevin Federline, and their three years together saw her descend into a mental quagmire, eventually splitting up with him in early 2007 to attend rehab and famously shave her head in an LA salon. Some much-needed privacy and time away from the spotlight led many critics to feel as if she was a burnt-out and washed-up talent, but Britney confounded expectations by returning and proving just as popular as ever with the album Circus. A couple more mega-hits later, and she now appears stable and set to remain at the top of the pop tree for years to come, or until people stop writing catchy songs for her, or she starts to look old.

Despite the ups and downs of her personal life, one consistency of Britney’s finances has been the phenomenal success of her fragrance lines in recent years. Her first perfume, Fantasy, was launched in 2005 in partnership with Coty Fragrances, and has been the best-selling scent of every year since its release. Britney Fantasy also has the distinction of being a continuous best-seller here at Fragrance Mad; we’ve got buckets of it going out the door at an unbelievable £19.99 for 100ml. Since this initial hit, Britney hasn’t put a foot wrong in the fragrance world, following up Fantasy with the very popular Curious (£15.99 for 100ml at FM), and then returning to the base of Fantasy for a series of variations, including Midnight Fantasy, Hidden Fantasy, and Circus Fantasy. It seems as if Fantasy may be one of those scents that just keeps going and going long after the star herself has put her feet up for retirement, in much the same way that Elizabeth Taylor White Diamonds continues to shift millions of units worldwide even after its namesake’s death. And why not? It’s a perfect sweet and sensual scent.

While stocks last, everything in our Clynol Haircare range is now 3 for 2 at Fragrance Mad. As each product is only £5.79 a pop, that means you can take home three salon-quality items for the bargain price of £11.58, and as usual that includes free delivery. There are currently over forty products to choose from, with everything from shampoos, conditioners, and repair serums to get your hair as healthy as it can possibly be, to a huge range of styling mousses (meece?), sprays, and gels to make your hair look as funky as humanly possible.

We’re pleased to announce that this year Fragrance Mad will be cranking up our sponsorship of Worcestershire County Cricket Club, to the extent that we will be the main sponsor for the Royals’ home games in the 2011 Friends Life Twenty20 Competition, which begins on the 1st of June. Worcestershire’s first home game is against Durham on Sunday, the 5th of June, so all those in attendance will be treated to a plethora of gorgeous Fragrance Mad banners and suchlike, to dazzle alongside the exploits of Shakib al Hasan, Vikram Solanki et al.

Some unusually creative people have even constructed a neon pink super-comfy behemoth to sit by the side of the pitch during games, as you can see from the stylish pictures accompanying this post. If you fancy sitting in this during a T20 game look out for competition details soon. It’s as yet unclear as to whether a seat in this beast will be first prize or if it’s just a pink sin bin for naughty players. I’ll get back to you on that…

Since Dame Elizabeth Taylor passed into the great playhouse in the sky a couple of weeks back, we’ve noticed a huge spike in sales of her fragrances. It’s very strange to me that a celebrity’s death provokes such a huge increase in sales of anything to do with them; perhaps it just about makes sense for people to rush out and pick up Michael Jackson’s albums, but Elizabeth Taylor’s perfumes? Anyway, they’re going like hot cakes, so take a look at our fabulous offer on Liz’s most successful perfume, White Diamonds. We’ve slashed 59% off the RRP, so you can now grab a 100ml Eau de Toilette for an eye-popping £19.99.

Even before Dame Liz’s untimely passing, White Diamonds was the world’s all-time bestselling fragrance, beating off fierce competition throughout the industry to remain constantly top of the pile in year-end sales charts. Despite the fact that Taylor has barely been in the limelight since the late 80s, fans still flocked for White Diamonds with its classic notes of living Amazon lily, Italian neroli and crisp aldehyde at its top; Egyptian tuberose, living narcisse, Turkish rose, living jasmine and Italian orris capturing the heart; and base notes of amber, oakmoss, patchouli and living sandalwood. It remains to be seen whether White Diamonds will continue to be popular in the years following its matriarch’s death, but given her shunning of the limelight for the past twenty years, it seems a safe bet that White Diamonds may be a celebrity fragrance that truly transcends the barrier of depending on a star’s name to sell, excepting a huge sales spike when that star goes out, of course.

Armani have splashed out mega cyber-bucks to land Transformers hot-bot Megan Fox as the new face of Armani Code perfume. They’re certainly getting their money’s worth: Armani have had Fox parading around in all kinds of outfits (and wigs) for Code, Armani Jeans, and Armani underwear, and the latest creation features a semi-naked Foxy rolling around in a desolate wasteland, all with the aim of selling Armani ladies’ fragrances and clothing. It gets you to wondering: who exactly are these adverts targeted at? It seems strange to bludgeon the typical female buyer with adverts stuffed full of super-skinny celebrity megastars, but what man would watch this and think to force his girlfriend to get a pair of Armani jeans? If perfume adverts such as Scarlett Johannson lolling about in bed for D&G Rose The One are only targeted at other halves buying presents, then the industry must surely be missing out on a lot of sales. Perhaps they’d be better to get a Hollywood hunk spraying Armani Code on a more ordinary girly model? Not that the men here at Fragrance Mad have any objection to the Armani advert. Check it out below and see what you think…

Now that you’re fully motivated into wanting Armani Code after watching Foxy strut her stuff, head over to Fragrance Mad to pick up a bottle. It is a delicate scent that pits the sweet smells of two separate orange notes against each other. The top of the fragrance contains both Italian orange and bitter orange; the heart moves into notes of jasmine and a more subtle orange blossom; and the scent finishes with notes of vanilla and honey. Fragrance Mad have the 30ml Eau de Parfum at £35.99, or upgrade to 50ml and it’ll only cost an extra £4 (that’s £39.99 in total, maths fans).

Mother’s Day hits us square in the face on the 3rd of April this year, so celebrate your mother with a gift from our special Mother’s Day selection at Fragrance Mad. Head over to our main page to check out our specially selected gifts, including Carolina Herrera’s 212 for Women 60ml, 25% off at just £27.99, and a massive 68% off 100ml of Karl Lagerfeld’s ever-popular Sun Moon & Stars. Further bargains include perfumes from the likes of Burberry, Armani, and Valentino. And if your mum’s favourite isn’t there, don’t worry, just click onto the Perfume section and you’re sure to find something from our huge range of ladies’ scents. Happy shopping!

Alexander McQueen was born in London in 1969, and left school at 16 to become an apprentice tailor on the famous Saville Row. While there he tailored for such illustrious clients as Prince Charles, and built a porfolio of exquisitely tailored designs. After studying for a masters degree in fashion design, McQueen embarked on a career as a designer in 1994, and immediately attracted rave reviews and a high-profile client base. McQueen sadly commited suicide in 2010 following the death of his mother, aged just 40, but by this time had already attracted more accolades than many designers achieve in a lifetime, including being named British Designer of the Year a record four times. He will long be remembered in the fashion world for his outrageous and controversial designs.

McQueen’s first fragrance, Kingdom, was launched in 2000, but met with little success as its heavy cumin base and strong odours led some to declare that it smelled like “old sex”. Learning his lesson from this initial foray into the perfume world, McQueen returned in 2006, with MyQueen, mooted by him as a “fairytale fragrance to last for eternity”. The scent achieves this with the use of a sensual blend of almond, violet, orange flower, white musk, iris and vanilla; offering a delicate and captivating bouquet. Kingdom is now sadly discontinued, so wringing out a massage parlour mattress is the only way to replicate that scent, but the lovely MyQueen Eau de Parfum is still going strong, and is available from Fragrance Mad at the bargain price of £19.99 for 100ml.

Sick of looking like a mad poodle? Fragrance Mad has got just the competition for you. In the latest of our wonderful Facebook giveaways, we’ve got a set of Remington Sleek & Smooth Slim Hair Straighteners to dish out to one lucky Fragrance Mad disciple. These babies feature Advanced Ceramic Coating for extra-smooth glide and longer-lasting plates, and heat up to 230 degrees in just 25 seconds. To be in with a chance of winning, all you need to do is ‘like’ us on Facebook by midnight on Friday, the 25th of February, and we’ll draw a winner at random. Good luck!

We’re giving away a free 2GB iPod Shuffle to one of our lucky Facebook fans – all you need to do is make sure that you ‘Like’ us (if you’re already a fan you won’t need to do this) by 28th January and we’ll pick a winner at random. Good luck!