Halle Berry shares her scent

With her eponymous new perfume, Halle Berry joins a long list of celebrities hawking their scent. It annoys me when actors “branch out” into marketing or rapping (hi, Joaquin Phoenix). It always feels to me like a form of shameless self-promotion and an easy way to rake in some extra cash. If you need the money, why don’t you just do a couple of ads for gin and life insurance in Japan, like George Clooney or Charlize Theron:

But when celebrities ask me to pay them to drape myself in their linens and spray myself with their smell, I, quite frankly, get kind of creeped out. Who knows: Maybe for Halle Berry this isn’t self-promotion or a quick way to buy a hideaway in Barbados. Maybe perfume is a true passion of hers and she’s simply using her celebrity to help realize her olfactory dreams.

According to the press release, Halle took two years of "research and work to create a scent that evokes the beach and the spirit of a woman who is effortlessly sexy, stylish, and elegant.” Um, OK. It took you two years to figure out that you should just invite Jennifer Connelly to the Hamptons?

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“Halle” hits stores next week and will be retailing between $17 and $35. Also in our future: fragrances from Queen Latifah and Jenna Jameson.

It might be more worth your cash to buy the March issue of Essence magazine instead, if you're looking for a closer look at Halle herself.