Sofia Vergara’s New Fragrance — All About Love
Sofia Vergara is coming out with a new fragrance. (Photo: Instagram)
When you’re planning a wedding, why not create a fragrance as an accent? Sofía Vergara did.
“I’m getting married in November [to actor Joe Manganiello], and it’s a very important time in my life,” said the 43-year-old actress and entrepreneur during an interview with WWD, adding that she wanted to commemorate the milestone with a scent. (Oh, and cake. Lots of cake. “I try not to overdo it, but it’s my passion,” she said.) But life isn’t all just cake and perfume for Vergara. In addition to her Emmy-nominated acting gig, she has a multifaceted personal brand that includes her fragrance license with Parlux, jewelry with Kay Jewelers, furniture with Rooms to Go and spokeswoman/ambassador roles for Cover Girl and Head and Shoulders. She also ended an apparel deal with Kmart earlier this year, but she’s still interested in pursuing that market segment with another partner.
And she’s got traction. Fortune magazine estimated she pulled in $28.5 million last year, a mix of her entrepreneurial projects and her role as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett on ABC’s Modern Family. Vergara freely admits that she lucked out with Modern Family. “The show allowed me to become a household name. It’s made everything happen for me.”
It was perhaps inevitable that Vergara would enter the fragrance world. “In Colombia, we put cologne on babies,” she said. “We’re very into that, and grow up with perfumes and colognes being part of your daily routine. For a long time, I started liking men’s colognes and perfumes — I thought they were more interesting.”
She also sees her Colombian heritage as a huge plus. “With me, since I speak Spanish, they target both markets,” Vergara said. “When I’m doing the commercial in English and Spanish at the same time, they don’t have to hire two people. They get a very good deal with me.”
Even though Vergara has her fingers in so many pies, she insists she’s actively involved with her products.
“The people who buy my stuff, they’re intelligent and I don’t want to put my name on a product that I’m not involved with,” said Vergara, noting that she was inspired by fragrances fronted by Elizabeth Taylor and Sophia Loren as a child. “I’m involved [with all of these items] from the start. I pick colors, designs, have to approve everything.”
Going back to Love — the fragrance, that is — Vergara said the scent development process was easier the second time around. “The first time I had to learn to understand the process, and we went back and forth a lot, because I wanted to make sure it was something I’d be proud to wear,” said Vergara, whose first scent, the self-named Sofia Vergara, was launched in April 2014 on HSN. “If people told me that I smelled good, I wanted to be able to say ‘it’s my perfume.’ The second time it was easier, especially as we built Love on the Sofía scent.”
Like her initial scent, Love — out in October — includes a nod to Vergara’s Colombian heritage. The first fragrance had a number of Colombian flowers as notes; Love has an unusual Colombian coffee flower note. “I wanted them to be meaningful and real to me,” she said.
Love, which the actress concocted with Yves Cassar and Pascal Gaurin of International Flavors & Fragrances, has top notes of mandarin, green apple and orange blossom; a heart of Colombian coffee flower, magnolia petals and orris, and a drydown of amberwood, praline and vanilla. A 1-oz. eau de parfum spray will retail for $32, while a 3.4-oz. size will sell for $55. The scent will be sold on HSN and at Perfumania and perfumania.com. Vergara will appear on HSN on Oct. 22 to promote a Love gift set that will be exclusive to the shopping channel.
A print ad campaign, shot by Carter Smith, will begin running in October fashion, beauty and lifestyle magazines.
As for future deals, Vergara is jonesing for a Colombian coffee partnership. “I’m addicted to coffee, and I’d love to promote something that’s so important to my country.” She seems to be on the road to that dream, having just inked a spokeswoman deal with houseware company SharkNinja to launch its Coffee Bar device. Vergara also just started filming the latest season of “Modern Family,” and hopes to do another movie in the future.
And, more fragrances. “It’s such an interesting business,” she said. “It’s very rewarding and a lot of fun. I love perfume. I like the whole ritual of showering and getting ready — I don’t feel complete if I don’t put a nice fragrance on.”
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