Beyoncé
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When my Senior Editor sent me a text late one night that only read “URGENT!!!” (preceded by two phone calls back to back), I was worried. Then when I responded and she only casually asked me about my plans for the next day, I was confused (and annoyed). It was only then she said, “No, you’re interviewing Beyonce.” And then I was happy. Like drug-induced happy. But that was quickly replaced by skepticism because I’m a jaded journalist and artists cancel all the time. ALL THE TIME. Minutes before. Hours later. Often with apologies that don’t matter. So, I refused to believe this news until I actually saw Beyonce in front of me, likely towering over me in heels I’d never be able to walk in and sporting the wavy hair I’ve been trying to perfect to no avail. For the same reason (skepticism), I didn’t tell anybody either – hid it from my friends, family & co-workers – which I discovered is a lot like trying to hide the fact that you’re…well, pregnant. (Oh, me and Bey, one and the same! Not.) But that’s how it went down. I spent the rest of the night treating the interview as if it were a date, trying on clothes and tearing them off. Things I’d had for years suddenly didn’t fit. Things that once complemented each other were now clashing. Your mind really starts to unravel once it finds out it’s going to meet Beyonce. Just completely deteriorates. You become convinced (convinced, I tell you!) that if you dress just well enough, she’ll be so impressed, she’ll make you her stylist. And that if you ask the right question – one she hasn’t heard in her 15 years in the business – she’ll be so dazzled, she’ll make you her publicist. All current position-holders will be fired. You and Beyonce are now best friends. Now, try going to sleep knowing that your life’s about to change. TRY!

Now that Beyonce is pregnant, there are certain smells that turn her stomach. “My nose, I smell everything from a mile away,” Beyonce said during an interview with The Associated Press while wearing a long, flowing purple dress, her baby bump showing. “Usually it is food, it is onions or something that I just can’t tolerate.” Her new fragrance is not one of them. On Wednesday, Beyonce was busy promoting Pulse, her third scent. For the creator of girl-power anthems like “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” and “Run the World (Girls),” Pulse represents another extension of that theme. “I always meet strong, powerful women and they always have a signature scent,” the 30-year-old said. “That is one of the first things I was so proud of. I thought about Diamonds and Elizabeth Taylor and all these icons, so I am so proud of this.”

AP: How is this fragrance different from your others?

Beyonce: This is very fresh. This is all about citrus, but it also has vanilla in the back. It is important for me for a fragrance not to just smell like one thing. I think women are interesting and I don’t like for you to be like, “Ok, this smells like this.” I like for it to be something signature and something that brings out your inner beauty and your confidence and makes you feel like you leave a long-lasting impression on someone.

Beyonce Knowles' fragrance Heat is the top selling celebrity perfume in the UK. The 29-year-old singer's debut scent - which is described as a mixture of floral, fruity and woody with tones of milkwood and tonka bean - beat Coleen Rooney's Butterflies to be named the best seller at The Fragrance Shop. Homme by soccer star David Beckham was third in the list, while his Intimately Yours fragrance was fifth, sandwiching Mariah Carey's Lollipop Bling which came in fourth. David's wife Victoria Beckham came in tenth in the poll, with her perfume Signature. The Fragrance Shop boss Sanjay Vadera said: "Celebrity fragrances remain top of the wish list." Beyonce - who is married to hip hop mogul Jay-Z - recently released her second scent Heat Rush, and she revealed she would not leave her house without wearing perfume because it is the "cherry on top of the cake". She said: "I feel like fragrance is one of the most important accessories a woman can have - it's sexy, it says something, and it's that final touch, like putting on a gorgeous pair of stilettos. "One of the things I remember from being a little girl is how I loved watching my mother getting ready to go out and she'd spray on her perfume. "It was this gorgeous blast that would linger in the room after she'd gone and it would remind me of her. I thought it was so sophisticated and glamorous, so feminine and sexy. To me, even if you are dressed to kill and everything is looking fabulous, you are still not done without that touch of fragrance. It's the cherry on top of the cake."

In anticipation of the brand new perfume 'Pulse' by Beyoncé which hits stores later this month, BeyonceOnline.com is running a brand new competition where they have 7 bottles up for grabs! To be in with a chance of winning, head over to the competition page here! Good Luck!

Coty Beauty, a leading global beauty company, announced today the launch of the highly anticipated newest scent in the Beyonce Parfums portfolio – Beyonce Pulse. Debuting in September 2011, Pulse will join the globally successful Heat and Heat Rush collections. Reflective of Beyonce's incredible energy and powerful femininity, the fresh notes in Beyonce Pulse intermingle to create a unique citrus, floral gourmand, anchored by Beyonce's favorite flower, the orchid. "I believe my music makes women feel strong, and Pulse is all about finding that power inside," said Beyonce about the inspiration behind her newest fragrance. The launch of Pulse will be supported with substantial global integrated sales and marketing activity including a dynamic print and TV ad campaign starring Beyonce, to be featured in over 60 countries. Additionally, social media and online programs will speak to Beyonce's robust global fan base via e-commerce, Twitter and Facebook. Pulse TV ads will begin airing August 2011. "We are excited to follow the success of Beyonce Heat and Heat Rush with the launch of Pulse, sure to be another star fragrance for Beyonce Parfums," said Steve Mormoris, Senior Vice President, Coty Beauty. "Like Beyonce herself, Beyonce Pulse is powerful, feminine and one-of-a-kind. The woman who wears Beyonce Pulse is impossible to ignore." At the heart of Beyonce Pulse is the enticing Bluebird Orchid, renowned for its curvaceous shape, distinctive blue-indigo color and enchanting scent. The mysterious, unique orchid has never before been featured in fragrance, and is displayed to perfection in Beyonce Pulse. Sparkling top notes of Pear Blossom, effervescent Blue Curacao accord and frosted Bergamot give way to Bluebird Orchid, delicate Peony and fragrant Midnight Blooming Jasmine. Finally, Pulse is anchored by powerfully sexy, irresistible base notes: warm, opulent Madagascar Vanilla, seductive Musk and sensual precious Woods.

With a new album, 4, on the brink of release, and a European tour starting next week, one would think Beyoncé’s metallic-Minx’d hands are too full to juggle anything else, but she’s been hard at work on another number: three, as in her third fragrance. “Women always tell me that my music makes them feel strong and confident, and Pulse is about finding that inner power,” the singer, a 16-time Grammy winning, Golden Globe nominated actress, said about her newest creation, Pulse, a floral citrus scent hitting stores in September. ELLE got the exclusive scoop on the juice, its fierce ad campaign and what gets the megastar’s pulse racing.

ELLE: Your first fragrance, Heat, was a huge success. Did you feel any pressure following that up?
BK: I didn’t. The success of Heat was amazing, but why not represent a different side of a woman? Pulse represents the woman I am on stage. When I think about excitement, it makes me think about my heart racing and a pulsating beat—it’s my stage persona. Heat represents my sensual side, it’s very spicy and Southern. Heat Rush is more about the woman I am on my off time, when I’m on vacation.

ELLE: You’ve been performing your whole life. Does your heart really still race when you get on stage?
BK: Performing at the Billboard Music Awards and on the Oprah farewell show made me so nervous! My heart was pounding out of my chest. But it’s amazing how that nervousness never goes away—it’s my natural response to something exciting and fresh and inspiring. It’s just like when you’re in a relationship. It’s not good when your pulse stops racing. That means you’ve got to spice it up.

Would you want to smell like Derek Jeter? How about Jessica Simpson or Beyoncé? Celebrity scents might not reflect the actual smells of our favorite stars, but they do represent a connection to those celebrities that can be quite lucrative for the companies that partner on the scents. The top 10 bestselling celebrity perfumes from 2010 brought in $215 million in the U.S., according to Euromonitor International. Celebrity fragrances are more popular than ever. Just this year we've seen scents launched by Katy Perry, Fergie, Rihanna and Kim Kardashian. Companies like Coty, Elizabeth Arden and Avon like to partner with celebrities on new fragrances because they are great marketers. "Companies feel it's a great way to reach younger consumers in the U.S.," says Virginia Lee, senior research analyst at Euromonitor. "Somewhere like France, putting on fragrance in the morning is a daily habit. In the U.S. fragrance has never completely taken hold." Celebrities are naturally in the spotlight as often as possible, and they come with built-in fan bases that often want to buy the perfume regardless of how it smells. Singer Mary J. Blige recently launched her first fragrance, My Life, on the Home Shopping Network. "The fact that people are buying a fragrance without even smelling it says there's a connection with the celebrity," says Lee. Celebrities can also use their fan base to cheaply spread the word about a scent. When Rihanna launched her Re'l Fluer perfume in February she put out a one-minute video that quickly made the rounds among her 4.5 million Twitter followers and 30 million Facebook fans. Topping our list this year is White Diamonds by Elizabeth Taylor. Elizabeth Arden sold $54 million worth of the scent in the U.S. last year. Lee, of Euromonitor, says the scent appeals to baby boomers who associate Taylor with the glamour of her youth. But the perfume also has an appealing smell; it's been a bestseller since it hit stores in 1991.

When I recently spoke with Beyoncé, she mentioned that her latest fragrance, Heat Rush, is meant to "remind you of sunshine". I asked B to shed some sunlight on her favorite beauty products, what it's like to give people a fragrance bottle with your name on it, and that rite of passage every young woman goes through: stealing her mother's perfume.

How often do you wear fragrance? "Every day. I put it on as soon as I get out of the shower. I wear it onstage, in the studio, on dates."

How many fragrances do you own? "I'm very loyal. I find one and wear it for years. I wear Heat and Heat Rush—I really do! It was important to me that they work for all occasions because I don't like to switch up. I like to have a signature scent so that when I walk past, everyone knows it's me. My mother always wore the same fragrance and every time I smell it, I think of her."

What perfume is that? "She wore 273. I remember it was the first thing that I wore because I used to steal it from her!"

I used to steal my mom's Liz Claiborne! Do you have any particular scent memories attached to 273? "Yes. I kind of put that fragrance together with stilettos—because I would smell it and hear her footsteps on the hardwood floor."

When you have your own perfumes, does everyone you know get them as gifts? Who have you given Heat Rush to? "All of my family. It's funny because I don't like to give my own CD to all of my friends—it feels a little strange. But I gave Heat and Heat Rush to all of my nieces and my extended family. A lot of them were like, 'You better give us those fragrances! Because we don't want to have to buy them!'"