The Fragrance Foundation Announces Celebrity Guests at the 2012 FiFi® Fragrance Awards

NEW YORK, May 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The FiFi® Awards are considered the "Oscars" of the fragrance industry. This prestigious, iconic New York event showcases and honors the art, passion and personalities of the fragrance world. Competing to win a "Fragrance of the Year Award" are some of the big, the bold, instantly recognizable fragrance names, celebrity creations and collaborations as well as smaller, niche innovators. There's also competition for Best Packaging of the Year, Best Media Campaign of the Year and more.  Over 800 guests and 27 beautiful crystal FiFi ® awards are bestowed - a recognized symbol of fragrance excellence.  On FiFi® night,  industry company presidents, CEOs, high-level executives and their guests mix and mingle with celebrities and VIPs from the fashion, stage, screen and music worlds who join in the fun, sometimes as guests, sometimes as presenters and sometimes as winners themselves in a fragrance category.

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This year, the Foundation is honored to welcome Emmy and Golden Globe Award Winner, actress Jane Lynch as host and emcee of the evening's program along with special guests Carol Alt, Michael Buble, Sam Champion, Philippe Cousteau, Josh Groban, Christina Hendricks, Nicole Richie, Martha Stewart and more.

A highlight of the evening will be the 2012 "Elizabeth Taylor Fragrance Celebrity of the Year Award" presented to JUSTIN BIEBER.  The "Elizabeth Taylor Fragrance Celebrity of the Year Award" honors a celebrity who has embraced and promoted the world of fragrance, and celebrates the ongoing success and support given by the celebrity to the industry - therefore winning consumers to the category.  This year, The Board of Directors unanimously agreed that JUSTIN BIEBER truly deserves this recognition.

In a very unique style and with his deep connection to his audience, JUSTIN BIEBER has accomplished all the criteria and more since launching his first fragrance, "Someday." As the undisputed king of social media, Justin has a strong connection with his fans and attained an electrifying following on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.  As an artistic expression, he has created a beautiful prestige fragrance that is playful, passionate, sexy and modern while skillfully harnessing his talent as a great communicator to get the message out to his fans in his own voice. Just ask the adoring, excited crowds at the exclusive Macy's launch who received the message - loud and clear! "I am honored to be named  Elizabeth Taylor Fragrance Celebrity of the Year. It means a lot to me that my fans and The Fragrance Foundation support all my accomplishments. The best part is that my favorite charities are sharing in the success; it is important to pay it forward. Plus, I have the girls smelling great!" said JUSTIN BIEBER.

An elegant moment during the evening will be the induction of Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel into The 2012 FiFi® Hall of Fame.  The FiFi® Hall of Fame award is voted on by the Foundation's Board of Directors and is presented to an individual who has brought extraordinary ingenuity, creativity, dedication and inner resources to bear, not only to their company's success but to the fragrance industry as a whole.

It is quite astonishing that in the year 2012, a fragrance introduced in 1921 and simply named Chanel No 5 prevails as one of the most enduring and iconic symbols of style, elegance and modern scent creativity the world has ever known. Chanel fragrances have reached near mythical status thanks to the vision of Coco Chanel, her enduring commitment to in-house master perfumery and an uncompromising commitment to luxury and quality. To this day, men and women everywhere delight in wearing fragrances marked by the entwined double C's of Chanel.

"We are very pleased that The Fragrance Foundation is recognizing Coco Chanel for her lasting impact and ongoing influence over the world of fragrance, and we thank the Board of Directors of The Fragrance Foundation for this significant recognition," says Christine Dagousset, U.S. Executive Vice President, Fragrance & Beauty, Chanel, Inc. "Mademoiselle Chanel is a guiding inspiration in all we do at Chanel, and we are proud of the infinite contribution she has made to the worlds of modern fashion, beauty and fragrance."

There's plenty of online digital activity surrounding the 2012 FiFi Awards to feel good by giving back and encouraging all fragrance-loving fans to vote, vote, vote for their favorite fragrance.

Great experiences are just a click away with the Online FiFi® Charity Auction

The 3^rd annual Fragrance Foundation online FiFi Charity Auction will  kick-off on May 9, 2012 and run until May 30, 2012.  The Foundation has once again teamed with Charitybuzz.com to put together a fantastic treasure trove of auction packages. 

The proceeds of the 2012 FiFi^® Online Charity Auction will benefit the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and Adopt the Arts, both charities supported by FiFi^® celebrity host, Emmy and Golden Globe winning actress Jane Lynch.  Founded in 1977, NCLR is a national legal organization committed to advancing the civil and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their families through litigation, public policy advocacy and public education.  Adopt the Arts is a charity that Ms. Lynch has been instrumental in organizing.  The mission of Adopt the Arts is to bring together well-known artists and public figures to save the arts in America's public schools.

CharityBuzz.com is kicking things off with a special pre-auction "FiFi Package" promo as part of a Mother's Day auction.  Up for bid are two tickets to this year's FiFi Award gala with the opportunity to meet Jane Lynch. (bid now at http://www.charitybuzz.com/catalog_items/2957110.)  This special offer will run from now until May 9, 2012 when the full FiFi Charity Auction goes live. There's something for everyone in this year's auction packages at http://www.charitybuzz.com/auctions/fifi2012.  

Vote! Vote! Vote! 2012 "Consumers' Choice" FiFi® Fragrance Awards

The Fragrance Foundation invites all fragrance-loving consumers to get in on the voting excitement and crown, via an online voting link, their most favorite fragrance for men and women. The 2012 "Consumers' Choice" FiFi® Fragrance Award is voted on 100% by the consumer. It's their vote that determines the winning fragrance in both women's and men's fragrance categories.  So whether it's one of the big bold names, a celebrity fragrance or a niche innovator, the  "Consumers' Choice" award will be presented with the ultimate accolade bestowed in the fragrance world: a crystal FiFi® statuette at the star-studded party on May 21st in New York City.

The online 2012 "Consumers' Choice" FiFi® Fragrance Awards vote opportunity is live now and closes midnight Tuesday, May 15th. Here's the link:

http://fragrance.org/ballots2012consumer. One vote per email address.

SOURCE The Fragrance Foundation