Celebrities have been known to promote their own personal fragrance inspired cologne or perfumes. And it seems Russian President Vladimir Putin is also branded in the scent industry.
Celebrities such as Justin Bieber has The Key and Kim Kardashian has Pure Honey. And recently, a perfumer Vladislav Rekunov has created a perfume inspired by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The scent's called Leaders Number One. The perfume is cased in a glossy black bottle, fronted with an iconic side-profile of Putin in white shade.
The fragrance is now on sale in Moscow at luxury department stores and valued at $95 to $130.
What does it smell like? Shoppers describe the perfume with the scent of lemon, fir cones and black currant. These scents are quite known in Europe and combining them, as Rekunov describes it, is "attractive, matter-of-fact and natural."
He meant the perfume to be:
...warm and well rounded and I would call it uniting, not an aggressive scent, rather it's attractive, matter-of-fact and natural.
The scent over-all, for Rekunov, capture's the leader's personality. The perfumer was inspired by the president's propaganda footage which probably led to the iconic white shade side-view profile of Putin on the bottle.
Leaders Number One is just the latest product out of a long line of brands in Russia that uses Putin's personality and image as a marketing and branding tool.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has cultivated a strong and macho image in Russia that many find inspirational and fitting for their products.
However, when a test run of the cologne was done on the streets of Moscow, the product received mixed reviews. Two locals have sampled a whiff of the scent and described the smell as "cheap perfume".
Previously, Vodkas, caviars, and even iPhone cases have used the Russian president's profile emblazoned on the front for advertising, marketing and selling points, as posted online.
