Hot Slut Of The Day!
L’envie Parfum Shampoo and Conditioner!
A few years ago, the Belinda Carlisle-approved line of Agree shampoos and conditioners of the 1980s was an HSOTD. But while writing that post, I had no idea that Agree once elegantly pooted out a line of sumptuously-scented haircare products called L’envie. I had no idea that L’envie existed until reader Pam wrote me about it the other day. L’envie was like the ultra-elegant baby of Agree shampoo and Designer Imposters fragrances. The scent of its shampoos and conditioners copied the scent of best-selling perfumes at the time and made your hair smell like a French parfumerie just farted all over it.
L’envie made its debut on drugstore shampoo shelves in 1986. It promised to leave your hair sparkly, soft, and smelling like the perfume department of a Macy’s. L’envie’s shampoos copied the scents of fragrances like White Linen, Vanderbilt, Opium, Obsession, and Giorgio. In this commercial from 1986, a gorgeous goddess of pure refined elegance seductively coos about how L’envie wraps her luscious mane in a cloud of fragrant opulence. Now, THIS is a woman who wants her scent to leave a room ten minutes after she does.
But sadly, not everyone wanted to turn their hair into a pile of stankness. L’envie didn’t sell that well and was also hit with lawsuits. Cleopatra’s Boudoir says that Cosmair, the company that owned the trademark for Vanderbilt, and Estee Lauder, the owner of White Linen’s trademark, sued the makers of L’envie, SC Johnson. Cosmair and SC Johnson ended up settling, and as part of the settlement, L’envie had to make it clear on its packaging that it was not affiliated with Vanderbilt. It just ripped off Vanderbilt’s scent!
In 1986, Cosmair had won a temporary restraining order against SC Johnson that prohibited the distribution of its new L’Envie shampoos and conditioners. L’Envie, produced by the Agree shampoo and conditioner line, printed Cosmair’s Vanderbilt fragrance title on the containers. Cosmair declared trademark infringement and unfair competition as reasons for the court order. Although SC Johnson claimed to be solely in the shampoo and conditioner selling business, Cosmair charged that its marketing strategies copied those of “knockoff-fragrance marketers” by printing misleading material on the wrapping.
Sued by Cosmair Inc., SC Johnson settled out of court in 1987 by agreeing to add disclaimer stickers to the front of it’s bottles. The settlement included an order for a more prominent disclaimer on the package. A temporary restraining order issued in federal court required ads to carry a similar disclaimer. The results satisfied the other fragrance companies.
L’envie did not become the l’envie of the shampoo world, and it was discontinued in 1988. With the rise of fragrance-free beauty products and people not really wanting to inhale the scent of others, I think now is the time for L’envie to make a comeback and become the IT shampoo for introverts who don’t want anyone near them. One wash with L’envie and your hair will stank of White Linen so much that nobody will want to get near you. The selling point of selling points!
Pic: Cleopatra’s Boudoir