PET Chihuahua? Over. Third-world orphan? Soooo last year.

No darling, the must-have accessory for any self-respecting celebrity is the signature scent.

Not content with hogging every magazine cover in the universe, style icons such as Kylie, Sarah Jessica Parker and Christina Aguilera are now lending their fabulous faces to fragrances.

This collaboration between star and scent is not exactly a new phenomenon.

The designer Givenchy created L'Interdit for Audrey Hepburn, who was so possessive of it that it was a couple of years before she let him market it to mere mortals.

And, of course, any guy who remembers the 70s will smile fondly at the memory of Enry Cooper and Kevin Keegan splashing it all over. It' being Brut, a fragrance that is a stranger to subtlety, yet is still on sale today.

But the trend has escalated and now tagging a famous name onto a product is almost guaranteed to sell bucket-loads in what is one of the fiercest markets in retail.

Kylie smothers herself in an oriental floral fragrance called Sweet Darling what else? (£26 for 50ml, edt) Mariah Carey is usually enveloped in a mist of gardenia, amber and spice (M £30 for 50ml, edp) SJP wafts about in a cloud of Covet (£29 for 50ml, edp), a blend of green florals and sensuous woods'.

Christina Aguilera (£26 for 50ml, edp) leaves the heady aromas of blackcurrant, jasmine and vanilla in her wake, and next time you find yourself in the front row at a Celine Dion concert, don't be surprised if you get a whiff of flowers and fruits, that will be Spring in Paris Nights (£15.95 for 50ml, edt).

This starry endorsing lark is big business, and not exclusive to signature scents.

Mega-stars are being drafted in for product launches using huge-budget advertisments that come across like mini movies.

That Chanel No5 ad where Nicole Kidman tells us how she loves to dance that's on at Christmas?

Directed by Baz Luhrman (Moulin Rouge!) at a cost of £18million, with a $3.71m paycheck for Ms Kidman, who, by the way wore £17million worth of jewels.

Even our own little Beckhams have been at it and Intimately Beckham Night (his and her's matching eau de toilettes £26 for 50ml, edt) takes the biscuit when it comes to putting on the glitz.

The press pack alone is a faux-lizard album of slick, fabulous quality photographs of the besotted Beckhams (or so they'd have us believe) posing in various states of undress, with Victoria outpouting even herself, just so we all realise that if we spray ourselves with brand Beckham, we'll all have great sex.

How much the shoot cost is anyone's guess, but a small country would probably be cheaper.

Apparently David doesn't smell of gold and old footballs, but of ginger, cardamon, espresso beans and vanilla and his missus reeks not of lettuce and Calpol but a saucy bouquet of cinnamon, lily, tuberose and patchouli.

Fans want to emulate their heroes - it's understandable - and if they can't act/play football/sing like them, then maybe smelling like them helps.

According Grace Lovelass, spokesperson for Beales in Bournemouth the celebrity cult is indeed everywhere but the store aims to combine it with quality: "Celebrity press is gaining momentum all the time and the more we read, the more we want to emulate or find an affinity with celebrities, resulting in the influx of celebrity endorsement which is everywhere at the moment, from fashion to fragrance to food.

At Beales, whilst we recognise the importance of staying ahead of trends and offering the latest styles, as seen on the hottest celebs, we combine it with the knowledge that in reality, there are standards of quality which we expect.

"That's why our top tip for celebrity fragrance this Christmas is Christina Aguilera - it has the integrity of a truly well-created scent with the backing of an internationally-renowned superstar."

I can see women wanting to feel like Christina.

I understand how a dreamy image of the beautiful Gwyneth Paltrow, complete with adorable puppy in Estee Lauder's garden of gorgeous blooms could inspire you to buy Pleasures Delight (£39 for 50ml edp). And it does smell divine - heliotrope, lily, strawberry meringue . . .

Or even how J Lo looking buxom and buff in a veil of bronze could make you want to go for her Glow (£26 for 50ml, edp).

But what I will never, ever understand is that there are women out there who want to smell like Jade goody (Shh, £15.99 for 50ml, edt) ...