• Los Angeles Times, Tuesday, December 18, 2007 12 PM

More than Valentine's Day and Mother's Day combined, Christmas is the season when scents translate into cents for the $3.96-billion fragrance industry. It pulls in one-third of its annual revenue in December, says Karen Grant, a beauty industry consultant for NPD Group. Women are the big spenders, buying perfume or cologne for other women or the men in their lives. Men account for less than one-quarter of fragrance purchases, Grant says.

Few scents have a more faithful following than Chanel No. 5. First introduced in 1921, it's still among the five top-selling women's scents, according to Kline & Co. data.

The brand thrives because it "continues to reinvent itself in terms of positioning and advertising," says Grant. Its current campaign featuring actress Nicole Kidman has introduced the scent to younger generations, while cementing the loyalty of older customers. And it has burnished its image as a luxury product by limiting sales of promotional gift sets.

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