That "Candle in the Wind" is starting to smell like hyacinth, freesia, rose and jasmine.
In collaboration with Elton John, to benefit the Rocket Man's AIDS Foundation, Bath & Body Works launched a new line of candles and other fragrant home products Tuesday, with 10 percent of the proceeds going toward John's pet cause.
Apparently expecting a lot from the man who employs his own private florist, Bath & Body Works CEO Neil Fiske told reporters at a news conference the company is expecting to generate $10 million from the Elton John Fireside Home Fragrance Collection during its first year out of the lab.
So far, the array of scents-ible products includes candles and crystal-rock potpourri, and the collection will eventually include lotions, shower gels and plug-in room fresheners.
Also available (in stores, by catalog and online) is the "exclusive" Fireside candle, which John supposedly uses to sweeten the air in his own home--er, various homes. There is also currently a chance to win a $75,000 diamond pendant, if you purchase one of these vanilla, coriander, anise and cedar-scented candles. (If the candle with the winning certificate is not sold, however, you can still enter a "second chance" drawing online.)
"[John] has a passion for candles," Harry Slatkin, the president of Home Design for Bath & Body Works, who also worked with John on a line of candles eight years ago, said Tuesday. "He is my kind of guy."
John is currently on tour to support his latest album, The Captain and the Kid, a sequel to 1975's Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. But he isn't too busy to offer advice to a fellow performer, from one diva to another.
When questioned by Access Hollywood earlier this week about Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown's breakup, John said the mister was no good for the missus.
"Bobby's not good for her because of the addiction thing," said the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road artist, who has battled substance abuse in the past. "I sincerely hope she has a chance now, because she's away from him--because she certainly was never going to get better with him."
Perhaps she should try a scented candle.