The famous rapper, singer and actress Queen Latifah is about to launch her own, new high-end perfume, Queen by Queen Latifah, which will be sold in the U.S. department stores later this year, and roll out worldwide soon after.

The award-winning celebrity has teamed up with Parlux Fragrances Inc. in order to create a signature women's scent, and the latest addition to the Fort Lauderdale, Floridaa-based company's growing collection of scents by stars, such as Paris Hilton and Jessica Simpson.

"I love fragrance and the idea of having one of my own, that was tailor-made for me and my own sensibilities, I thought it was a fantastic idea - ego aside," joked Latifah. The celebrity added that when she started working on her creation, she smelled a number of ingredients, which were nice, but not quite what she wanted for her very first scent, with some a little too mature or a little too sweet. Latifah said that she had to smell approximately 50 different scents before the final formulation was being reached, which she described as "warm and sexy."

Developed in partnership with Steven DeMercado of Fragrance Resources, the scent appears to be a deep Oriental fragrance, "and reminiscent of aged Tequila." 'Queen' opens with notes of Italian bergamot, Mediterranean citrus, and golden tequila. The heart of the scent is of Baie rose, jasmine noir, cognac and Moroccan coriander. And finally, base notes are of Indonesian patchouli, sandalwood, vanilla and Tonka Absolutes as well as Egyptian incense and musk.

The bright ruby red bottle, "the color of sexiness and love," according to Latifah, is designed in a shape of a square, to represent the strength of a woman. And with gold borders,with a raised heart on the facade, it is meant to represent Queen's beauty from within. However, while 'Queen' is Latifa's first scent, she is no stranger to the beauty world. Since 2001, the singer has been a spokesmodel for Cover Girl, and was helping create Cover Girl's Queen Collection of makeup for Procter & Gamble Beauty.

The Queen by Queen Latifah collection will feature eau de perfume spray in two sizes, 3.4 oz. for $59 and 1.7 oz. for $49. There will be a body lotion, available for $35 as well as a body butter for $40. Due out in about 2,000 total stores, such as Macy's, Dillard's and Bon-Ton in August, Queen is expected to find its soft spot among women between the ages of 25 and 45.

Latifah said she does not exclude the possibility of her creating own beauty empire some day in future. According to her, it is quite realistic. "We have definitely been talking about how to increase brands specifically created by me that would encompass makeup and beauty products,' she said.

Tags: Fragrance

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