The Sweet Smell Of SuccessHey, if Jessica Simpson can have a fragrance, why not Jessica Dunne? The Chicago artist, who had no experience in the beauty industry, spent about $100,000 of her own money to produce "Ellie," "a quaint floral heavy on lily of the valley" based on her memories of her grandmother. Her success story is the definition of "heartwarming," from her childhood perfume bottle collection to the family focus group to the hand-tied bits of grosgrain ribbon on the little faceted bottles. The buyer at Bendel's who took a chance on Dunne "had a hunch that her clients would respond to the brand story." They did: although the perfume retails for $180, it's sold well enough that Dunne is launching a second scent. Maybe the time is right for a celeb-fragrance backlash: amateur perfumers, wave of the future? We smell a business op... [NYT]