Style team: Jenny, Nicole, Louise, Alice, Lizzy, Debbie

The Style team got a taste of the A-list lifestyle when they blind tested celebrity perfumes. But who did they think would win in a fight between J-Lo and Beyonce? And does being stinking rich equal a winning scent?

Preconceptions: The team wanted to dowse themselves in anything Kylie, perhaps hoping her hot-panted good looks might rub off; whereas Celine Dion was clearly the image underdog, and we suspected her perfume might be on the fusty side...

Kylie Minogue, Dazzling Darling Eau de toilette, 30ml £19.95, 50ml £26.95

Appearance: We were all rather taken by the perfume’s lilac hue, and Louise pointed out the bottle had a ‘stylish simplicity’.

Fragrance: During the blind test this scent split opinion, with Nicole saying it was ‘too strong, and like a toilet spray’, Jenny feeling indifferent, and Louise finding it ‘intoxicating’ (Perhaps she found she couldn’t get it out of her head?)

Score: 13/25

Gwen Stefani, Super G Eau de toilette, 30ml £20

Appearance: It all started so well for Miss Stefani, as there was No Doubt this was our favourite bottle. Alice summed it up: “I deeply love flying Gwen,” delighting particularly in her adorable pigtails.

Fragrance: What goes up must come down, and superheroes are clearly no exception, with this fragrance producing grimaces from Nicole. Louise felt it smelt like ‘cheap oil you’d buy for a burner aged 16’, while Debbie compared it to a ‘bin full of rotting citrus peel’.

Score: 4/25

J-Lo, Love & Glamour Eau de parfum, 50ml £17, 75ml £20  

Appearance: Debbie very politely described the bottle as ‘very J-Lo’, by which she meant curvy and blingy in equal measure. But were we just fooled by the rocks that she’d got?

Fragrance: Actually, yes, as this showy bottle masked a rather subtle scent, which was our clear winner. Jenny (from Girton, rather than the block) picked up a hint of grapefruit, while Debbie came over all poetic, and felt it was ‘like the scent of an evening garden’. The whole team felt it was light and the perfect perfume for work.

Score: 18/25

Kylie Minogue, Dazzling Darling

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Beyonce, Pulse Eau de parfum, 30ml £23.50, 50ml £29.90

Appearance: While Alice found the silver lid ‘too space-age’, Louise felt its sleek design would look good on her dressing table.

Fragrance: The team weren’t Crazy In Love with this perfume when it was first applied (Debbie: “It makes my nose hurt”), but when it dried down it had everyone’s stomachs rumbling with what Alice described as its ‘soft, sugary muffin’ flavour. There was a distinct citrus tone to it, and Nicole felt it could be worn either day or night.

Score: 13/25

Celine Dion, Signature Eau de toilette, 50 ml £20.95

Appearance: The bottle design was about as successful as the Titanic’s maiden voyage, with Jenny labelling it ‘classic and boring’, and Debbie noting its ‘failed Chanel style’.

Fragrance: Proving that appearances can be deceptive, this perfume was a popular choice, with Louise picking up hints of violet and Nicole declaring she ‘could eat it!’ Debbie also picking up a foody vibe, compared it to ‘fizzy sherbet’.

Score: 16/25

SJP, NYC Eau de toilette, 15ml £14, 30ml £23 

Appearance: We clearly expected better from one of the world’s most fashion conscious women, and a bottle described by Alice as looking like ‘a tampon holder’ was a big disappointment.

Fragrance: While Charlotte was always the sweet one in SATC, a bit of it must have rubbed off on Carrie with this sugary scent. Half of the team relished its initial rush of what Debbie felt was ‘a subtle chocolate’, while Jenny, Louise and Nicole failed to be impressed, with ‘it’s neither here nor there’, the common verdict.

Score: 12/25

Conclusion: The team were shocked that J-Lo had come higher than Marc Anthony’s forehead, and even more so that Celine’s scent hadn’t carried an eau d’old folks’ home. You truly can’t judge a perfume by its bottle (as much as we loved flying Gwen) and the scent of success sometimes comes from the most unexpected celebrities.