Lulu Guinness Fragrances

Lulu Guinness is an English handbag designer who received her big break in 1989 at the age of 29 when she released a collection of vintage-style rose basket handbags. Experiencing instant success, the designer went on to open her own boutique stores in New York, London and Tokyo. Her line was also picked up by world-renowned department stores in England, Ireland, Italy and China. Before coming into her own, Guinness completed one year of basic art school. She credits her success to her unyielding ambitions and a deep-rooted passion for her products. Incorporating the motto of her heroine, fashion designer and surrealist artist Elsa Schiaparelli, ""Dare to be Different,"" Guinness decorates the interior of all of her stores to ensure that just the right level of her charismatic spirit is injected into each space. In 2003, she released her first women's fragrance, Lulu Guinness for Women. Over the next four years, she expanded her women's fragrance offerings to include four more selections, each one encased in a whimsically styled, elegantly adorned, round flacon. In 2006, Guinness was awarded an OBE from the Queen of England. In 2009, she received the coveted Independent Handbag Designer Awards ICONOCLAST Award for her lifetime achievements in handbag design. In 2012, the University of the Arts London granted her an Honorary Doctorate. As of 2014, Lulu Guinness still owns and operates her brand. Some notable pieces from her collections are housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and in Sotheby's New York.