By joining the department store markdown melee, fragrance is taking the final step to transforming itself into a fashion item -- and that is not an entirely glamorous prospect.

The brighter lights of the beauty industry have always taken pride in considering their category to be part of the fashion family. But like most families, there are members who are as similar as cats and dogs, with different nervous systems and warring agendas. Fashion is artistic, instinctual and of the moment. Beauty is product-centric, analytical and more than a bit plodding. Unlike fashion, the goal in the fragrance industry is to sell the same item, like Chanel No. 5, for eternity and a day, with the same bottle and the same juice.

The global financial meltdown already has resulted in reports of dips in airport traffic, the main engine of the travel retail business, and some shop operators are predicting a flat traffic pattern for 2009, resulting in, at best, moderate sales increases. This has prompted some to suggest retailers and vendors have to do a better job of luring travelers into their stores and closing a sale. According to estimates, only 25 to 30 percent of passengers now patronize duty free shops. So, the task now is to start converting the other 70 percent.

The one absolutely necessary attribute for reporting on celebrities is the ability to throw a sharp elbow. (Well, that and to be able to ask questions that will elicit more than a stock response.)

On Friday night, sharp stilettos (for self-defense purposes, as well as style) might also have been an asset at Macy's Herald Square -- where more than 2,000 screaming fans, overly enthusiastic store security and a large group of Coty employees showed up to see David and Victoria Beckham.

Ever wondered what it would be like to step foot backstage at a New York fashion show?

If you're "on the list," a black-clad young woman wearing a designer dress and a headset will dangle a backstage pass in your direction. Mind the wires, stiletto-wearing onlookers, overdone TV personalities and the TV cameras (one false turn, and you'll get clocked in the head). Angling your way into the crowd and toward the lead hairstylist and makeup artist is not for the faint of heart, or the meek. 

You might think hairdressers and makeup artists are mere hangers-on in the world of celebrities, but the outpouring of high-profile grief after the mysterious death earlier this week of Paul Starr -- the makeup artist who counted Rosanna Arquette, Anjelica Huston, Jennifer Garner and Angelina Jolie among his clients -- would appear to shoot that theory.

In writing an obituary, itıs often difficult to get anything more than a generic one-liner (to the effect of, "Ms. So-and-so is deeply saddened") from a celebrity's publicist. Not so with Starr.

Change can be difficult, except when it suits a consumer's abiding need for convenience.

CVS Pharmacy -- the 6,800-door, $85 billion drugstore chain that built its business on making things easy for shoppers -- now aims to save consumers a trip to the local department store by putting luxury beauty brands right under their noses.

For all its methodical planning and granular analytics, Procter & Gamble Co. at its core is a brazen trailblazer.

Despite its size, the consumer products giant proved its nimbleness in the fourth quarter by reporting a 33 percent surge in profits.

As other companies were just starting to gauge the scope of rising commodity and energy costs, P&G had already begun taking price increases on key innovations to help offset the pinch. The bold move helped boost quarterly sales by 10.3 percent to $21.27 billion.

Target's fall initiative of bringing in a fresh crop of unknown premium makeup brands to nearly all their 1,500-plus stores is either one of two things: Genius or doomed.

First, the doomed. The plan, which includes adding makeup testers for the first time, puts pressure on existing makeup brands sold there. With the in-stock struggles Target currently faces, not to mention economic pressures and prestige competition, mass staples like Revlon, L'Oreal Paris, Cover Girl and Maybelline New York could feel the big squeeze on the shelf. What new and innovative marketing--or retailing opportunities, for that matter--will help set the established brands apart from the newbies? Who will get the red carpet treatment this August with testers and lit shelves? How well will bargain hunting consumers take to smaller, new brands they've never heard of before?  Napoleon Perdis, Jemma Kidd and Petra Strand each have very limited distribution in the U.S. And will Target's muscle as a powerful advertiser and marketer be able to connect with the consumer, who's already saturated with beauty messages?

But prestige players in the mass beauty aisle can swing towards genius, too. Testers, for one, may make all the difference in drumming up excitement in the category and in the store. Once a consumer is drawn in, she may not want to purchase an item from a new brand she's not familiar with, but she can compare a similar shade from a big brand and then confidently make a purchase. Marketing the vibrant and lively personalities of the three makeup artists can only drive traffic: Kidd is a former model with looks to kill; Perdis' personality is robust and unstoppable; Strand's style will have women wanting more.

It may only take until Christmas time to know whether the new initiative will hit or miss. Until then, the Indie trio will get its moment in the spotlight.