FAMOUS for her beauty and notorious for her many marriages, actress Elizabeth Taylor, who died of congestive heart failure last month aged 79, was one of the last of the great MGM stars, who used her iconic status to pioneer the world of celebrity fragrances.

Playing on the names of the gigantic gemstones she passionately collected throughout her eight marriages, Taylor created the forerunner of the current celebrity fragrance business in 1987 when she launched her first fragrance, "Elizabeth Taylor's Passion," while "White Diamonds" has sold well in excess of US$1 billion at retail since its introduction in 1991. Its memorable commercial - a black-and-white spot that features a glamorous Taylor slapping down a diamond earring on a gambling table and proclaiming: "These have always brought me luck" - is still played during the holiday season each year.

In addition to "Passion" and "White Diamonds," Taylor produced 10 other scents. "Passion for Men" was launched in 1988; the Fragrant Jewels trio of scents - "Diamonds and Emeralds," "Diamonds and Rubies" and "Diamonds and Sapphires" - was introduced in 1993; "Black Pearls" hit counters in 1996; "Sparkling White Diamonds" was introduced in 1999; "Brilliant White Diamonds" was launched in 2001; "Forever Elizabeth" was launched in 2002; "Gardenia" was introduced in 2003; and "Violet Eyes" hit counters in 2010. All 12 are still sold by Arden, primarily in North America.

"It is with deep sadness that we learned of the passing of Elizabeth Taylor, the legendary actress, activist and businesswoman," said E. Scott Beattie, chairman and chief executive officer of Elizabeth Arden. "As her business partner in the fragrance industry, we have held her in the highest esteem and have had tremendous respect for her extraordinary compassion, creativity and business acumen. Our best tribute to Elizabeth Taylor will be to continue the legacy of the brands she created and loved so much. Her sense of humor, passion for life, never-ending dedication and generosity of spirit will be remembered by all of us."

But while she had a major impact on the beauty world, her personal fashion sense was often questionable. In fact, in 1967, at the height of her fame, when she was married to Richard Burton, Women's Wear Daily labeled the violet-eyed brunette a "fashion dropout" for the unflattering printed dress she wore to a polo match in Nice, France. It was shortly after she had won the second of her Academy Awards for "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and the text went on to note, "Liz Taylor won the Oscar … but not for fashion," and ask, "Doesn't Richard deserve an Oscar too? Not for being wolf-ed by Virginia but for loyalty to The Missus above and beyond the call of duty?"

The ups and downs of her weight through the 1970s and 1980s didn't help. Numerous photos through the years show Taylor in less-than-flattering ensembles. A 1970 photo shows her in a white hot-pants outfit with daisy trim everywhere, including on the high peekaboo boots, and another picture from that same year shows her in a dizzying ivory mesh poncho pantsuit, detailed with fringe.

Arnold Scaasi recalled how, in 1962, a friend who was Taylor's hairdresser suggested the actress visit Scaasi's salon to select some dresses for an appearance on "The Bob Hope Show." The designer said they hit it off, and he continued to dress her through the years.

"She had a lovely sense of humor. She was not a shy woman," he said. "She was one of the most beautiful women you ever would want to see. Really. She was fabulous looking." In her "Cleopatra" days, she was "tiny, a good size four, with heels maybe five six or five seven," he added. "She loved trying on clothes and would try on a lot of them. She would say, 'I love that' or 'That's not for Elizabeth.' She liked to speak in the third person."

And Taylor could look stunningly statuesque in the right caftan or flowing dress, perhaps with a plunging neckline that showed off one of the huge jewels she had been given by her husbands. There was the 69.42-carat pear-shaped Taylor-Burton diamond or the 50-carat Peregrina pearl, once owned by Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII. Burton gave her both of those, along with the 16th-century Taj Mahal diamond necklace; the King Farouk bracelet, detailed with hieroglyphics in diamonds and colored stones, and the 33.19-carat Krupp diamond, mounted on a ring. Taylor's third husband, theater and film producer Mike Todd, had showered her with jewelry too, including a remarkable Cartier diamond and ruby necklace and the antique diamond tiara she wore to the 1956 Academy Awards.

Commitment

Her costumes could be influential, as well. The evening dress Edith Head designed for Taylor's role in 1951's "A Place in the Sun," for instance, a strapless white dress with a boned bodice, detailed with daisies, inspired the most popular prom look of that year, while a white dress Taylor wore as Maggie the Cat in 1958's "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" was licensed by its costume designer, Helen Rose, and sold in the thousands. Photos of Taylor wearing a slip in 1960's "Butterfield 8" are unforgettable.

Regardless of her style, though, she was, simply, Elizabeth Taylor. Nothing else really mattered.

Tamara Steele, senior vice president of global fragrance marketing at Elizabeth Arden, began working with Taylor 11 years ago. "Elizabeth Taylor saw this as her business - her home was House of Taylor Headquarters," said Steele. "The juice was the most important thing for her, and she created fragrances she would love to wear and was proud to give to her friends. She was very knowledgeable about fragrance notes. She instinctively knew quality and wouldn't compromise, and she was proven to be right all the time. She touched every element of her fragrance brand. She loved to design her fragrance bottles - she had exquisite taste and her bottles were like little jewels. She put her signature and signoff on everything, including the holiday gift sets and the famous holiday watch GWP (gift with purchase). She will be greatly missed."

The actress was also known for her commitment to AIDS-related charities. After her great friend and "Giant" co-star Rock Hudson died from the disease in 1985, at a time when Hollywood and the fashion industry were reluctant to embrace AIDS activism, Taylor became an important fundraiser for the cause. She was the founding international chairman of amfAR, and also started her own AIDS charity, the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. She was given the amfAR Award of Courage in New York in February but could not attend because of ill health. Her friend Elton John accepted it on her behalf, saying, "She earned our enduring love and respect for her compassion and her courage in standing up and speaking out about AIDS when others preferred to bury their heads in the sand."

Another longtime friend, Valentino, who designed her wedding dress for her last wedding, said, "She was an extraordinary human being. She sold all her jewels in the early 1980s to build 15 day hospitals in Africa. Together, we created a charity for children with AIDS in Italy, and I personally saw her sitting on the floor next to terminally ill people, holding their hands and comforting them."