Having nailed down the trifecta of music, television (American Idol) and endorsement deal (Pepsi), we were little surprised to learn that Nicki Minaj, lover of artifice, costumes, and all things girly, had launched a scent. Pound the alarm, fragrance fiends, because Pink Friday is in stores now.
The much-anticipated perfume comes packaged in a bottle shaped in the likeness of Minaj’s head and torso (would we expect anything less?), complete with pink wig, white bustier and gold nameplate chain. Looking like the playful spawn of a doll and an atomizer, it accurately reflects the singer’s colorful, quirkly fashion sense. The scent itself contains notes of fruit, vanilla and musk—what that says exactly about her style, we’re not sure.
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“I’ve been thinking about [a fragrance] for like, the last two years actually,” she told MTV News. Pink Friday is not her first foray into the beauty industry; Minaj has been a MAC spokesperson for their Viva Glam campaign, and she has created a line of nail polishes with OPI.
Named after Minaj’s 2010 album Pink Friday and its sequel, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, the fragrance joins Lady Gaga’s Fame as one of the higher-profile perfume launches this fall. “Pink Friday is a celebration of my life at this moment; it is a reflection of me as a creator, and an expression of me as a woman,” Minaj said in a press release. A “Moment 4 Life,” indeed.
Earlier this week, the wig-loving songstress debuted the scent at Macy’s Herald Square in New York dressed in a provocative ensemble as a sort of Barbie policewoman. Perhaps the newly minted American Idol judge is preparing for her upcoming role as an arbiter of vocal talent. But from Minaj, we’ve learned to expect nothing less.
After seeing the final product, Minaj declared, “My fans are going to spaz out when they see this.” For all of the “Barbz” out there—Minaj’s affectionate nickname for her followers, of which she counts 14 million on Twitter—the fragrance will be sold at Macy’s and other major department stores.
If Pink Friday the fragrance is successful, perhaps Minaj’s numerous alter egos will get follow-up scents of their own. May we suggest something dark and musky for Roman Zolanski?