The Lady is no Tramp...

What can be said about Lady Gaga? All manner of things probably, but today I have nothing but praise for the woman.

I work in the cosmetics and fragrance department of a shop and yesterday my manager got really, really excited. He got so excited because the new Lady Gaga 'Fame" stock came in. For weeks now, people have been ringing us up asking when we are getting it. Officially, it shouldn't be being sold until the 17th here in Australia because Lady Gaga wanted it to be a worldwide launch all happening on the same day, but thanks to Macy's that plan has been thrown out the window by most retailers, so you are able to buy it now.

So why am I so full of praise for a celebrity perfume when I usually try and steer people away from buying things that have been put together by the famous? Because this isn't your average perfume.

Reason Number One:

The fluid is black. That's right, black and opaque. It is so cool. It clears when it oxidizes, so there is no fear of having the look of being attacked by a giant squid, but the point is, its black.

Reason Number Two:

http://www.luxuryitems.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/lady-gaga-perfume-black-fluid.jpg

It looks damn classy. The outer packaging is classy, the inner packaging is classy and for Lady Gaga, the whole advertising campaign has been classy (in a very weird Gaga kind of way... basically not hideous... which is what I think of most perfume ads...hideous). This isn't the normal bright pink and purple with diamante and glitter routine. This is something I wouldn't cringe at seeing on my bathroom counter. But where is the Gaga? you might well ask. The answer is "have a look at the claw". It just screams Gaga, but in a nice way, not a meat dress way.


Reason Number Three:

The scent. Once again she has gone in the opposite direction from most female (or prepubescent boy) celebs who create a fragrance. Instead of making something that is so strong you can smell it three miles away or something that smells like lollies, she has gone for something that Chanel on Bulgari would put "noir" in the name of (which is appropriate given the aesthetics). It actually reminds me a lot of some of the more classic Chanel fragrances (No.5 comes to mind) while having the heaviness of the Illamasqua 'Freak'.

This is not a little girl's fragrance. It is Mature, Sophisticated and worn well anyone can pull it off. Much like Illamasqua's 'Freak', it is undeniably a feminine scent, but can be quite masculine. Depending on your own body chemistry, different notes will become more intense. On me the Belladonna really shone through, while on one of the fragrance boys it became very musky.

                “Tears of belladonna, crushed tiger orchid heart with a black veil of incense, dust, apricot and saffron mixture of essential oils and drops of honey.”

The initial scent actually reminds me a lot of the dry shampoo I use... weird. The other thing is that unlike most celebrity fragrances it didn't make me feel weird. Most of Britney's and Beyonce's make me sneeze, Wonderstruck makes me nauseous and Beiber just gives me a headache (we wont even get into Davidoff). I was well and truly exposed to Fame for a few hours yesterday and I didn't fell any kind of sick, so there's a win.

The trick to wearing any fragrance is to test, test, test. When you go into a perfumery, spray some on and then walk away for at least two hours. This will give you a really good idea of how the perfume will wear on you, not the spray card. I have very acidic skin, so most perfumes will last a max of two hours on me before they burn off, the exceptions are Flora and Freak which seem to last most of the  day.