After over a year and a half of speculation on what it would smell like, what it would be called and if it would contain blood and/or semen, we finally got our hands on it: the perfume of the year, Lady Gaga's debut fragrance Fame! The most surprising thing about it is that - we actually really like it.
FAME is unlike usual fragrances in that it doesn't have a pyramidal structure of notes, with a top, middle and bottom that fade to allow the others to come through as the perfume matures on your skin - instead this works with a new structure (apparently - I'm taking their word for it) called 'push-pull technology', where the ingredients work together to highlight different parts of each note at the same time, without any hierarchy.
To enable this to work properly, only notes that complimented each other were chosen, separated into three accords: dark, sensual, and light. The dark accord is inspired by belladonna. otherwise known as Deadly Nightshade, due to it's use by 'haunted ladies' in the 18th century (women used to put drops of the extremely poisonous plant in their eyes to achieve fashionably dilated pupils).
The sensual accord is an oppulant collection of saffron, dripping honey and apricot nectar, and the light accord, crushed Tiger Orchid & Jasmine Sambac. Altogether these combine to create a much lighter scent than you might imagine: the dark sensuality is definitely there, but it weaves through a fruity, sweet scent that is really nice to wear - it reminds me of a Christian Dior or Yves Saint Laurent perfume actually. It also it lasts for ages.
Everything about this perfume, from the heavy alien-like, egg-shaped bottle, to the unique black liquid that becomes clear on spritzing, to the collection of gothic and decadent ingredients, screams Gaga: an extremely well executed celebrity fragrance, and a great perfume aside from that.
It'll hit stores nationwide on August 22nd. With prices starting from £25 for 30ml - very good value considering how expensive it smells!
Edit - get it at Harrods now!
