Lady Gaga Fame

The first fragrance from Lady Gaga came out a bit over two months ago and I have tried it several times at the counters however I have been putting off buying it.  First of all, I have no room for any new fragrances and second of all, I haven't fallen in love with it the way that I was expecting to.  I do like this fragrance and it smells very nice on my skin but this just wasn't what I was expecting from the much-hyped first fragrance from Lady Gaga.  Two years ago, Lady Gaga was my absolute favorite artist and I would have her music on whenever I had the chance to listen to it.  I still like her a lot and enjoy her music but she isn't really my favorite anymore and I feel that overall much of the hype around her has faded over the past few months...

I was still excited to hear that she brought out a fragrance, even though I usually do not like celeb fragrances.  When I first heard that Lady Gaga was involved with the creation, I knew that this fragrance really had the potential to be different than the generic fruity-floral celeb fragrance, I still haven't gotten over the awful line of fragrances from Katy Perry and I was hoping that this one didn't go down the same route.  I was expecting this fragrance to be very floral and gourmand, Lady is not your run-of-the-mill celeb and I don't think that she would put her name on any fragrance that was.

When I talk about what I was expecting, please envision what the following fragrances smell like: Tom Ford Black Orchid or Thierry Mugler Angel.  Something complex and full-bodied with lots of fragrance to it.  This is not a fragrance that will be for the subtle lady or worn for casual weekends.  This was the picture that was in my head when I first reached for the perfume tester at Macy*s.  I have seen the fragrance at Macy*s and Sephora so far and I will pull all the information and the notes from the Sephora website. 

Some background to begin with.  "Two years of invasive experimentation in Paris laboratories have led to the launch of Lady Gaga Fame Eau de Parfum. The first-of-its-kind fragrance technology is an extract of Gaga’s bold and demanding sexiness. Darkness, light, and sensuality merge to reveal an opulent, addictive fragrance that’s black like the soul of fame, but invisible once airborne.  Embrace Lady Gaga Fame, the sultry, black eau de parfum. First of its kind in fluid technology, it is black like the soul of Fame but invisible once airborne. This black fluid exudes a lustful, floral, fruity essence for fabulous little monsters.  Enriched with tears of belladonna, a black veil of incense, and pulverized apricot, this fragrance may cause illicit fits of extravagance, unrivalled rushes of adoration, and prolonged moments of ecstasy and rapture." 

What two words are right next to each other?!?!?  Fruity and floral...this is exactly what I thought this fragrance would never be!  To be fair, these notes are still not the traditional notes that are contained in this style of fragrance.  Here are the notes that Lady Gaga has put into her first fragrance - Belladonna, Incense, Apricot, Honey Drops, Tiger Orchidea, Jasmin Sambac.

First of all, even though this fragrance was not quite what I expecting, I do really like it.  The first aspect of the fragrance that I noticed when I tried it is that the bottle itself is not black, it is clear.  The fragrance itself is black and sprays out black, but turns clear as soon as it hits the skin.  My first worry was that it wouldn't turn clear and create a mess on my skin (if you are a fan of spraying fragrance on your clothes, I would recommend finding out if it stays black on fabric before you try it!!).  Thankfully it turned clear and this aspect of the fragrance disappeared. 

The next aspect of the fragrance that I noticed was that it was sweeter than I was expecting, I was expecting a full assault of the Jasmine note and this wasn't the case.  The Apricot and Honey came out on my skin instantly and then the Belladonna and Jasmine came out.  This is  still a stronger fragrance but not as strong as I really thought that it would be.  This fragrance lasted all day on me and I could still smell it after getting a shower that night, styaing power is very impressive...

So why haven't I bought this yet?!  I have already stated that I have no room on my bureau and really shouldn't be buying any perfumes at all.  I have gone back to Macy*s several times now and keep trying the fragrance, each time that I do, I find that I like it more and more but I know that it must be a fall and winter fragrance for me so I would be best waiting for a bit and then buying it once I have more room.

Overall, one of the best celeb fragrances on the market, it actually smells like perfume and it is obvious that Gaga actually was involved in the creation of the fragrance instead of just slapping her name on the bottle.  This fragrance comes in several sizes of EDP and matching body products.  Now I do see a rollerball version on the Sephora website that I didn't see at Macy*s and we all know that I could fit a rollerball on my crowded dresser...

photo courtesty of Sephora