So, the debut perfume from singer Lady Gaga doesn’t smell of blood and semen. Yes, I know, you’re very surprised!
Although Lady Gaga promised that her debut perfume will smell like an “expensive hooker” or “blood and semen,” Fame : Black Fluid, smells like “tears of belladonna, crushed heart of tiger orchidea with a black veil of incense, pulverized apricot and the combinative essences of saffron and honey drops,” according to Lady Gaga’s twitter account. Via WWD and Lady Gaga’s twitter updates.
26 Comments
Jay: Yeah, what were the chances that such a mainstream fragrance launch would smell of blood and semen? Reads like another fruity floral to me. June 15, 2012 at 8:01am
Victoria: Based on that description, it sounds like a floral oriental! I don’t see nothing like what she promised. One might want to try Etat Libre d’Orange Putain des Palaces (expensive hooker) and Secretions Magnifiques (body fluids!) 🙂 June 15, 2012 at 9:03am
eminere: The name of the packaging says “Black Fluid”?
The whole thing looks ghastly to me. June 15, 2012 at 8:57am
Victoria: Yes, it’s Black Fluid! I don’t know what it smells like, but the packaging looks tacky to me. I’ll reserve my judgement on the fragrance until I smell it, but celebrity fragrances never really take any chances. June 15, 2012 at 9:01am
Patrycja: Maybe it’s because they are in for the money and not for the love…. July 11, 2012 at 10:37pm
Alyssa: “combinative”
?
I mean crushed hearts of tiger orchids, sure, but… June 15, 2012 at 10:57am
Victoria: 🙂 June 15, 2012 at 11:39am
Domestic Goblin: I am interested to find out what “tears of belladonna” smells like… 🙂 June 15, 2012 at 1:44pm
Victoria: 🙂 Or what about “the crushed heart of tiger orchidea”? June 15, 2012 at 2:11pm
Sassa: I’m not sure that I want to spray my clothes with anything that’s labeled ‘Black Fluid’. However, the notes sound very nice to me, so I will have to try it, at least on a card. June 15, 2012 at 1:54pm
Victoria: Reportedly, it becomes invisible on contact with air! June 15, 2012 at 2:12pm
Joan: The bottle looks like Lady Gaga’s clothes. I’m kind of disappointed that it won’t smell like blood and semen though… June 15, 2012 at 3:34pm
Victoria: A great observation, Joan! The ad looks better than the actual bottle. Can’t figure out whether the bottle is black or dark purple. June 15, 2012 at 4:17pm
minette: crappy picture of the bottle and box. but i don’t know, the notes actually sound like something i might like. ha. will have to sniff regardless. not a fan of hers, but a dark, interesting perfume is always welcome. and yes, i am always optimistic that i will find one. unrealistic perhaps. but optimistic. June 15, 2012 at 4:32pm
Victoria: It’s better to be optimistic! I try to fight cynicism in myself, as this attitude makes things … well, too predictable. June 17, 2012 at 5:04pm
Stephen: So she has ripped off Alien for the bottle, and Boudicca’s Woad for the disappearing colour concept. It will be interesting to see which one of her pop contemporaries celebuscents she copies. The shame of it is that I am sure I am going to have to buy this for my daughter, she is gaga about Gaga! June 16, 2012 at 8:54am
Victoria: My friend’s 10 year old daughter is a huge Lady Gaga fan, which was a surprise to me. Well, do let me know what you think if you end up trying Fame. June 16, 2012 at 1:37pm
Absolute Scentualist: The juice doesn’t sound unusual or groundbreaking, but I do like a good gourmand oriental (good being the difficult part where celeb/mainstream is concerned) so would test this if no one was looking. 🙂 Thankfully my 10-year-olds have moved on from their Gaga infatuation or else I’d have to get at least one bottle (two if both liked it because of course they couldn’t just share one.) Now it’s IPads and IPod Touches and IPhones. Something tells me the Lady Gaga will cost significantly less.
I have to say that while it isn’t a smouldering sex bomb, I rather liked Dita Von Teese’s perfume. It has no staying power and isn’t as strong as I’d imagined, but I’m tempted to move on from a decant to a bottle if it ever hits the States and thought it quite nice for a celeb scent. June 16, 2012 at 7:45pm
Victoria: 🙂 They move on quickly, don’t they! My other cousin is now 12, and it’s amazing how quickly her interests changed over the past two years. Now, yes, she’s totally into iPads, computers and such things. Can’t give her dolls and teddy bears anymore. June 17, 2012 at 5:06pm
Vanessa: Alyssa beat me to it! I guess I am also feeling in “combinative mood”. June 16, 2012 at 8:30pm
Victoria: Ha ha! I dare you to use “combinative” in a normal conversation (any discussion involving Lady Gaga can’t be considered normal by definition!) June 17, 2012 at 5:08pm
Charu Kumar: Nice model of bottle, hope it too smells good. June 19, 2012 at 5:30am
Victoria: We’ll have to wait till September to see! June 23, 2012 at 4:03pm
Elin: I’ve seen that its supposed to have her real blood in it, I hope that’s not true even in a small amount! Belladonna is highly poisonous, whatever the tears may be.
Then the orchid part, there are a number of different orchid species that are commonly called tiger orchids, in totally different groups. There are between 21000 and 26000 currently known species of orchids in the wild, and it’s the most specialised family of plants. I know more about orchids than perfume, and I can’t stand the cosmetic (and perfume) industry claiming things like ‘made from white orchids’.
If the tiger orchid in question is grammatophyllum speciosum I would like to see how the harvesting is done, as they can weigh over one ton (up to two tons I think) and only flower once every two to four years. Maybe the scent is being constructed from other materials, but then I wonder if there are one specific species of orchid called tiger orchid that is famous for its scent in USA? Maybe Rossioglossum grande but otherwise I’m at a loss. June 22, 2012 at 9:40pm
Victoria: The scent of orchids is such a fascinating topic. People keep saying that they have no scent, but orchids are so diverse and some have the most gorgeous scents.
I am sure that no orchid has suffered for the sake of Lady Gaga’s perfume. At most, they’ve used a head space reconstitution of an orchid. To get that, the scientists place a contraption around a blooming flower and collect the aroma, which is then analyzed and reconstituted. June 23, 2012 at 4:06pm
Elin: That’s interesting, I didn’t know about this method! Good to know that no orchid massacre was necessary haha (not that it would have been economically possible).
If this is what most often lies behind ingredient lists saying ‘orchid’ I would still like to know exactly which orchid that has been head space reconstituted.
Yes there are such diverse and complex scents among orchids, from foul to divine, rosy, citrusy, vanillalike, strawberry, pepper and spices.
There are orchids who change their scents during one blooming to attract totally different pollinators, even here they are complex.
I guess many people associate orchid with phalaenopsis hybrids and most of them don’t have scents. However there are exceptions even among this group, both species and hybrid phalaenopsis with delicious scents exist. I have a hybrid called Phal. Sweet Memory Bubbles. When it blooms it sends out gushes of a rosy- citrusy perfume, mostly in the early morning. June 23, 2012 at 7:52pm