Nicki Minaj’s perfume: Pink Friday

Rap chameleon Nicki Minaj has just released her first perfume, named after her 2010 sophomore album Pink Friday. Never one to miss the opportunity to shock us with her colourful and quirky fashion, the Barbie of hip hop pulled out all the stops in the design of her look-a-like, bustier-wearing perfume bottle, topped with Minaj’s signature pink wig, and a gold Nicki Minaj nameplate necklace.

“I almost passed out, I was so excited,” Nicki Minaj told industry journal Women’s Wear Daily, describing her reaction when she first saw the sketch presented by Elizabeth Arden Inc, her fragrance licensee. “I know my Barbz—what I call my fans—are going to freak out about this. It’s like a doll, almost.”

Minaj stays true to her uber-feminine persona with this fruity-floral scent that combines top notes of starfruit, Italian mandarin and boysenberry. The heart mixes together gardenia, lotus flower and jasmine, and the musky dry-down is sweetened with vanilla and pear.

“I’ve always been the token girly girl, ever since I can remember,” Minaj said. “I was experimenting with all things having to do with image from the time I was little. I feel like the fragrance is a natural progression, because it tells another part of the story.”
—Natasha Bruno

Pink Friday EDP, $75 (100 ml), www.shoppersdrugmart.ca