UNDER-$50 FRIDAY: JUSTIN BIEBER GIRLFRIEND

Whether you love him, or just love to hate him, there’s no denying the success that the Biebs has had in his career as entertainer—and now perfume exec too.

The 18-year-old, Canadian-born Justin Bieber has just launched his second women’s fragrance, Girlfriend, so the empire just keeps growing.

The heartthrob recently joked that the spritz—a mix of pear, mandarin, blackberry and strawberry—even contains a bit of his own sweat. He was just kidding, but we laughed, seeing it as a good-natured mocking of Lady Gaga and her early proclamations that her much-anticipated Fame perfume would have blood and semen in it. It doesn’t.
While Girlfriend just hit store shelves this week in Canada, the success with the teenage phenom’s 2011 debut fragrance, Someday, bodes well for the scent’s future. Someday raked in some US$3-million the first month at its exclusive Macy’s launch and at the 2011 year-end, the scent rang in US$39-million.

Is it any good? Let’s just say that if you’re a pop culture fan, go for it. It’ll only set you back $48. And if you like super-fruity fragrances, hey, you might even wear it.

Our final verdict: Girlfriend captures the essence of our teen-celebrity-obsessed culture. It’s kinda fun with its Slinky-like, pink-plastic-encased bottle and its juicy character, but in the end, it’s quite indistinguishable from the crowd.
—Ashley Kowalewski

Justin Bieber Girlfriend EDP $48 (30 ml), www.shoppersdrugmart.ca

PHOTO (BIEBER): iSTOCK/CHRISTOPHER POLK