Lady Gaga Gives You The Inside Scoop On Her First Fragrance
Just like Lady Gaga herself, Fame seems intimidating in its dark and mysterious bottle, but is surprisingly sweet. It contains floral and fruity notes of tiger orchid, jasmine sambac, honey, saffron, and apricot nectar. The singer reveals how these notes made it into the final formulation and which iconic celebrity scent she hopes her fragrance will live up to.
1/5The singer spills on the inspiration for the scent and the intense process of bringing her vision to life.
Photo: PR Photos2/5Can you describe Fame, your fragrance, in three words?
It's very addictive, but it's very chic. The metaphor of the visual of the bottle is a dark and dangerous prospect around the corner. When you spray this bottle, all the good things about Fame come out, and all the bad things stay inside. So when you buy this perfume, you can have the lovely smell of it and I'll be dealing with the dark side.
What's your earliest fragrance memory?
My mother. My mother had a mirror that would sit by the sink. She had all her fragrances up on that mirror, and when we were designing Fame, I wanted it to be able to stand up on my mother's mirror.
Photo: PR Photos3/5You originally said it was going to smell like blood.
Well, I say things all the time to rattle people, so I didn't mean what I said. Truthfully, I don't think it matters what it smells like. That was sort of the joke that I was trying to make. Usually, when it comes to a celebrity fragrance, you're just buying it because you like the celebrity. So when I made this one, I thought to myself, I have to completely remove the idea of a celebrity fragrance from it, and I have to start from scratch to create something that's completely different and that's actually a great, amazing product that could stand the test of time on the shelf next to other great fragrances. And that is not to say that celebrity fragrances are a grim production, because Elizabeth Taylor's fragrance is something that changed the business, and I hope for that to be another surge of her glory today. I'm hoping to do this for her and for all those Princess Di's that came before me.
You're a princess today, but jewels—where are the accessories you usually wear?
Well, I only have some. I'm trying to be a little more chic lately. I took a couple cues from Coco Chanel and I took a couple accessories off.
Photo: PR Photos4/5I thought the perfume had a surprising sweetness for you, and I also think that the exterior is really tough. I wanted to know if that's how you thought of yourself.
Yes, I wanted there to be a duality in the experience with it. And I wanted it to be almost overbearing when I first smelled it—like, completely addictive. That has always been my artistic aesthetic, as well. When I style myself, I like there to be an element of "Wow! What's that?" And it's instantly addictive if I've done it right.
Once you got the final formulation, did you want to start spritzing all your friends and family?
I was a real pain to work with. I want samples all the time, the latest updates, the smells. What does it do to your skin? What does it do to my skin? I don't care about the testing. That's what they care about. I care if my cool friends like it. If my cool friends don't like it, I don't want to put it out.
Photo: PR Photos5/5How does Fame smell for you?
It smells like perfume. I mean, Fame does not have a smell. That's the whole point. I just gave it one. It smells like that. Buy it for $70.
If you could grab five product essentials before you hibernate in your bottle, what would they be?
I would take my friends, a bed to rest, makeup, like tons of beautiful colored makeup. What's hot right now, for me, is to get out those old Prescriptives manuals, girls—go get the mauve tones. All the neutrals. That's what I'm going to be wearing and what you should be wearing if you want me to think your makeup looks good.
