Pharrell Williams with Girl Perfume (for Girls and Boys)
Seven Time Grammy Winner and the new coach on The Voice, Pharrell Williams is one of us, and that makes me happy. Instead of going to a large commercial fragrance house, he teamed up with Comme des Garcons to create Girl, his very first fragrance and blurred lines between celebrity fragrance and niche scents. However you label it, Girl is a delight.
Pharell Williams wearing Comme De Garcons Play T shirt
The collaboration with Comme des Garcons doesn’t surprise those of us who inhale fashion, coming from the man Esquire picked as Best Dressed in 2005 for “injecting dressed-up luxury into hip-hop style.” Pharrell made headwear history when he wore a vintage Vivienne Westwood (1983) Buffalo hat to the 2014 Grammys. With Girl, Pharell Williams fuses his own brand of pop culture with Commes de Garcons avant-garde fragrance line without in any way dumbing it down.
Pharrell Williams Girl album
Named Girl, after the album that was inspired by all the women who helped him succeed, Pharrell William's new perfume is nevertheless unisex; the tag line on the bottle is “for Girls and Boys". Girl's notes aren't called top, heart and base notes, but rather are a playful nod to a live Pharell musical performance:
Intro: Neroli, lavender and white pepper
Middle Riff: Iris, styrax, violet
At the End: Patchouli, vetiver, sandalwood, cedar
Christian Astugueville and Antoine Lie of Takasago
Girl was produced by master perfumer Antoine Lie of Takasago, (the nose behind CdG Wonderwood, Armani Code, Etat Libre D'Orange Rien, nu-be Sulphur and Mercury, Puredistance Black (to name just a few) and Christian Astugueville, Creative Director of Comme des Garcons Parfums (who is also a renowned furniture artisan). Girl follows in the tradition of Comme des Garcons' beloved wood-centric fragrances and while the list of notes indicates that Girl is something other than the typical celebrity fruity floral, the sum is much greater than its parts, which is saying something considering how many big names are attached to the scent.
KAWS Companion wood figure via stupiddope.com
Girl is definitely a woody fragrance, but the wood here is a unique fantasy tree. Imagine a green stalk armed with thorns to protect itself (the pepper, which remains noticeable to me beyond the top notes). Should you manage to bypass the thorns and snap it, you are rewarded with a cool milky sap (styrax) that contains tiny glittering jewels (the iris and violet). The experience is at once familiar and alien, but absolutely imaginative.
KAWS, aka Brian Donnelly, via Blouin Art Info
Also highly imaginative is Girl’s bottle, designed by celebrated Brooklyn artist KAWS (born Brian Donnelly), who has worked with Comme de Garcons before and has done other crossover artistic/commercial projects with Nike, Vans, and Dos Equis. Girl’s flacon resembles one of KAWS’ “Companion” sculptures and is a great chance to own a piece of up-to-the minute art.
Pharrell Williams Girl is $135.00 for 100 ml, which is a great price for such a high quality scent. I would spend that on the bottle alone! Girl is currently available at Dover Street Market New York, Tokyo and London as well as Comme des Garcons stores worldwide. You can order Pharrell Williams Girl Perfume on Sephora.com if you are a VIB, in either the 100 ml or a .03 rollerball ($30). Check it out here
Disclosure: I received my sample from Comme des Garcons New York
–Nancy Lichtenstein, Deputy Editor and Beauty Editor
We have a 2ml spray sample of Pharell Williams Girl for a U.S. reader. To enter the draw, please comment as to why you are excited to try Girl and if you have a favorite Pharrell Williams song. Draw ends September 8, 2014
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