Regular readers can probably already guess that I was barely aware of Pharrell Williams’ existence before he announced his debut fragrance with Comme des Garçons, Girl — he’s not the first celebrity that entered my radar via perfume, and he won’t be the last. In the interest of research, I did listen to a couple of songs while writing this review (Happy got stuck in my head for several hours, thank you) but other than that, I still know little enough. He’s won some Grammys, and everyone but me knows who he is.
With any luck, Happy will not be an ongoing earworm, but Girl will almost certainly take my vote for celebrity fragrance of the year. Of course, it hasn’t all that much competition in that category, and perspective does matter. If you adore Pharrell Williams but have never tried anything from the Comme des Garçons brand or the perfumer (Antoine Lie), Girl might be a surprise, and if the reviews on Sephora are to be believed, it may or may not be a good surprise. If you’re a big fan of celebrity perfumes and want something a little more sophisticated than the usual fare on offer — and you don’t mind paying more — Girl could be just what you’ve been waiting for. If you’re a perfumista and a longtime Comme des Garçons fan, Girl might strike you, as it did me, as hardly the best they can do, but an awful lot better than it might have been…
