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.
Williams was reportedly inspired to make Girl with Comme des Garçons after smelling Wonderwood, a fragrance which didn't make me yawn, exactly, but which didn't inspire me to pull out my wallet either. Mr. Williams was...
...enamored by [Comme des Garçons’] ability to deliver wood to the masses in the way that they have.
Girl takes things a step further in the "to the masses" department, that is, it's quite woody, but in a softer, more toned-down way. The opening is herbal citrus (featuring a completely declawed lavender) over what is already a strong but smooth (and pale) musky woods. It gets peppery-spicy fairly quickly, but again, if you've tried Wonderwood, you'll be struck by how much tamer Girl is. The floral notes in the heart are transparent and tinged with green. A dollop of creamy iris adds a powdery finish, and keeps Girl from leaning too far towards the masculine side of unisex (albeit, not enough for some of the reviewers on Sephora).
The dry down is a milky cedar-y woods. There's a bit of vetiver but it's not overly earthy. It's sweet-ish — not as sweet as your average celebrity fragrance, and for that matter, it's drier than many recent mainstream men's fragrances — but it's sweet, and has a slightly nutty undertone.
Verdict: For a celebrity fragrance, Girl is fantastic, and I adore the packaging on the large bottle. I salute Pharrell Williams for his good taste, and for not, as so many in the music business have, marketing crap fragrance under his name in order to make a few extra bucks.
For a Comme des Garçons fragrance, Girl is, as I said above, not their best, but it's well done, enjoyable to wear and possibly fun to layer (I have not experimented yet). I do like it better than the comparatively blunt Wonderwood. I bought the 10 ml bottle unsniffed, and I am in no way displeased with my purchase. I will have no trouble using it up.
Kudos to all involved for including the 10 ml size, and boo hiss for making it so emphatically dull — even a little design on the cap would have been welcome.
Comme des Garçons + Pharrell Williams Girl is available in 10 ($30) or 100 ($135) Eau de Parfum. The notes include neroli, lavender, white pepper, iris, styrax, violet, patchouli, vetiver, sandalwood and cedar.
Sorry, Robin, but you will never, ever get “Happy” out of your head.
By coincidence this song came up last week and my husband could not believe I was not familiar with it. He said he hardly knew it and then proceeded to sing most of it…so you’re probably right.
I’m always a little bit in the end of the train for new music, but my DH was learning the base line for Happy this past spring for his instructor, so I kind of got it that way. It’s a bit more interesting when it’s played with a werid blues vibe my hubbie always manages to sneak in. And then, about 2 weeks ago, my 6.5 year old daughter finally brought home Despicable Me2 from the library. Well holy Pharrell! I’d never seen either of the DMs, and really had no idea he did the score, etc, and so that’s that. And now that we’ve watched both DM & DM2 about 100 times, since them, I’ve heard a lot of Happy and have made my peace with it. I’m going to be “one of those parents” right now and say that the cutest thing I have ever heard is my language delayed daughter attempting to read and sing the lyrics for the “Despicable Me” song (also sung by Pharrell), which is just hysterical. And listening to her trying to subsitute the lyric “clap along if you feel like a room without a roof” for whatever her R and L challenged tongue can manage, well is very, very cute. And so, I’ve only smelled two CDG fragrances and can’t even remember which ones, but I think I’ll have to try Girl just because I got a crazy girl of my own who wants to wrap Pharrell style.
Well that does sound cute! I wish I could say Girl would be a perfect present for your daughter, but I doubt it’s the right juice for the under-10 set.
And I did not realize that came from the movie (I really am out of it) but my son pointed out that his marching band uses the song when they play in the stands…so I guess I had heard the tune if not the words.
Just so it doesn’t seem quite so weird for Pharrell to be teaming up with CdG, he has actually been quite active in fashion and art since long before “Happy” fame. He’s worked with LV, founded the posh Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream Shoes lines with Japanese fashion icon Nigo. And he’s also collaborated with Murakami, so his working with CdG and being committed to producing a better-than-average celeb perfume is not surprising.
Thanks for the background!
Thanks for the information. Now, can someone explain why a room with no roof is “happy”. To me a room with no roof is hurricane wreckage.
I suppose it’s the idea of not being closed in? But agree, would rather have a roof.
In my tropical setting we definitely need a roof!
I’m a long time Pharrell fan. He produced Clipse’s 2006 album “Hell Hath No Fury” and is featured on some of the tracks. It is in my top 10, maybe even top 5, albums of all time. His work with N.E.R.D. is also pretty amazing. And “Happy” is an earworm, there is no doubt about it! I’m curious to smell Girl because I also think Pharrell has really great taste-what a snappy dresser-and am glad that your review was pretty positive. I was a little nervous about this one…
It’s a very good scent, no reason to be nervous. It’s surprising to me that someone this “big” went this route…although also a little surprising how many great artists don’t mind having a crap perfume with their name on it.
That is the first picture I have seen which includes his hair, instead of his elongated hat.
IMO, that bottle should contain an AMAZING juice (not just a good celebrity fragrance), but I’ll still try to get myself to a Sephora to try it.
But maybe you’ll find it amazing 🙂
Or, for that bottle, I may manage to convince myself that it is amazing 😉 (the fact that Sephora’s customers do not like it that much is also promising …)
That would work too!
Hope he’ll do another scent, in an equally great bottle.
And while I’m at it, hope maybe CdG will decide to do all their scents in 10 ml!
Ok, I had to stop by Sephora on my way home to sniff this, and that bottle will not be mine. Exactly as you described it — a good celebrity scent (even the colors on the bottle are a bit less impressive in person …).
Let’s then hope for a 10ml Monocle coffret …
Oh gosh, would be beyond thrilled with a Monocle coffret in 10 ml.
I ended up loving this fragrance! Thank God they did the 10 mL bottle because I never need a full-size; however, I too agree the bottle is so boring for the travel spray 🙁 This one reminds me a lot of Narcisco Rodriguez’s original men’s fragrance in a good way! The reviews on Sephora’s website are so ridiculously harsh I cannot believe it! Apparently unisex should only mean sexless, squeaky clean, fruity, or any combination of the above!
The reviews on Sephora are interesting though, some are harsh but some are glowing. That’s sort of the way it should be IMHO…if you make a complete crowd pleaser, sorry, but it’s likely you haven’t made something interesting enough for a perfume fan to bother with. Yes, I’m a snob, ack!
But also, yes, some are harsh merely because it doesn’t fit with their idea of what a woman can wear, and in that sense, seems like he would have been better off calling it Boy…
Hmm, I had a different reaction to Wonderwood, it felt like I was hit in the face with a two by four, so something tamer can only be a good thing… I’m guessing there is some note in there that I’m sensitive to, and I haven’t tried it a second time. I will try this one if I run across it. “Milky cedar-y woods” sounds pretty good.
I have some other favorites that seem like that — being hit in the face w/ a two by four — yet I did not love Wonderwood, and can’t really say why. This one is way less WOOD, whilst still being mostly, well, wood.
I think I need to smell it again. I tried a spritz on a strip at Sephora, and I got a ton of violet leaf, which I didn’t like at all, but that’s not mentioned here. But I was smelling other stuff too, so maybe something else was interfering.
Well, the violet leaf is quite noticeable but I guess I wouldn’t call it a ton or even dominant…I just found it a bit green.
Sorry to break it to you…all of Pharrell’s songs are ongoing earworms. His music is usually not my cup of tea, but the man is a production genius. Blurred Lines still has residency in my brain and it’s well over a year old.
I’m glad to hear the scent is well done, though I expected nothing less from a man so talented and stylish. (With the exception of that ridiculous hat, of course.)
No need to be sorry; I doubt I’ll ever hear his music again!
Do you mean the awkwardly tall hat that looks like a cross between a moose’s muzzle and a Canadian Mountie’s hat? Ridiculous, indeed. It looks like he has it in more than one color.
Yes, that’s the one. I think he multiples too. I imagine they have their own room in his mansion.
Nice to see you back, Lucy! How is baby Jack?
Hi! Thanks so much for asking about him. Jack is almost six weeks now and already too big for my liking. He’s already starting to look like a little boy. His personality is really developing and he smiles and laughs a lot. Mr. Lucy and I have been busy and tired to the point of dizziness – and are loving every second of it. (This was my first post since I announced his birth.). I finally understand why people go gaga over babies. He’s fascinating.
Oh, have fun — it goes by so fast!
Your a good girl! Hey hey hey hey! Sorry but that song makes me laugh.
I didn’t know who he was either until I saw him on the Voice last night. Then I had to go look up info on him. He was very nice on the show and I hope to know him better through it, but I don’t think I’ll be rushing out to get his fragrance any time soon, lol
And I will have to look up the Voice 🙂
Now see, I must be behind the eight ball because I cant figure the bottle OUT! What the heck is supposed to be? I DO have a history of visual issues, but no matter if I am close up or far away, I am clueless…:(
Art is open to interpretation, and I (having only seen photos of the bottle) see a dead person festooned with balloon characters.
It was done by Kaws…you can find some good articles about him on the internet —
“Working in the historical continuum of Pop Art, his recent paintings present abstracted cartoon imagery, making reference to both popular culture and the history of modern painting. Alternating between figuration and abstraction, KAWS’s work reflects the chaotic nature of contemporary culture.”
http://frontrow.dmagazine.com/2012/09/a-peek-at-kaws-new-installation-outside-the-modern/
“chaotic nature” says it all!
Ok, never heard of Pharrell Williams and still have no clue who he is, don’t know what Happy sounds like, etc. etc. You’ve intrigued me enough to want to stop by Sephora just to check this out. Thanks for the review!
Won’t kill you to try it, but don’t really think it’s going to be the new perfumista favorite 🙂
Happy to have gotten to know Pharrell Williams!
Ha!
Well I am one perfumista who knows very well who Pharrell Williams is, however, I did not know he has a perfume called “Girl”.
And now you know 🙂
I’ve just bought WONDEROUD and I’ll buy this one too..I like pharrell and I adore COMME DES GARçONS…
I guess I adore them with reservations…I do like an awful lot of their fragrances, but not all.
This might layer well with, um, Happy.
Ha!
I sampled this a while back and on me this was very sweet. It reminded me of marzipan.
I did not like it simply because my mind was expecting something quite different from Comme des Garçons — I should try it again.
As I have mentioned somewhere else before, I find that Girl, because of the sweetness, would almost fit in better with the Comptoir Sud Pacifique line than with the CdG line.
Or in the CdG Sweet series 🙂
I know I’m late to this topic, and I still haven’t smelled Girl, and I’m pretty sure I WILL like it.. just other perfume-related and non-perfume-related priorities in my life… anyway my question is: who directly makes money from such a collaboration? Pharrell Williams, or CdG, or both? I’m sure contracts vary but I wonder what’s typical in these kinds of scenarios.
In a typical celebrity license, the brand makes an upfront payment to the celeb, and then the celeb also gets a percentage of sales. So the brand takes most or all of the risk, the celeb stands to make plenty of money if the scent does well. This is why you see lawsuits like that between Parlux and Jay Z, if the celeb does not do their part in promotion.
But there are all sorts of permutations. And as an added wrinkle, CdG licenses a good part of their line (but not all — and I think, but am not positive, that it would not include scents like Girl) to Puig.