We Tried Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday Perfume & It's A Sweet But Quickly Fleeting Fragrance

In light of the release of Nicki Minaj's new fragrance, Pink Friday 2.0, we revisited the original Pink Friday perfume to test the queen of rap's debut scent. Naturally, Pink Friday was named after Nicki Minaj's debut album of the same name and was released in 2012 in collaboration with Elizabeth Arden. The perfume is available in two different sizes (1.7 oz. and 3.4 oz), with the full-size bottle retailing for $36 on Amazon at the time of writing.

Upon first glance, the bottle's unique design is fun and indulgent, just as one would imagine from an icon such as Nicki Minaj, boasting a Barbie-pink cap and statuesque bust. Thanks to the fragrance's colorful packaging and feminine design, Pink Friday certainly exudes Nicki's flirty and free attitude.

Now for the good stuff: the scent. Pink Friday's airy fragrance is a floral and citrus dream scent that contains fruity top notes and floral middle notes. What's more, Fragrantica notes that Pink Friday refrains from smelling "generic" despite containing familiar top and middle notes, and we agree. This perfume also possesses tasty base notes, including caramel, vanilla, and pear, which makes for an addicting scent profile that we couldn't wait to try.

Pink Friday's youthful scent sends you back to the aughts when candy-like fragrances were popular. For instance, Pink Friday's flirty scent is reminiscent of other early 2000s classics, including Juicy Couture's Viva la Juicy and Vera Wang's Princess, both of which contain fruity top notes with floral undertones.

To test Pink Friday's longevity, we applied the perfume to the inner wrists and made sure to dab it behind the ears. While a few spritzes leave a strong initial impression, the punchy candy-sweet scent fades quickly, revealing softer traces of citrus and light floral notes underneath. The scent itself possesses average staying power, lasting approximately two hours before requiring a touch-up, though a subtle hint of vanilla lingers on the skin. This isn't a bottle we'd want to carry around with us since it's so beautiful and statuesque — it deserves to shine as a stunning piece of home decor — so it might not be the right perfume for busy, on-the-go days that will require several scent re-ups.

Ultimately, this juicy perfume acts as the sweetest sun-kissed scent that's best suited for warm weather and beach vacations. If you're a fan of fruity perfumes, florals, and edible scents — or if you're in the mood for a nostalgic blast to the past — consider adding the original Pink Friday to your collection before checking out Pink Friday 2 just like we did.