Ariana Grande Wants You to Call Her ‘Ari’ in Her New Perfume Video
The campaign image for Ari by Ariana Grande. (Photo: Luxe Brands)
Ariana Grande is an international pop sensation, so it’s only logical that she’s finally has her own fragrance, called Ari by Ariana Grande. While the perfume has been out since September 2015, the video for the fragrance wasn’t released until Sunday, November 15. In the cotton candy-toned Old Hollywood-style video, which stars Grande and Toulouse the Dog, the 22-year-old belts out a song for her cab driver, who asks, “Haven’t I see you before? You’re that singer! What’s your name?” Grande replies, “Ariana, but… [takes off sunglasses] You can call me Ari.” She spritzes on a lot of perfume in the cab —more than the recommended dosage. Neither the cab driver nor her dog (air ventilation in cars was poor back then!) seem to mind, though.
Here’s what we actually do know about her debut fragrance, a long awaited celebrity extension coming from a seasoned performer like Grande:
Noted cat lady Grande put fur on the bottle.
The bottle is shaped like a pink crystal with a giant white pom-pom attached. In a video she posted on Instagram, Grande says the pom “just adds a wink that makes me smile every time I use the fragrance.” We imagine ourselves rubbing our faces against the soft furball, making content purring noises à la mode Grande, circa 2014 when she wore cat ears everywhere.
The Ari by Ariana Grande bottle. (Photo: Luxe Brands)
It tells us what Grande dreams about at night.
In her Instagram sneak preview video, Grande tells us, “'It smells like a dream,” which doesn’t give much detail. However, the website states, “The luscious and sexy fragrance opens with sparkling fruits and an ultra-feminine florally passionately spun with musks and woods and an addictive hint of marshmallow.” That’s a lot of adjectives to describe a scent, but it sounds like an exciting dream!
It’s her first fragrance, but it will not be Grande’s last.
She told InStyle last year, “I’m a fragrance girl. I love perfumes, body sprays; I love lotions that smell really good. I sort of, like, collect perfumes and everything, so it’s hard for me to pinpoint my favorite ones.” Her website, ArianaGrandeFragrances.com, alludes to the possibility of more scents in development. In a press release about the fragrance, Grande said, “I have always been obsessed with perfume. I always carried like 6 different scents in my bag, another 3 in my suitcase and another couple in my car.”
Ariana Grande testing out the scents at the New York Firmenich lab with the help of her brother, Frankie. (Photos: Startraks)
Grande wore stilettos and a lab coat while working on her fragrance.
Back in April, she Tweeted: ‘i be up… in the laaab jus… workin on my fragrance so delicious *fergie ferg voice*.” She went to the world-famous Manhattan labs of Firmenich, a Swiss perfume company whose roster of fragrances include Romance by Ralph Lauren, Classique by Jean-Paul Gaultier, and Acqua di Giò by Giorgio Armani and brought along her brother Frankie Grande to make it a family affair. She wore hot pants, a black drop top, glasses, and kept her long hair tied up into a high ponytail — a pretty standard and necessary hairstyle when you’re around a bunch of test tubes. The rest of the outfit is just pure pop star, though.
The campaign was inspired by two style icons of Grande’s: Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn.
Though these two Old Hollywood icons didn’t make duckfaces. “[C]heck out a fun behind the scenes video from the print shoot, inspired by some of my favorite old movies,” Grande wrote on Instagram. In the campaign photo, Grande, with her signature high ponytail, strikes an Instagram-worthy pose wearing high-waisted white pants, a matching crop top, and white platform pumps. She’s also accessorizing with three Dalmatian dogs, which is exactly how a pop star who has everything should be accessorizing. As reported by People, the Old Hollywood influences are seen in the black-and-white opening video of the website, with Grande rollerskating indoors in a ‘50s-inspired long skirt.
Grande wants you to #BeYou but smell like her.
If you look closely, the hashtag that Grande’s been using with announcements about her fragrance is #BeYou. The singer recently went viral on social media for speaking out against double standards and misogyny, where she quoted feminist icon Gloria Steinem and mentioned her own family’s heritage of activism. “I want the people reading this to know that they are MORE THAN enough on their own,” she wrote. “I’m asked so often about which fragrance I’m wearing, or if I have a signature scent. I do have favorites, but I really want to create something that encompasses everything I love,” Grande said in a press release. “My fans have been asking me to do a fragrance for a while so I am beyond excited to share this with them.”
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Ariana Grande’s Necessary Call for Feminism and Sisterhood