Nicki Minaj’s first fragrance, Pink Friday, launched on a Monday in September 2012. BET reported that the rapper appeared at Macy’s in New York City’s Herald Square for the occasion. She wore a multicoloured bra, striped leggings, a pink blazer and a matching officer hat.
The scent was a collaboration with Elizabeth Arden. It took its name from her 2010 debut studio album.
The launch day
An announcement from Elizabeth Arden and Minaj on 7 September 2012 said the perfume would debut in department stores across the US that month. The same day, Minaj appeared on The View. She spoke about growing up in Southside Jamaica, Queens, and about what it meant to see a face like hers on a perfume counter at stores such as Macy’s or Nordstrom.
She described the fragrance in the announcement as a celebration of her life at that moment. She also said she was involved in every part of the decision-making. Kathy Widmer, then Elizabeth Arden’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer, said the company looked forward to a long partnership with her.
The bottle and the scent
The bottle was the talking point. BET described it as shaped in Minaj’s likeness, with a pink wig, a pink lip, a full bust and a gold “Nicki Minaj” nameplate.
Cosmetics Business described the scent as a floral musk. It opens with starfruit, Italian mandarin and boysenberry, and the heart has lotus flower and jasmine petals. The dry down is creamy, with vanilla, caramelised pear, musks and woods.
In the US, the 50ml eau de parfum was priced at US$49 and the 100ml at US$59 in 2012.
What followed
A second edition, Pink Friday Special Edition, arrived in May 2013 as an eau de parfum spray. It was a lighter, fruitier take, with raspberry, apple and grapefruit on top and pear, caramel and musk in the base. Minaj went on to release other scents, including The Pinkprint, Minajesty and Onika.
In November 2023, around the release of her fifth studio album Pink Friday 2, a sequel perfume went on sale at JCPenney. Billboard reported that Minaj announced it on Instagram. Essence noted that the new bottle kept the bust shape and pink-banged wig but added a pink and purple striped bustier.
Fans reported that it sold out within minutes. Minaj later said on X that she had not known the release was happening. Billboard listed notes of nectarine, pineapple and solar blooms, with orange flower petals, pink mimosa and damask rose at the heart. Amber, tonka bean and musk form the base. At launch, the 1.7-ounce bottle was US$59, according to Billboard.
The original Pink Friday launched 14 years ago, in 2012, and the sequel arrived three years ago, in 2023.