Girl of the Year

I'm very Pro-Girl of the Year, but beware! If you're not usually into tobacco, smokey, sweet, and powdery scents.... think of maybe Lush or Jazz Club, you may not enjoy this! Upon spraying GOTY for the first time, all I thought of was "Oh my God???" I can totally see this being a polarizing fragrance and it certainly isn't for everyone. I immediately got a whiff of smoke, sweet tobacco, incense, and soap! The tobacco and leather is sooooo sweet, it immediately turned soapy on me. I also think the lipstick note is attributing to this, keeping it soft and powdery around the edges. This perfume smells like a professional stoner, like think of a corporate stoner girl. Girl Boss by day, chill stoner by night. Wears minimalistic, neutral power suits during the day, yet wears flowy yoga pants, rolls a spliff with lavender and rose pedals, wears Aesop religiously, and heads to her hot yoga class in the evening time. GOTY reminds me of a sexy, Type B type of girl. She's in her mid 20s, real intelligent. Hedonistic with the gravel, drawing dead eyes. You say she's anorexic, and you heard she likes when people say it. Think you already know her, but you don't! This perfume reminds me of a bougie, upscale, overpriced smoke shop. The incense, candles, and smokey sweetness will envelop you in a cloud of rebellion and confidence. That's exactly how I feel when I wear this. Rebellious and confident. It is not a safe, well-received fragrance by all, but it feels so darn good to put on GOTY and go about your business with your head up high. After it's settled for a few hours, I get a gorgeous whiff of incense, sweetness, powder, leather and sandalwood goodness. It makes me feel like this scent has a presence of its own and it makes me feel more powerful. More present. Taking up more space. If you enjoy deep, sweet, sultry, sexy, tobacco, smokey, powdery and leather type of scents... then you will love this!

This scent has such vintage smell to it (as in vintage clothing; a lived-in musk with an air of pungent sweetness) that takes on a life of it's own; the scent carries both an aura of familiarity with twist of mystery that's subtle and sexy, but not overpowering. Top notes of a pungent rose over bottom notes of leather, burning incense, and vintage fur; I love the way this wears throughout the day and the lasting scent on the skin. I often layer my spray perfumes paired over a Le Labo body oil on heat pressure points; I layered TWM Girl Of The Year with the Le Labo Rose 31 body oil and it's heavenly. Thin Wild Mercury scents always tell a story and transport me to an entirely different era and mindset; when I'm wearing Girl Of The Year: Location: Andy Warhol's Silver Factory, 47th St Midtown Manhattan Year: 1967 Outfit: I'm wearing a vintage rabbit fur coat over a slinky Paco Rabanne silver sequin disc dress Surroundings/Happenings: I'm drinking a gin gimlet, chain-smoking cigarettes, lining up mirror lines with Candy Darling laughing along with a drunken Truman Capote ramble-on with his latest Manhattan socialite gossip Soundtrack: Nico & The Velvet Underground, Lou Reed, Small Faces, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, The Animals I'm forever such a Thin Wild Mercury fan; I've been wearing TWM scents for 4 years now, having started with Laurel Canyon 1966 and Whiskey 1969 from the LA collection. Cathleen has proven to be such an excellent story teller in crafting her scents and curating the brand identity; her scents evoke a feeling and transport you to a different decade that evoke the spirit of the time. The scents are long-lasting and great quality; worth every penny and then some. My only TWM complaint is that the bottles don't come in larger sizes; I wish there were 3.4 fl oz. size bottles available!

I’ve been dreaming and thinking about what this fragrance could be since the perfumer (Cathleen) first posted about it on Instagram. Upon smelling it in the NY sample set, I fell in love and immediately knew I’d be buying a full bottle. The opening of the fragrance is smoky in the way that incense is and slightly sweet. It’s sexy and truly encapsulates the chosen muse, Edie Sedgwick. It’s darkly feminine. Like a girl in fishnets with a cigarette hanging from her lips while she looks in the mirror of her vanity. Dark liner is smudged around her eyes from the night before and her room is messy with expensive things strewn about. There’s candles everywhere, powdery lipstick lubes and luxurious skincare products. After the initial smokiness subsides it becomes much sweeter on my skin (the leather I believe) before becoming powdery! The lipstick note is truly captured here. After a few hours, the sweetness is very gentle. It still maintains it’s animalic dna but smells like the wearer took a long bath complete with bath beads before slipping into a warm fur winter coat. Girl of the Year truly captures creativity in fragrance and I’m so happy to own it.

I've been eyeing Girl of the Year for a while, and after the whole Chappell Roan moment, I figured if not now, when? I was instantly captivated by the story behind the fragrance. I love the concept of the iconic 1960s It Girl. Smoky, leathery scents aren’t usually part of my rotation, but the lipstick note completely intrigued me. To my surprise, I fell in love. The incense note is absolutely wonderful—smoky but soft, adding beautiful depth, the dry down is a dreamy sandalwood base, grounding everything in a warm, creamy finish. It feels nostalgic in the best way, like stepping into a vintage shop filled with hidden treasures and memories you didn’t know you had. It's evocative, a little moody, and incredibly unique. This one is special, definitely not your average perfume, but that’s exactly why I adore it.

This fragrance does open very clinical, like a tube of lipstick, but the kind my mother wore in the 80’s when I rifled through her makeup. Impressive that anyone could get that right. Settles into a leathery and animalic tone that’s hard to ignore. Not a safe blind buy if you’re not into animalic fragrances. After a couple hours it fades into a really powdery and smoky sandalwood accord. I wish this had more projection and sillage, but perhaps that’s part of the art form, knowing not to overdo it. I’m quite in love with this little fragrance and it’s at a great price point, compared to another similar animalic fragrance I was considering for purchase. This is very unique and hard to describe! This smells exactly like Sandy from Grease when she turned into a hot and badass chick at the carnival.

you're a sick bitch if you like and/or wear this perfume. Women who I imagine would wear this perfectly: Peggy Guggenheim, Edie Sedgwick, Suki Waterhouse, Dakota Johnson, Grace Coddington, Julia Fox, Bianca Jagger, Charli XCX, Riley Keough. For the women who don't question themselves, they just put it on and so it is. A very confident woman on her own path. Vintage Birkin beaten to hell with all the character but alongside a well tailored outfit. Stale coffee cup stained with Chanel lipstick. The Lipstick note is just beautiful! A get a slight sweetness, almost a raspberry, that plays off the leather note harmoniously. Multifaceted, just like the woman spraying her on.

After a rocky start, Girl of the Year and I finally get each other. Initially, she was wearing me, and not the other way around, but I can now walk into a (dimly lit, smoky) room and proudly declare: I SMELL WEIRD AND I LIKE IT. The fur is funky and the lipstick is very vintage - this is not a blind-buy safe crowd pleaser. But in 2025, I actually want my energy to be challenging - in a slightly grimy hot girl kind of way. Smells like: Carrie Bradshaw's closet Looks like: @girlswhocluster Sounds like: The Mitski album you played on repeat after your last breakup

Really wanted to like this fragrance, and luckily, I do! This is one of the only perfumes I’ve found to be extremely consistent between the listed notes and on my skin, except I get a little more spice. The first spray is spicy, a little fruity, but very quickly dries down into a sexy, animalic, powdery incense. I’m obsessed, but I can absolutely see why it can be polarizing. Got one comment saying it smelled like dill pickle (probably the spice?), so it’ll really depend on who’s smelling. Can’t wait to buy a full bottle to rock in the cooler season.

I love this f**king perfume. love at first spritz. full bottle worthy, signature scent worthy. the second i can get my grubby little hands on a bottle, it will be mine. whoever i am while wearing this perfume could have pulled any 70's rock star i desired. she wears sunglasses at night and chain smokes cigs in a leopard print fur coat. ultimate bad b*tch, rockstar gf, cool girl scent. BEWARE: if you are none of the above mentioned things, this perfume will wear you.

This is the smell of 1979, digging through my mom’s well loved, unlined leather satchel she’s had since 1969- it’s seen some things. There’s an uncapped waxy lipstick, my mom’s beloved Marlboro Reds pack -some half smoked, saved for later. Leaky perfume samples, and loose white chiclets swimming with incense powdered loose change at the bottom of it all. It’s familiar, it’s comforting, I absolutely love it.

I got this as a birthday gift and I love it. It's so strange and not like any other perfume, but instead like every well loved home full of antiques (and perhaps not so many windows). It's a little spicy, a little woodsy, a little plasticky, and yet a little sweet and floral. It evolves as you wear it. Truly so interesting. As a side note, my cat is obsessed with it. It has sort of a catnip effect on him.

Glossier You for women who outgrew Glossier You. Like You, it's the type of perfume I can put on and not constantly smell or feel like I'm wearing a perfume, I just know I smell GOOD. This is what your friend's cool older sister's bedroom smelled like in the 90s. It's intoxicating and one of a kind. Sorry to the haters and losers who this one doesn't do it for but that could never be me.

Like the other commenter, I’ve been waiting for this one to come up as well. It’s a gorgeous femme fatale knockout that blooms in cold weather and in sultry situations. This is just really sexy without being a cherry (which is a major bonus in my book). Smells like a soft leather jacket and your favorite red lipstick, and if you like a darkly feminine vibe I’d definitely give this a try.

I’ve been waiting for this to pop up on Fragrantica! I got the sampler set for the NYC collection and this is by far my favorite. This specific genre of fragrance is one of my favorites, spilled makeup at the bottom of an old leather bag. It definitely gives the vibes it sets out for, but very soft and almost a powdery skin scent when it dries down. Love it.

I can't sing my praises more highly of this house for truly unique, niche fragrances! I loved all four fragrances from the NYC sampler; I wish I was THAT girl when I lived in NYC (I was not, I was a broke, nerdy grad student). Edgy, sexy, with a side of crazy. Nothing from this house is a safe blind buy though, ngl.

I just bought a full size after happily squirting my way through a sample. I kept getting whiffs of it on my pillow and it made me feel jealous, like what other woman has been in my bed?! Phenomenally sultry but in a delicate, but not in a precious way. Oozes confidence, but doesn’t overpower.

this might be the sexiest perfume I've ever smelled smells like a mysterious, edgy, but well dressed woman who just smoked a good few cigarettes in her leather jacket and powdery vintage perfume and heavily applied lipstick. will probably reach for this scent on nights out to the goth club

This fragrance is Venus in furs, lips slightly parted, and cigarette smoke lingering through finger tips. Girl of the year exudes a natural confidence that is elegant and simply lovely. This fragrance will always be my go to when I need a confidence boost, undoubtedly one of my favorites.

the name is so appropriate, this isn't for every girl.. but every girl could use it. it's a transformative, evocative fragrance beyond sitting on just the skin. it feels like it alters the soul and i become someone i wasn't just before it was applied.

Smells like your moms older lady friends leather jacket that she would give you while you waited to be picked up. The smokey smell is overpowering and kinda horny combined with the leathery of it. That plus it’s a little sweet is so yummy.

got described as a sexy tire when wearing this and it meshed really well with my leather jacket. overall, very much like it and it's a good night out scent for lesbians everywhere looking for something a bit grimy and dim but hot!

I got a full bottle of this, love the story and it definitely captures the fragrance. I get the Orris and lipstick and leather. I guess there is rose but it must be blended pretty good. A sexy date night fragrance.

Like all Thin Wild Mercury fragrances, Girl of the Year is a unisex fragrance. Despite the name and the "It Girl" inspiration, this is a unisex fragrance. A blind test with the Golden Pineapple Fragrance Awards nomination team determined this to be the Best Unisex Fragrance released last year. I mention all of this because in my personal opinion this is a unique unisex experience in that it's all about perspective. It's not that GotY balances in the traditional middle, it's that depending on your perspective it's either the ideal woman's or the ideal man's fragrance. Personally, I think all fragrances are unisex, you wear what you're comfortable with, but this review is my personal perspective too, that's why I included award's results to help you in your own perspective. GotY also won Fragrance of the Year and I think it's because this scent embodies everything people want from a fragrance -- it's powerful, long-lasting, portrays confidence, embodies seductiveness, and stands out as stunning and bold.

There's perfection in being a hot mess. More specifically, being the kind of hot mess that lazily leans up against the grafitti-covered brick wall of the exclusive warehouse party, a little dizzy from intoxicants, huffing on Gauloises or American Spirits. Someone who is devastatingly attractive but whose name you don't remember is sweatily pressed up against you, their lips buried in the fox fur of your thrifted coat. You grew bored of kissing them, and don't care that your bright red lipstick is now artfully smeared across your face. Your black-rimmed eyes are 50-foot neon signs advertising something that feels like ennui, but hungrier. You've been partying too hard to bathe these last few days, but it doesn't matter, because when you dance, you sweat glitter, incense, and bottles of vintage Shalimar, stolen from your Old Money grandmother's medicine cabinet. You are a burning hot star, or something very much like it.

Smells like black velvet left in a vintage car, lipstick melted in the bottom of your purse, and lace damp with secrets. It’s goth; nihilist heiress who listens to Superstition while sedating herself with sleep and silence. This is the scent the narrator of My Year of Rest and Relaxation would’ve smelled like: beautiful, unbothered, slightly decomposing. Someone else mentioned that but I second that. Leather, sweat, and that waxy-rose rot of a forgotten compact. Feminine, yes—but only in the way a funeral veil is feminine. It carries your disinterest, your drama, your disarray. It walks into the room before you do, spreads rumors, kisses the wrong people, and disappears like a plottwist. It’s not your signature scent—it’s your accomplice. You can layer this with almost anything, especially anything that can use a little grit. Whatever you have that's too pretty, just add this for instant bad girl.

Another fun smoke forward fragrance on the NY line up. I will say this doesn’t feel “femme fatale” to me this feel like a broke fashion student who hasn’t opened the single window in their studio apartment...maybe ever? The smoke is rich and a bit bitter. Like a cigarette after too much red wine. The leather in this seems new to me, not vintage. Sandalwood sweeps in as it dries to blend everything nicely. Doesn’t take over the whole show though. I was hoping for a bit more of an animalic scent for that vintage fur note. It is very powdery and makeup sticky. Another reviewer mentioned a messy makeup bag and I couldn’t agree more. There is a sweetness here that’s a bit oily which is an interesting contrast to the powdery opening. I believe this will be a new fave and signature scent for many. Not my favorite in the collection, though a fun one to have on hand for sure.

I was unsure about this one but I am on my 2nd day testing and its grown on me. Opening is strong on the leather, and lipstick/cosmetic smells, sweetening up with rose and incense, and fading around the 3-4 hour mark into a nostalgic smoky leather jacket. This scent is the last cigarette of the night outside the dive, in your fave broken-in moto jacket. The sillage on this one is more intimate than some others from this brand but I prefer it that way, like burying your face into your punk rock lover’s neck. The lipstick and florals bring feminine but honestly Marc Bolan and Johnny Thunders are wearing this too.

If you want to smell like a sex worker, then look no further.✨ This perfume is an artistic wild ride...it was constantly transforming so I don’t even know where to begin tbh. It started off very smoky, like the smoke of burning plastic and hair, with a hint of sexual public restroom aura. Then it suddenly became sweet with the smell of fresh clay popped out of nowhere (that point, it reminded me of the scent of makeup). And it ended with a comforting, warm suede finish. This perfume told a story❤️ Sally Bowles from the Cabaret musical would probably wear the shit out of this.

So glad this has come up on Fragrantica, finally! I tend to like fruity, somewhat floral, fresh scents. I did not think I was going to like this one the best of the collection - I though Chelsea Staircase or Sheep Meadow were my best bet. This is rich, intoxicating, mellowed out. I find that the bottom of an old leather bag almost stinks quite a bit, but this embodies that cozy, soft feeling while retaining a kick. My friend commented it smells like saffron, and I agree. It's rich in both sillage and in vibe.

so strange that I'm not sure anyone but me enjoys it when I wear it. The leather and smoke evoke a worn-down luxury purse, but there is a sweetness that lifts it from being too dirty. My opinion of it changes every time I wear it

I really love this one, top notes through base notes. It gets better with time on the skin. Unique.

chose the nice leather purse for a night out and then i lost a rillo in it

Smells like the bottom of an vintage purse in the best way

Ok.. at first impression, I caught a strong whiff of tobacco juul pod. I’m very surprised there isn’t a tobacco note in this. When I look past this similarity though, the opening is very pruney & sweet. It’s like sticking my face in my dad’s jar of pipe tobacco. Compare it to the smell of dried fruit; I find this kind of polarizing, as she can come off cloying to some. It develops into this sweet suede scent, with the leather following the initial spray. She doesn’t feel velvety enough to be the lipstick note, but I do begin to pick up on something smoked - not to be confused with smoky or like-smoke. The animalic accord is low in the rank but I hear it. It does settle powdery compared to the initial scent, and the tobacco I picked up is still here.. verdict is: tobacco juul pod.

Girl of the Year is in my opinion the best fragrance in Thin Wild Mercury’s NYC collection. The iconic lipstick and leather jacket notes make it signature-worthy. I liked it until the dry down. My skin chemistry absolutely loathes orris root unfortunately, and the overwhelming powder note ends up being the only thing I can smell once the top and middle notes dissipate. Such a bummer. If your skin plays well with powdery scents, Girl of the Year is a work of art!

Powdery, leathery and very sweet. I guess I should’ve taken the non-unisex designation as a sign it isn’t for my enjoyment. But I’m not sure I’d want to smell it on anyone else either.

I so wanted to love it but it just made me/ my clothes smell like cigarettes :(

in the testing phase rn. I'm literally a sucker for marketing and I love women and I'm also a dumb woman who is a sucker for marketing and I wanted to smell like the girl of the year. The lipstick note convinced me to purchase; Initially (like the first few wears) I rly hated this. It feels like the H&M version of its own concept. minimal, trite, and feels unstudied and unrigorous: 'smoker's leather' is a fake note (is the note smoke? or leather?) and either way it reads as diluted, chalky, and vague against the lipstick. It's like there's a really interesting scent hiding under the malaise of moldy wallpaper (and in the most uninteresting way that could possibly manifest bc that actually sounds so sick when I say it like that. Especially hurts because my prior set was the arquiste one, which played in the same affective scope as TWM, but with more intentional olfactive deployment, dynamic wears, and buoyant narrativizing. But I'm slowly warming up to it! The simplicity still isn't exactly a *positive* but it's made it easier to adjust to as I wear it more. Someone spilled Cabernet at a senior-living dinner party. There's a vase of dry roses on the sidetable. The unchanged water is starting to mold around the flowers stems.

I'm not convinced the Chappell Roan post wasn't a deep psy-op marketing ploy, but anyway I bought a sample for the lipstick note and I am disappointed. It doesn't really smell like lipstick. This smells like any other concept of a plummy ambery incensy oriental perfume (which I've come across pretty often) except the Lady is a yellow-stained smoker. That is all. Additionally it's pretty funky and dirty and in fact is slightly vinegary, which is not my personal taste. I prefer a cleaner version like Frederic Malle's Portrait of a Lady. What I DO love is that my samples from their website came wrapped in biodegradable paper, instead of bubble wrap which is fantastic! The sample sprayers however were slightly defective.

I recently received my NY sampler set and fully expected to be smitten with this one - I love lipstick inspired scents, plus leather and incense? Yes, please. I’ve been wearing the sample for a few hours now and after a promising opening, it gets *so* sweet in a way that doesn’t work for me mixed with the smoky leather. I’m not scrubbing it, because I feel like there’s a dry down I would love, and I want to experience it once, because I don’t think I’ll be trying this one out again. (Or at least until a much cooler day). That said, I enjoy these scents in general for the storytelling via perfume (what an art!) ... even if this particular one might not be wearable for me.

I finally bit the bullet and got the NY sample set after eyeing GOTY for months, and it's sooooo disappointing. It has a very vintage smell, but for me it's less "vintage store cool girl" and more "my grandmother's closet floor in the 2000s". There's a hint of tobacco in it that makes it smell dirty and kind of trashy. The cloying, powdery sweetness is very heavy and kind of headache inducing. I don't hate the dry-down as much, but all I get is that dirty sweetness. Someone could probably pull it off and I wouldn't hate it, but she just isn't for me.

VERY animalic oh wow, scrubbed a few minutes in ): I want to try it again but I'm kind of scared, it was turning full litter box on me. Almost wondering if it's just not a warm weather friendly scent? I live in an extremely hot climate and I saw a few people mentioning how they like it a lot more in cooler weather, so that could possibly be why it pulls so overwhelmingly pissy lmao idk

For me, the cheap fruity floral shampoo top notes are distinctly unsexy. It smells like being 14 in the 2000s. The base notes are kind of interesting, but paired with shampoo smell its confusing. Who is the person that smells like Suave and cigarettes?

If you are into dingy smells and want a sexy night out fragrance without smelling like everyone else then this is definitely for you. Not for me unfortunately but I enjoy the uniqueness of this and am happy to have tried it!

This smelled great for about the first hour, then it dried down to a very 50s powdery scent, which I'm not a fan of. The powdery scent lasted about another hour and now it's barely there

I got the NY sample and was excited for GOTY given its popularity in lesbian spaces. It reminds me of a guinea pig cage. Plus sweet tarts. Pass.

smells like latex on fire 😭😭😭

GOTY captures NYC in a beautiful way and suits it so well. In a dense, walkable city you smell a lot of other people. GOTY really captures that olfactory experience in a romantic way. The first thing I smell is lipstick. Then suede. Then a tiny bit of smoke (disappointed the smoke is very subdued on me, I can barely smell it) Then essential oil/incense. The strongest and most prominent note on my skin is a sweet lipstick. It really needs IRIS. Just a hint and it would be a masterpiece. You know who would wear this? A woman whose signature scent is an essential oil she found at a small shop she popped into on a whim. Think Jessa from Girls season 1. The review that says this smells like the bottom of a hot girls purse is real af! Purchased a full bottle and I am so pleased with its performance. Was told while wearing it that I smell like a memory. It’s not a “perfumey” scent, it’s very literal, so I don’t reach for it as often as I thought I would. I need to layer it with iris or a creamy sandalwood or a dewy rose. Maybe ambroxan? I spray the collar of my coats with this for that “this is my natural scent” effect, and it really works. Someone stopped me to say that I smelled familiar, but they’d never heard of TWM. They thought it was just my smell. It’s evocative!

Lipstick and incense smoke cling to a worn leather jacket, grounded by sandalwood and orris root. It’s the lingering scent of a socialite on a jacket left behind at a party. Someone who is “here for a good time, not a long time” for better or worse. It reminds me of the indie sleaze era of glitter and greasy eyeliner, smudged lipstick and chipped nail polish, cigarettes on the rooftop against a thumping soundtrack of The Knife and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. This perfume feels like a remnant of times long past, only recalled through hazy memories and blurry film photos. Prior incarnations of oneself dredged from the back of a closet.

this smells like the aura of lisa in girl interrupted when she ruined her freedom privileges in the asylum rub pale grey lip stick all over a cherry ("flirting?") to get some free ice cream and make the girlies smile. reckless and indulgent but not indulgent in anything society tells you to want. u know what you love and you let yourself have it. cigarettes, laughter, finger puppets, cherry syrup on vanilla ice cream even when its snowing outside. if this perfume wasn't so cool i would associate kissing kate barlow with it as well but alas that would be lipstick, hay, onion blossoms, teak wood and salt wouldn't it?