Las Vegas Weekly

January 8, 2013 · 5:33 PM

Snooki nails the fragrance in Las Vegas appearance

By John Katsilometes

Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi at GhostBar DayClub at the Palms on Dec. 31, 2011.

Photo: Scott Harrison/Retna/HarrisonPhotos.com

It was once said of celebrities who acted, even on occasion, that if you are in the entertainment industry long enough, eventually you wind up guest starring on “The Love Boat.”

It was a rite of passage, whether you were Jamie Farr or Sonny Bono or Charo. Eventually, you would be swapping lines with Captain Stubing and Doc and the rest of the lovelorn “Love Boat” crew.

The same can be said, I guess, of journalism. Hang around long enough, and eventually you will be interviewing an alumnus of “Jersey Shore.” I’ve spoken with a trio of “Jersey Shore” cast members, actually, over the past three years. I caught Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino during his appearance at the opening of Sugar Factory at Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood (and for a brief time took to calling myself "The Circumstance"). I talked with Paul "DJ Pauly D" DelVecchio as he was announced as resident DJ at the Hard Rock Hotel.

On Monday, it was Snooki’s turn. Nicole Polizzi is launching a fragrance, Snooki Couture it’s called, and also a nail color line called Snooki Nails. She is appearing Wednesday at Perfumania at the Las Vegas Premium Outlets on South Las Vegas Boulevard, meeting fans from 5 to 7 p.m. Her MTV show, “Snooki & JWoww,” a spinoff in which she stars with former “Jersey Shore” co-star Jenny "JWoww" Farley, debuts tonight. The show is purportedly like a modern-day “Laverne & Shirley,” except that Snooki and JWoww are for-real individuals.

Following is the Q&A conducted on the same evening Snooki appeared on “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno.

Johnny Kats: Should I address you as Snooki or Nicole?

Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi: Nicole is fine.

J.K.: You have been interviewed a lot over the past few years. Do you ever get tired of it?

N.P.: No. I still like it. It’s fun.

J.K.: You’re in a position to start a lot of different types of companies under your name. Why did you focus on perfume and nail care?

N.P.: When you’re on a TV show, there are a lot of opportunities to do different stuff. When I had a chance to do perfume, I thought, I love smelling good. I always have my nails done. I’d like to design nails, and these are things I am really interested in. All products that have my name on them, I’m involved with them 100 percent. I’m involved in the perfume and what it smells like. The animal prints and bling-bling on the nails are my idea, too.

J.K.: How did you decide to hold your Las Vegas launch at Perfumania? The Las Vegas Premium Outlets are a little off the beaten path for someone who has spent a lot of time on the Strip.

N.P.: I try to go everywhere. For the launch of my first fragrance (Snooki), I went to Dallas. I’ll go to crazy places and just try to meet everybody. I go to places where people wouldn’t expect me.

J.K.:I do want to ask about your home, after Hurricane Sandy caused all that destruction across the eastern seaboard. Can you talk a little about how the storm affected you and how you have coped with the damage?

N.P.: It was just terrible. I live in Jersey, and we lost electricity for a week. The baby (Lorenzo, the first child of Nicole and Jionni LaValle) was still very young. We had no heat. It was freezing. The shore was just destroyed, and I had been going there since I was very young, hanging out along the Boardwalk. It was so sad. We went up to my parent’s home, in upstate New York, to get away from it.

J.K.: Jerry Seinfeld once said that you don’t know how your parents feel about you until you are a parent yourself. Have you found that to be the case?

N.P.: Yeah, definitely. Ever since we had the baby, I’ve gotten a lot closer to my mom. I understand now why she freaks out if I don’t answer when she calls. If your parents love you, that’s what happens. I feel that now as a parent, all that love.

J.K.: I have a confession to make to you. I have never seen your TV shows.

N.P.: (Laughs) Oh? Why not?

J.K.: It’s nothing personal, but I just don’t watch much reality television. So sell me on “Snooki & JWoww.” Why should I tune in?

N.P.: Because it’s basically about friendship, and it’s real. We want to share that with all of our fans, everything that’s going on in our lives. We are real people, relatable people, and that’s why people like the show.

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.

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