Thierry Mugler - Womanity

In a few days Thierry Muglers latest offering, Womanity, will be launched in Sweden. The 10:th of September it´ll be a release-party in Stockholm. I´ve been curious about Womanity all summer, since I read about it long before the launch in Sweden. Anyway, I hadn´t manage to get me even the smallest sample of Womanity.

Then I read that some trendy girl in Stockholm had been chosen to be Womanity´s spokesperson in Sweden and will have a release-party for the celebrities, and I have to admit that I become a bit jelaous that celebrities would have the possibilty to try it before me! What to do?

I posted a little message on my FB-wall, and less then 20 minutes later, sweet Loukia in Greece offered me a sample of Womanity. Oh, that what friends are for. Thank you, dearest Loukia. Overall, that never stops to amaze me, how friendly and generous perfume lovers are.

Usually I appreciate most scents from Thierry Mugler, Alien is a big fave and Angel Liquer de Parfuem is amazing, several of Thierry Mugler´s male scents are also really good, so I had some high expectations on Womanity. Also, the fact that caviar was involved in the fragrance made me very curious. I´ve read that it isn´t actually the smell of caviar, but rather a kind of copy of the caviar molecul structure. To me, that sounds oddly appealing.

Well, how is it then? I have to say that it´s really, really odd. The opening is a really sweet and also tart fruity mis, where I can smell mostly grape fruit. Not anything I would care for, it smells similar to so many other fruty blends available now. This not so nice top note is soon blended with an aquatic note, but no caivar though. When smelling Womanity up close I can feel some fruity mix, something aquatic and later on also a slightly milky character I guess depending on the fig.

This scent isn´t anything I care for at all, it is so mediocre and boring that I almost forget that I´m wearing a scent at all. Is it also very weak, so when I take a walk with husband and I dog I´ve almost forgot that I´m wearing Womanity...

But then, taadaa... kind of right out from nowhere I can suddenly feel the smell of Angel... Where did that come from??? I sniff my wrist, but there´s no sign of Angel there. Just the same boring scent of Womanity.

But then, a while later I can suddenly smell the most delicious vanilla cookie, sprinkled with just a hint of cardamom and cinnamon... (reminding a little of L de Lolita, but much softer and weaker). But, up close, Womanity still smells the same... this is starting to be very frustrating.

The next time it happens, I´m prepared. Now I immediatly recognize the scent of Alien. But just barely, and it´s gone in a blink.

It seem like little bubbles of Alien and Angel (and that vanilla cookie smell and others as well) are hidden within Womanity, bursting suddenly and letting their scent out, but just for a very short moment. It´s kind of like watching a 3D-movie without 3D-glasses. I also recognise the structure a little from Frederic Malle´s Dans Tes Bras, but it´s stronger and more obvious in that.

I suspect that it is in fact these scent bubbles that are similar to the molecul structure of caviar. You know the way a caviar grain burst between your teeth? I belive that the idea behind Womanity is well thought out, but somehow they don´t reach all the way. The basic scent of Woamnity is boring and bland, and the bubbles are so weak that I suspect a lot of people never even discovers them... And if I want to smell Alien or Angel or vanilla cookie, I can much better use those scent then Womanity.

I do suspect that Womanity can be a really interesting scent on the right chemistry, so it´s porbably worth trying anyway, just in case... And even though I have had it for a little while now, I don´t feel really finished with it. I belive Womanity can be one of those scents that grows after a while.

The sillage is really odd, and longvity is good. I guess Womanity -despite it´s name- could work on men too. Have you tried Womanity, what do you think about it?

pic: beut.ie

Thierry Mugler - Angel Liqueur de Parfum

While Alien Liqueur de Parfum become a more divulged version of the original, Angel Liqueur de Parfum is the other way around. OK, physically speaking there isn´t anything more compact than a black hole, but olfactory speaking Angel Liqueur de Parfum feel more fokused and concrete than the original.


Maybe it´s because I´m only liking Angel that I fell so madly in love with Liqueur de Parfum? In only a few seconds it manage to be my new favorite from Thierry Mugler. Ooooh, this is quite something!


And the name feel even more strange and misleading then the original. This is clearly a scent for a queen of big, dark, secret and beautiful caves hiding somewhere below us in the underworlds precipice. Places no human have visit, except in your fantasy or in litterature and movies, caves as big and grand as cathedrals but where no daylight shines. Caves with magnificent stalagmites and stalagtites, more beautiful than something ever created by humans. Dark passages that becomes more and more narrow and ends up in a dip or an underground river.


Well, this is the pictures Angel Liqueur de Parfum creates in my head, but how does it smell? The opening is darker than most other openings I´ve tried. A strong note of cacao, the darkest there is, cacao so dark it almost become black. The patchouli note is murky, heavy and strong that it´s almost frigthening (at least for people normally not so found of patchouli). This opening makes Serge Lutens Borneo 1834 soft and friendly...


But, pretty soon the impenetrable darkness got accompanied by sweetness, nuances and rays of different colors like golden, emerald green, ruby red, yes like little diamonds and precious stones are sprinkled over a black base. An obvious cherry note occurs, but this is dark cherries, like cherries soaked in golden brown rhum for months. I can also smell notes of creamy vanilla fudge and dark, moist and almost rotten wood.


Liqueur de Parfum is constantly changing. The different notes comes and goes. The dark base hides beneath, almost forgotten since it´s so much interesting things going on at the surface. Even though it´s complex and very variable I experience it as more tied together than original-Angel. And the synthetic you find in both Alien and Angel aren´t as prominent neither in Angel Liqueur de Parfum or the Alien-version. And when it comes to the Angel version it is a really good thing.


Angel Liqueur de Parfum has good longvity and decent sillage. The base is calmer then the rest, aromatic woods, soft and creamy vanilla, patchouli and quite a lot sweetness. It rest so nice on my skin for hours.


Usually I don´t mark perfumes. But I can at least try to rank some of the Alien-and Angel scents.


Alien (original) 8 of 10
Angel (original) 6 of 10
Eau de Star 8 of 10
Alien Liqueur de Parfum 7 of 10
Angel Liqueur de Parfum 10 of 10


So, what are you waiting for? Get yourself a sample of Angel Liqueur de Parfum, as fast as possible. I´m having some anguish since it´s only a temporary available scent. I need more of it!


And I wonder if the people liking original-Angel prefers the Liqueur de Parfum-version of Alien and the other way around? What do you think?


And I promise my next inlay won´t be as positive...




Pic: Design Swan

Thierry Mugler - Alien Liqueur de Parfum

When my samples and minis of all different kinds of Aliens and Angels arrived I thought Alien Liqueur de Parfum would be my new favorite. That didn´t happen, but now I slowly learn to like it more and more.


I think my reaction partly depends on the fact that I really like original-Alien. It has a clear, hightuned, synthetic brightness that is like an olfactory but very pleasant electric chock. Alien Liqueur de Parfum don´t have that ability. Liqueur de Parfum is like an opera singer that no longer are able to catch the higest tunes, or something spotlessly clean that starts becoming a little dirty or a sheer beauty that has start to whitter. For start I think of this as something not as good as the original, but now I´ve start appreciate the different nuances a little more.


Liqueur de Parfum isn´t as high, bright and shiny as Alien, but on the other hand it has a wider approach. It´s darker, woodier and the floral notes seem to be a little more complex. well, yes I have to admit I like this to, not so much that I´ll need a bottle of it, but enough to really like testing it.


Alien Liqueur de Parfum is a must try if you find original-Alien to be to sharp, edgy and screamy. Maybe if original-Alien is like pavarotti, Liqueur de Parfum is more of the Lady Gaga-version. And as you realise, still pretty much an attention seeker!


In Liqueur de Parfum the alcohol notes are NOT as strong as in the original. Or at least, they feel more blended, like rhum mixed with sugar and a hint of soapy lime (lime smells a little soapy, don´t you think?). The floral notes has some cherry smelling heliotrope I think. And the woody notes are warmer, darker and more prominent than in the original, and this is the part that makes me like Liqueur de Parfum so much. Together with the woody note I can also smell creamy vanilla and dark sugar.


Liqueur de parfum is more down to earth than the original. I think this would make it easier to like to a lot of people. Just as the original it has good lasting power and sillage, maybe a little more discrete though.



Pic: home and garden

Thierry Mugler - Angel

Most people use to say that Thierry Muglers Angel is a love or hate kind of scent. Personally I´ve always liked Alien better, but I don´t have anything against Angel... or... It´s actually hard to pinpoint what I don´t really like with Angel. In many ways it´s that kind of scent that I would love, strong, sweet, noisy, different and changing. Still, Angel fail to win me over.


As mention in my post about Alien I belive the two scents could swap names with each other. Angel is so big and heavy that it feels a little like get my skin invaded by aliens. A strange foreign and hostile power is taking over my body. A big black hole eating anything in it´s way, including me. Maybe, thats it, Angel steal so much space there isn´t any room left for me?


I guess it´s a little dated to write about Angel now? But honestly, I haven´t tried it for years, but now I got me a small Angel-and Alien collection on Ebay. So prepare to read about Angel, Alien and all their babies (flankers). I´ve also got A*Men Pure Coffee and A*Men Pure Malt.


Is there anyone out there that hasn´t tried Angel? It has a strange medley of notes with patchouli as a dominant note, but this is a different patchouli. Sweet, fruity, berry and funny. Vanilla, cotton candy and toffee. Some days much to much. Angel can be a mix of deserts from hell stired together. Maybe the creators (Oliver Crespi and Yves de Chirin) had some kind of mega-bulimic episode during this period? They seem to have been more fokused on things with lots of calories than anything else anyway.
BR>
That I still kind of like Angel is much thanks to Eau de Star. By using this washy version of Angel I learn to like Angel more, but from some distant. And until now I have thought that Eau de Star is the only Angel-inspired scent I need.


Which is your Thierry Mugler fav? Or maybe you don´t have any? Anyway, I´ve got me a new favorite...

Pic: Allt om vetenskap

Thierry Mugler - Alien

Changelings and children getting mixed up at maternity ward is something thats provoke our imagination, but in quite an unpleasant way. That changelings (traditionally a moppet changed for a human baby) exsists isn´t anything we belive today, but still it´s a theme inspiering writers and other artist. Children getting mixed up at maternity ward is more of an reality, even tough that also is becoming more and more unbelieveble in our modern supercontrolled hospital care. Still it has happened, the swedish writer P-O Enqvist had a cousin that got mixed up with another baby from the same village at the cottage hospital in Bureå a stormy night for about 70-80 years ago. Imagine what a stressful situation to love, care for and bring up a children, and realise little by little that yor baby more and more resamble the neighbor parents and vice versa.

Sometime I am convinced that there has been a mix up between Thierry Muglers Alien and his Angel! Shouldn´t the bright, shiny and beautiful Alien actually be Angel? While Angel that when it arrived with it´s strange and modern notes, was really an Alien? Or are they just two sides of the same coin? If there are angels, they would be seen upon as aliens, wouldn´t they? Angels ARE in fact aliens.

Well, no matter if Alien should be Angel, it is without doubt a beautiful scent. It is so beautiful, clear and piercing it can be hard to wear. This is jasmine so high tuned it can possible be, with the help of heavenly aldehydes. Alien as a note would be high pitched C. Not everyone can manage that! The sillage is enormous, I imagine people outside my house can smell it when they pass by. And the staying power is glorious, on me Alien goes on for at least 8-10 hours, even if it is a more whispery phase in the end.

Besides being high, clean and clear, Alien is also wet. I imagine ice crystals, space flowers and mandelbrot patterns that drips, melts and changes before my eyes. Even tough Alien is quite linear it´s almost experienced with sight... like being wrapped up in a thick dark purple velvet cape pierced with starlight...

Like other big floral perfumes, Alien is a challenge. Frederic Malle´s Carnal Flower isn´t something you usually wear casually, with it´s fleshy sensual and erotic character, people might belive you are there to eat them. Chanel No 5 are stunningly and sedatingly aldehydic from the beginning and after a while transforming to a hypnotic, sleepinducing sea of powdery florals. In that collection Alien is the one that is shining, luring but also elusive. Without air in outer space you wont last long...

I do like Alien, some days I just have to wear it. Or if it is Alien that wears me, doesn´t care...

The pic above is a purple alien, or was it a purple angel? Or are they actually the same thing?

How should a man smell?

I think my husband always smells good, he don´t need any perfumes for it. I like how he smell in the morning, warm, cozy and soft after sleeping. When he comes home after the training, sweaty and hot, but still clean and fresh underneath. After a hot summerday at the beach or when he comes home with oily hands after fixing with the car.

I like to try perfumes supposedly for men once in a while and I do have some favourites among them, but honestly I prefer most men perfumes on a man, especially my man. Some unisex fragrances become wonderful on him, but just bland on me.

My all time favourite on my husband is Frederic Malle´s Musc Ravegeur. I know a lot of women using it and even having problems to imagine it on a man... but the they haven´t smelled it on my man. I really like my husband almost all the timne, but when he is wearing Musc Ravegeur he got an almost magnetic aura. And it works not only on me, female friends and relatives don´t want to leave his side and female shop assistants are never so helpful and friendly as when he wears Musc Ravegeur. His male skin chemistry make the most brutally animalic notes to show (Musc Ravegeur make our dog growl!) while they don´t on me! And my husband really loves Musc Ravegeur as well.

Andy Tauer´s Lonestar Memories isn´t at all bad either. Tary, smoky and even meaty. Somewhere in the distant a pine forrest. This is a perfume for a man with Clint Eastwood-eyes, and since only Clint Eastwood got them, it´s aperfume for everyone that wish for such eyes. On my husband Lonestar Memories turn out quite soft after a while, but on me only harsh and even monotone.

A'Men by Thierry Mugler is a perfume I cant resist, I really like to wear it now and then. This si strong, sweet, coffee, liqourice and a lot of other good stuff. Easy and youthful, still very manly. I am very curious about the new version, A*Men Pure Malt, is it someone that have tested it?

We have a small sample of Histoires de Parfums 1740 Marquis de Sade that is very popular. Clean, stiff and very black leather at it´s best. Work on women to that like strong leathery scents, I use to layer it with some soft vanilla. Sorry enough, it is only available in huge bottles and are quite pricey. But I guess we´ll have to get a decant of it when the sample is finished.

Geoffrey Beene´s Grey Flannel is also a favourite to me. It´s quite different from the rest. this i a perfume for an older guy, but with lot of confidence, style and elegance. A perfume to wear when dressed up in strict gentleman suit and sharp- sexy- gentleman shoes. This is for a genuine man, not for boys! Not for that straight forward hormon filled sexiness, but for the more laid back... it´s guaranteed to make a certain kind of women weak in the knees. One problem tough, my husband isn´t so found of it. He claims it is some note in it that remind him of some medicine he use to give to the patients. :(

To find Bvlgari Pour Homme Soir on this list is maybe a little unexpected? At least it was for me, we get a little sample in a swap and oh, it´s so charming! Fresh and kind of aquatic with a really nice tea-note, but underneath the fresh notes there are some really animalic basenotes, almost as magnetic as Musc Ravegeur. The sample went away quickly, and I feel an urge to get more of it as soon as possible! Don´t miss it!!!

J'Ose EdT av José Eisenberg is the male version and it is as sultry as the female version. This is a timeless sexy scent, works on a beautiful 25 year old as well as a handsome 60 years old. It has to be a man comfortable with himself and his sexyness tough. Really good, but forget about that I would wear J'Ose EdP at the same time, it would be as wearing the same clothes as my husband. Honestly I find coupples wearing the same outfit a little frightening!

Egoiste by Chanel isn´t in my collection but I have sprayed in my husband when stumbled upon it, and well, it´s great. Classic, warm and fierce at the same time. Mmmm.

Borneo 1834 works well on both me and my husband, but if we get more of it, I am sure to wear it more often since I like it so much.

Encre Noir, M7 and Lolita Lempicka Au Masculin aren´t yet tried, but I´ve heard a lot of good stuff about them. Do you think we should by some samples of them? Do you have some male favourite perfumes you think deserve to being mentioned? Perfumes don´t have any age, but there are some that works better on a 2o years old than on a male about 50. Do you have any tips on good perfumes for a fit and beautiful hunk of 51? ;)

PS. It´s isn´t the husband on the pic above, it´s a classic photo "Man in polyester suit" by Robert Mapplethorpe... but it could as well be my husband... kind of!?


PPS. Someone know where I can get my hands on a sample of Amouage`s Reflection Women?

Thierry Mugler - Eau de Star

Usually I don´t care much for aquatic perfumes, but there is always exceptions. Thierry Mugler´s Eau de Star is such an exception. And I think it´s really nice to find a favourite in an unexpected olfactory group.

Last summer Eau de Star was almost my signature scent, partly beacuse I didn´t had as much samples as now to test and partly because Eau de Star is really suitable for summer. Summer and perfumes can be a difficult combination. The summer sure isn´t here yet, but in southern Europe there is already, at least swedish, summer temperatures. With temperatures around 40 degreec celsius and air humidity like a rainforrest I understand there will be difficulties wearing perfumes. Well, there is reasons to be happy for our relativitly cool summers in Sweden after all.

You may wonder, why buy Eau de Star when ther´s Angel? I like to put it the other way around, why buy Angel when ther´s Eau de Star? To be honest I have never had, even a sample, of Angel. I´ve only tested it from time to time when stumble upon it in shops. Maybe I would like it better if I tested it more carefully at home? And usually I really like oriental, sweet, gourmand and unusual kind of fragrance, but still I have never fallen for Angel. I find it to be a little to much and like being all over the place. Allt that that Eau de Star isn´t.

Eau de Star is cooling; like a waterfall after a hike in the rainforrest, Eau de Star is refreshing; like a glass of cold beer with a slice of lemon after a day in the sun, and most of all, Eau de Star is beautiful; like stardust against a dark night sky.

Even tough Eau de Star is light, refreshing and cool, it is also different, oriental and sweet. And it´s really, really longlasting. Eau de Star is like a grown-up version of Angel, but also a much more bubbly, full of life, joy and easy to like/love.

Angel is said to be to usual, not in Sweden tough, the only perfumes I discover use to be teenagers that sprayed all over with some of the latest celebrity scents. But if you find Angel to common, why not try Eau de Star? You may get a new favourite, at least if you like Angel, and if you don´t the chanses are still good that you will like Eau de star. At least give it a try!

Eau de Star is the smell of honey water, the softest patchouli there is, the smell of the wrapper around the toffee and the smell of the shadow under a tree close to the sea...

Eau de Star can be found for good price on the net. I´ve got mine for around 5 euro at Tradera, but partly because the seller didn´t write the name of the perfume nor that it was a Thierry Mugler perfumes, so I guess I was a little lucky. And you know what, there are few perfumes I´ve get as many compliments as with Eau de Star!

Me, and a lot of other perfume bloggers, write a lot about different niche- and other hard to find- perfumes, but there are a lot of really great designer perfumes also. Usually I appreciate Thierry Mugler´s perfumes, Alien is great and so are both A* and B*Men too.

Otherwise it´s the time of year when my perfume interest get beaten a little by one of my other big interests, namely gardening. Yesterday I´ve planted some different flowers, but I still haven´t found any patchouli plant. And oh, our pup has got a really bad stomach after eating a frog cadaver. :(