Thierry Mugler’s summer edition of Angel from last year, ‘Angel Eau Sucrée‘, is back and I couldn’t be more pleased. Eau Sucrée is my candy crush – she pairs Angel’s signature accords of patchouli and vanilla with a whole heap of sugary treats, namely raspberry sorbet, meringues and candy floss. The result is as delicious as it sounds, and it makes for a slightly unusual take on the summer fragrance, where lighter gourmand nuances are showcased rather than citrus. Click here to head on over to Escentual to read my full review (P.S. the bottle has changed for 2015, but the scent remains the same as last year’s).
Thierry Mugler’s annual reimagining of their flagship masculine fragrance, A*Men (the counterpart to the iconic Angel) is pretty much a tradition at this point. Each and every year the brand treats us to the signature of Angel Men zhuzzed up into something new and exciting. So far, we’ve seen our mate, A*Men; smoke tobacco (Pure Havane), drink whisky (Pure Malt), chase some chilli (A*Men Le Goût du Parfum) and even dabble in the world of lumberjackery (Pure Wood). The A*Men family is made up of a bunch of fraternal twins that all have a different sense of style – and what a great bunch they are.
For 2015, Mugler is doing something a little bit different with A*Men by putting it into a citrus setting. The bottle has been dyed a fabulous shade of neon orange, as has the fragrance for that matter. This new edition (penned by Jacques Huclier and Quentin Bisch) is entitled A*Men Ultra Zest, and as the name would suggest, it focuses on an array of mouthwatering citrus notes to accentuate A*Men’s cosmic cocktail of gourmand treats. Unlike many other citrus fragrances, Ultra Zest is bold and daring. What else could we expect from Mugler?
“A*Men brings you a new twist on the original: Ultra Zest. Shaken, not stirred, this new male fragrance will tantalise the senses as it burst with fresh, citrus, spicy and woody notes. This refreshing cocktail dares you to stand out from the crowd, be bold and go where most won’t dare to go”
In this new series, I put together a quarterly overview of five of my favourite fragrant subjects that have been piquing my interest over the last three months. These items can be individual perfumes, brands or houses, genres or even themes that have been taking my fancy. They can even include other books, bottles and other blogs that have been keeping me entertained. There are no rules. Well, there are three rules with this series; 1) the subjects must be linked to fragrance somehow (a rule that I’m allowed to bend); and 2) the hitlist is to be published towards the end of each quarter; and 3) the list must include my favourite things, as if I were a fragrant sort-of Oprah.
So, now we’re heading towards the end of March what’s topping my hitlist for quarter one of 2015?
For 2015, the intergalactic perfumery of renegade fashion house, Thierry Mugler is launching a brand new star into the celestial wardrobe of their flagship fragrance, Angel. Dubbed the ‘Gravity Star’, this new 75ml refillable flacon has been designed by Mugler’s Artistic Directors, Virginie Delpeuc’h & Stéphanie Calvi, as a “three-dimensional star that captures light with its countless facets”. Most intriguingly, the flacon has been created with no ‘true bottom’, meaning that it can be placed on any one of its faceted sides.
As with all things Mugler, the Gravity Star is beautiful and multi-faceted, changing its form depending on which side it is laid. The asymmetry is remarkable, resulting in Mugler’s most abstract execution of the classic star to date. Faceted like a jewel, the Gravity Star is a luxurious objet d’art that takes Angel far into the future, via the medium of a sharp and angular starburst. The whole thing is incredibly and faithfully ‘Mugler’ from head to toe, and I’d even go as far as saying that it’s one of the best guises we’ve seen our beloved Angel wear. It’s simply stunning.
The Gravity Star is yet another example of excellent craftsmanship from the House of Mugler. Since Angel launched in 1992, the fragrance has been housed within a spetacular array or dazzling stars, ranging from classics such as the ‘Nomad Star’ to the alien purple tones of the ‘Etoile Mystique’. Presentation has always been a key part of the fragrance’s success, and to celebrate this latest instalment in the galaxy of Angel stars, I’ve compiled a retrospective of Mugler’s etoile flacons, in a handy slideshow. So, without further ado, please prepare your vessels for hyper drive and get set to jump below the, err, jump for our tour of the Angel galaxy.
Some Fragrant Alternatives to Real Roses, Chocolates and Plushies
It’s Mother’s Day in the UK this Sunday, which means that we’ll all be setting some time aside to celebrate the most special ladies in our lives – our mums, or mother figures. It’s important to shower these wonderful women with cards, gifts and love just to show them how blooming great they are. After all, where would we be without them? They are the guiding lights in our lives and play a massive part in shaping us in to the lovely beings we are today. So yes, they deserve lots of love and recognition.
At this time of year I often dedicate my Escentual column to a Mother’s Day Gift Guide, and this year is no different. For 2015 I’ve opted to focus on three perfumes that represent the most clichéd of Mother’s Day gifts – roses, chocolate and cuddly toys. Within my guide, which you can access by clicking here, you will find a selection of suitably satisfying scented gifts for that most special of ladies, whether she be about flowers, food or fluff, or all of the above.
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner (five days away to be exact) and if you’re attached to a significant other you are likely to be thinking about what treats you may have in store for them. Now, don’t you worry, this isn’t yet another gift guide (I’ve done my anti-Valentine’s gift guide already) as they are a dime a dozen these days. No, instead I’ve decided to celebrate the day of St. Valentine by doing something a little bit different this year.
Perfume, like literature and film, is littered with many legendary lovers – iconic pairings that tell the story of true romance. These duos may have been created to market the idea of ‘his ‘n’ hers’ but they also allow a couple to share a fragrant experience by either matching, complimenting or contrasting each other. I’m all for them when done right and with a bit of flair. So, without further ado, here are my picks for perfumery’s most iconic pairings.
In life, I take a ‘leave it all to the last minute and hope for the best’ approach. Organisation is not my strong suit, and it is most definitely true that I work best under pressure. It will serve as no surprise then, that I haven’t quite completed my Christmas shopping yet, and yes, I’m well aware that it is exactly one week until Santa pays his annual visit. What can I say? I’ve just been busy with other things.
To help myself, and those around me who are also last-minute sort-of-folk, I’ve prepped a ‘Last Minute Gift Guide’ for my Escentual column this week. In this guide you will find; handy stocking stuffers for him and her, mid-range marvels and even big ticket splurges that will wow your recipient, even if they do depress your bank balance slightly. So, if you’re still looking for that one last gift, or just fancy a treat for yourself after being so wonderfully generous to everyone else, click here to check out my last-minute Christmas gift guide.
“An olfactory dedication to the woody note. [..] A*Men Pure Wood is an invitation to a journey to the heart of the woody note, an elegant yet rugged accent in masculine perfumes, boldly revisited for this occasion.”
– Thierry Mugler
Not a day goes by on this blog without me making some sort-of reference to the house of Thierry Mugler. It’s no secret that I am the Mugler fan boy and I consider his fragrances to be as much a part of my DNA as my blue eyes and brown hair. The Mugler fragrances speak to me because they are bold, edgy and entirely over the top – everything that I want to be, and I revel in their distinct and challenging olfactory signatures, the way Mugler’s muses lavished themselves in his structured couture.
A*Men (also known as ‘Angel Men’) is the house’s flagship masculine fragrance. Actually, it’s the brand’s only fragrance solely for men (not that that stops many women from wearing it) and as one would expect from the man that brought the world the motorcycle corset, it’s a bold and daring one. I love A*Men, it manages to throw in just about every note possible (peppermint, tar, lavender, chocolate, coffee, caramel, patchouli and vanilla), including the kitchen sink and manages to somehow work as a fragrance that is wearable. The problem is that I just don’t reach for it that much anymore, perhaps because it is so unique and demanding.
Each year, Thierry Mugler launches a limited edition version of A*Men that showcases one note or theme. Unofficially named the ‘Pure’ series, previous instalments have included; A*Men Pure Coffee, A*Men Pure Malt, A*Men Pure Leather and A*Men Pure Shot, and for this season, Mugler is launching an ode to the ruggedness of wood, cheekily entitled A*Men Pure Wood. Created by perfumer, Jacques Huclier (the man behind the original A*Men in 1996), Pure Wood is one of the most commercial interpretations of A*Men, and dare I say, one of the sexiest.
Beware of Angels – Georgia May Jagger for Thierry Mugler’s Angel
I had a bit of a strange, fragrance-related realisation this week, specifically that Thierry Mugler’s Angelis my favourite perfume. Sure, I’ve always said that I could never be tied down to a single perfume and whilst I have a top 5, when asked, I always say that I simply couldn’t narrow my perfume love to just one fragrance. Also I’m well aware that I regularly bang on about the sentimental importance of Angel’s sister scent, Alien – so it’s easy to see why I would not be a good poster boy for fragrant monogamy. All of that said, Angel is always the perfume that I come back to, and it’s the only fragrance that I can wear for weeks on end without thinking of anything else.
But what spurred this realisation, I hear you ask? Well, I had a serendipitous encounter at a rather wonderful Mugler event that affirmed Angel in her personal number one status. It’s not every day that I get asked to attend a tea party with a supermodel AND the creator of my favourite fragrance, but it is something I certainly could get used to, and I simply couldn’t turn down Thierry Mugler’s offer of hanging with perfumer Olivier Cresp and model Georgia May Jagger, to celebrate Jagger’s position as the new face of Mugler’s signature fragrance.
Hosted in a private suite at the surprisingly inconspicuous Sanderson Hotel (looks like a tower block on the outside and a Dalí-esque play house on the inside, complete with cosmic lift), the tea party staged an ode to Angel, to Mugler, to Oliver Cresp and to Georgia May Jagger. We were treated to a visual history of the fragrance and of Mugler’s fashion, viewing some of his most famous catwalk shows filled with supermodels, actresses and radiant muses draped in Mugler couture – an abundance of waspish waists and structured shoulders were to be seen. It was all very glam, dahling.
The Candy Perfume Boy 