It's L'Effet Angel Friday! Our community project for today: wear Thierry Mugler Angel, an Angel flanker or spawn of Angel (i.e., something influenced by Angel), with partial credit for wearing another Mugler fragrance. What fragrance did you choose?
I'm wearing Thierry Mugler Angel, the original Eau de Parfum, straight up. Admittedly, I'm wearing a tiny amount, applied with a q-tip.
It is a testament to Angel that this week's project caused more upset than any we've done so far. I will leave you with another quote from Michael Edwards' Perfume Legends (there is already one in my review of Angel):
Perfume critic Luca Turin calls Angel the Shalimar of the Nineties. "It is remarkable that so innovative a perfume got through to the final stages without being destroyed by research," he says. (p. 281)
Reminder: next Friday, 11/21, is Unsniffed Friday: wear a perfume you bought before you'd smelled it.
And for those of you who like to plan ahead, see Scent of the day ~ Friday community projects 2014, where I'll try to always have the next five or six weeks mapped out in advance.
I’m wearing A*Men, the original (I have a sample*). It’s just about the perfect men’s-version-of-a-women’s-scent: it’s clearly related to the original (chocolate, caramel, strong patchouli) while veering off in its own masculine direction (coffee and peppermint instead of honey and cotton candy), and when it was launched it was absolutely unlike any other men’s scent on the market. I bought it the second I smelled it and wore it so much that I got sick of it and gave it away, but I can still recognize how good it is. The flankers are probably better, though, and I wear Pure Coffee or Pure Malt on at least a weekly basis.
* They used to sell a tiny two-and-a-half-inch-high version of the rubber bottle which came with 10 2-mL refill vials you could insert into it. They also packaged that bottle up as a boxed deluxe sample with a single vial, and I somehow ended up with one of these. Man, the Mugler folk do packaging right.
They really do package well…and agree, the original A*Men and Angel were innovative, but many of the flankers are more wearable. The La Part des Anges flanker to Angel was really quite lovely, and the Pure Coffee // Pure Malt // Pure Wood etc series has been great, wish they’d do a series like that for Angel.
Angel Pure Malt would be amazing.
Agree! Not sure why A*Men is getting better flankers. The floral ones they did early on were pretty good but not as good as the A*Men series, and anyway they’re long gone.
Yes, I liked the rose one — Angel EDT actually reminds me of it.
I may try layering A*Men Pure Malt over this Angel later. Who’s gonna stop me???
The Environmental Protection Agency??
hahaha!
Great observations – re the packaging, I visited the TM website for the first time recently and was amazed by all the great perfume toys.
And they constantly change them! Almost every month there’s something new (I never buy but like checking them out from time to time).
Over the years I have had many “non-perfumista” friends comment on the beauty of Angel perfume bottles and packaging, more than any other fragrance. I wonder how often Angel is purchased simply for the beautiful bottle. The A*Men and Innocent bottles are fabulous, too. I don’t know what to say about Alien though. Is “scarybeautiful” a word?
I am also wearing the Angel edp, and while I didn’t apply with a q-tip, I did only spray twice, once on one wrist, and once on my chest. I was going to wimp out and wear Alien, which to my mind is much more wearable, but I decided to put on my big-girl pants and go for it.
I don’t adore “plain” Angel, but it’s good to get a refresher once in awhile…if nothing else, it helps you to recognize the spawn 😉
No Mugler today- Lush Vanillary in the solid formulation to interview for a seasonal position at Lush. I’ll never survive that 50% employee discount…
Good luck! And yes, my whole salary would go to stockpiling Rose Jam.
Hope it goes well!
Vanillary is AWFULLY good stuff. Second-best of the Lush scents, I think, after Imogen Rose.
It is, isn’t it?? I’ve gone from being someone who has zero vanilla scents to someone who has more than I could ever get around to wearing…but my nearest Lush still has some Vanillary…maybe I need to snag a solid before the new packaging (price hike?) comes out… (Extra points for enabling without even trying! 😛 )
Good luck! Working retail during the holidays is often a blessing and a curse! 🙂
Wise move to ixnay the Angel for the interview! All the best of luck.
Good luck!
Good luck with your interview! I don’t know if I could work at Lush. I think the point of a job is to bring money home, and I’m not sure that would happen if I worked there. That place is a danger to my bank account as it is, and I haven’t even gotten my Rose Jam yet!
No points for me today. I own a [mostly fully and woefully refillable] bottle of Angel (AND minis of the perfume, and the lotion, and the body cream, and the hair mist, sigh) and a very old bottle of Lolita Lempicka but I’m not wearing either one. I hate licorice, and Angel…. well, I don’t truly have a problem with the scent itself, but I developed a SERIOUSLY negative association with it and my feeling is that if I never smell it again, it will still be too soon. In the spirit of sportsmanship, though, I’m wearing a cotton candy scented nail polish that I think smells strangely like Angel and O’Driu Pathetique, since it reminds me a bit of chocolate.
Hey, that’s a good reason to not wear it. Cotton candy nail polish is weird enough in itself to get extra points.
I don’t own any Angel, though I did like the flanker a few years ago that amped the cocoa but since I don’t own that either, I am wearing the chocolate scent that I do own– Seattle Chocolate from Olympic Orchids
Close enough!
They brought the Gout De Parfum back this year, the one with the cacao powder. So you have a chance to add it to your collection!
Good to know but funds would still need to materialize
Yum! Love Seattle Chocolate 🙂
I thought about wearing Angel Innocent instead of Angel (I have purse sprays of both) because I am in the office today, but in the end went with two small sprays of the original EDP. No complaints so far!
I always forget about Angel Innocent!
I’ve got a small bottle of it and always think I don’t need it but then I wear it and it’s very pleasant.
They dropped the “Angel” and is now just called “Innocent”
I had a bottle of Angel Innocent many years ago and loved it.
I’m wearing Lancome La Vie Est Belle — I actually dug it out of my jar of samples to give away to participate in this project. I don’t mind it, I just don’t think it’s very interesting, and since sweet patchouli is tough for me I didn’t have a lot of options around.
Of course, I’ve already gotten a compliment on it today. It’s good to get out of your comfort zone every now and then!
Ha, there you go!
I am wearing Lolita Lempicka au Masculin which I like for its anise/licorice blast, but is probably a touch too sweet for me. Also sometimes the drydown is fine and other times it grates on my nerves.
I like that one too. I used to like it better than the women’s but last time I smelled a fresh bottle I thought it had been much changed?
This bottle is a decade old, I think, but it hasn’t turned. Next time I am in an airport I will have to see if I can find a fresh bottle.
I think they have made it fresher and cleaner.
Happily wearing the original Angel EDP. NO REGRETS
That’s the spirit, LOL…
Wearing Angel Les Parfums de Cuir today from a small sample. The leather really helps to cut through the sweetness and patchouli of the original, though it is still recognizable as an Angel flanker.
I love leather fragrances and am enjoying this one. Les Parfums de Cuir came out in 2012 for Angel, Alien, Womanity, and A*Men. Fragrantica says that these perfumes were made by soaking the original compositions in real leather for four weeks. I haven’t tried any of the others.
I thought they’d do another quartet this year but they didn’t…
I think the direction they’re going in is to create more new fragrances, rather than creating limited editions people fall in love with and can never find again. They brought out previous limited editions this year I think for a last goodbye to the ones that people cherished, and expect that to be the last of the limit edition concept for Mugler.
The leather Angel is so good that I bought a bottle. The leather cuts right through that sweetness in the most perfect way. They could almost have marketed it as a men’s scent years ago. D*Men, maybe.
I’m wearing the Angel Les Parfums de Cuir as well. I love it – and I’m not sure I could wear the original Angel outside the house but this one is perfectly fine. Actually I find that I’m reaching for it quite often as it’s a new purchase. Now I’d quite like to try the chocolate one and maybe the A-Men flankers. I never thought that would happen!
Angel EDP for the first time ever. Yesterday’s comments to “Thursday scent of the day” scared me, but I actually do not find it loud or overwhelming. It is quite nice at the beginning – patchouli and dark chocolate, cosy. Then, unfortunately, it becomes chemically sweet. But I have been wearing Angel for about three hours by now, reapplied it twice and still cannot understand why you guys are so nervous about it.:-p
Maybe it’s my skin.
We’re wimps 😉
LOL. On the other hand, I found La Vie Est Belle and Euphoria unwearable. So I suppose all of us have our perfume monsters.
Euphoria is definitely a monster, but I kinda like it. I don’t like to wear it, but had a friend who wore it, and I find it pleasant for that reason. Plus, it comes in a delightfully silly taco bottle. 🙂
Taco! Of course. That’s it! (My 13 year old son loves the bottle…now I know why.) 😉
You reapplied it twice. Ohhhhh… you reapplied it TWICE. Where is that big-eyed, mouth-open emoticon when you need it?
(I don’t like La Vie Est Belle and Euphoria either, but they don’t make me feel like tossing my cookies.)
I like the shock one.
😯
And this also works
❗
Yes, that one!
😀 Nobody got hurt (I hope!). At least I have not heard anyone coughing, people in line at the bank were standing at a normal distance from me, no dirty looks…
Although I spent some time outdoors wearing Angel – on a cold day, so maybe I cheated a little.;)
Are you sure you’re wearing real Angel EdP? Your sample isn’t mislabeled? It’s not a counterfeit perfume?
Don’t get me wrong: I love Angel. But even a box where one of the unused samples lives unmistakably smells of this perfume. And a couple of small sprays live strong on skin through the day (and then probably some).
I’m with the others in expressing shock–you reapplied *twice*!!! Zowie! I applied one spritz at 7:30 this morning, and it’s still going strong at just after 5 PM.
I’m also an Angel newbie and in the spirit of research I bought a sample for today. Nothing lasts on me so everything to gain and nothing to lose, right? It’s the only sample I’ve every bought that came in its own little sealed cardboard box, so the Bluebeard vibe was there from the start. So far I’ve had it on 2 hours to do the housework and it’s FOUL on me. There were literally 5 seconds of fantastically Napolitan candied fruit to open and straight after that it dropped like a runaway elevator into what I can only describe as ‘end of long haul economy flight’: body odour and underventilated aeroplane bathroom with deodorising products that lost heart somewhere over Turkey. No chocolate, no cocoa, nothing nice. I’m hanging in there in case there’s a shift in the drydown in the spirit of research (and because everyone else is safely out rock climbing).
ROTFL! Great description, thanks for the laugh!
Seconding this! Fantastic!
Thirding! Thanks for the laugh. But hey, it might last on you for 12 hours or more–adds some verisimilitude to the long haul flight analogy.
I don’t own any Angel unfortunately, or flankers. I wish I could participate.
But what I really want to complain about is that I made a horrible decision last night to really “spice it up” and try some late-night Montale Black Oud.
Wow, that was a horrendously poor decision — a beyond scrubber AND a shower this morning. I. STILL. CAN’T. GET. IT. OFF. ME.
Did you try unscented deodorant? (Not antiperspirant, but deodorant)
Oh, so that works? Good to know! Unfortunately, I just have my regular ol’ scented Secret combo. I will pick some up, however.
It helps. A combo will usually work too…give it a shot.
I’ve found that applying liquid soap or detergent directly to the affected area without water and scrubbing makes a huge difference. Rinse it off afterwards, of course, and if you have an unscented shampoo, detergent, or face wash, the chemicals added to make it unscented help to break down the perfume. Worst case, coat it in deodorant or Chapstick. Good luck!
Haha, thanks! I guess you’ve seen your share of scrubbers!
It would be interesting to see a thread with NSTers discussing their most memorable scrubbers!
https://nstperfume.com/2014/03/29/lazy-weekend-poll-scrubbers-part-2/
Haha, Robin, thanks, this will be fun! I guess I must have missed this day!
After a similar experience with Montale Black Oud about three years ago I stayed off any Montale’s perfumes for a couple of years : -)
Yeah, it might be me — I oversprayed, and the decant of it that I have has a very heavy-handed spritzer I think. But the sillage and lasting power of it, wow, it’s just monstrous.
Regardless, I think I’m going to have a permanent Pavlovian reaction to Montales and ouds for a long time, lol!
If nothing else works, I will coat the area in tea tree oil and let it soak in for 10 or 15 minutes and wash again.
Angel EDP today, from a sample. I sprayed on a cotton ball, then dabbed. I would have gone full force, but I have my year end review with my manager today 😯
I am enjoying wearing it, will probably buy a mini eventually. I probably would have worn this years ago, but I never even thought to try it because of the name and pretty blue bottle – it still seems a bit misleading to me. If it had been called dark angel in a black bottle I probably would have been all about it (and, yes, I realize how predictable I am).
I am also amused at how controversial it is and still a best seller. That is quite a feat!!
That’s brave! Good luck with your review!
You want a black Angel? Here you go: http://www.muglerusa.com/angel-black-brilliant-star/M010101048.html?start=16 😉
Good luck with the review!
Angel flanker: Taste of Fragrance edition. The dark cocoa is yums.
I think I’m in the same – the bitter cocoa flanker in a little parfum’ish bottle? A very kind and generous perfumista friend gave me a whole bunch of bottles and samples he doesn’t wear anymore two weeks ago, and included a bottle of Angel Liqueur de Parfum and one of Angel Taste of Fragrance. The Liqueur is gorgeous, very cherry’ish, but I gave it right away to my mom who is a certified Angel fanatic, and it’s best off with her. The cocoa one is quite nice, very smooth and dark and almost powdery. But, then, you know, I really love regular Angel and have never understood why it’s so scary. I admit I don’t wear it much, because it’s so distinctive and not really “me” (it doesn’t suit me, like it does my mom), but every time I do wear it, about three times a year, I remember how damn good it is.
I think part of why I tend to love Perfumes with a capital P is because they’re so much different than my personality. I’m quiet, shy, bookish and a total wallflower. And yet I love Angel, Fracas, Chinatown, Shalimar, Kingdom, Absolue Pour Le Soir (that one even baffles me) etc. My perfumes make a statement so I don’t have to. 😀
I’m wearing Angel Taste of Fragrance today. Doing a count, I think all my TM Angel variations outnumber any other original and flankers in my collection. I have seven versions/interpretations of Angel and Angel Innocent alone, and many of the beautifully packaged ancillary products for the original Angel. The body powder with that wonderful powder puff is one of my favorites.
Mr. Ab. Scent also has A*Men Pure Havane, a backup bottle of Pure Havane and a wee decant of Pure Coffee, which neither of us can make up our minds about.
It is funny just how much I love Angel now when I was so repelled at first sniff, and I love the “Shalimar of the ’90’s” thought. It is definitely one of my perfumes that’s almost a signature of sorts and can be really lovely if lightly applied, or really sexy if applied a little more generously at home with a good wine, crackling fire and my favorite silky jammies. 😉
I’m also wearing Angel ToF today. Your post made me go back and check what I have in my collection (a bottle, mini or at least as a sample). Angel EdP, EdT, ToF, Angel Innocent, Angel Sunessence Ocean d’Argent, Lily Angel, Violet Angel, A*MEN, A*MEN Pure Havane and A*Men ToF. Does B*Men count? 😉
Wow. You have a lot of flankers, too. I have Angel edp, edt, Sunessence from ’12 or ’13, ToF and LdP, Eau Sucree and the original Innocent, Innocent Rock and Innocent Secret. Also, a mini of Angel Violette that I forgot to list but really love. Looks like I forgot a couple flankers in this morning’s count since they were elsewhere in the house at the time. 😉
Too bad I never tried the rest of the Garden line when it was still available. I’ve heard the Rose and Lily were pretty nice, too.
I am wearing Angel body lotion and even the lotion lasts a lot , I am loving it.
I have absolutely no good things to say about Angel, except that it was innovative (in a schizophrenic sort of way). It literally nauseates me. Confirmed, Card-carrying Patchophobe here, and I hate chocolate in perfume, so Angel spells DOOM for me in a way that few other things can.
(Funny thing is, I have smelled it in the wild a lot and most of the time it bothers me, but occasionally I run across someone wearing it and smelling really pleasant. I am getting through today by imagining that it smells like that on all of you taking this challenge.)
I thought I had a sample of Lolita Lempicka – which I *can* wear, probably because the patchouli is toned way way way down in it, and to me the licorice stuff cuts the sweetness – but I can’t find it. Also realized that I sent all my Alien samples off to a friend who loves it, so I am the challenge rebel today.
So what are you wearing today? I’m not necessarily an Angel hater, b/c I do like a bit of patch now and then, but the sweetness gets to me more than anything. I think Coromandel is about as close as I can get comfortably.
Here is where I confess that in the spirit of Angel’s GO BIG OR GO HOME vibe, I put on two sprays of vintage-ish (late 90s/early 2000s) Dior Poison.
Of course, I work from home, so no reports on people running away screaming, but I haven’t run the dog out of the house yet. 🙂
Nice! Lucky you to be able to wear whatever you want. I love it when we have wfh days so I can wear whatever I want and not fear bombing out the office.
God, I love vintage Poison. I think you smell divine. Ooooh, it would be fun to have a “big scent” Friday. Not just angel, but anything huge…
Poison was my very first scrubber, more than twenty years before I knew what that was. It smells unbelievably awful on me, but like Angel, I don’t mind it on other people.
I like Angel on other people too. I don’t find it so horrifying in general, but some gentle sillage can be pleasant. There is a very mature lady I work with from time to time who is a professional fundraiser. She wears Angel (symbolic for her) and it is wonderful.
I chickened out of the Angel brigade today. I didn’t have too much that I think would be considered inspired by it either. So I’m wearing Antonio Alessandria Nuit Rouge again today. Verdict = love it. It’s the perfect warm incense-y scent I’d been craving and trying to get since before autumn. Going on the FB list (not that I can buy it anytime soon, but you know… wishful thinking I can get a FB soon-ish.)
Scent twins today. I Was inspired to test it based on your comment yesterday and think if my nose wasn’t so stuffy I would be really enjoying it. I think I under-applied anyway though so will add more this evening when I get home.
😀
I thought I hadn’t worn enough yesterday or today (I did three good smears of it), but I think it just doesn’t have the sillage I thought it would. But then every once in a while I get a whiff of it and it’s so nice! Just when I think it’s gone, I get some incense or the iris. 11 hours after I’d worn it yesterday I was doing my evening workout routine and the sweeter notes like coffee and vanilla came through with the incense b/c my skin was warm and it was so nice!
The closest I could come today is Marie Saint Pierre B, with its caramel, sandalwood, cedar and maple. It’s a really different combination of notes, feels gourmand, and I like how this one smells.
After showering, applied Angel Paefum En Lait Pour Le Corps or Angel Perfuming Body Lotion. Judiciously applied Angel EDP, no spraying with wanton abandon today. Because I am struck by how much Serge Lutens Borneo 1834 reminds me of Angel, only drier, I added a few dabs of that as well. I am a one woman, rolling, chocolate and patchouli bomb!
Way to go! 🙂
That should be Parfum, not Paefum, though that sounds interesting…. Like a wee small smell.
We need Paestum Rose Paefum!
Sounds like something a plump rosy cherub would smell like
I don’t have any Angel because I got rid of it all about 3 years ago. And it’s a lousy day so I’m starting out with Sampaquita. BUT. This evening’s bedtime scent is going to be Jimmy Choo body cream which I find to be Angel-esque.
I’m thinking of wearing Hedonist today since I don’t have Angel or any of the spin offs. Did any of you recieve the Luckyscent news letter last night with the Hedonist flankers?
The Hedonist Rose sounds like it would be great. The Iris notes sound good, sort of an eighties-nineties hybrid, except for the fact that I just don’t like iris scents. The bottles are fantastic, and bless her for not launching twenty all at once.
I saw that news letter. Wonder what those new Hedonist flankers are like. I’m thinking that I will need to get samples.
Angel on me is like having sunwarm, melted milk chocolate smeared out all over your face. Way too much of everything in every possible way!
On one of my good friends, however, it is cosy on the verge of being a comfort scent. I am happy for her :).
The whole candy/fruitchouli genre is not for me, so I went as far as I dared into the restricted area with Dior Homme Intense.
BTW I absolutely love our community Fridays! It has been so fun to follow the Angel anxiety building over the week.
Agree!
Wearing my Angel EdT as prescribed. Years ago, Sephora’s Beauty Insider program had minis of this and either this batch was bad or Angel doesn’t smell as good dabbed. It’s harsh and shockingly thin.
“As prescribed”…Ha! You can always be “noncompliant” as those in the medical field call patients who don’t follow their recommended treatment! 😉
I don’t mind Angel on others but my danged mini is just dismal smelling!
In the spirit of the thing I made a Angel concession: I just knew that I couldn’t wear it today (I found a small sample at home) b/c I have a meeting and got lots to do at work. So I put a very very tiny dab on my wrist last night and wore it during the evening. So I can see that I do like it’s “spawn”, mostly Badgley Mischka. Today I’m wearing TM Alien Essence Absolue which I really enjoy very much. Cheers!
Alien Absolue is one of my favorites! You smell fantastic!
Thank you. It’s such a rich but happy fragrance.
SOTD Si Lolita. I was obsessing about this one a couple weeks ago and sent out inquires on NST. Lots of good feedback, and someone (was in Mals??…TY!) mentioned they had found an inexpensive mini on ebay. Within a few days a had a cute little mini of Si Lolita in my hands…too easy! Today is my first wearing and so far I like it. It’s peppery and sweet – definitely different from anything I have. I only wish I could spray instead of dab to get fuller coverage. But…the mini is absolutely brilliant! It’s such a great way to sample a scent without committing! I think (other than not being able to spray) I would like a mini of just about everything before a FB purchase!
It might have been me – I did buy a mini of Si Lolita and rather enjoyed it. I am a total sucker for minis!
I can easily become a sucker for minis! 🙂
I’ve been getting minis lately on ebay too. So cute! … I may have a problem 😉
There could be worse problems to have! 🙂
I really don’t have any problem with Angel, but I don’t have any to wear. Am wearing the original Prada, which I think of as inspired by Angel.
I have no Angel, and I’m almost a little scared to try any flankers; anything related to that smell frightens me. So I’m trying the sample I own that comes closest to it (which is not very close at all): Coromandel. I ordered it because of everyone else’s love for it, but….don’t hate me, but I don’t like it at all. I don’t think I like sweetened patchouli, if that is in fact what I’m smelling. I want to wash of my wrist and put one of my sandalwoods on instead. I’ll maintain for a bit – for science – but I can’t take too much of this.
My apologies to Angel and Coromandel lovers!
Had to wash it off – I couldn’t take even the small amount I had on my hand. I’ve found my first nice sample to give to another deserving fumie!
Interesting. I’ve been wanting to try it, and have recently gotten a sample. I haven’t gone there yet, it’s in my pile to try this coming week. There is a lot of love for this one, and for Chanel in general–I have a problem with lots of Chanels, but I keep wanting to try.
I thought I liked patch in all its forms, but Coromandel was an instant scrubber on me (that I couldn’t scrub off!), so I sympathize.
I was thinking about this one too – the Prada – b/c I have that and like it for sure. It was my first major sweet patch. I was really pondering what’s in my own collection in the spawn category: Prada, Badgley Mischka, and then also realizing that the Jessica Simpson Fancy Nights is there too. But it just wasn’t a patch day for me. But you smell great! It’s very sophisticated for a sweet patch. Did you ever see the review for the Prada on Katie Puckrik Smells?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6658S7DxhUE
Um, is Chinatown anywhere in the neighbourhood? I did wear Nombril Immense yesterday, the only known patchouli in my collection.
It’s got fruit and patchouli, I think it counts.
A couple of years ago I bought a heavily discounted Lolita Lempicka primarily for the beautiful bottle. Had not worn it yet, so I’m testing it today. I like it but it’s STRONG. I am wondering if I can figure out how to decant it into a sample vial so that I can dab on tiny amounts. Then I would love it, I think.
However, not sure decanting will be possible with that strange sprayer on the stem of the apple….and fear I might asphyxiate myself trying.
I once gave my mom a spray perfume of Shalimar and it was just OVERWHELMING, so she would spray a little spritz onto a tissue, dab it gingerly onto her skin (one on each wrist and one in the décolletage), and then tuck the tissue into her purse. A cotton ball would also work, and you could toss the cotton ball into a little jar in your lingerie drawer (or in the toilet, I guess).
Thanks, it’s good to have a fallback plan!
I know it’s totally absurd, since I obviously will never make a dent in this bottle, but I also feel like I’m wasting perfume if I spray when I only need to dab. Perfume phobias!
We scent-heads really are an irrational lot, aren’t we?
A cotton ball dabber is how I deal with Youth Dew, which I can enjoy in small amounts, but never need a full spray!
I can’t keep all the Angels straight and officially gave up a while back. I think I did get a sample of the original at one point, tried it, and immediately ran for my gas mask- not that I thought the scent was bad but because it was a nuclear explosion and my poor nose was fried! It’s SO STRONG! Gah! I have been afraid to try since that traumatic experience.
So today I am wearing VC&A Orchidee Vanille from a generou swap-friend (tipping my hat to Hajusuri!) and loving it- a sweet floral vanilla that is perfect for this brisk sunny windy day!
And to all you brave Angel wearers- RESPECT!
I’m wearing Angel Parfums de Cuir today. Like the others that talked about it above, I prefer it to the original because the leather maceration cuts the sweetness. The first time I tried PdC, when it came out, I didn’t think the leather was all that evident, but I hadn’t smelled the original in a while either. It was only after finding a bottle of PdC at Marshall’s and smelling it side-by-side with my mini of the original that I realized the effect the leather has.
This is also the only flanker of Angel that I’ve tried. I’ve heard good things about the floral ones, but I haven’t tried any of them.
Also.. oddly enough, as scary as some people think Angel is, between Angel, Alien and Womanity, I find Angel the easiest to wear for some reason. I’ve always had issues with Alien, except for the Aqua Chic flanker, and while I liked Womanity, I hardly ever wore it and ended up swapping my mini.
I like all the Alien flankers better than the original, which smells like grape soda. Womanity is interesting but smells more like an accord than a complete perfume, IMO. Too linear.
I am wearing Angel, a dab of it on each wrist.
Okay folks, lean forward, and sniff. Smell that? It’s me, three, whoops four, applications later. My problem is I like the first burst of Angel, but the drydown is to cloying and sweet. Solution (when you work from home and your 10-year-old who is home sick has a cold and can’t smell anything) is to keep re-applying. I think I see stars radiating from my wrists… and the sound of of of of angels is it, singing about sweetness, and I’m getting a little light hea/
Wha??? You OK there, OF?
Lol! When it’s just me, and I really want to put on some Angel, I’ve been known to do one spray per wrist, one on my neck, a bit in my hair and some on my ankles. My younger son came home from school early today, walked past the baby, kissed her head and said,”You smell like Mama.” So apparently even the kids associate an omnipresent cloud of Angel with my being in the vicinity if it’s what I grabbed out of the perfume cabinet that day. I’m willing to bet Adrienne’s hair will still smell like Angel in the morning. 😉
And because for me, there’s no such thing as too much Angel, (unless I’m out in public that is) I really wish they’d make a candle. The fact that there isn’t a huge, heavy, star-shaped, crystal covered creation with enough sillage to fill a two story house is baffling to me. Or little star shaped bath pearls. Perfect for the holidays! I need to get a hold of Thierry Mugler’s marketing team!
Hallelujah!
You know, they did make candles! I had a set years ago of some mini star shaped Angel candles. They were super cute. I would love a full size one.
Hello AS!!
They did make a candle circa 2004 – I purchased it and it was wonderful. Heavy star shaped glass that I still have and fill with candy.
Found one – no affiliation!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HTF-Thierry-Mugler-ANGEL-Large-Perfume-Scented-Candle-Discontinued-/351221485292?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item51c66e8eec
Go, Oakland Fresca! I love your spirit!
I think I can smell you here in Texas 😀 Nope, that’s me, Angel wafting away with you.
Thank goodness it is not ALL me. You smell great!
OaklandFresca, step away from the bottle!
Hey Everyone,
Finally Angel day:)
I’m wearing the original Eau de Parfum, from my first 100 ml bottle, all the way back from 2006:). I’m saving this old lady for special occasions. I used to empty about one or two small bottles a year (!), it was a winter and Christmas staple, and I was even married in Angel, but my first is still about 1/10 full. I kept it from draining for nostalgia’s sake. And she’s still gorgeous.
I no longer buy it, besides this big coloumn bottle only a cute mini is sitting on my shelf which I keep re-filling annually, from fresh samples, but I have all my empty bottles. I am a sucker for Angel bottles, all of them. I even had a tiny Angel-bottle shaped tote charm back in the day. Yeah, I know… Although, I’ve never ever refilled a refillable bottle. Huh.
We have always been good friends, somehow my chemistry enhances the caramel-cognac-honey-milk chocolate side and swallows the rest, which is a good thing. Sometimes I smell it on others and the patch-pinesap-mentholatum-mothball vibe is really overbearing, but on my skin, me and everyone else just smells the mellow sweetness.:). So I’ve never been afraid of her. Maybe she knows what a chicken I am and spares me those high-pitched diva-screams.:)
However, I wear Angel rarely nowadays, maybe because I’m more mature (haha), and my tastes lean into the spicy woody direction lately, but it still gives me huge comfort. Those memories… When I wear it, I have a feeling of total indulgence. The feeling of “I can eat as much chocolate as I want, and still look sexy”:P
I came quite late to the hype, but even I realized that Angel was a milestone, and deserves to become a legend. Now she is.
That’s a great history with Angel! I love that you have kept you empties! Pinesap mentholated mothball is exactly how Angel smells to me on a friend. You have described it exactly. Not quite as bad on my own skin, but not pleasant either. Angel has to be the most changeable fragrance on the market, surely? ☺
Hello and Happy Friday! I actually like Angel and own a small spray of it, but opted for Bois des Iles, because I’m in meetings with multiple executive directors at work today…in small rooms…that are well-heated (unlike my own lowly office). So I fully intend to make up for it tomorrow by putting an unholy 4-5 sprays on and hitting the town for my weekend errands. Maybe I’ll make Sunday a Lolita Lempicka day for good measure!
Fair penance. 😉
Hope your meetings went well!
Thank you! They did. We have fairly benevolent leaders at my workplace. 🙂
I tried Angel again at bedtime last night and it was still noticeable on my wrist this morning, so I claim to have participated in the Friday Angel Extravaganza … but, in the end, could not bring myself to wear Angel outside the house. SOTD is Hermes 24, Faubourg – even though it isn’t Angel spawn (or probably even Angel inspiration), it always makes me think of a really rich buttercream frosting, so I’m participating in spirit if not in actuality.
My few experiments with Angel were mostly disasters – far too sweet and headache-inducing on my skin – so I am wearing a single spritz of Bond No. 9 So New York, which many feel is a close analog to Angel.
I definitely see similarities, but So New York is much more wearable for me: the gourmand sweetness of the chocolate note dissipates quickly on me, leaving a prominent but soft patchouli, tinged with coffee and a hint of woods. It’s a powerhouse – a single spritz lasts all day on me with definite but not overpowering sillage – and the 50 ml bottle I purchased 6 years ago on a whim will probably last me a lifetime.
I don’t know that the 6-years-older me would purchase it today, but occasionally I find myself in the mood for gourmand patch, and it’s a good scent – in moderation! – for the frigid weather we’re ‘enjoying’ here in Colorado this week.
Happy Angel Day! I just dabbed on a tiny bit of Angel LE Part Des Anges Extrait, from a sample. It is still Angel, but not as sweet or patchy. Very smooth and not overpowering. At least I hope! My husband hates patchouli, but he has a cold today. We’ll see if I’m scrubbing it off later! I do also like the cocoa one, but don’t have a sample of that. I just remembered I have decants of Pure Coffee and Pure Malt, but it is Angel day, so I figured I should wear it.
I don’t own any Angel, flankers or samples. But am testing Alien, not bad on first spray but not sure if I like my wfs to be that sweet and musky. That modern, sweet musk, I just don’t like that. And do get the nail polish note, eck. And some kind of berries. Mugler is a line that’s just not for me.
Lol, I just got the q-tip part, LOL..I should have done that with Alien. Some of the Angel flankers aren’t too bad…I guess…there was one, Star something, lol, not too bad. As one can tell, I haven’t spent a lot of time at the Angel counter.
This morning I happened to put on the top that I wore a couple of weeks ago for another community project – weird/spooky Halloween perfume. Even though I’ve washed and ironed it since then at least once, it still smelled of Molecule 01 by Escentric Molecules. I think that now I completely ruined it for the next couple of months by adding Angel Taste of Fagrance.
I love the original Angel (though I do not wear it any longer) and always recognize it “in the wild.”
Wow! I love Molecule 01 but feel it disappears too quickly! My husband can’t smell it at all. Maybe I should try it on clothes! I had such a headache today I opted for Molecule 02 as something soothing.
SOTD is Amour de Cacao. It has chocolate and fruit (hardly noticeable). I could not subject my carpool (husband 🙂 ), or myself, to that much patchouli.
Angel came out a year before Amour de Cacao (one of my most beloved, standby scents), so ADC is most definitely a spawn of Angel, in my opinion.
Yes. That was my reasoning 🙂
SOTD = Angel Eau Sucree
I was going to wimp out but realizes I have this Summer 2014 flanker. I winterized it with a chaser of Profumum Ambra Aurea. It’s the first time I layered these 2 and I must say that it came out really nice!
Angel Violet, which isn’t especially floral, but less mothbally than the original. It works with the big purple down coat (10 F this morning, up from -14 F Wednesday night: -25 C for the rest of the world).
I had to sit through 6 meetings this morning in a small conference room, so I did everyone a favour and wore A*Men Pure Havane instead of the original A*Men.
Today I am wearing Angel EdP.
Angel is my one true love. No matter how many times I’ve told her I need a break, or tried seeing other girls, I always come crawling back into to Angel’s open arms (wings?). My heart is firmly in her grasp, and she refuses to let me go.
Some of you may have seen my comment last Friday about how Hanae Mori’s HM ignited my love for perfume. HM was my first love, and Angel is my soulmate. I found her after my favorite SA at Nordstrom suggested I try it since I liked HM.
First, she had me try the A*MEN. I am not exaggerating when I say I recoiled in horror. The moment I sniffed it, I was assaulted with the smell of URINAL CAKES. Ladies, if you’re unfamilar, men’s urinals have these little deodorizing cakes in the bottom so they smell “fresh,” and A*MEN smelled to me exactly like a urinal cake that had been freshly urinated on. Maybe it’s the coffee notes that do it, I don’t know for sure, but every time I have sniffed it afterward, I have the same visceral reaction.
Next she had me try the women’s version of Angel, which she suggested because she knows another man who wears it. I am so glad she did, because I smelled it and instantly knew it was my signature scent.
I love Angel because my skin does something really yummy with all patchouli, and on me, Angel is a total patchouli-bomb. The combination of patchouli, vanilla, musk, & candy sweet notes really creates an incredible aura for me. It also wears like a unisex fragrance, at least on my skin.
Angel has been such an important part of my perfume life, that I have friends who tell me all the time that they smelled “Matt perfume” somewhere else and instantly began thinking of me. I also have a friend who I gifted with some really pretty towels when she moved into her first apartment, and before I wrapped everything up I spritzed some Angel dry bath oil on them and she tells me they still smell like it after washing and that she thinks of me every time she opens her linen closet.
I also love my Angel star bottle so much that when I saw the flat-star-shaped mini in a coffret of 4 Angel minis, and I already had the other 3 shapes (my Nordstrom SA gives me a new mini when I refill – Hi Lisa!), I contacted the Mugler circle to ask if it was available for separate purchase, and instead of offering me a way to buy it, they just mailed me the most adorable flat star shaped 10ml refillable spray mini with some samples and a handwritten card, and I felt like it was my birthday. I love the Mugler Circle!
I have also had Womanity and Alien, but for me nothing comes close to Angel. Although I am thinking of getting the A*MEN Pure Wood soon – I actually like that one!
So for me, today’s challenge was not much of a challenge at all, considering the original Angel is my main signature scent, but I had fun telling you all about why I love it so much. Happy Friday!
This made me grin – we should all be so lucky to find a fragrance soul mate. I’m jealous Angel is a patch bomb on you. I’ve smelled it that way on only one other person and it’s gorgeous when it wears like that. I hardly get any when I spray.
What city are you in, if you don’t mind sharing? I’m sure many of us would patronize the lovely Lisa if we could!
Happy Angel Friday, Matthew!!
Loved reading about your history with your signature 🙂
Really sweet of them to send you the extra stuff! Nice to see that they take care of their devotees.
Love your story. I used to have that sort of relationship with Coco Chanel… but I have now strayed so often that though I still have the memories, the magic is gone….
Thank you, Matthew, for sharing your lovely story. It made me smile to feel your joy!
Congratulations, and may you never feel the disappointment of reformulation.
I dug through my bag of old samples, many of uncertain origin, and found Eau de Star, which I had until now assumed was Angel EdT but smells kind of Fresh/Cucumbery? I know this from spraying it on a cotton ball, I don’t think I can put it on skin.
Instead will try out A*Men pure wood and see if it really has anything in common with Chene, as is reputed…
Eau de Star was basically Angel with some fresh top notes added, primarily mint and watermelon: Luca Turin called it Toothpaste Angel. I have a bottle that I bought for practically nothing: it’s changed colour — used to be pale blue, now it’s a weird green-brown — but it still smells the same.
I am wearing Angel in parfum today. You really have to like this fragrance it holds on so long! Years ago in Paris I pleaded my folks to buy it for me when it first came out, 1992? My father told me to never wear it in his car lol. It is an iconic scent. Would Black Orchid be a spawn of Angel?
Lol. My parents only told me the equivalent of “never again” once, when I was 11 and accidentally sprayed Malibu Musk on my father (was that a “Designer Imposters scent? I know it came in an aeresol can, so it had to have been good, right?). In hindsight, knowing now that I’m anosmic to most musk, I probably wasn’t getting the full effect of that spray can at the time…
Ha! I share your problem, and if I’m trying out samples at home, occasionally have to apologize to those members of my household who can smell musk for applying something new over a sample that for me has disappeared without a trace.
I’ve tried Angel a couple of times in the store and I just can’t stand it, nausea and instant headache! I have a big problem with the spawn as well, can’t stand Flowerbomb, La vie est belle, Si, La Petit Robe Noire etc…
Maybe it’s the sweet patchouli, I’m able to wear patchouli otherwise?
SOTD Amouage Fate Woman instead which I think at least has a similar spirit.
Angel EdP from my star shaped bottle. The blue perfume has turned a golden color, but she smells the same. Massive, more fruity than I remembered. Yes, there are cocoa and patchouli, but the candy and fruit are very dominant. It is a stroll down memory lane, circa 2002 or so. I had a fella who loved this, and I wore it for him. When we split, I pushed it to the back of the perfume cabinet.
Strangely Angel has nearly all the notes I don’t like in perfume, and yet I find it compelling, fascinating. Always have. I don’t think I will start wearing it lots, but I usually enjoy it when I catch a whiff on others. Angel deserves hyperbole, demands it. If we consider perfume art, this is a masterwork. Even if it is not to one’s taste, it can be appreciated for its composition, originality and grand sweep.
BTW, I’m glad the weather is really chilly here today. I think back to the days when I wore this in 90+ degree heat and high humidity. (shudders) Be well, fellow ‘fumies!
Wearing Angel EDP, applied with qtip method.
Angel reminds me of a former co-worker, circa 2000. It was her signature, she wore it well, and with a heavy hand. 😉
I have no idea where she is today, but I am sure she smells great!!
Robin- these responses are awesome and hysterical! You need to preserve today’s post for posterity.
You all smell wonderful! I don’t own Angel or any of its spawns so the closest I could come to any kind of a “fruitchouli” is YSL Yvresse.
Everything gets preserved for posterity. So far 🙂
But if you ever want to easily find old Friday community projects, I am keeping them linked at the bottom of this page:
https://nstperfume.com/scent-of-the-day-friday-community-projects-2014/
I will probably start a new page for 2015 though, otherwise it will get too long.
Great! This is has achieved classic status. 😀
this *one* has achieved…
On a work trip and wearing Angel, the one and only, since 8 am. Two good sprays, in spite of the tropical temps and beachfront humidity. And I had lunch with our dean! Did he think I’m a crazy woman? Probably! But in the bus, on my way back to my hotel, I was looking at the sea and thinking of how great Angel is, the name, the flacon, the color of the juice and, of course, the scent. Not only innovative, but also complicated and delicious. One of the greats, and I’m spraying it again, to dream sweet dreams.
When Angel was new I often went to the shopping mall near my office during lunch breaks. It was a good place to walk, browse, and people watch. At the time there was a very tall fragrance SA who often positioned himself in front of the perfume counter right at the entrance to a major department store. I think it was Lord & Taylor. When Angel was released this SA wore an amazing tuxedo in Angel blue for many days. He spritzed Angel on or at anyone who stood still long enough. It was amazing to smell Angel all over the mall. I like the smell of Angel on other people, but I do not wear it. So sweet, so much patchouli.
For an experiment today I combined a perfume that has strong patchouli on my skin with the sweetest perfume I could find in my samples. So, Chanel 31 Rue Cambon and Parfums Delrae Bois de Paradis have been wafting up at me, and they play together fairly well.
I had to take my husband to the doctor for a procedure today, and it seemed cruel to inflict something as overwhelming as Angel or any Angelspawn on the people in the waiting room. Kind of a shame I couldn’t participate, because **whispers** I really like Angel.
Somehow back in the day when Angel came out I missed it. Probably because of the name, I can’t see myself wearing something called “Angel” no matter what, just like I can’t wear “Candy” either. So although I am sure I smelled it on others, I didn’t connect the name with the fragrance until last summer, when I was in a Sephora and sprayed the tester in the air. I cleared out an entire aisle with one spritz and had a straight shot to the checkout counter as other shoppers made detours away from me. I did not buy any.
However, I love and wear Lolita Lempicka (the first one) quite often, though it’s pretty sweet on me, so that’s what I’m wearing today.
I spritzed. I wafted. I conquered. Angel EDP.
RESPECT.
So is that what Caesar wore? 😉
Might be. I am lucky because my skin eats it up in no time if I apply like a semi normal person and don’t do my usual application amount for other scents.
In high doses though I think this could be used in warfare. If you want to flush the terrorists out of the caves then toss in a bottle of Angel or Giorgio. I love them but I do know that they can clear a room.
I never laughed so hard as today! Reading all the comments I realized I never actually tried Angel on my skin so went straight to a shop to try my hand. Was thinking, really, all these battle-hardened fumistas quaking at a little Angel? One little squirt and Now I Get It. Whoa.
Remember when it came out before Fragrance Free Zones were even a thing and girls would fumigate themselves with it? I think that may be why Fragrance Free Zones were invented.
Lol! The timing is suspicious…
Just came home from a day spent in close quarters with others (didn’t want to offend anyone) and was finally able to spritz one tiny spray from an Angel edp sample I never use. Fortunately, it’s very cold here today as I would normally not wear Angel before December. Then my favorite Angel experience is to take a hot bath on a cold winter day, slather myself in the luscious body cream (divine!) and sit by a cozy fire. Mmmmm! I also like the Garden of Stars flankers and own and enjoy Angel Violet, which satisfies my winter violet cravings and its bottle is a beauty.
My bottles of Angel and A*men are at my other home in Montreal, so I made do with Wish by Chopard. It smelled fantastic and I enjoyed it all day long.
One of the flankers of Wish (Golden Something Something) sounded absolutely divine, but I’ve never smelled any of them. How sweet is it, on a scale of one to Pink Sugar?
I love “on a scale of one to Pink Sugar”!!
Oh, not more than a 5 or 6… I don’t find it too sweet at all.
Thanks! Maybe I’ll end up with something for the next “blind buy” Friday.
My SOTD was Miroir Des Envies. I guess I get partial credit for wearing a Mugler fragrance. Mugler isn’t a perfumer that I normally wear. This part scent is nice, but isn’t exciting enough for me.
Edit: particular not part
I’ve only tried Angel on skin once, about a year-and-a-half ago, when I got a little on my fingers when spraying a card, and was absolutely miserable shut in the car with it later. I didn’t dislike it so much as found it overwhelming. If I’d been near the mall last week, I might have been brave and gotten a sample, but I wasn’t, so I’m wearing Alien for half credit. I don’t know if it’s my lotion (Shea Moisture Argan & Shea, Frankincense & Myrrh) or what, but it smelled greener than before at first, and now sweeter, which surprised me, because when I tried it before it didn’t strike me as something that would change noticeably. I like Alien, but I can see how it’s not for everyone. (I do have some Badgley Mischka {thanks, nancyg!} but I think of it as much more floral than Angel, and by the time I saw it mentioned yesterday, I was already psyched up to wear Alien.) I smell a little strange, but very good.
I wore one spray of Angel EDP, which was all I could manage. I don´t really believe in gendering of perfumes but Angel is pushing the limits a little. 😉
Can’t do patch, so no Angel for me! In penance, vowed to wear whatever I got from a blind grab into my unsniffed sample bowl. Came up with Rose Cut, which was a bit sharp on first dab, but rapidly became a little warm and lovely! Happy with my rebellion…
Got a bunch of samples from Lucky Scent. Gonna where Helmut Lang Cuiron after work. 🙂