A Reworking of a Beloved Classic: Thierry Mugler's Angel eau de Toilette

A few days ago I had to head into work for a meeting. Since I was pretty sure my fragrance loving friend Melissa would be in the ICU (she's a nurse, don't worry. More about Melissa and fragrance here), I brought this week's scent along for her to try out. I wish I had brought a camera to capture the look on her face when I pulled this bottle out of my purse! Her jaw dropped. Literally. After about a minute of shock, she reached for the bottle and said, "Is that what I think it is?"

It isn't quite what Melissa thought it was. Yes, it is Angel by Thierry Mugler, which is Melissa's all-time favorite fragrance (Euphoria by Calvin Klein is a close runner up). But, it isn't the version that she is used to using in the past.

A new version of Angel, an eau de Toilette is being released this month. While normally fragrances are available in a parfum and a toilette version (with the same notes that smell pretty much exactly the same), that isn't the case with this eau de Toilette. Instead this is a reworking of the original Angel, which was released in 1992.

"I always wanted to make a perfume which would have the same resonance for everyone, something like tenderness, or childhood and I wanted there to be such a sensual contact with this perfume, that you almost feel like devouring the person you love."
-Thierry Mugler

This fragrance is being described as "Oriental-Gourmand-Powdery." I definitely agree with all of these words, and while I'm not sure that I would have come up with this description myself (I didn't know you could describe a fragrance as Gourmand, thought there certainly are quite a few fruit notes), I don't think I could have done any better. Rather than the typical notes that we think of in Top, Middle and Base categories, this scent has "waves."

Notes:
Celestial Wave: Bergamot, Red Berries, Pink Pepper
Delicious Wave: Praline, Berries
Voluptuous Wave: Patchouli-Vanilla Accord, Cedar, White Musk

This fragrance definitely does hit you in waves. When initially sprayed on, both Melissa and I though that it was fairly strong (Melissa said the strength was on par with the original Angel) with quite a bit of powdery background and a sharp Pink Pepper note. In fact, when we first applied, the only guy in the room immediately turned up his nose and said "Ewww.... I don't like that!" I guess he isn't a pink pepper fan!

Luckily, that first wave only lasted about 5-10 minutes until the dry down. It then became quite a bit less spicy, though there was still a powdery background. At this time Melissa and I both thought that a little bit of Amber came out, though I don't see it on the list of notes. It became a bit sweeter as well (Praline or the Patchouli-Vanilla Accord?). Overall it was very subtle at this point, and yes, sensual. It wasn't even remotely the same fragrance after the dry down.

After that initial 5-10 minutes, this is a quiet, warm and private fragrance. It's meant to be enjoyed in close quarters. This is a date night fragrance for sure.

This fragrance only lasted about 6 hours on me. Definitely consider layering this over a lotion to increase the staying power.

Thierry Mugler Angel eau de Toilette