Alien Taste of Fragrance: Thierry Mugler 2011

Hi Hi Hi APJ Crew,

I hope this finds you all happy and well. Some time ago I grabbed a few unloved bottles from Birgit at Olfactoria’s Travels. Every now and then she clears out some of her wardrobe to make way for new loves. I really love the Alien line, the Aqua Chic was a bit crap, and the Sunessence and Amber ones are particularly excellent on my skin though I don’t have bottles of either of them. I tried a buddies Taste and fell deeply in love but by then it had disappeared from our stores and hadn’t made it to the discounters yet, so right time, right place…

Alien Taste of Fragrance: Thierry Mugler 2011

Alien Le Gôut du Parfum: Salted Butter Caramel

Alien Taste Fragrance Alien Thierry Mugler FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Sambac jasmine, caramel
Heart: Cashmere wood, solar notes
Base: White amber

OsMoz gives these featured accords:
Top: Citrus, spices
Heart: Jasmine, caramel
Base: Cashmeran, Amber

So, um, SALTED BUTTER CARAMEL!! Oh My Freaking Gawd! You had me at hello. Whenever I spritz Alien Taste of Fragrance instantly that hit of Salted Caramel Macaroons (which are Jin’s specialty, you can not even imagine how divinely delicious) makes me smile and my mouth water in remembrance. Just like the macaroons the whole experience is so good that it borders on overkill. No surprise there, Mugler is famous for pushing the boundaries as far as he can and then pushing some more.

Almost every time I wear Alien Taste of Fragrance a couple of people ask what it is and I have also had one Trivia mate that I know of go and buy a bottle. You know how some fragrances feel like they are made for you from the very first moment? That is how Alien Taste of Fragrance wears on me. It’s like a warm, sweet, comfortable jumper and filled with the kind of fun that only old friends can bring, fun that comes of knowledge.

Alien Taste Fragrance Alien Thierry Mugler CreativityOnlinePhoto Stolen CreativityOnline (problem with the image? tell me I’ll remove it)

How does Alien Taste of Fragrance smell on me? Well, all the notes are present but I get some extras. After the initial caramel and spice opening I get a lovely creaminess, like the cream part of a Strawberry & Cream lolly. Fresh cream whipped with vanilla and sugar, yum. Then everything proceeds with more caramel and here I get the salt but not like salt, more a nod to where salt should be but through all this I get a very animalic, slightly urinous honey: this mixed with the caramel is utterly startling but fits perfectly into the fragrance and it lasts for quite a while. The amber is smooth a still sweet but there is a very manly, sweaty undercurrent in the dry down of Alien Taste of Fragrance that is both gorgeous and disgusting. Sometimes I have to check to make sure I’m not a sweaty mess.

Sillage is awesome for the first 2-3 hours, with good projection for that long too. I have to be careful not to overspray Alien Taste of Fragrance because it can become completely overbearing even for me. Lifespan can be up to 8 hours depending, this is one fragrance where an amber-ish lotion will give you far greater longevity. Using Halle by Halle Berry body lotion means that I will smell great until lunchtime tomorrow. For work? Keep the spritzes to a minimum, maybe just one on your chest so you can enjoy the magic.

I think I will finish my Birgit bottle fairly soon, that’s how much I’m loving it.

Further reading: Perfume Candy Boy and Katie Puckrik Smells
Beauty Encounter has $42/30ml tester
Surrender To Chance has $5/.5ml

So, are you a fan? Did you try the Alien Taste of Fragrance? Was it all you hoped?
Portia xx
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Womanity by Alexis Dadier and Mane for Thierry Mugler 2010

Hey Hey APJ Friends and Family,

Are you ever too freaked out by a bottle, fragrance name or even advertising to go near it? For years now I have steered clear of today’s fragrance because the name felt like such an obvious Drag Queen thing. It’s like Thierry and his crew were delving for drag expression, rather than feminine power or woman as equals or even the power of woman. Let’s put some ripe fig that when cut looks like a woman’s vagina “Snicker, snicker”, lets put some fishy caviar in “snicker, snicker” and lets call it the most beyond UBER womanly word we can invent “Snicker, snicker” and the Drag Queens will love it. HA HA HA HA!! Back slapping and belly laughs all round.

That was how I had envisaged the creation of

Womanity by Thierry Mugler 2010

Womanity Thierry Mugler FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Fig fruit, caviar, fig leaf, fig wood

Why then am I writing about Womanity? What changed? Well mainly I changed. I had had a couple of decants and run through them in no time, ashamedly, then it was there in the store day before yesterday as a tester and I spritzed it like crazy. I thought, “In for a penny, in for a pound!” This is day two surrounded by its rich figgy/saline goodness, its rich sweetness cut through with wood and salt that is so beautiful and dramatic because I went back today and bought a bottle. Womanity is an elegant and fun fragrance that is exactly as two faced as we all are, light/dark, strong/weak, sweet/savoury, good/bad. All the parts that go to make us up seem to be reflected in the very short Womanity story that lasts forever. I can’t remember such staying power in a fragrance and so linear that I woke up this morning, after spritzing in the afternoon and having a bath before bed, still smelling of Womanity. Extraordinary!!

Womanity Thierry Mugler PaperBlogPhoto Stolen PaperBlog

How does it make me feel? It feels like a second skin actually. A beautiful, magical, alluring and enchanting second skin. After about 10 hours my own sweaty smell comes through and makes it a thorough skank fest, deliciously and naughtily unkempt. In fact I smell like morning me plus salty fig. Disgusting but oddly compelling, Jin thinks I smell FAN TAS TIC! I smell salty/briny and sweet fig jam with a woodsy whisper and sweaty bloke. I would love to smell how Womanity worked on a male athlete, I would love it even more if it was called something else. Candy Perfume Boy says, “‘Womanity’ is intended to be a portmanteau of the words ‘Woman’ and ‘Community’” which kind of clarifies the thinking and gets me at dead wrong but I still think it’s dumb.

Further reading: The Candy Perfume Boy and Perfume Shrine
FragranceNet starts at around $12/10ml and has $31/50ml before coupon
My Perfume Samples starts at $2/ml

Were you scared off by Womanity or did you love it from day 1?
See you tomorrow,
Portia xx