Thierry Mugler Innocent: fragrance review

Mugler's Innocent seems in retrospect to be the perfect alternative for people who like gourmand fragrances, love sugared almonds, love fluffy compositions with a tang of sour-sweet fruit on top, but do not appreciate a masculinity factor, in this case the prominent androgynous quality of the intense patchouli of the original Angel. 

Don't get me wrong; I love Angel for all those reasons and have come to appreciate how a teensy-tiny bit of application from afar (or, better yet, using the gorgeous body products) can enhance my neuron pleasure responses. But Innocent is just easier to wear every day, easier to wear during the warmer weather, and, still with a light hand application, easier to feel less conspicuous wearing it.

The scent itself is a succulent mix of Jordan almonds, egg-whites meringues and praline, floating around an intensely sweet & tart note of blackcurrant, like blackcurrant jam but without the stickiness. Instead the feeling is one of copious amounts of musk underpinning the composition into a cloud-like, duvet feel of goose feathers falling softly on nude skin. 

It's a sensual perfume, no doubt because its original skeleton is one that puts lots of flesh over the handsome bones, but it's a benevolent sensual and with the eerie melancholy of a beautiful anime boy with blue eyes and dark hair...

More musings on Fragrantica.

Twin peaks: Lauder Pleasures Delight & Mugler Innocent

In the realm of sweet scents, the consumer is spoiled for choice. There are literally hundreds of releases that focus in treating our taste buds, rather than our olfactory centers, luring us in with the promise of a pampering, homely and seductive aroma. Estee Lauder, after the very successful launch of Pure White Linen, uses Gwyneth Paltrow again as their face for a spin on their Pleasures scent: one of many spins, if we count Pleasures Intense and Pleasure Exotic and the limited editions that roll out every season.


According to the Pleasures Delight press release by Estee Lauder:

"Life is sweet. Treat yourself to something delicious... a playful side of pleasures that's simply irresistible. This floral confection blends notes of juicy pomegranate, whipped strawberry meringue and tempting caramel with a sprinkling of sugared rose petals, dewy freesia, white peony and fresh greens. How can you resist?"

The fragrance is a

"floral gourmand confection blending juicy fruits, tangy citrus and irresistible desserts and sweets".

The fragrance is indeed quite pleasing: creamy, rich, sweet predictably, but not nauseating, with a tangy bite, with very good staying power. However it is not distinctive enough in a market that is saturated with similar offerings. Still it is a decent example of this genre of gourmand perfumery and the clean, sweetish patchouli in the base makes for a sensual perfume. I can sense the caramely sweetness that has a tinge of powdery vanillic softness, but no floral elements per se. It leaves a velvety trail behind which accounts for much of its pleasant effect. Although the official notes are not that close to Innocent by Thierry Mugler, upon smelling it this is the impression I got, me being a long time fan of the latter.

The notes of Pleasures Delight encompass:
pomegranate, fresh greens, freesia, whipped strawberry meringue, peony, lily, muguet, heliotrope, sugared rose petals, caramel, marshmallow, vanilla, patchouli.
Pleasures Delight comes in 50 and 100 ml Eau de Parfum and a complimentary body lotion and shower gel, available at major department stores.


Innocent by Thierry Migler came out in 1998, as their first "variation" on Angel. It first came in an canister like that of deodorant sprays, but the company soon realised it did the scent a disservice and they opted for the bluish column with the star cap you see for their eau de parfum.
According to Amazon, it is a "Mystic, Flowery and Fresh Fragrance". I think it's neither, but anyway. To me it is a comfort scent with a potent vibe of slightly burnt meringues laced with glazed, tart fruits oozing caramely goodness. If you are familiar with those sugared almond-shaped chocolates coated with pastel colours of hardened glaze that people put into the wedding and christening little pouches for the guests, this is quite close and very delectable with a slightly bitter edge.
Innocent also has a sparkly quality right ahead that makes an impression to anyone in proximity and retains its message for hours. It's especially good on clothes and stays true for days. In fact it is one of the scents that has consistently earned me compliments from men, belying its name of cherubic nuances. It turns heads in a good way and it is a bit less ubiquitous than Angel, which has become a very recognisable smell due to its huge popularity.

If I were pondering on which of the two scents to choose, Pleasures Delight or Innocent, I would go with my firm favourite: not because of any fault of the former, but rather because since something has already been done, it's worth perservering to one's first choice. It stands for character. Or so I tell myself...

Notes for Innocent:
Top notes: bergamot, mandarin, helional.
Heart notes: honey, dewberry, black currant, passion fruit.
Base notes: sugar almonds, meringue, amber, musk

Pic of twins by Diane Arbus via Transidex. Pic of Innocent bottle from aromatic, pic from Lauder campaign from the official site

Eau de Star by T.Mugler: fragrance review

When a fragrance has been instrumental to producing a spawn of successors that try to emulate or imitate or at least to bear a passing affinity with, you know you’re in the presence of greatness and innovation, even if said fragrance is such a powerhouse as to produce feelings of either love or hate.
Angel by Thierry Mugler is such a fragrance: polarizing, powerful, combustible, sensual, decadent, even a little bitchy on certain individuals.
Its exclusively synthetic nature exploring facets of airy notes such as hedione and helional coupled with the hay of coumarin, the bitterness of chocolate and patchouli and the deviousness of caspirene was paramount to it becoming an instant sensation that rocked the perfume world when it came out in 1992 in an era of limpid, watery creations of which L’eau d’Issey was the contestant with the greater pull. It took a while, yet Angel prevailed, introducing a whole new category of scents, the gourmands: oriental scents that rely on foody notes to evoke images of childhood and comfort or a playful sensuality a la 9 ½ weeeks that interjects food into sexual play.
It is no accident that it is le numero 1 in sales in France, capital of perfume in the world, even giving a jolt at the ribs to the classic Chanel no.5 with its iconic status.

The new Eau de Star is the latest feminine addition to formidable stable of Mugler, after the latest exploration of tinkering with the original formula in the forms of Garden of Stars, a collection of four exquisite bottles topped with a star with an angular point in various shades exploring the addition of a floral note to the singularly floral-less original Angel. Violet, Lys, Pivoine and Rose were the chosen blossoms and the results ranged from the almost pareil (Violet) to the friendlier and cozier cousin coming to visit for the holidays (Pivoine). Although the bottles were gorgeous as is always the case with the Mugler enterprise, none of the scents moved me enough to buy a new bottle for my collection, especially since I already had invested in the acquisition of the lovely Innocent: a softer take on Angel with the patchouli toned down and sugared almonds and meringues surfacing on an unexpected marriage of true minds lost in an everlasting reverie.
Incidentally, the Star association is not something out of the blue (pun intended) either. Mugler has considered stars his lucky charms ever since his first foray into designing those alien-like women with the sharp shoulder pads in the 1980s which had crimson lips and slashed lined eyes like amazones from Galactica. He wears the star symbol himself as a tattoo and a signature ring. However the lucky charm practice is not unheard of in the greater design world, from Christian Dior who put a lily of the valley blossom on every hem of couture to Coco Chanel who chose the number 5 as the one to signify her foray into perfumed business to coincide with her launching her couture on 5 May(fifth month)upon that fateful year of no.5's introduction.

Eau de Star comes now to make me re-consider whether I should purchase another one of that franchise of which Innocent has captured my heart for cozy and frolicky soirees. I haven't decided yet, as I think it merits more sampling first which I am planning to do in due time.
Not a limited edition, but a firm addition, to be followed by the complimentary Icemen for discerning males, Eau de Star is built around the word eau, aqua, water….The addition of such a word to something like Angel sounds like an oxymoron, as the denseness of the latter does not recall any body of the former in anyone’s mind. Yet the creative mind behind this new fragrance, namely
Louise Turner at Quest, managed to combine the limpidness of watery, aquatic notes -which usually make me shudder- with a floral heart and sensual patchouli base that is not the same as Angel yet retains a passing kindred spirit.
The fragrance begins on a tart and crystalline note of fruit that is intermingled with fresh notes like those used to render cucumber aromas in such scents as En Passant by Olivia Giacobetti for F.Malle. Although this might sound scary to perfume lovers of serious and deep perfumes, especially those who focus on classics, I assure you it is not something to make anyone run for the hills trying to catch their breath; on the contrary it makes for a sparkly, pleasant effect that upon spraying the new scent on my skin in the space of a couple of minutes two different individuals stopped and turned swiftly and asked me with some impatience what was that gorgeous scent I was wearing. (I call this a success. Don’t you?)
The succeeding stages do not disappoint, as the progression is to something vaguely floral coupled with unmistakable orientalised effluviums of patchouli and vanilla that manage not to become overwhelming but linger seductively with a sensuality that is reminiscent of the cuddly dry down phase of Innocent.
However the new scent is like neither, but holds its own ground. A flanker maybe (a term denoting the succeeding perfumes that capitalize on the success of one original scent), yet an individual creation that could be worn in warmer weather when Angel and Innocent do not often make one welcome in mixed company. A lighter, aqueous interpretation of a gourmand theme.

The bottle is a heavy glass affair of three sides with the signature star etched on the front, topped with a silver geometrical cap bearing the logo of the brand.
Eau de Star comes in Eau de toilette concentration in 25 and 50ml and a refillable bottle of 50ml (1.7oz)retailing at 41.8, 61.5 and 71.5 euros respectively.
Available at French Sephora and across Europe with plans to be introduced to the US later on alongside the masculine new scent Icemen (of which I will report later on).

The line is also accompanied by a transparent lipgloss that is called Gloss Lèvres Délicieuses (=delicious lips), perfumed with the notes of Eau de Star and encased in a rectangular tube with wand, retailing at 15.90 for 4.5ml at French Sephora. I haven’t tried this one yet, but if one is truly enamored with the scent I guess having it under one’s nose would provide their fix admirably.



Pic of bottle courtesy of Elle.fr and of gloss courtesy of Sephora.fr