Reviews of A*Men / Angel Men (1996)
by Thierry Mugler

Angel for Women always stops me in my tracks and makes me fall instantly in love. So I really wanted to make Angel for Men work for me. It just doesn't.

I don't know if I'm too mature for it, but I get too much grief whenever I've tried to wear it. I don't know that I identify the "food" elements of it - chocolate, coffee, vanilla, but I do love the smell. In hindsight, I don't see it as masucline- pretty unisex.


I noted it was a very powerful EdT. Just a bit goes a long way. Be careful with this one because as many reviewers have noted, it's a very polarizing scent- and lots of people are close to nauseated by it in my experience.

One of the best bottle designs ever that's for sure.

wanted to like it to sweet though for me not a bad frag though just not for me

It still smells a little too synthetic for my liking but it's probably one of the better chocolate scents currently available on the market. Luckily, the tar notes do subside to reveal a smooth and rich combination of woods, patchouli and coffee.

Not bad!

[Original submission date: 28 May 2008]

Interesting heavy scent. This is not a typical scent for fair blond types, but more a southern dark skin. I do not think this will go well in summer, moreover heavy rain in autumn or winter. It's spicy with a sweet touch and the so-called coffee bean is more like bruned wood. But it lasts. This is like Chanel no 5. Apply one day in advance, it will not wash off the day after and it is actually better the very next day. The spicy aim settles down

I'm giving this a neutral not because I'm indifferent to it but because it has both strengths and weaknesses. The plus side is that it is a very unique gourmand scent that would work very well on certain types/personalities. On the other side, this may come across in a bad way to some people, which is not a good thing in office settings. Working in close proximity to others with this may nauseate them aswell.

When I wore this for the first time, I loved every minute of it. I quickly grew to hate it, however, as its ridiculous sweetness made me feel really nauseous. It still does, to an extent, but I have found that when applied correctly, it can be calmed enough to avoid this. It's very strong, and will last 24 hours. I consider that to be a good thing, but it means you should definitely be careful applying this. It starts off dark and unpleasant. I find it to be a mixture of coffee and chocolate. I once walked by a coffee machine shortly after applying this, and the combination was just horrible. Over the course of several hours, it slowly develops into a lighter mix of vanilla/chocolate. I find this to be very nice sometimes, and overpowering at other times. It really depends on the situation with this one. I look forward to wearing it in the winter. I imagine that walking out in the snow around Christmastime with a lover while wearing this scent has got to be a beautiful thing. But until then, I'm not so sure about this.

The top notes are unpleasant but the drydown was excellent and really long lasting. I was almost gonna buy one, good thing I asked for a strip sniff. I was actually looking for a vanilla base frag and had two choices: Obsession Night and this one.

All the glam of this scent died with my first impression, so I took the strip scent with me and then waited until nighttime. Somehow there is some similarity with Terre d´Hermes during the drydown. After a good 5 hours, indeed the base notes are sweet and very pleasant. Somewhat tobacco and vanilla.

Angel Men is a love hate relationship for me. I can only wear it every now and then and when I do, I have to be extremely careful how much of it I apply. Its very strong, and because its one of those "you either like it or you hate it" type of frags, those who hate it will hate you even more for wearing to much of it. So I usually wear it between the shoulder blades and back of the neck.

In my experience, ladies love this scent more than men. Most guys find it really nauseating and separating. Sometimes I find myself really enjoying it and sometimes I can't wait for a shower. It depends on my mood and the occasion.

In the times where the sun is beating down, TRUST ME, it is a bad bad choice. I think this is an winter exclusive.

The lasting power is insane. I have smelt this on my skin the next day even after a shower. It's pungent stuff.

I give this a medium rating because I'm not crazy about it, but I'm not hateful of it either.

Today i finally tested A*Men. I was so eager to smell it due to the amount of reviews that this perfume has gotten about being fresh, sweet and unique. Well this is what i have to say: In my opinion i do think this is an unique fragrance, however it didn't smell like candy to me not even chocolate nor coffee. To me it smelled like a strong manly scent along with a mixture of flowerish mature lady perfume and energetic mint. I just didn't liked it but i didn't hate the smell, it was ok. I think it smells great to go to a small hangout/party, college or work since it is very potent and trust me the paper sample still has the scent on it. If there is actually something i like about this fragrance is the fact that it is very strong and it conquers every other smell around it, still i wouldn't recommend it for a casual/formal activity due to the strong smell which might become irritating to some. My car still has the smell of A*Men on it, it is unbelievable. I also tried Rochas Man and although it was softer than this one it didn't had quite the uniqueness and it's scent was very subtle, it faded away very early. If you're truly searching for a garmound perfume with sweet candy, fruity, masculine smell i say try Lolita Lempicka, i think it is by far the best perfume i'ved ever smelled, but the smell tends to fade away from your skin quite fast (3-4h). Also you can try Diesel Fuel for Life but it's scent isn't very adequate for mature people since it is very fruity smelling making it more adequate for youngsters.

Very sweet smelling scent (reminds me of cotton candy) It is a more "in your face" type of smell, but can be fun to wear for the right occasion

I think enough has been said about this one that I can keep this review short. The scent pyramid on BN actually describes A-Men really well. My 2 cents here is that although I loooved A-men the first few hours I was wearing it, the last few hours were fragrance hell. Although I love patchouli, the patchouli in A-Men smells kind of "arm-pitty." Unfortunately the dry-down was all arm-pitty patchouli which became really unbearable and the potency of it all gave me a headache and made me nauseous. This is powerful stuff - even after washing it off my wrists, I still smelled like A-Men 24 hours later. (Ironically, I hate it when a fragrance lasts too long). Overall, I'll pass on A-men. Nice idea for a fragrance though.

6.5/10

I had a habbit of sampling my cousin perfumes whenever I visit him
I remember he had this cool A men bottle
I recall passengers coughing
thats when I discovered my faux pas
I was a kid then must have tipped half the bottle on my clothes
sweet and lasting
I have to buy it on my next scent shopping

sometimes i like it and other times i hate it . a definate cold weather scent as it is untolerable in warm weather. i love the women's version but this is a bit too much from a male's point of view.

ANGEL = Starbuck's for Men !

I like sweet and spicy fragrances, full of character, but i don't get this one.
Can't imagine anyone who would like to smell this way. If you want to smell like "Angel" you could rub your neck with chocolate and coffee just as well.
The only thing that i like about this one, is the idea to create something totally different.

Definitely in the love it or hate it category.

But i will give a Neutral thumb for idea and courage!

Fashion fragance....nice for cold weather but not very versatile. For to walk in the mall, nice afternoons with your girl friend, ok ok ok.....but not for office wear.
Original, yeah....but its not enough.

i normally despise 'foody' smells, and i absolutely detest the women's 'Angel', so i was fully prepared to hate this - and yet i really don't. i definately have to agree that the initial assault that this provides is peculiar to say the least, maybe 'pinesol' as nthny said, i think it's almost absinthe-y in its vodka-alcohol driven herbal mint/lavender slap.
once this fades (which mercifully was quite quickly) i got full-on cocoa - not in a rich sickly chocolatey way, but in a dry, hot, bitter cocoa bean way - mixed with a coffee note that was more like an empty, dried-on espresso than the frappuccino described by other people here. perhaps its my skin chemistry (things rarely smell quite like they do on others when applied to myself) but this never became cloying-sweet, but remained hot-sweet-dry (i also really didnt get much, if any, vanilla), almost like standing near a candy-floss (cotton candy) machine, and there was a definate smoky edge to it (the 'tar' note perhaps?). the patchouli is the main prominent note to my nose, beyond the espresso-cocoa accord, and this weird-sounding combination is really quite lovely (although i do love patchouli, and i do love coffee houses!). the dry-down for me retained the patchouli, joined very nicely by the musk and the tonka, and only after several hours did the caramel sweetness become apparent.

this stuff is really WEIRD. i couldnt quite get my head around smelling like cocoa powder and old espresso and patchouli, like some kind of fat hippy. but i really and truly like it. will definately buy when i see it going cheap (i think i saw some for £35 for 100ml online!)

Effective if used sparingly,if not.... well.
It is NOT a signature scent, but blends well with with holiday season.

Cheers

Tried it at the shop (on my hand, not paper). I like sweet scents but this just smells like cotton candy to me. I think I'd have liked a citrus/melon note to balance that sweetness. It smells very edible (I'm not kidding).

This is strong & sweet with long lasting notes of sweet chocolate and musk with a touch of vanilla. One of my favorites.

Extremely sweet, smells like chocolate, stays in clothes for days afterwards. Nice for winter, quite disgusting during summer time and wram temperatures.

Can't really dislike how it smells, it's kinda chocolate, kinda coffee, kind of caramel. So basically its a caramel, mocha, frappachino. It smells delicious, but I just don't know if I want to smell like it. What I can say I dislike about this fragrance is how cloying it is. It just attacks your nose and fills it up with smell. Made me dizzy.

--Ice cream shop.--
Is the proper way to describe it. If you want to smell like chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, caramel and other delicious chillygoodies, this is the scent for you. It is powerful and projecting. Be warned if you wear it though. If you come across a hungry ice cream addict while wearing this, they might be tempted to take a bite.

This is a perfect sent for teens, going out to parties. The girlies will love it. :) Also, don't wear this if you use public transportation. ;)

now when i first smelled this i said WTH IS THIS???? it was wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy 2 strong & overpowering.. but then after it settled n i said ok.. i can somewhat tolerate this! but it smells 2 much like chocolate & coffee! which of coffee i dont like 2 smell like. nor chocolate. @ anyrate. the longevity of this is awesome! 2 days! & 4 that i give it a neutral rating!

The top notes are awful, it's more like a stanch than a perfume. But as it settles down, the mid and base notes are pretty nice and warm. It's sweet (like all the gourmands) but not necessarily cloying. If you can hide for 10 or 15 minutes after you've sprayed it, then it's ok to wear this in public.

When this arrived on the market, I must admit that I loved it. Considering that we still had cold winters here in Belgium that time... . I really don't think you should wear a fragrance like this during summertime.
The lasting power of this is too long, I don't like the drydown and it just stays too long. It's lik I want it to disappear, but it doesn't. Too bad that most drydowns are musky or heavy, I do believe that a fresh scent should stay fresh.
Back to A*men, I bought this one for my husband (as I said when we had winters over here) and I liked it. Allthough it could get too much and it would be a good smell to use in a chocolate store, too be in a small room amongst others,... not so good.

its not a perfume that i want to wear ....
althought i think that has a nice vanilia smell..

I have a bit of a love hate relationship with A*Men. I'll tell myself i hate it then try some on me and fall in love with it all over again. But after a few days i can't stand it and want it gone! Personally i prefer B*Men it's a much sexier scent and more consistent. I cannot deny how good a scent A*Men is though, one that provokes such a passionate response can't be bad!

I'd say, don't believe the hype. Although this is a pretty nice Gourmand. It's strong, sweet and has a lot of character. But that singing tar note comes off as a synthetic mess to me. I'll wear the stuff from time to time, but I won't reach for it if you know what I mean.

Perhaps the most wonderful thing about fragrance is that it both creates and recalls memories. Unfortunately, some memories can be unpleasant.
I cannot be objective about Angel because I cannot smell it or even think about it without remembering the first time I (for lack of a better word) experienced it.
I was working at an editing house in Hollywood that specialized in "adult entertainment". One of the clients was a thoroughly loathsome person. The type who smoked cigars not because he enjoyed them, but because he thought he looked "cool" smoking them. The first time I met him, he arrived in a cloud of the strongest cologne I had ever smelled. You couldn't not comment on his "scent". "Don't you just love it!" he would say. "It's called Angel Men by this fabulous designer named Thierry Mugler!" A name dropper through and through. Then he would billow out some foul cigar smoke and the three (him, his Angel Men, and his cigar smoke) would compete for what little oxygen was left in the cramped office.
You could always tell when he was coming as his Angel cloud would arrive ten minutes before he did, and we were on the twelfth floor!
Several years passed and I attempted to reassess Angel Men for myself, but I couldn't divorce this person from the scent. Was it because of him I thought the scent was obnoxious, over the top, cloying, insincere, and trying way too hard to be amazing? Or was it just these things on it's own?
From other peoples comments I've read here, I have to conclude that it is indeed those things on it's own. Minus the cigar smoke top-note.
But, I will give credit where credit is due. Angel Men is an amazing creation. Absolutely an animal unto itself, albeit one that should be caged. A first of its kind that has created a whole new category of scents. Perhaps, an important fragrance in the history of fragrance. There are certain things about it that I admire, but as the old Paco ad says..."What is remembered is up to you."

A*Men is pretty popular. No doubt about it. Its also quite unpopular. No doubts about that too. And, its also a ground-breaking fragrance.

A*Men opens with a well-balanced, rich, slightly minty accord. Have a look at the top notes; bergamot, lavender, mint. Nice. The top and middle notes overlap, because almost immediately you can also smell some distant yet rich coffee notes. This blend of fresh and minty top notes with the rich coffee is excellent. It reminds me of Bond No. 9s' New Haarlem. So far so good. However, this is the mercurial A*Men. From here, the fragrance goes into overdrive. The shift from middle to basenotes brings a flacon-load of tonka, vanilla, caramel and chocolate notes. This is where A*men no doubt turns into the king of gourmands. Rich, sweet, and a total sillage monster. A holy grail, if this is the sort of thing you like. A skin hugging air sucking nightmare if you dont.

I dont think that highly of A*Men, but any fragrance which was able to carve out an entirely new category of fragrances deserves some respect. I dont like A*Men much, but I respect it for what it did for the fragrance industry. For me, if it had stopped evolving at the confluence of the top and middle notes, it would have been perfection. However, A*Men works well if sparingly sprayed on, and in cold weather. I dont hate it, I just dont like it much. I like its successor, B*Men, more. However I can understand the need to have both in the wardrobe.

The perfect counterpart to Givenchy PI. While PI gives off a strong vanilla theme, A*Men gives off a strong chocolate theme which is a great contrast to Givenchy PI. In fact, I wonder if you sprayed them both on your skin how it would smell. It opens up with notes of Peppermint and Bergamot to give it a mint orange smell. With the sweet notes of chocolate in the background of the top notes, it sort of smells like a chocolate covered orange. This part of the fragrance did not really excited me and I knew what A*men is all about comes in the middle and heart notes. After about 15 minutes, the top notes disappear, and the scent becomes just chocolate. I get smells of caramel, chocolate, coffee bean, and a hint of musk. A*Men does have great longevity and sillage. I can respect A*men because of this and it unique smell but I find it hard to wear this cologne on a day to day basis. It’s only suitable on me for going to the club or nights out, which are not a lot. Other than that, I find that the smell of A*men is something I would not want people smelling on me. For a more useable chocolate scent, I would try Givenchy’s Very Irresistible. If you tend to like the smell of vanilla rather then chocolate and are looking for that smell in cologne, I suggest Givenchy’s PI. Overall, this is a very unique fragrance, but it is so unique that I am cannot wear it on a constant basis.

Yes, the ladies do love this one. It is just too sweet and cloying for my style. Women do think this is a masculine frag and they insist they can tell the diff. Perhaps this is proof of a woman's keener sense of smell but I dont care. For me to wear anything, I have to like it very much.

Have you ever walked by a trash bin on a hot summer afternoon? If you have then you've already experienced Angel Men by Thierry Mugler. It's hot trash, pun or no pun, I'll let you decide.

I first received Mugler's Angel Men on my tenth birthday and for a while made it my childhood signature in Europe, then again in my late-teens as A*Men here in the states, but as I got older and after years of both compliments and ridicule, I myself grew to dislike the formula and relegated it only for occasions when I needed to put on the dog. Then with my acquisition of Paco Rabanne's Black XS last year I was suddenly compelled to revisit this Mugler classic and found it to be one of (if not thee) most interesting fragrances I've ever worn.

Perfect for a child or a young man, as it translates it's notes into a world of "Petit Prince" whimsy. However, on an older man it creates a less harmonius effect, it tends to wear and overpower the man rather than permitting the wearer to live up to the magnificent scent.

WHen I first smelt this it was just a revalation! A beautiful scent. More feminine than most. Fruity, claen Vanilla. Women just had to comment on this scent. ALas it has for the past few years everybody else has twigged! Youll smell like just another "wannabee" now. Time to Move on WOW factor was 10 but now 2! Just too Common!

Everybody knows that different fragrances smell differently from person to person. But there is another factor I don't think is commented upon as often, but it's exemplified by A*men. And that's that some fragrances, though quite beautiful smelling, just aren't the kind of odour you want to carry around with you. I wore this when it first arrived, for a few years. I really do love the smell, but unfortunately, it doesn't cope well on my skin (ends up smelling like burnt cake or something) but more importantly, even at it's best, I just don't want to smell like that - not for more than 5 minutes anyway. Maybe it's something to do with its gourmand nature - after all there are many foods that smell gorgeous - for example, whose mouth doesn't water at the smell of roast lamb? - but would you really want to spray that behind your ears? Nevertheless, it is a revelation, I want to give it thumbs up, but I'm afraid I can't.

From the multitude of reviews posted, this looks like it's mostly a "love-it-or-hate-it" fragrance, so I am happy to post a neutral review. This fragrance has some qualities I like: chocolate, patchouli, and musk, to name three. It also has some qualities I really do not like. It is very, very strong. I noticed someone mentioned using more than four sprays; Somewhere around one I am maxed out. This is (overly) potent stuff. Another quality that I do not like is that, at least on my skin, this one comes across extremely dark. There are no light or uplifting notes at all, which leads to a sense of swampiness. I tried to wear this during the day and it just didn't work. Still, even with these negatives, I feel that this is a bold and unique scent. Also, it was recommended to me by a woman I worked with. There seems to be something about women and chocolate... At any rate I am glad that Mugler took the risk in producing this, even if it's something that I would not wear very often.

I'm honestly a bit torn on this one. Applying it, letting it dry down, and periodically taking a deep whiff allows me to appreciate the complexity that some people rave about. As a practical matter, however, all those notes get dominated by the darn brownie. Chocolate, chocolate, and more sweet chocolate. It's great for a situation where you want people to smell you in a crowd (which is why it is considered ubiquitous for nightclubs), but I can't see using it as anything other than a niche fragrance. Buy a small bottle or a decant and use it when you are going to be grinding against sweaty girls. I might add that this was also what I wore on Christmas, but for the sweetness part and not the grinding against sweaty girls part.