Reviews of B*Men (2004)
by Thierry Mugler

I had no idea this fragrance was discontinued; I purchased a bottle of it when it was first released. I hate and revile A*Men, but after sampling B*Men, I decided to buy it because it had a very different, unusual aroma (not unpleasant at all). I was taken with the notes of rhubarb and sequoia, which are probably not too common even in niche fragrances. The fragrance is fairly masculine, and not as cloying as A*Men (shudders). However, I became somewhat bored with it and decided to give it away to a friend. To this day, I am still not sure what put me off of it, or why I became so bored of it. Not a masterpiece by any means, but the fact that I became bored means that it was always one of the weakest in my collection, and as such I cannot give it a thumbs up, despite some of its unique ingredients.

You know, this ain't bad. A*Men is overpowering and B*Men is A*Men lite. I detect a huge patchouli type note. Might be the "spicy notes" listed in the pyramid. It lasts a long time. Just be sure to spray sparingly and far away from the skin lest you received a burnt caramel note.

I bought it several years ago but nothing spetial. I prefer Angel.....This one is not common fragance, but only fashion, not quality here. Not for young people, not for old people, not for child, not for moring use, not for evening....I really dont know...Not bad, but not good.

Terribly terrible. Having found a bottle though it is said to be discontinued, I blind bought it counting on the incredible success of A*men. Nothing special about B*men, neither the notes, nor its longevity or sillage. It is good if you wanna have cramps in your stomach when you spray it in the morning, or wanna remember how being seasick is. And I dont think that it has a little single similarity with the gorgeous A*men, this would have been insulting on those lovely chocolate and coffee notes blended together with care. Not for anyone under 40, absolutely deserves to be discontinued.

This is a strange frag., some days I love it, other days I don't. The top notes are a little harsh: spicy, sour, and sweet all at the same time. I like how it's distinctive, but not everybody finds it pleasant. Good thing the top notes only last for 1-2 hrs max (depending on the weather) on me. When it does dry down, B*Men is wonderful. Amber and vetiver, the right amount of sweet with the right amount of sour. Probobly not a good idea to wear this when you plan to sweat though....

I was expecting a lot from B*men because it is by Thierry Mugler; I found it didn’t deliver as much as I would have liked, but it is still a very good fragrance. The Rhubarb note that opens B*men is nice — rhubarb is such an excellent note that should be used more IMO. The slight note of chocolate that hovers in the background centers the scent and provides suggestions of its relationship to A*men. With the chocolate and the rhubarb, the famous A*men top notes are both expanded and diminished. I find it interesting how the rhubarb replaces the lavender of A*men — hard to believe, but rhubarb actually makes a safer, less pushy fragrance. The top notes hold on for a very long time — well into the middle notes. The conifer notes with the spices are nice, but the combination does not meet the criteria established by the opening — or else the purpose is to almost completely reduce the gourmand-ness of B*man. Then again, the rhubarb and chocolate and vanilla of the top notes have already lasted through most of the mid level. The aspect that I loved most about A*men was its drydown. I can’t make the same statement for B*men. It wimps out — I don’t think the amber / vetiver combination is intense or deep enough to complete the progression of the scent. But then, I don’t suppose it would it would have been acceptable to put A*men’s drydown on B*men — it would make them too similar. I have come to like this scent — I doubt that I will ever love it, but it’s a very good scent.

B*Men. Oh B*Men.
From the moment i smelled this one i knew it would be a failure.
Its sickenly spicy, not TOO spicy, just the mix of scents starts to smell a bit unusual, and unnatural.
BUT, ..but but but!
This fragrance is PERFECT for the fall season, and ONLY when youre outside all day! (I wore it when i went apple picking.. it fit the mood perfectly.)

It will remind you of Angel Men, with a twist. The sweetness is toned down and the scent has more sophistication. Sillage is pretty good, with just 2 or 3 spays you get 5 or 6 hours (stays close to the skin about 9 or 10). For me, nothing outstanding since it still reminds me too much of A*Men.

This is A*men Lite. Or, to put it differently: A*men could be - in another universe - B*men Extrême. This spicy woody scent has less lasting power and sillage then A*men. Not bad though, but the man who already has a bottle of A*men in his wardrode, could do without this one. I personally like the vetiver note, so it's no "thumbs down" for me. B*men has a niche of its own, especially if you don't like gourmand scents. When you want to smell like a candy shop, buy A*men.

Better than the failure called A men, B men starts from the same sweet point, but with a more complex and versatile drydown. Androginously and almost synthetic at first, extremely spicy towards the finnish. Oriental, resinous, addictively intoxticatig drydown, extremely pungent, heavy, persistent notes of amber and vetyver, evolving towards touches of tobacco, opiate and bitter sweet spices( maybe cinnamon, vanilla, pepper, ginger, juniper berries, liquorice ?). Smells quite wintery, persistent and exotic and is therefore better as en evening scent. It reminds me of other spicy, ambery, balsamic and provocatively sensual cutting-edge creations like Rochas Man, Opium opur homme and especially JPG Le Male.

if A*Men is the unpredictable, exciting party animal of a sibling.. then B*Man is his more mature, conservative and reliable older brother. This isn't to say that B*Man doesn't have its own merits. It is pleasant enough to make an appearance on a fall evening, or among other cold weathered nights, but it just lacks the "pizzazz" that made A*Men a classic. And even upon holding B*Men in its own light, apart from A*Men..it still doesn't thrill me. It almost smells like wet woods mixed with grenadine..not a huge amount of depth or development. I don't dislike it as strongly as a lot of basenoters, but I do agree that of the two frags, A*Men blows this one out of the water.

A disappointment of epic proportions. It's not bad, but it's essential an Au Fraiche version of Amen. It's nice, but I expect more from this house. Take out the tar and heavy chocolate note from Amen and you'd have this. Big let down and not worth it to my nose. Too bad.

Lighter way of Amen. Not as special as Amen, Bmen means cooler, lighter and younger.

I enjoy it, but don't find myself reaching for it very often. Love the rhubarb in the opening but especially enjoy the cedar and sequoia as the scent settles. Warm, rich and ambery, great for those tired of citrus and marine scents.

Angel Men is definitely the tastier fragrance of Thierry Mugler's collection.

Bmen smells very nice,but:
1-it's not long lasting(3-4 hours)
2-Bmen smell like a coconut candy made in my country.

B*Men reminds me of a lighter version of A*men without the chocolate. Unfortunately, B*men's lasting power is sub average on me - it's only good for around four or five hours.
Renato