Reviews of Alien (2005)
by Thierry Mugler

Top notes: Sambac Jasmine
Heart note: Cashmeran, Solar Note
Base note: White Amber

Lots of new words to learn from in this fragrance. As mentioned by other reviewers, Alien opens with a synthetic explosion of … synthetics: I’m sorry, I can’t identify any notes through the chemicals. The chemicals don’t last long and are quickly replaced by a sambac Jasmine and cashmeran accord. A “sambac jasmine” can be either an Arabian Jasmine or a Hawaiian Pikaki or any of a at least ten other varieties of jasmine: Madhan Mogran, Rose, Motiyu, Bela, Mallipoo, Lei pikaki, Tea, Gundi Mullige, Sampaguito, Mysore Mulli, or Mali Chat… I don’t know which particular jasmine is used in Alien, but, in general, the sambac jasmines have a greener element to their aroma. The Cashmeran, on the other hand is easier to describe: it’s the woody, musky, spicy 1,2,3,5,6,7-hexahydro-1,2,3,3-pentamethyl-4h-inden-4-one… The combination of the sambac jasmine and cashmeran accord is unique: It’s a woody, musky, spicy jasmine… quite attractive, too, IMHO. The center accord also presents Solar Note, which I Googled but couldn’t find any definitions, so I will assume that it is something that smells like the sun. Finally we have a drydown of white amber… now I’m familiar with white musk but I had to Google “White Amber” which turned out to be “a soft and subtle woody scent, and works primarily on the subconscious to elevate ones awareness and state of consciousness...” according to Google.

Apparently the scent is presented as having some sort of sub-conscious or mystical agenda, and the marketing includes some kind of wordplay on the word “alien.” I don’t know about that but I do like the fragrance. It’s attractive and it truly qualifies as an Oriental, I feel, and it does present the uniqueness for which it seems to be striving so hard. It smells quite feminine on paper or cloth, but on my skin it can easily pass as a masculine fragrance – in a sort of alien / masculine way, I find it mysteriously enjoyable.

Don't let the lumiescent purple juice fool you, this is a BIG white floral with huge sillage. Alien was created in 2005 as a follow up to Mugler's hugely successful Angel. One gets the impression that Alien was created to diversify the brand, to add another perfume to the portfolio and show that Mugler isn't just 'the guy who does Angel'.

Angel and Alien aren't worlds apart, I wouldn't call them sister fragrances or even say that Alien is a variation on the theme of Angel but they do share similarities, the biggest of which is the potency and sillage. Alien is not a quiet fragrance, it projects itself creating 'mystical, supernatural aura' around the wearer. The top note is bright sambac jasmine that at first is slightly reminiscent of something unsettling, possibly a bug spray or chemical which is reminiscent of the unsettling synthetic opening of Angel. On me the top notes take a while to fade and after a few hours Alien settles down to a quiet, powdery vanilla that if left would last for days. Alien is categorised as a woody oriental and I would say this is pretty spot on, the top is very floral but the dry down is all wood and vanilla.

Alien has been on sale for nearly four years now and is available in EDP, Extrait (with a fancy claw applicator) and Sunessence EDT. You can also buy a refillable bottle and use the Alien Source to refill (as with Angel). If you are a fan of Angel or just somebody who likes a good white floral then Alien is definitely worth a try, it's an interesting take on the genre, you just have to be willing to give it the time to get past the unsettling top notes.

Has anyone noticed that "Alien" is very like "Louve"? I love them both for their exotic postmodern edginess. Alien came first and is much less expensive... hmmm - not a hard decision when it comes time to replace sample with bottle. They both have an icy metallic quality which lasts and which I find refreshing when I'm not in the mood for sultry flowers and spices. Alien doesn't mix well with garlic or Gucci Rush, all of which I smell of at time of writing. I must get some art deco jewellery on. Perfect.

When I first tried Alien, I was terribly put off by the sweetness of the the jasmine top notes. This was a sampling on paper. Fast forward several months, bored to death of mostly everything put out there lately, I tried Alien again--on skin this time...I was feeling brave.

Trying it on skin is a different feel now. The jasmine isn't so in-your-face now, but don't get me wrong, it's still rather potent. As it progressed on my skin, it smelled more and more comforting as the jasmine fades.

IMO it's a play on the Mugler's Angel theme, in modern historical terms. That what was thought as spiritual beings from heaven, it is really about visitors from the outer realms of the universe. These visitors may be quite the angels that were described in ancient times. (And I just might be OD-ing from the History Channel!)

Alien, to me, is a solar scent. Bright, expansive, happy, peaceful, ethereal. It gets better and better as the scent progresses throughout the day. It doesn't get heavier, but lighter, cleaner. The wood and amber in this scent makes the floral sweetness soar as an airy delight of flight.

Now that I own the scent, I couldn't help but think I've smelled something in the same vein. The floral woodiness of Alien was much like another favorite of mine--Versace's The Dreamer. The Dreamer does it with Lily, Tobacco, Tarragon and Amber. Alien does it with Jasmine, a Cedar-like note, and Amber.

Both seem to have equal potency and longevity. Careful with applying Dreamer/Alien on warmer and balmy days. The lily/jasmine expands into a very bold aura around you as I've discovered.

I prefer Alien over Angel any day!! I find Angel nauseating, so you might want to give Alien a try if Angel didn't work for you. Angel is very harsh while Alien is a warm, semi-sweet, floriental that is sexy and seductive. There is a mysterious quality to Alien that draws me in every time I wear it. This is one of my favorites and I reach for it on special occasions. When I first spray Alien, the notes are a bit strong and somewhat cloying, but within 2-4 minutes it quickly fades into a wonderful floriental that I can't get enough of. Alien lasts about 3 hours on me and then it wears close to the skin for another 3-4 hours. The main notes in Alien are jasmine with undertones of deep, warm woods and a little hint of amber. If I apply too much of Alien, it gives off a synthetic note that slowly fades away with time. Alien is beautiful when applied in small amounts. It's also very feminine and sensual.

When I think of Alien, I think of a sultry, beautiful woman standing by a wooden garden surrounded by jasmine flowers. As the wind blows, the scent of jasmine and deep woods linger in the air while she waits for her lover. The moonlight is glowing on her skin as he slowly approaches. The lovely scent surrounds her and it entices him. He is completely drawn to her....he gives her a passionate kiss, lifts her up and carries her away under the moonlight .......

IMO, this scent is very romantic... just lovely!

Hmm okay so this is my first review..... well, it's been my signature scent for 2 years now after my Dad got me a bottle for my 20th birthday, it's an amazing scent. I love ones which are very different and striking, and I think this definitely is... it's got the most compliments out of all of my perfumes. Even 'strangers' which I've never had before sking what it is!!

To me (without the in-depth stuff cuz I'm no good at that yet!) it smells velvety, dark, sexy, magic, striking, unique, purple.... it does smell like I'd imagine purple to smell like :)

I guess it's more of a wintery scent because it's quite heavy (well, to me anyway) but even last summer I used to spray about 10 sprays on me lol and no-one ever complained! hehe.

I'd definitely say it attracts attention, and my GF absolutely loves it on me, it also reminds me of when we got together :-)

Anyway sorry for the obviously novice-like review here!

This is chic weirdness at its best. While I'm very particular about what I regularly wear, I will smell and even try anything just once, especially if it captures my imagination. Alien does just that.
The opening is an almost metallic green sort of smell, but not overpowering. It's enough to peak curiosity. As it develops, it becomes a lovely yet kooky sort of floral, dominated by a jasmine that is by no means indollic or cloying but still very recognizable. I then notice it becoming an envelope of warm, soft ambers and woods, all the while maintaing a glow of that metallic green note. The scent hugs the skin but still has some considerable sillage. This is at once inviting and familiar and yet remarkable.
A must try for jasmine fans as well as cashmere-type fragrance fans.
I am reminded of Led Zepplin's "Kashmir" (Or is it "Cashmere?") When I smell this. A definate must-buy, weird bottle or not, but be warned: it may not be for everyone.

I must say, the opening notes are scary to say the least. They jump at you ala Casper the Friendly Ghost's very scary uncles. If you are not the curious types, it will put you off immediately. I, however, really wanted to at least give Thierry the benefit of the doubt after my many disastrous encounters with the ever so repulsive Angel. Back to Alien - after the top notes sprung on me, they quickly faded into the heart notes, which had a warm yet cold aroma to them - I could tell that come the base notes, I will be sold.....and I was. I cannot think of any word to describe it except "mysterious". I think this is what an asteroid would smell like right after it hits the middle of the amazon forest - the asteroid would then smell like Alien right after the Amazonian rains pours on top of it. It smells grapey but not fruity, soft but not feminine. If tanzanite or aquamarine had an aroma to them, they would smell like Alien. It is not a safe fragrance and when you smell it, you either hate it but are drawn to it or you love it and are obsessed with it. It is one of those fragrances that you have to wear and carry off - otherwise, they overtake your life. If you have no sense of style and are trashy and classless and love men with no tact, then this fragrance is not for you. I personally love it.

Alien is not Angel. It is nothing like Angel whatsoever.

Alien is a jasmine-heavy floriental. Alien is potent and leans toward being sweet and synthetic. It's mostly a sweet jasmine fragrance with a brief green-ish phase and an ambery-musky base.

I would compare Alien to Dior Poison in style and potency.

I happen to like Alien. In small doses it's beautiful.

This is one of my favourites in my wardrobe. It's dark and mysterious and sexy, but warm and inviting. It reminds me of the movie The Dark Crystal, probably because of the purple bottle. But the bottle is very descriptive of this perfume - deep purple is a perfect colour I think. Someone else said "green edges", I think that's spot on. I have syneasthesia, so when I smell a scent I see colours and textures. Absolute thumbs up - I would almost go as far as saying it may become my signature scent one day when I'm done "sleeping around".

I tried Alien this week, i have to admitt that i liked very much, well...i hate Angel..so i thought i would never like Alien, but this scent is so unique! it is like a velvety and elegant dark dress, so sensual and magic...i just love it!

Ever late to the party I have only just now tried Alien - without expectations of anything. I'm still trying to get a fix on Angel and what all the fuss is about....but back to Alien. The first few seconds after the first spritz were chemically alarming - one jumped back from one's own wrist.

But then! Warm and subtle jasmine with a slightly greenish metallic something hovering around the edges. Its underpinnings are ambery woods and the overall effect is somewhat "alien" and mysterious. I'm a jas-maniac and tis is going to have to join the harem.

What can be more beautiful than a beauty? A well dressed beauty. Alien is a well dressed jasmine, succeed to be more attractive than a nude jasmine. Good work. Must have for jasmine lovers.

One of the best Jasmine perfumes ever, period. It's a sultry, but not sickly, powdery, but not suffocating, lovely, sexy close-to-the-skin scent. Extremely sensual without being vulgar and very comfortable to wear. Gets lots of compliments too, which is a bonus!

I never quite understand why women who fall madly in love with Angel aren't able to put it in a separate category when testing Alien. Yes, they are both under the Thierry Mugler name, but that doesn't necessarily make them alike. I think that the name gives it away; Alien. it's not Angel Innocent, It's not Angel Garden of stars, it's simply Alien. Thus, when I tried it I had Angel out of my mind. What I've found with Alien (and every other fragrance out there) is that you must put it on for the "Fabulousness" to take effect. I tried the Perfume (applied with a nifty little gold wand) on my wrist, and went about my day. The way it smells is hard to describe. There's definitely jasmine in there, along with amber and a very slight green note. It almost has a "distant" quality, very synthetic-smelling, but very pleasing. I know that a lot of women are put off by it on the blotter, but I really advise applying some of the perfume oil on yourself and then seeing how you like it.

I love it, very sexy, dark and mysterious. Though unlike most who find it cold I find it very warm and comforting. But not comforting in an old slippers kinda way. Perhaps "inviting" is a better word. Perfect to be worn on a cool autumn night out.

Delightfully bizzare yet, at the same time, familiar and exciting, "Alien" is the brisk, pistachio-like scent of an evening out under a dark, starry night sky or cruising with the windows down and "raisin' hell". It's an experience scent, where another fragrance exists within a fragrance--as part of a story, on a character in a specific time and place. This smells like getting away for a night after an event or holiday...and making out under the stars: Fresh, overly minty breath from spray and gum or menthol drops, perhaps a lingering scent of cheery-sweet cigars and coffee...you've worn your best, sultry fragrance and it's radiating off your skin...and the euphoric briskness of night air sneaks through cracked windows. This is a modern scent that couldn't be mistaken for any place or time before the 1990's---except as 90's cultural nod to 1950's pulp comics, t-birds, pinups and mod appeal...and, perhaps, medicinal rubs of the 1800's (the kind that smelled more like herbal perfume than medicine). This is the scent of "bad" before people grow up and understand what "bad" really means. Provocative, surprisingly nostalgic and exciting! I root for "Alien" because it's so dang weird and seems to embrace its playful weirdness. How can I snub my nose at that?

Beautiful, dark, mysterious and cold as I imagine a spacescape to be; it feels like being wrapped up in cold, evening twilight.

1st try hmm, not bad. Smells like grape soda at first, mellos into soft, woody white floral with a slight grape soda edginess to keep it from being one of those heady voluptuous squeeze you too tight floral clouds. I think I love it! I agree it's more cool than warm, but it's still very feminine.

I got a sample of this and liked how it smelled on the paper. However, when I tried it one me it didn't smell so hot. I wore the sample once and that was even worse. Well, I was shopping for new frags and something told me to try it again. This time it really smelled good on my skin. I'm thinking that the sample I had must have been old or had something wrong with it. Anyhoo, I quickly purchased it. I kept smelling my arm over and over. Eureka!! I knew exactly what to add to this unique frag. Aveda Patchouli. Let me tell you something. Every single time I wear these two together I get stopped by someone wanting to know what I have on. No lie. Everytime I wear it!!! I looooooove this perfume. I'm not much on "note" identities, but I knew that the Aveda patchouli would be a perfect note to blend with this perfume. I will definitely purchase this on the regular. By the way, my S/O loves this on me. The 1st time I wore it, he talked about it all night. It was a very lovely night too.....tee hee.

My son gave me this for the last holiday season for the solstice. Because he and I share a love of SciFI, we thought perhaps this would "eat your face off" like its namesake; or at least melt something. However, I am glad to say it does neither and I quite like it. It lasts and lasts. I love the mysterious notes that you cannot quite identify...hmmmmm must be alien.

It smells like a synthetic scented green grape candy too me. With a little hint of the air freshner "Forest". Eccentric alien. Cold. Not even romantic. Asocial and "radioactive" fragrance.

I find the scent hypnotic, I love the fact that it's a real departure from super sweet scents and can't stop sniffing my wrist when I wear it. It has a gorgeous bottle, though I'm unsure of longevity, most scents don't seem to last very long on me.

I tend to favour warm, sweet scents (Angel, Hypnotic Poison, Mitsouko) so Alien is a real departure for me.

To me, it is a very cool, almost aquatic floral - very fresh and clean smelling. Not at all like bug spray!

It has good longevity and doesn't alter much (at least, not on me) - the Jasmine note is very dominant. I didn't get much amber, which is slightly disappointing, but at least it's consistant.

To me this is a nice spring scent.

Every time i offer someone to try Alien (at my job), most of them immediately have their doubts, and start forming a negative reaction towards the scent. Alien is wonderful on the skin, and i go crazy when my friend wears it...it smells amazing on her.
Top notes of Jasmine, bottom of Amber.

I think Alien is absolutely brilliant. I wasn't too sure at first, but it has grown on me. It's very potent, bold, long lasting, with a lot of sillage (which is not usually my type of perfume, I'm rather reserved), and you could suffocate people in small spaces if you wear too much, but it's one of those perfumes that have a definite positive effect on my mood and attitude. I feel very independent when I wear Alien, and comfortable in my own skin. There is a combination of aloofness and warm coziness that works some kind of magic on me. There is a lot of subtlety in there, if you give it a chance. I can see why people might dislike it, but I wear it to please myself. I love the purple bottle, too.

The name intrigued me. The purple bottle with silver-colored metal, that drew me too. The lady at the counter sprayed it on a cotton ball, and it's PURPLE too! I've never seen a purple perfume before this one. I rubbed it on my skin, and it smells just like Poison to me. Poison, the perfume, that is. But the Alien bottle is way cooler.

It's really funny how many people dislike Alien... maybe it's the name, or just expectations that it should smell similar to Angel... After all, 'Angel' is such a better name!!!! Only, personally, I did not like Angel, (the scent that is, I love the name), all that much and actually do indeed LOVE ALIEN (the scent itself, not so much the name LOL)!!! I also really like the bottle, love the intense 'amethyst-hued glass' color and as someone said in her review it is slightly reminiscent of the aliens from "The Fifth Element" :) The scent itself as well it fantastic, although I've been told that it does not always smell 'exactly' the same on me... Some days it smells more floral: Sambac Jasmine... but, if I wear it for a few days in a row, (which I rarely do with any of my fragrances - although I've done it with this one), then it becomes a bit spicier on my skin, I guess more ME... somehow it blends with my skin and my personality and just becomes more me as well :) Alien like Angel is a truly high quality fragrance, with one of the best lasting-power I've encountered in a perfume... I always get a compliment when I wear this, perhaps that's why I've worn it more then a few days in a row... So yes I would most definitely repurchase this one :)Alien is created by one of my favorite 'NOSES' Dominique ROPION who also worked on Alexander McQueen's MyQueen, Amor Amor for Cacharel, Calvin Klein Euphoria, and was a sole creator of Frederic Malle's Carnal Flower (I adore)!, as well as Vivienne Westwood's Anglomania and one of my all time faves Caron's Aimez Moi in 1996!

extremely pleasant at first, wet on the skin... nice and ethereal. Then it seems as if it kind of faded away, you don't smell much... it's only a few hours later that you're left with a halo of a curious sweet second-skin note... like clean skin only better. I like it. I really wish it smelled like the inital application the whole time. I loved the top notes.

This is a most unusual fragrance with a name a packaging to match. It has an exotic scent that would compliment the fall seaon's color palatte of burgundy and chocolate browns, maling it a natural to pair with the romantic and boho looks. There is a sort of a woody and amber scent with a hint of orange or green, almost a bit of an incence kind of feel to it. Defintely dark and mysterious, not like anything else I have tried out there. By the way I also like poison and opium so I guess I am a fan of scents that are a little more complex. I like it and I will wear it as a change from my usual frangrances. My male friends previewed Alien on me and they loved it! One asked me what it was so he could get his for his girlfriend, but the name cracked him up.

Just tried this today. I am surprised, it doesn't make me think of far off galaxies, but it is a really nice fragrance. Not as daring as I would have expected. It will never match Angel in its uniqueness. Its sort of a cross between Stella and Pure Poison with more jasmine and woody notes. It is definitely a lovely fragrance.

Alien is definitely retro and quite nice. Very 70's. Sweet, intense and incensey. Somewhat like boucheron but all on its own. There's a top note that I can't identify but I think it's green or metal. Packaging is beautiful. A winner in my book!

The first thing that caught my attention was the name. The second was the bottle because I love anything purple. I have only worn this once since purchased and I love it. I have not quite put my finger on the particular scent but it is very feminine and soft. I tried Angel over 10 years ago and have been using it since. I assume that Alien will be one that I will use for years. I am very picky about the perfumes I wear because my body chemistry will make just about anything sour on my skin after about 2 hours of wear. The only perfumes I have been able to wear are Shalimar, Angel, Must by Cartier, Hanae Mori. I am hoping that Alien will be added to this list. So far so good. And feedback from those around me is great. They also love the scent and the name. Tip: do not buy the samples on Ebay. You can always get free ones made up at any Nordstrom's.

It's a really cool and very freshing fragrance. My girlfriend uses it and it's pretty fantastic!!! It's one thousand times better than its very similar fragrance Very Irresistible from Givenchy. In my opinion every woman should try this Mugler's best creation!!! It's really good.