Alien : Les Parfums De Cuir by Thierry Mugler, 2012

Angel les Parfum de Cuir & Alien les Parfum de Cuir While I loved Angel Liqueur, I found the Mugler annual thematic releases uninteresting except for the apparent belief that branding is more important than perfume. It might make the magic of marketing synergy easier to achieve, but slapping a new flavor across an entire line seems at least cynical and more likely haphazard. I suppose, though, that every now and again a match has to occur. It also makes sense that Angel, with its fingers in so many different genres (gourmand, oriental, floral) is more likely than Alien, Womanity or Mugler Cologne to be fertile soil where the flavor of the year can plant itself. Angel les Parfum de Cuir can hold the leather note without it seeming entirely out of place, but the leather does nothing to enhance Angel. It muddies Angels distinctive qualities, but it doesn't negate them. Sort of, meh. Not exactly the Angel battle cry. Alien les Parfum de Cuir matches a dulled leather notes to the radioactive jasmine of the original Alien, giving us a real head scratcher. There are no interesting commonalities and no juxtapositions to exploit. Until the leather note fades, when it is ultimately crushed under the weight of chemo floral oppression, Alien Cuir just seems like a mismatch, more of a smell that a scent. Mugler's Cuirs are by definition formulaic and lack inspiration. They seem to come from the same thinking that give us, "Ugghhh. Its November again. What should this year's holiday office party theme be? "