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The Angel Cult: "Us Angel-wearers would rather fight than switch!"

post #1 of 21
12/30/07 at 1:53pm
Thread Starter 
(The thread's title is derived from a famous, oft-parodied 1960s ad campaign that showed people with black eyes saying "Us Tareyton smokers would rather fight than switch!", which MAD magazine parodied as "Us Cigarette-makers would rather fight than quit!")

Onto the main subject... I've noticed a pattern with Angel. Aside from us Basenoters, most Angel-wearers are fiercely loyal to their Angel. They're the kind of people who would rather fight than switch perfumes.

For instance, I ran into a T-Mobile cellphone rep today while shopping for Giant Economy Size everything at Sam's Club. She was wearing an awfully familiar perfume... I asked her "are you wearing Angel?" She said "Yes... it's my absolute favorite perfume!" The story doesn't stop there: I have a friend (who now lives in Nashville) who wore nothing but Angel for thirteen and a half years. (She only stopped because her son started hating it.) Every time I find someone who wears Angel, they seem to be passionately loyal to it... Angel probably has the highest brand loyalty of any mainstream perfume I know of.

We all know that Thierry Mugler wanted a classic. (And he got it.) But do you ever think that he ever expected to have this much success with Angel, the perfume many retailers refused to carry at first? (And now it's #7 in US sales... go figure.)

Your thoughts?
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post #2 of 21
1/1/08 at 8:00am
No offense to its fan club, but I've always thought that Angel was an olfactory insult.
It's a little like makeup applied with a shovel, jewelry by the pound, or clothing that looks bloody effing awful but that people wear because the latest desperate female fashion rag said it was the in thing...

While I'm sure that Angel smells better on some than others, it still smells like an indigestion on crack, imo.
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post #3 of 21
1/1/08 at 8:34am
I've never caught a whiff of this myself, but from what I've read it sounds like a super-sugary sweet scent. I sounds like it would be the kind of scent that would singe my nose hairs on the first snort. Yikes!
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post #4 of 21
1/1/08 at 8:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MFfan310 View Post

We all know that Thierry Mugler wanted a classic. (And he got it.) But do you ever think that he ever expected to have this much success with Angel, the perfume many retailers refused to carry at first? (And now it's #7 in US sales... go figure.)

Your thoughts?

Perhaps he did. I mean: just look at the huge selection of bath and body products, special edition bottles, the Angel Source refill service, the website, The Angel Circle... No wonder there's such a loyal following.

I wasn't interested in Angel for the first ten years: the name and the baby blue space image & packaging just didn't appeal to me at all.

What got me interested in Angel was the HUGE controversy around it, people either loved or loathed it and I wanted to try it to smell what all that fuss was about, and on the first time I tried it, I found it absolutely revolting. But something made me give it a second change and there was no looking back. That was five years ago, Angel still holds the record as the scent I have worn the longest period exclusively, whopping six weeks!

I still like Angel but wear it rarely, it's a bit too popular to my taste, so for that chocolate-patchouli craving I rather wear Borneo 1834.
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post #5 of 21
1/1/08 at 9:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MFfan310 View Post

(The thread's title is derived from a famous, oft-parodied 1960s ad campaign that showed people with black eyes saying "Us Tareyton smokers would rather fight than switch!", which MAD magazine parodied as "Us Cigarette-makers would rather fight than quit!")

Now, MFfan, I've met you, and you're too young to know anything but the parody! Some of us remember hearing the original slogan, back when cigarettes were advertised on TV. My, how advertising has changed.

With due respect for Angel and Angel Innocent, I prefer Bond No. 9's Nuits de Noho. It strikes me as slightly more refined and interesting than Angel, although highly similar. Ya wanna fight about it?
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post #6 of 21
1/1/08 at 9:41am
I like Love's True Bluish Light which is similarly warm and lush and sweet, but less demanding to the wearer and less pervasive.
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post #7 of 21
1/1/08 at 9:41am
I love Angel. Many of you know that I wore Angel exclusively for years. And yes, Angel lovers can be fiercely loyal

It's always hard to know what is going to be a success ahead of time. I'm not sure if Thierry Mugler knew it would be this big of a hit, but he certainly did everything right. And he keeps adding products and services that keep the original Angel wearers interested as well as getting new wearers intrigued.

But which came first? the loyal following OR the myriad of bath and body products, limited edition bottles, and all the other extras?? It's probably a little of both really. As with most success stories, it's a mixture of a quality product, being in the right place at the right time, shrewd business practices, and a sprinkling of magic ...

Love it or hate it, no one can say that Angel is not a success story.
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post #8 of 21
1/1/08 at 9:58am
Bleu, that is the one thing I wish other fragrances would do like Angel: the body product line. Even for an Angel hater like myself, there's no denying the pure genius behind it.
... But would they do it for my favorite frags? Noooooooo. Figures. Harumph.
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post #9 of 21
1/1/08 at 10:06am
i HATE Angel and pretty much all chocolate smells. But one of my best friends is obsessed with it, and is a heavy applier. We used to be able to walk into a room in college and know whether she has been there at some point in the past 24 hours. She's very loyal, to the point of making enemies at her workplace because she refuses to not wear it despite the fact that people at work have complained about it. Which goes beyond being loyal and has something to do with being a tremendous bitch
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post #10 of 21
1/1/08 at 2:56pm
I must say I do love Angel and when I first started wearing it, it was only available in a few stores and you had to know where to look. I've talked about it on the Mitsouko thread I wrote today, but I was put off Angel a bit because it soon became ubiquitous. The biggest problem was when one of my friends took a liking to it too and copied me by getting all the extras - the body cream, the hair perfume, the works. Angel is very distinctive, but I don't really like to smell like anyone else.
I've started wearing it again, though I did throw away my big bottle of EDP because it went grey and started smelling a little strident. I bought Rose Angel last year which I really like, though it doesn't last too well on me unfortunately, but then discovered the Angel extrait, and that is truly gorgeous. They both have a place in my affections and my wardrobe. Rose Angel is one I like to wear to bed quite often.
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post #11 of 21
1/2/08 at 12:23pm
I discovered it in 2000 & it was love at first sniff. It's my "If you lived on a deserted island and could only bring 1 scent with you" perfume.
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post #12 of 21
1/2/08 at 1:46pm
I have heard mega chatter about Angel, but had never smelled it because I have spent years away from a dept store perfume counter. I went ahead and bought it for my sister last week, though, to try to get her off the Pink Sugar. It was suprisingly not as sweet as I imagined. I was very patchouli/carmel/almost aquatic on her~not nearly as downright "foody" as I imagined. I think it was a big improvement...a step up into the "real world" of perfumary.
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post #13 of 21
1/5/08 at 6:55pm
I'm interested in *why* Angel is so rabidly popular.

The scent is phenomenal in ways I can't describe since I lack perfume experience. I think the bottle experience might be part of it. The shape demands prominent attention in your collection since it's in a non-traditional shape and refuses to stand upright. I keep my fragrances in a medicine cabinet, but Angel won't even fit. It demands to be placed prominently on your bureau...just an observation.
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post #14 of 21
1/6/08 at 3:08am
Sometimes Angel can smell phenomenal on the wearer. I have a friend who
wore it to her 50th birthday celebrations and, whilst I recognised it at once,
on her, freshly applied, it smelled amazing.
On me however, after the initail "honeymoon" period it rapidly turns to
something less good. Why is that I wonder?
I wear it very occasionally and with trepidation.
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post #15 of 21
1/6/08 at 1:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kewart View Post

Sometimes Angel can smell phenomenal on the wearer. I have a friend who
wore it to her 50th birthday celebrations and, whilst I recognised it at once,
on her, freshly applied, it smelled amazing.
On me however, after the initail "honeymoon" period it rapidly turns to
something less good. Why is that I wonder?
I wear it very occasionally and with trepidation.

Interesting, I'm the opposite. I almost hate the beginning on me but ADORE it after it dries down. I wish I knew more about how our "chemistries" effect this...
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post #16 of 21
1/6/08 at 2:04pm
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I have tried to love Angel but can't get past the part where it gives me a vicious headache.
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post #17 of 21
5/16/11 at 6:43am
I'm contemplating buying the Angel extrait...anyone have experience with it?
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post #18 of 21
5/16/11 at 11:01am
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the extrait. It's the only concentration that I wear.
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post #19 of 21
5/16/11 at 1:36pm
OK, that settles it...I'm getting it! Which style bottle did you get? Winter star, by any chance?
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post #20 of 21
5/17/11 at 5:14pm
I read the most poignant review of Angel on Perfume Smellin Things. I'm not an Angel Lover or Hater ..... I'm a Angel Non Starter I guess. I have tested it ..warily...but you know, I will give it another go.
I had a look at Thiery Mugler's website an I am LOST with the many variations of Angel you can get.
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post #21 of 21
5/18/11 at 8:33pm
Mimi> I went and found that review because I was intrigued by it. Really moving, actually. There must be so many stories like that one. That emotional connection is what fragrance is all about for me. I remember when I first smelled Angel, sometime in the mid-1990's, one of my rockstar ex-roommates' girlfriends was wearing it. A stunningly chic platinum blond girl in a black leather jacket. When she and Ryan (my former roommate) went out to a party, that arrestingly beautiful fragrance just hung in the cold winter air of our foyer long after they had breezed through...and then they came back after some music scene event, and she still smelled amazing. I don't really care what anyone says about this fragrance, because it is so burned into my memory as special and different.
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