Angel by Thierry Mugler is a fragrance that will elicit a strong impression. Examining people’s faces when first smelling this perfume is fun. They will either look disgusted or highly intrigued, but never in between. Love it or hate it sums it up perfectly.

When Angel was first launched in 1992, it was a shocking concept. From the weird scent to the blue liquid to the star shaped bottle, not to mention the wild advertising campaign, it was considered outrageous. Also to add to the shock value, Mugler ended up making the bottle refillable because he thought the bottle was too beautiful to throw away. The bottle was also really expensive to produce due to it’s complicated design. Few retailers wanted to carry it but women loved it and it quickly developed a loyal following.

While the name conjures up images of heavenly and spiritual, this perfume is more loud, aggressive and complicated. I think of it being much more fallen angel than angel. The scent can best be described as a fruity floral patchouli, with notes of caramel, vanilla, honey, fruit and patchouli.  The fruit that I detect is melon, coconut, bergamot, red berries, apricot, plum and peach. Floral notes are jasmine, lily the valley and rose. There is also the faintest whiff of chocolate and musk in the dry down.

The best words I can think of to sum it all up are sexy, party- animal, oriental gourmand. It is charming and feminine but with a sucker punch.

Angel is one of the few fragrances out there that remains a masterpiece even though it is mainstream. This is a long-lasting and strong perfume so go easy on it. Only a small spritz once a day will do the trick and any more will turn it into a headache inducer.

Angel can be purchased in a refillable bottle at Amazon for around $80 for 3.4 oz.