Angel Perfume for Men: The Rest of The Family

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The designer of Angel perfume Thierry Mugler created a whole collection of other fragrances, both for men and women based on the same formula. After the masculine counterpart, A*Men (Angel perfume for Men) was launched in 1996, becoming a milestone in the world of fragrances for men, other two masculine Angel perfumes followed: B*Men and A*Men pure coffee. As they are perhaps less popular than the original one, I thought they deserved an article on their own to make them know better.

Except for the two most famous fragrances, Angel and Alien, Thierry Mugler's other perfumes (including these two) are not easy to be found in normal perfume shops. Mugler sees his creations more as exclusive products, and only selected perfumeries can sell them.

Refer to my other infobarrel post for a review of the original Angel perfume for men, or to this other perfume blog for a review of the original Angel perfume for women.

B*Men
Launched on 2004 as the sequel of Amen perfume, here is another masculine fragrance whose name is inspired by a cartoon character. Whereas Angel perfume for men was a superhero made of iron (like those of the Japanese cartoons of the eighties, even if Mugler had more likely in mind the American cartoons of the fifties), here it is a dark superhero forged by fire, partly extraterrestrial, partly African.
The bottle is the same as AMen perfume, but more opaque, with dark army green tones and Mugler's star is red instead of blue. There is also a refillable version, with an external rubber case. Just buy an Angel perfume refill and you're done.

The opening notes take a long time to develop, they will linger on the skin for more than the usual 20-30 minutes. They are sweet and aromatic, like those of AMen perfume, but with a more spicy style of cinnamon and clove, that manages to remain fresh. The middle notes add a layer of toasted resins, incense, tobacco and wet leather, which brings the mind back to the eighties. As the middle notes evolve, cedar wood joins the incense. The mix is not thick, nor monotonous, there may even be a simple fruity note like patchouli. The final base notes are more traditional with tobacco and cedar wood.

Unlike the (back then) non-conformist and groundbreaking style of Angel for men, BMen smells like a well-known and nose-catching fragrance, but still with a clear root in the perfumes of the eighties, with very intense and masculine notes. The notes are those of a winter perfume, even if some of the heart notes are fresh enough to make it not completely out of place for a summer use. It smells good in the office, with its aromatic notes, elegant but not old. For an evening use, the dark notes of the spices and incense stand out and help give a mysterious personality. For romantic dates it could work, if you want to send out an idea of masculinity, with strong sensual hints, especially tobacco and resin. The age range here is pretty wide, I would say between 20 and 55 years of age. Up to 35 for an evening use, mover thirty for an office use.
There is also a BMen shower gel. As usual, combining a perfume with other body products of the same line, helps the perfume last longer on the skin. Not that BMen needs that.

A*Men Pure Coffee
This perfume from year 2008 was inspired by AMen, but with the inclusion of main notes of pure coffee. Coffee is not a stranger in the world of perfumes, but in this case it is in much higher proportions. Far from being an espresso coffee you can spray, the idea is the one of a coffee-based product, where the coffee is not very toasted, and there are also hints of chocolate and sugar. The notes on the bottle are: Arabica coffee, patchouli, cedar, musk and vetiver (a grass native to India, very used in high end perfumes thanks to its excellent fixative properties).

In the opening notes an unusual coffee aroma stands out immediately. The balance of the aroma is well crafted, very light, it does not have the acid smell of instant coffee, or the roasted smell of French and Italian coffee. These notes go with the usual AMen perfume notes and create a fragrance that is like a chocolate dessert filled with coffee mousse.
The middle notes last for long and are vanilla sweet, like in the original Angel perfume for men. The coffee becomes dryer, and one can smell aromatic cedar notes. The first whiff of the heart notes are very fresh, thanks the green notes of vetiver but last just few seconds, then the same aroma of cedar wood and hints of coffee return. Coffee keeps standing out, together with other aromatic notes, probably the musk and patchouli on the bottle.

The idea of your skin smelling coffee can be an uncomfortable one. Nobody wants to look like a heavy coffee drinker who is perspirating coffee through all the pores and with a bad breath or as if someone spilled coffee all over you. AMen Pure Coffee is not like that. The name of this perfume, although a catchy one, can be a little misleading. It is not "pure coffee" what this perfume smells like, and what it will make you smell like, but a more elaborated product, like one of those Starbucks coffee drinks, with chocolate and cream and vanilla. Besides, wood and earth notes are always there. All in all, the role of the coffee is limited to the opening notes and it is a common thread in all the phases of this perfume.
The striking aroma suits well informal occasions, both in a work environment and for a daily use, edging the roasted woody style of the eighties.

It can work well all-year around, thanks to the aromatic notes that make it work well during the summer, and the woody notes that make it stand out during the winter. For a night out in an informal environment, it will give its best in rooms enriched with strong smells, like cigar smoke or spicy food.
I would not recommend it for romantic dates, as the coffee stands out more as a personal touch than as an attraction factor. The age range would be between 25 and 45.