In the desolate wasteland called perfume flankers there is one perfume house out there that seems to understand how to do it right, Thierry Mugler. Most houses take their popular brand name and overdose it with citrus and aquatic notes slap “Summer 20-whatever” on the bottle and send it out the door. Like a roomful of monkeys typing, every once in a while this type of cynical perfume making results in something better than average, but rarely. As a rule every time I see “summer” on the label I avoid it. Like anything all rules are made to be broken and the Sunessence editions of Thierry Mugler’s trademark fragrances Angel and Alien have become those rulebreakers, for me.
What makes these flankers different? First and foremost Thierry Mugler has chosen two of the most talented perfumers out there currently. Aurelien Guichard has now done three Angel Sunessence fragrances and Dominique Ropion has taken his original Alien and added the two most recent Sunessence versions to that landmark fragrance. Neither of these noses would ever be accused of lacking imagination and the latest 2011 Sunessences show both of them adding memorable riffs to what they have done before.
Angel Sunessence Silver Ocean Edition 2011 manages to take one of the classic powerhouses in Angel and in M Guichard’s hands turn it into something light. The choice here is to keep it very simple. The top contains fruit but instead of citrus M Guichard picks the less common kumquat to open this edition. I have always enjoyed the sweet and sour nature of kumquat and left as the only note at the beginning it is allowed to display both of these facets unaccompanied. The heart is also simple as an aquatic oceanic accord holds the middle phase of development. The mix of salt, ozone, and water conjure up summer singlehandedly. The base is the very recognizable patchouli and vanilla which makes this recognizably Angel. In Eau de Toilette strength the patchouli and vanilla don’t even remotely reach the volume level of regular Angel. For anyone who has pushed their bottle of Angel to the back of the dresser until after Labor Day this new Sunessence might allow you to enjoy it in the dog days of summer.
Alien Sunessence Amber Gold Edition 2011 also keeps it simple as M Ropion follows the same formula as M Guichard. Single note top and heart leading to the namesake’s trademark base. The singular top note is kiwi and it starts this on a sweet note but underneath there is a hint of the acrid feel of the rind to add a tiny bit of contrast. The heart is the green sweetness of orchid and vanilla but as befits a summer scent it stays light and lilting. The base is all Alien and it seems like a logical progression from the heart as the woody amber aspects close this in familiar territory.
Both of these fragrances have slightly above average longevity and sillage. Neither of them approaches the longevity of either of the parent fragrances.
Along with the ongoing series of flankers for A*Men Thierry Mugler shows that flankers don’t have to be empty-minded hybrids. If you make the effort to ask talented perfumers to re-interpret classic fragrances you can get something while not as classic at least far better than the usual bottles with “summer” on the label.
Disclosure: This review was based on bottles of Alien Sunessence and Angel Sunessence provided by Thierry Mugler.
–Mark Behnke, Managing Editor
Angel Sunessence Silver Ocean Edition 2011 smells like this!
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