Alien Man

Man, oh man. My first few days with this fragrance I experienced possibly the widest range of emotions regarding a fragrance I have ever felt. First spray and immediately I was DESTROYED. This IS NOT the fragrance I have asked every department store employee in my state for information on regarding its release. This CAN NOT be the cologne I waited years for and ordered immediately after receiving the surprise release email. This smells....... DESIGNER. This isn't a Mugler, no possible way. After about 20 minutes wearing this fragrance, I picked up on a somewhat sweet scent in the air, soft and smoky. I grabbed the neck of my shirt and sniffed, but was still unsure of how I felt about this fragrance. It WASN'T A MUGLER. It wasn't in your face and filling the room. It wasn't completely unlike anything I had ever smelled. The rest of the wear was filled with confusion and disappointment, until my fiance came home from work and hugged me. Immediately she asked "what is that?! I love it!" Okay, point 1 for Mugler. I continued to sniff and sniff until I went nose blind to the intriguing, perplexing scent emanating from my body. After 2 more uneventful wears on consecutive days, I placed my bottle of Alien next to my Mugler collection and continued with my rotation. A few nights later, I tossed and turned and couldnt sleep. After hours of restlessness , I drifted off. I dreamt of being in love with a fragrance and telling everyone I saw about it. The next day I woke up and got dressed and wandered aimlessly to my collection. There was only one bottle I wanted to reach for: ALIEN. I sprayed three sprays and the scent finally revealed its true self to me. The opening is green by definition but strangely, purple (in a Versace Man sense of the word). It is definitely designer, but it doesnt smell similar to anything else you'll find at any major retailer. The real magic begins as the opening fades and the smoky, soft leather and cashmere begin to show themselves. The white amber comes through a little in this stage to add a slight sweetness, but is definitely in a background role. This is when the scent is very PURPLE and at its most attractive. It is again designer, but unlike anything else on the counter. It has a strong scent cloud within about 6 inches for the first 1-2 hours and then softens in strength but it definitely stays noticeable. This is SEXY. This is refined. This is luxurious and mysterious. This is what the cover of Purple Rain smelled like. This is extraterrestrial. THIS IS A MUGLER. Angel and A*men, Alien, and Aura all defined Mugler because they were so unique and unexpected and this fits the mold completely. Its absolutely different from what was expected, but really, what else would you expect from this brand? This is a hate at first spray that will turn to a love after being given a chance. Its a designer opening that transforms into a completely different designer mid. Its a close encounter scent that won't impress the person you want from across the room, but will seal the deal when you get them in close enough to feel your body heat against theirs. After 6 hours the white amber comes through strong and changes this into a sweet, beautiful skin scent that mixes well with your natural odor in a similar fashion to Molecule 01. This remains for another 2-4 hours on skin, while the mid stays for anywhere up to 16+hours on fabric. This IS unlike anything I have ever smelled and it DEFINITELY earns its brand's name. Those of you who were disappointed when trying it at a store or on a card, I challenge you to buy a 1.7 oz bottle and try to deny its greatness after a week of wearing it. If it was any one of its stages it would be forgettable, but the 3 combine to become something special. Something much, much greater than the sum of its parts. Something MUGLER. Opening 6/10 Mid 9/10 Close 8/10 Sillage (Trail) 7/10 Projection 8/10 within 6 inches, but 4/10 beyond that (2 hours of about 1 ft of projection in opening/early mid) Longevity 8/10 on skin (6-10 hrs depending on intial amount of sprays and activity while wearing) 10/10 on fabric (16+ hours consistently on clothing) Uniqueness 10/10 Blind Buy Safe? Yes, agreeable scent throughout. Will definitely receive compliments, especially from people outside of the frag-comm. PAPER DOES NOT DO IT JUSTICE. TRY ON SKIN. Overall 8.5/10 A great addition to any collection that will excel as a date scent/close encounter scent. Definitely office safe. Best in weather below 65F degrees. Possibly cloying in warmer weather. Ranks ahead of Mugler cologne and some of the less popular A*men flankers, but behind some of the more noteable flankers as far as masculine Muglers go. Definitely has interesting potential for flankers of its own.

My very first set of sample cards contained - along with many other fine fragrances - Alien Man by Mugler. I sorted eagerly through the cards to grab the Terre D'hermes, YSL and Chanel, and looking through them after I'd found the "desirables", I came across "Alien Man", I looked at it with disdain and tossed it aside. I hated the name. I hated the logo. I didn't like the bottle and I didn't like the marketing. But as I do, in my obsessive way, I slowly sniffed my way back through the line up, one by one. Regardless of what I thought of them, I gave them all further smells. Oh ... it's not too bad I guess. Days later, I reassessed and evaluated them through the drydown, and came back to it again and again ... this Alien Man ... it's actually one of the better ones. Once I decided it might be alright - I went ahead and wore this to work one day, and I decided it was a real winner. Not only did I no longer hate it, I was convinced I had to get myself a bottle of this. The opening is anise-y, vibrant mint, and kind of bubble gummy to me. When I got it on my skin, the scent was so much more complex, the idea of dill and thyme in the notes made sense to me, where they hadn't before when I only tested them on paper. But they were nothing like how I thought of them in cooking; the sweetness of the vanilla comes all the way up, and takes anything bitter or unpleasant out of those tones and makes them totally work in this opening in a way that is completely unlike any other fragrance I've smelled. Even though I can still see them for being herbs, they aren't necessarily herbaceous; that's the only way to describe it. The other elements make it comply to the theme - yet each and every one of these top notes comes through in seemingly fluctuating waves. You can perceive every note, yet it's all harmonious as well. The middle is leathery and soft. Still many of the top notes linger as the leather makes itself apparent and the harmony of notes is still baffling to me: I seriously don't understand why this works so well but it does. It is so unique and gorgeous. The dry down again sees some of those notes still linger, as the vanilla becomes more apparent the cashmere note makes it's way into the picture. This is so good. Like a theme developed early on, all the instruments in the orchestra are added in, all of them are playing their parts to bring about the fullness of the initial idea. As a musician and a visual artist, this fragrance right here is the one that told me the loudest: fragrance is an artform! When I initially saw this logo and name, I was turned away. Our olfactory senses are said to be tied very closely to the part of the brain that processes emotion. And I had a strange emotional response to this name and branding that seemingly just made me dislike the smell, but working past that ... I realized what an amazing fragrance I nearly missed out on. And I realize there could be more to it, as to why this fragrance has such a polarizing reputation. But on my skin, this is absolutely gorgeous. I also suspect that this fragrance has a good amount of naturals in it, that I think cause it to be somewhat unstable (not sure if that's technically the right word, but synthetics seem to be far more stable and linear, by contrast), because even as I wear it, so many different notes come through at any given time, it again, is not like any fragrance I've put my nose to, in that regard as well. Maybe to some people this can come off as all sorts of different (unpleasant) things. It seems like how this one is perceived is more heavily dependent on skin than most other fragrances. As it happens, the performance of this fragrance on my skin is also very good. Projection is on the high side of moderate, and scent trail/sillage is really strong on my skin. This was the first fragrance I ever wore that I could smell my own sillage after walking back through where I had previously been. This frag is also very versatile (maybe just not potent enough for winter), and as I said, super unique. I love it. Without question one of the most interesting, well-constructed, artfully made, beautiful bottles of juice I've come across. Scent is a 9.5/10. Over all 9.9/10.

So, how to put what I want to say about this cologne? Well, that's relatively easy, I really love it. However, why I love it is the real intriguing story to this review. When it was first released here in the US, I was out Valentine's Day shopping at Macy's to buy my wife Tiffany & Co. Intense. Of course, we fragheads can't simply walk into Macy's without checking out what's new. So, I am being shown all these various colognes, in which all smelled good. Since then, I have purchased many of the colognes they showed me. There really are a lot of really good fragrances out right now. One of those being Alien Man. Here's where it gets crazy... out of everything Alien Man really stood out to me. Trust me, I have bought a lot of the big names before I bought this one, so why did I wait instead of just getting it if it is so good? Well, because it was good for a totally different reason that I didn't know how to explain until now. Most colognes drag you in and say, Hey look at me, I'm an Ambroxan bomb, I'm an Aquatic Ambroxan Bomb, let me show you how tobacco-woodsy I am, etc.. the thing is they shout it. I don't want for you all to think of Sillage. Because to me, Sillage is how far it reaches because of the decibel level it shouting at. Alien Man works so well for the exact same reason people with terrible B.O. smell from 12 feet away. It's changing the way your natural body odor smells and allows it to emanate throughout the day. Meaning, if a cologne sits on your skin and just evaporates as the hours pass by, and that's how you achieve the smell everyone pictures as they pass by you. However, if a cologne is altering how your natural body oils radiate around you, it's not having to work as hard to shout. Your natural body oils will do the main shouting, all Alien Man has to do is make that smell pleasing to the nose. In which, it does so well with my body oils. It gives off a wonderful Leathery, Ambery, Woodsy vibe, and every so often you may move around and get more of one note than others. Sometimes, the Anise and Osmanthus combine and stand out, or other times the Geranium combines with the Smoked Beechwood to stand out. I love when I get that hint of Lavender, Vanilla, Mintiness accord ever so often as well. By the way, no, I don't get pickles from this, Ever! That is what Mugler has ALWAYS done! No, not pickles, lol.. Look at A*Men, some people smell one group of notes, the next may smell other notes, and even then, depending on the day the same people will say they can pick out other notes more the following day. To me, Mugler succeeded once again in that same aspect. Alien Man is not meant to be the next Sauvage, it's just for the man who wants to smell good, without having to be the squeaky wheel to get the oil. Often, we think of fragrances and want the loudest notes to get the most compliments. So like Clark Kent/Superman, knows how and when to be humble, yet when he is needed to be powerful has all the strength ever required. Alien Man achieved this status so perfectly. In closing, why did it take me so long to buy Alien Man? Because, I had to understand that not all colognes need to be loud to get attention. I had to mature to the standard it set for those who dare to be strong enough to wear it.

Imagine dior sauvage edt being edited with the characteristic mugler signature “niche dna” ...that’s that. I get utterly nose blind immediately due to tons of ambroxan paired with iso-e-super, though I know it’s a monster in projection and longevity because I’m getting complimented of how good I smell and No One can identify it as something they have smelled before. I recon that’s the strong asset of this scent..massively intriguing (against the designer grain) scent, which is meant to be worn by a few but enjoyed by almost everyone. It comes close to dethroning the legend A* Men, which is so unique to me, just because of the versatility and utility of it during the hot summer months. Longevity, I start to get whiffs when the ambroxan settles a bit for 5-6 work hours without reapplying and pretty sure the sillage is there otherwise I wouldn’t be able to notice it myself. Past 8 hours you need to reapply for sillage and projection but it’s pretty acceptable the performance given the practicality of the refillable bottle and size (always buy the small one). The availability of this versus the A*men checks another strong point in someone’s signature fragrance demands. Another one is the beautiful gem looking bottle and the out of this world pressurized atomizer which puts dior’s to shame...every spray, an experience. Huge love ❤️🫶. ***IMPORTANT READ THIS!!*** I was overly excited during the 2 weeks those 50ml lasted (yes I do overspray to make it stay). Was wearing it mostly in the gym because after 30ml used I really got bored of it..truth is, this could never become Dior sauvage or take over the legend father of the brand A*men. It is just so linear ambroxan heavy and sharp anise woody, but yet not classy enough to dress it up..and not pleasant enough to pinch your nose for the entire day. It’s closer to other anise fragrances like “Diesel fuel for life”, basically anise-ambroxan bomb which dries down to ordinary woods.. all I wanted to say is I’m not buying a refill for this..smells niche indeed , but there are far more addicting fragrances than this to spend your resources on resupplying. I’m gonna miss the atomizer 😩

My second review (and proper one) after obtaining a full bottle on whim, as it was being offered quite inexpensively and thinking "why not?" I must change my original opinion on Alien Man. I'll unpack, so forgive the longish review: I think this is an excellent fragrance and, at the very least, a somewhat daring release at this moment in perfumery. First, to deal with the poor reception this received. It got panned for not sharing DNA with the women's version: this is a valid point. Second, (and more impactful) Mugler's reputation for men's fragrances rests entirely on their A*Men lineup. The vast majority of those are bold, powerful, and maintain a detectable DNA similarity. In short, we've become accustomed to this "Muglerade" as a yardstick to measure all others against. Well, Alien did NOT follow that suit at all, and most of us reacted with dismissive derision. BUT-However much you or I love the A*men series, how many of us would wear them every day? How many of them are "daily drivers", office-appropriate, or wearable in settings other than parties, clubs, outdoors, or going out? Not many. I love them, but am forced to admit they are situational fragrances. I believe Alien was engineered to be a daily wear kind of scent. It is not bold, in-your-face, thrill-ride. The scent unfolds gradually, warmly, and remains understated throughout. I find it a soft, intriguing fragrance with subtle nuances that blend old school with modern taste. In an era of Sauvage, BDC, Aventus, etc, Alien goes in a very atypical direction than mere cash-grabs that imitate the DNA of these kind of commercial successes. Anise? Dill? Osmanthus? Thyme? These are not "safe", trendy notes. Rather, I applaud Mulger for creating something original in this day of clones, dupes, smell-a-likes...and guess what? NO ABROXAN! That fact alone deserves praise. Ok, so not everyone will love this fragrance and that's natural, but I have come to enjoy it a lot and find it an excellent, original, and compelling scent that is highly versatile. I'm glad I gave it a second chance.