A*Men Pure Energy

All the hate on this fragrance is really beyond my comprehension. Half the people are still concerned about Oscar Pistorius being face of Pure Shot (the exact same fragrance as Pure Energy). You people may be adults, but you haven't matured mentally. It is the same when kids refuse to put on A&F Fierce because of a man's naked torso on the bottle. Seriously...grow up! I have seen accomplished Youtube reviewers complaining about the lack of 'oomph' from this creation of Thierry Mugler. How about stop looking at the fragrance house and/or the ambassador and enjoy a fragrance for what it is? This is a beautifully crafted fragrance with a few but definitive ingredients. The exquisite soapiness, the unconventional burst of herbal freshness puts this on the category of Prada Infusion D'Homme with the DNA of Aramis. Pure Energy is more than the alcoholic mint beginning. In the middle, the herbal freshness dries down to bright patchouli and the essence of a freshly chopped wood that probably is the sequoia. This smells like artisanal shampoo body wash and it is like an aromatherapy on its own. What I get is the feeling of walking through dark pine forests in the mountains after an autumn rain has just passed making way for smell of wet woods, tree bark being absorbed by Mother Earth, and the accompanying cool breeze. It is not an olfactory orgasm, but it evokes a sense of heightened pleasure on those who love the smell of the dark side of nature. Impossible to not smile when I get the occasional whiffs whenever I have it on. The white (or pink?) pepper in the drydown is absolutely stunning. For the untrained nose - imagine pencil shavings made of the most fragrant and expensive woods what have been dipped in sweet mint syrup. Contrary to the people saying this is strictly a summer scent, I see it more of a crisp cloudy summer evening, fall/winter scent when the falling leaves, the smell of dried woods and the cool breeze would supplement it like no other seasonal trait. It is fresh and invigorating but not all fresh scents have to be for summer. Winter may kill the longevity and sweat magnify it but I can see how the harsh Kansas sun where I live can make it stink during the summer. The scent cloud is weak making it more of a personal scent, and the longevity would depend on the skin type and climate you use it in. I have a feeling the base notes are there to stay a solid 6 hours regardless. Men, wear it on any occasion, but especially put it on during daytime winter outings with your partner. Your woman will form memories out of this scent and see you for the top dog you are ;)

My quest for the perfect summer fragrance resulted in a blind buy of Pure Energy. As a disclaimer to this review, I own and enjoy Pure Havane, A*Men, and B*Men- I find them each unique enough to wear in differing situations. Reading your reviews, I took the gamble that Pure Energy differs enough from the others that it would not be redundant in my rotation....after wearing it for several days, here is my review: It is difficult to imagine anything remotely connected with A*Men being thought of as a "summer scent". This, however, manages to not only succeed but excel as a summer fresh scent. It is immediately obvious that Pure Energy has none of the heavy, sweet, chocolatey, indulgent richness of the original and its other flankers. If you're turned off from Mugler by his trademark gourmand, this one may appeal to you. Pure Energy is a beautiful woven olfactory tapestry of scents you encounter in a Pacific Coast coniferous forest- juniper, mint, sequoia, with mild patchouli adding extra woodiness. Unlike other A*Mens, the patchouli is not a main player in the drydown here. The result is a natural, refreshing, extremely pleasant fragrance. Nothing like its siblings really at all. It is more akin to B*Men's spicy, woody character, though it is not as heavy. And that....it's the ONLY thing I can fault in this wonderful composition- it's far too ephemeral. It opens with a solid, fragrant burst, giving the impression that it will be long lasting but after an hour or so, the bottom drops out of it. It seems as if Mr Huclier was too conscious of his heavy-handedness in his previous masterpieces that he went a little too far in the opposite direction on this one. Perhaps there is genius at work here: pure energy= a brilliant burst of power that can only last for a short duration before spending its vital force. If that is the essence of this perfume, it's been captured very well! Final thoughts: buy it. A 100 ml bottle is available for around $40 and I find the incredible achievement of creating a non-aquatic, non-floral, non-citrusy, mesmerizing summer scent worth every penny, fleeting longevity notwithstanding. This is an amazing FRAGRANCE...not an amazing performer. It indeed does occupy its own place among other Muglers in my collection, and I am glad I bought it, even if it requires 6-8 sprays a day!

The opening is quite robust, fresh, in your face and definitely has that A*Men vibe to it, however the really odd thing about this frag is that is doesn't last at all. After about 40 minuets to an hour or so the scent is literally completely gone and I can't smell anything at all from it. Not even a hint of a base-note drydown. It's the weirdest thing, I almost want to say that this was not meant as a cologne, but more of a body spray (like those old school Bod Man ones). It's as if the scent breakdown is that of all opening notes and no deep base notes. With that said it is the perfect kind of frag you would wear to the gym or doing any other physical activity (out in the sun or otherwise). Because since the scent fades to nothing in about an hour, there is no chance of it ever becoming cloying, regardless of how much you spray on. And it is such a wonderful fresh smelling and invigorating scent while it lasts. It would also make a perfect fresh out of shower scent for be-bopping around the house or going shopping. While I generally like my frags to have great longevity, I do have a place for ones that smell wonderful but don't last long. Sometimes you just want that super-safe scent which you know will fade quickly and not hang around for 8+ hours. I really like this one. And due to the poor reception of it, you can get a 3.4oz bottle for dirt cheap (easily less than $30). So at that price point, using liberally and re-spraying often is perfectly acceptable.

Everyone wants to claim that everything smells like Aventus, and yet this time I'm actually surprised to not see any references to it. For me, notes aside, this starts out as an aquatic mix that falls somewhere between Aventus and Sauvage, mixed with some of the same aquatic notes you'd find in a lot of Nautica scents. But that's only in the opening... Once the opening fades, this stands on its own two feet, and the sequoia stands out as my favorite note. Unfortunately, the sequoia isn't the star of the show like it is in scents like Profile 18 Amber Wood (love that stuff!) All in all, this is a fresh juniper scent, and with that being said, it's done well. Maybe it's just me, but I really don't get any of the mint. Not in an airy cool mint sort of way, at least... It's nothing like any other mint scent I've encountered. Maybe my nose just isn't capable of picking up the mint in this scent? I usually pick up on a lot of things other people don't smell, but I can't smell ISO E Super either, so who knows... Either way, I'm not sure why there's so much dislike for this one. I've gotten positive feedback on it and I like it quite a bit. Had I smelled this before purchasing Aventus and Sauvage, and even Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue, I might have saved myself a lot of money. Actually, I'm thinking I'm going to sell my Light Blue and one other scent and use the proceeds to purchase this one. *** I've been testing from a vial of Pure Shot

Woman's opinion: Being as huge a fangirl of Mugler as I am, and being in love with Angel, I've been desperate to have my husband try A*Men. We couldn't find samples of A*Men, but we did find this. And I really like it. Although it smells very, very different on him than on me (we both put a bit of the sample on our wrists). On me, it's all pepper and woodsy. The sequoia is what stands out the most. But on him, you really get the mint and patchouli, with a bit of spiciness. Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. Spicy and masculine, but not too serious. And, having never smelled the original A*Men, I can at least see a little resemblance to Angel. The spiciness and patchouli stand out in this, both of which Angel has plenty of. If there are any women interested in this scent, I actually tried layering it on top of Angel. And unfortunately, it can't remotely stand up to the strength of Angel without dousing yourself in it. It just gets swallowed up. But I did try using just the tiniest amount of Angel with a couple of hearty sprays of this, and it was amazing. Like if you found a bottle of Angel growing out of the trunk of an old tree in a thick, tangled forest. So I might actually end up buying a bottle of this for myself, specifically to mix with Angel during the desert summers, when I can't wear Angel on its own.