Other Worldly

For today's post I thought I'd enlighten you all on what is my signature scent - Alien Eau de Parfum by Thierry Mugler. Alien, is the follow up to the very successful Thierry Mugler fragrance "Angel". Upon creating Alien, Thierry Mugler was quoted as saying...

"When we did Angel, we were completely innocent, and then it became number one in the world. Creating Alien was a huge challenge because now the whole world is watching."

It was whilst reading Vogue, and noticing a little insert which was essentially a mini pull out perfume bottle, that I came across "Alien" by Terry Mugler. Although just an advert, this little bottle made up of sleek card, which when you pulled the tab and pressed down would spray you with perfume, kept coming to the attention of my senses as I stuck the sample on the wall. The scent seemed to last forever, and it was almost like having an air freshener in the room! I'm used to smelling many perfumes, particular when they include some form of sample in a magazine... but the scent of this perfume was just something different, which really intrigued me, and so when I was blessed with the messiah that is my student loan... I decided to treat myself with a bottle.

I had a good look around online to find the cheapest deal, and found you could either buy the refillable or non refillable bottle. Suprisingly, and to my delight each bottle contains the Eau de Parfum, meaning I wasn't buying yet another short lasting Eau D'Toilette! I ended up buying the non-refillable bottle for £38 from the Perfume Shop.

The Bottle:

"The power of a talisman. The faceted bottle is set with gold claws. Reminiscent of a stone and precious talisman, it seems to contain the energy of an Alien Solar goddess. Engraved in glass like an enigma, it's symbolic name is reflected, mirror-like." 

Now in reference to the title "Alien", I can certainly see some otherwordly connection with the design of the bottle, as it looks like it may have belonged to one of Doctor Who's former lovers. On the other hand, it also looks like a mystical and luxurious gift from the east, with it's deep purple colouring and flashes of gold, including a gold spray mechanism on top (there is no separate lid). 

The bottle is smaller than I would have expected, as it contains 30ml of perfume. The shape of the bottle is edgy, and it has 8 sides to it, which are slightly haphazard, yet the overall result still manages to look sleek and glamorous. I would say this is probably the most interesting and intriguing perfume bottle I have ever owned.

The Scent:

Onto the star attraction, and to put it simply - the scent is devine, dream-like and ultimately the most amazing perfume I have ever had the pleasure of smelling. 

"Thierry Mugler leads us towards a femininity derived from a world infused with bliss and spirituality, at the crossroads between what is real and extroadinary." 

It's notes include jasmine sambac, casherman wood, white amber, vanilla and solar accord. 

I'm not quite sure how all of these smell individually, but as a combination I can tell you they work beautifully together, and I can definitely detect the woody undertones, yet the lighter more fragrant jasmine and white amber. What I would say about the scent is, although it is unusual, it's a pleasant unusual, and not at all in marmite territory, like fragrances such as Dior's "pure poison", which I personally think is a real love/hate kind of scent. 

One of the best aspects of the scent, is as it's an Eau de Parfum, it is incredibly long lasting. I remember trying the sample bottle, and still being able to smell the scent on my wrist after I had been in the shower! One spray will literally last for hours, which for me is perfect as I detest having to re apply perfume throughout the day, as I just see it as a waste of the product. 

As for it's suitability, this is definitely not a fruity teenage scent, as it's more grown up and sophisticated than that. Although I would say this scent does suit night time, I have been wearing it in the day because of it's long staying power. Although it is a prominent scent, it's the kind of smell which wouldn't equal overkill, if used within the day time. I would also recommend this for special occasions, as it has that air of elegance and glamour to it. 

This is my first experience with Thierry Mugler perfumes, as I have never really heard about them before I saw the insert in Vogue, however I would thoroughly recommend getting hold of a sample, or buying a bottle for yourself as you definitely get your moneys worth in terms of staying power, and of course that beautiful, mystical fragrance.

When I spray myself with "Alien", I instantly feel glamorous, Parisian even. It comes across as other worldly with the name and the bottle design, however this should be embraced rather than avoided, just because it initially appears somewhat different. 

I struggle to fault this perfume on anything but the price, (if buying the refillable option for £64). The concept is mystical yet very appealing, just like the smell - which has an incredible staying power and is certainly like nothing I have smelt before. It would make for a wonderful gift too, however if that was me I would struggle to give this away as it smells so good! My recommendation? Try Alien for yourself.