Want to know what to get me for Christmas? (Thierry Mugler: A Men, Eau de Toilette)

Member Name: Drewster_Rooster

Product:	Thierry Mugler: A Men, Eau de Toilette
Date:	10/11/09 (73 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: fragrance

Disadvantages: none for me!

As we are approaching Christmas and its getting to that time of the year when you start to think about buying presents for our other halves I thought I'd use this review to tell you about my brand of aftershave and what I think of it. Maybe it will give you an inspiration or idea on what to buy your hubby/boyfriend if you're struggling for ideas?

I have been wearing A-Men for about 9 years now and only found out about it after my work had a perfume/aftershave stall set up one Friday from an outside company who sold tester bottles and cheap price fragrances - all legitimate I hasten to add!

I was having a browse, looking for a present for my girlfriend at that time and came across this unboxed refill tester with a blue star on the front, I sprayed a little on the back of my hand and was blown away by its scent, it immediately reminded me of burnt wood and the smell of bonfires when they have been lit for a while, a nice crackling woody fire scent which isn't too heavy but definitely a masculine scent all the same.

I asked what it was, and was told A-Men by Thierry Mugler. Never heard of him I thought, but because I liked the smell that much I bought it anyway, and that's how I first came to discover this amazing scent.

Fast forward 9 years, and like I say I still wear it to this day, I have had more people asking me what my aftershave is now than I have ever done in the past. It is very distinctive and is definitely an autumn/winter fragrance (although I wear it all year round). It does suit cold nights when you are going out for a drink or a meal and I wear it every day.

The great thing about this aftershave as well is that you don't need to put lots on, a couple of squirts are plenty and it will last you throughout the day. If I've worn a jumper or fleecy top and been out for a couple of hours before hanging it back up again the scent lingers and you notice it the next time you put that top back on.

Over the years I have received bottles as gifts for my birthday and for Christmas and I'm always grateful to receive it, you can buy it in 30,50 and 100ml flasks originally only available in a metal finish where you had to buy refills, now though it tends to be sold in the rubber flask as pictured.

For a present though if you can find a metal flask it is far nicer but you do pay more for the metal variety. Costs from £20.00 for the 30ml up to about £45.00 for the 100ml rubber flask, expect to pay over £60 for the 100ml refillable metal if you can find it though and that's buying it online!

(Just to point out here that A-Men is a blue/purple colour, not red as pictured above - that is a different scent - see further on)

Advertising blurb describes the fragrance as:

"Thierry Mugler Amen - A woody note of patchouli and Atlas cedar that expresses authenticity and elegance unfolds after the metallic purity of peppermint and lavender. In the end, A-Men's fiery woody scent reveals the explosive power of coffee and styrax enveloped in musk and tonka bean"

This is probably a better description than I can offer, although I have to say that I cannot detect any hint of peppermint or lavender in it at all and I have no idea what styrax or tonka beans are?

If you fancy a change or want to get the man in your life something different from the usual CK, Paul Smith, Beckham etc then I would certainly recommend this aftershave. It is distinctive and you will get asked what you are wearing, but if you like attention then that's a good thing - I've had both men and women ask me what it is and everyone who has smelt it on me have always given positive comments and remarks.

Just to give a bit of background about Thierry Mugler; he is a fashion designer, photographer and has a fashion design company named after him. He may be familiar to ladies for his "Angel" and "Innocent" perfumes and more recently after the launch of "Alien" (which I almost bought for myself thinking it was a mans fragrance!)

Both Angel and A-Men (known as "Angel for Men" in the US) were the first hers n his fragrances he launched back in 1992 and 1997 respectively and has over the years added more ranges to both his men's and women's collection.

He has for the past couple of years released an annual Limited Edition fragrance on the A-men brand, this years was "Malt" being based on Whiskey and last years was "Pure Coffee" based on coffee (surprisingly enough), both only available for a few months before production ceased though. Coffee was exceptionally nice, but I missed out on buying a bottle because I couldn't afford it at the time. "Malt" however had a very strong whisky smell to it and didn't really strike me as a scent that I wanted to wear, fearing I'd be accused of drinking whisky during the day lol.

I do, though, have other fragrances by Thierry Mugler - B-Men (this is what is pictured at the top of the page) and A-Men Summer Flash, but neither have the distinct smell that A-Men has. "Summer Flash" is described as a lighter version of A-Men but seems weaker and more like a Paul Smith type scent to me and B-Men is completely different altogether, I may write a review on the other 2 varieties at some point and try and describe their scents.

To conclude then; My recommendation to anyone looking for something new would be to give A-Men a try. I would suggest that you have a spray of a tester in Debenhams, House of Fraser etc as it might not be to everyone's taste, but for me it gets and deserves 5/5 DooYoo stars and unless something comes along that I like more than this (and it hasn't for 9 years) then it will be with me for many more years to come.

You can check the official website for more history about the range and also where the inspiration came from at http://www.thierrymugler.com/ and can even join a mailing list where you get sent details of promotions and special offers etc. I've been on the list for a few years and had some free goodies sent in the past so it's well worth signing up for.

5/5 can't beat it!

Summary: see review, thanks for reading