Angel Iced Star is the best Piña Colada ever:
Blend until smooth-
4 parts pineapple juice
2 parts ice
1 part Coco Lopez cream of coconut
2 parts Malibu Coconut Rum
Top with vanilla flavored whipped cream and a dash of nutmeg.
I could drink these all day long–but I wouldn’t want to smell like I bathed in them.
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I remember ’70’s summers and all the parents on the block getting stoned and making the kids virgin coladas, and telling us to go out and play and not come home until dusk–
A deceptively simple blend of pretty and sexy.
The jasmine on top is almost sugary, as if there’s a bit of grape Kool-aid wisteria mixed in. The amber gives it an edge, both clarifying it and making it sexy, like water splashing on a white shirt to make it see through.
Lasts for days, with sweet woods on the clothes until a hot setting wash.
A small bottle is a safe blind-buy, though the large one is gorgeous.
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I’m still feeling the loss of Thierry Mugler.
His photography–that juxtaposed bright colors and played with architectural perspectives and environment–was amazing and ground breaking.
Galerie and British Vogue have some great features on his photos.
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Okay, so Space Oddity might be the obvious choice for a write up on Alien, but Bowie’s Boys Keep Swinging is full of Mugler fashion goodness, so–
Mint chocolate patchouli, camphor cool and creamy, with black coffee on the side.
Lasts an eternity.
Incredibly dynamic, constantly shifting from dark to bright, sugary to herbal, soft to sharp–and there’s something aggressive about the performance, the way it fills the room and takes up space. A*Men is definitely a manspreader, but gets away with it by being sweet and fun.
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“I think beauty is the human emotional vehicle between us and it’s very important.” – Manfred Thierry Mugler
The world has lost some sparkle today, and I imagine the angels and the aliens fighting for the honor of carrying him upward.
Mugler was an incredible fashion designer, responsible for so many history making outfits–Demi Moore’s Indecent Proposal dress, Kim Kardashian’s wet Met Gala number, David Bowie’s neon green suit, Cardi B’s Venus dress–and sooo many more, all bold, creative, sometimes divisive, and always attention getting, just like his perfumes.
He was a visionary and an activist, ignoring gender rules, racial bias and body shape stereotypes, making luxury fashion inclusive and exciting to all, and in the case of his fragrances, accessibly priced and environmentally conscious.
Rest in Parfum, sir, and thank you for all the beauty you have given us.
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George Micheal’s 1992 Too Funky video was set in a fictional Mugler runway show.
A lovely crisp candied apple with a citrus zest, feminine and smart, but this is no shy cherub–she’s loud enough to make one a bit cross-eyed at close quarters.
Angel EDT is a cleaner version of the original, less syrup, less musk–the apple held in place with light pink florals at the top that slide into a wet minty patchouli and finish with sweet pale woods.
Lasts all day and sparkles in the cold, but tends to leave crumbs on my couch and wears my favorite hoodie without asking–my house is too small for the both of us.
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The air is foggy today and the wind skates just on the edge of freezing, trailing icicles as she goes.
Seductive blackberry patch and dark chocolate ‘chouli.
The icon of the past quarter-century, Angel defines gourmand, with a fashionable nod to environmental consciousness in its earthy caramel amber base and refillable bottles.
The candy fluff on top leaves an immediate impression, with the hit of every of flavor of fruit Life Savers, artificially sweet, batting-fake-lashes adorable.
The tart berries in the middle slowly drown in vanilla honey, but they die happy, and the patchouli cocoa at the end is heaven eternal.
As in forever.
The stuff is like embalming fluid, it lasts so long.
And memorable, too.
You’ll always recognize the trail she’s left behind–on the elevator an hour ago, in the bar restroom where he swore she wasn’t last night, on his shirt in the bottom of the laundry basket.
She’s no angel, even if she smells like it.
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How much do I love this?!
Starts out cool and syrupy, like raspberry sorbet, then slowly melts into gorgeous sugary rose–the kind they make Turkish delight from–with a woody base tempered with benzoin.
The rose and the woods are linear, but there’s a slow progression to the fruity notes. They start tart and crisp and fill-the-room gigantic, but they sweeten through the day, softening to arms’ length pink floral candy, and end in the evening with a marvelous berry flavored cola on the skin.
Definitely a shift from the iconic patchouli-chocolate-caramel of the past thirty years, but this New Angel and Eau Croisière is a refreshing direction, and I’m totally ready for it.
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Here’s another Nova that I love–
“I want to smell like tuna fish,” said no woman ever.
All power to those with the chemistry, confidence or Sponge-Bob Squarepants fetish that can pull off oceanic animalics this strong, but I’m not one of them.
Vague fruit and loud salt musk that projects a nautical mile and lasts a daylong clam dig.
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A much nicer Fishes–(though do check out Radiohead’s original video, it’s amazing.)
Airport duty-free testers are disgusting–those germs have survived tropics and tundras from all over the world–but this one was well worth the risk.
Angel “Cruise” opens loud and proud with delicious fresh mango that lasted the trudge to my gate and through fancy class pre-boarding–I was worried I would be THAT seatmate, who gives everyone in the row a headache with their perfume–but it settled nicely to a few inches off the wrist with pink grapefruit ice by the time I managed to cram my bag into the overhead compartment.
Somewhere over Iceland the sorbet gave way to Angel’s signature caramel patchouli, without the amber musk that I usually find cloying.
It was gone when we landed, and my connection too short to hit the shops for a bottle of my own.
Next trip, maybe.
Here’s some nice light jazz that’s actually wonderfully filthy.
Opens with a big proud blast of Ocean Spray Cran-Raspberry frozen concentrate, then melts down to a puff of meringue and saucy caramel.
Dregs of vanilla extract sit on the skin, rubbed dry with sweet patchouli dust.
A bit mischievous–Pippi Longstocking with fake eyelashes and a pink sling-shot.
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Love this saucy tart song.
La Rose Angel smells like you’ve been heating cotton candy over a can of Sterno in the back of a florist’s shop.
Sugar floss and hothouse blooms, but dank in the shadows.
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kira a. gold 