Bottle Man From the Electric State Drawing

Unfairly maligned. This is actually a very nice low-key spicy fragrance for men. It maybe smells more like something from the 90's than today, but that's what makes it sort of refreshing and unique. It's a little tricky to explain how it smells; there's a sweet/fresh smell in the top that seems like it's part anise and mint, and part something else, a little greener and more herbal. I suppose it could be "dill" although it doesn't exactly smell like it, at least not the kind you cook with. But it lends a sweet/herbal/green aspect to the whole and actually plays a pretty significant roll in the overall smell. There's flashes of an herbal, green variety of lavender here as well, but it's quiet, softer, and blends in and out with the anise, mint, and dill. Beneath its sweeter, fresher side, Alien Man shows some soft suede and a cozy, almost-smoky cashmere wood embellished with pepper. While it's not prominent or dominating at a any moment, I get a good dose of pepper in Alien Man, and it seems to be what gives it most of its spicy character. I have to say that the base is very nice. The cashmere wood is soft, and while it's entwined with amber, it's not THAT woody-amber smell that's everywhere (those sort of chemical, scratchy-fuzzy sweet woods). It's much easier on the nose and stays more in the background rather than taking over and dominating as the other kind usually does. The suede is also a nice touch, and it lends a smooth, rounded texture to the base as well its subtle, unique smell. Finally, amber by itself also emerges in the base, and in the beginning this one has a crusty, salt-licked little edge to it that almost suggests an animalic quality or freshly sweaty skin. But it's very low-key and dialed back at the same time, something you might not notice at first, but could if you looked for it. Finally, the amber takes on a more powdery-sweet, white-ish hue and this is the last stage of the fragrance's development. Though it retains traces of what preceded it, in the end it is mostly amber which dominates.

I guess I could have written a much shorter review of Alien Man and said "it's a spicy-fresh, sweet herbal fragrance for men with some soft cashmere wood and suede in the base," and to some extent, that's what it is, but I don't think that would give you any real idea of its smell. I'm still not sure if the description above exactly nails it, but if you can't obtain a sample, it may at least give you a rough idea of what it's like.

One thing Alien Man is not, is generic. I don't know where those comments came from. I haven't smelled one recent release that comes even close to smelling like Alien Man. The sweetness in its top is not some vague fruit concoction, or tonka-laden lavender, or pink pepper/cinnamon blend you could find in a bunch of other fragrances--it's a sort of bizarre but pleasant herbal-green sweetness infused with anise and mint. And the base is a soft, easy-going cushion of gentle woods and suede. It's not bursting at the seams with aroma chemicals; it's not presenting some form of "hyper-fresh" woods, nostril piercing in their tenacity and pitch. If the woods in Alien Man don't exactly smell natural, they at least smell pleasant and approachable.

But I understand the ho-hum reactions to this one. I understand the disappointment. Mugler is a company known for its bombastic, over-the-top creations, beginning with A*Men and ending with whatever was the latest A*Men flanker in a very long line of A*Men flankers. So when it was announced they were releasing a new men's fragrance, everyone's mind naturally went to this big, loud, impressive place. Meanwhile Alien Man went the other way. It went somewhere quiet and understated, opting for finesse and restraint over fireworks and volume. There's no real "wow factor" to Alien Man. It's not going to knock your socks off or blow your mind. But at the same time, it smells really nice. It the type of fragrance that has signature-scent potential. You can wear it everywhere and anywhere, and nobody's going to ask you to leave the room because you stink. In fact, most people will probably react well to it just because it smells so nice. I can't say the same for Ultra Zest or Pure Leather or Pure Malt or Kryptomint. Even though I love many of these scents, wearing them can be a crapshoot. In the end, I think Mugler made the right choice here. By releasing Alien Man they added a versatile, understated, and easy-to-wear option to their lineup. And they've still left plenty of room for Alien Man Intense.

Alien Man's performance is solid, and 5 good sprays seem to do trick and really get it rolling. Projection is moderate, but present, as it should be for a scent like this. It creates a nice smell around its subject but doesn't shout. Longevity is about 8 hours. As far as seasons, I think this could be worn any time of the year save for the hottest months, and as far as occasions it seems to have good range, from the most casual situations to more formal, dressy events. As stated earlier, it's the kind of fragrance that could be used as a signature scent.

In approaching Alien Man I finally followed my New Year's resolution and ordered a sample rather than blind buying a full bottle, but now that my sample has run out, it looks like a bottle is on the horizon. Different enough from anything else I own and something that will be easy and fun to wear, Alien Man gets an overall score of 8 out of 10 and is recommended for sampling. Go into this one with tempered expectations and you may enjoy it.

UPDATE: This is much STRONGER than I'd been lead to believe at first. I get more than above average projection and a solid 8 to 10 hour longevity every time I wear this. It's also taken a bit of a darker turn, losing some of its greenness and resembling more the dark color purple of the flacon. I really, really enjoy this.

Bottle Man From the Electric State Drawing

Source: https://www.fragrantica.com/perfume/Mugler/Alien-Man-49503.html

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