Alien
Mugler (2005)

Got this one as a tester and this just made me even more sure that my nose is not meant for sweet perfumes. It just smells fake and almost like plastic.

Comparison of a 2006 EdP and a 2013 Essence Absolue

This one is easy: these are virtually two completely different perfumes. But those familiar with Mugler will say “of course they are, this is no surprise, where have you been” and, of course, they are correct. The extraterrestrials on planet Mugler have done this a countless number of times – that is, creating a flanker (frequently numerous flankers) with the original’s name but having precious little to do with the original. The EdP is one of the best synthetic jasmine musk perfumes created this century. A high bar that you are certainly going to ask me to justify, and that a few will scoff at and tell me my head is obviously in outer space. Essence Absolue is not a jasmine, but it carries that otherworldly character of the EdP forward into a new chapter that is very convincing and worthy of the line (even though it has nothing olfactorily to do with the EdP), and, I will say, is one of the best floral vanillas of this century. Yep, I’m going all in today.

The EdP opens with a massive blast of the brightest white jasmine that whirls with the plasmatic textures of nebulae. The first spray launches itself like an exploding star. Citrusy, slightly indolic, certainly floral, rich and creamy, a touch green, also fleshy fruity, it’s every aspect of jasmine you have ever or could ever smell, yet the cashmeran in the heart is also already present, which gives this jasmine a texture that – at least at the time it was released – was unlike anything we had ever smelled before. The cashmeran gives it a thick, impenetrable, and fraught feeling while also being very plush and pliant. Nebulae look pretty, but they’ll annihilate you in a second. With Essence Absolue’s opening, jasmine's naturalistic characteristics are mostly absent in the opening but might as well be completely absent since it seems to be knocked-far-off-its-center by the other materials that we get more of an orange blossom and gardenia type floral. There is a sweet fleshy citrus floral like orange blossom, not sharp citrus or greens or indolic like natural jasmine grandiflorum or jasmine sambac, and it is extremely heady and creamy like gardenia. It also doesn’t explode with galactic force; it’s strong, but it’s noticeably less diffusive than the EdP. There are other players here as well, crowding in on the gentle floral notes: a very funky vanilla that smells almost rotted/composted, buttery and starchy orris that keeps the perfume balanced and not falling over the line of sickly sweet, and a note that the brand doesn’t mention but I’m finding noticeable amounts, which is that of heliotrope. There is something unsettling, the smell of bitter metallic and cyanide almonds, weaving almost invisible tendrils around the other notes that are hard to see but impossible to ignore. If the EdP is a bright white and rainbow-color-flecked nebula, Absolue is a plasmatic nebula of a more nefarious brown and black color nearing that of the universe’s infinite expanse where you question whether you’re about to step into the nebula and be consumed or are you taking just one more step into the void. Yes, two very different perfumes, but they stick to the same brief somehow: one is a bizarre and otherworldly jasmine, the other a bizarre and otherworldly floral vanilla.

In the final stages the EdP sticks with the cashmeran route, white floral and woody, and continuing to play with plasmatic textures all the way to the final skin scent of what the brand calls “white amber.” This is really just synthetic musks that are white floral and soapy in nature but lean a sweeter direction with some vanilla and are given a good dose of animalics that help them belt with a rounded galactic boom. Think of rich soap bubbles that are the texture of some alien goo, and you’re there. Curiously, Essence Absolue goes in a little less of a sci-fi direction, taking the floral vanilla amber and giving it some lovely, green, and resinous myrrh smoke - a very clever and natural link to the heliotrope (or what might have been it) - and also some of the EdP's animalic floral/soapy musks while the vanilla and orange blossom stay fairly prominent. Essence Absolue’s ending doesn’t leave you with the EdP's shock and anxiety of exploring the final frontier, rather it leaves you with the peace and equanimity of the infinite silence in the warm glow of a star.

So, there you have it, and my apologies as I’m going to gather this is going to be less than helpful; some simple educated guesses from a glance at the note pyramid for each perfume will probably have gotten you mostly to this point. However, I still feel the need to do this simply because I love both of these perfumes very much and they need to be compared for posterity so that they can deservedly stand on their own. They couldn’t be more different, and yet somehow they still convey enough in common to be noticeably related. Even today, twenty years on from the EdP’s release and thirteen years on from Absolue’s release, they still feel and smell like they’re far in the future. Despite this quite difficult creative brief, and the very obvious use of synthetics, the best characteristic of both is that even with their futuristic, weird, and extraterrestrial personalities they have remarkable clarity in their voices, and they are so very well defined as to fit in any era or generation they are encountered. I can’t help but think of Nebula from Guardians of the Galaxy when I smell these: when she wears Absolue she’s in a kind and fun or flirty mood, wanting to invite me in for a drink. When’s she’s wearing the EdP, I’m not getting out of there alive.

This is a story about Alien:


Once upon a time, in a small remote village nestled in the rolling hills of a lush green valley, there was a beautiful jasmine plant that grew wild along the edge of a field. Every year, just as the summer sun reached its peak in the sky, the jasmine plant would burst into bloom.



One faithful day as the summer sun reached its peak in the sky, a young woman named Alice came visiting the village from Capital city.



Alice was a foreigner to these lands, having been brought there by her parents who were missionaries. This was her first trip without her parents. She was filled with a sense of anxious anticipation mixed with budding excitement as she found her way to her accommodation.

Alice was staying on the second floor of a building close to the town square. The only other resident, the owner of the building, was an elderly mute widow. It was a simple but sturdy structure. The raw wooden beams covered with reeds gave the interiors a cozy aroma of cut timber.


On the first night, as the sun set and the night sky turned a deep shade of violet, the winds would pick up and carry the delicate fragrance of the jasmine petals far and wide, filling the entire village with its sweet aroma.

The villagers gathered in the town square, where they set up tables with delicious food and drink. This was the beginning of the Jasmine festival, a yearly event that marked the beginning of the harvest. The villagers took to the streets, parading down the narrow roads with lanterns and torches, their faces alight with happiness and joy.


The commotion woke Alice from her evening nap. At first she was terrified. The noise and bright lights appeared through the window as flickering shadowy figures on the walls of her room. As she came to her senses and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, Alice too was enchanted by the sweet smell that had filled her room while she was asleep, mixing in with the woody aromas from the beams. She left her room, her accommodation, and joined the villagers. They greeted her with open arms as she joined them chanting and twirling down the cobbled streets.



Everywhere they went, the windswept jasmine petals followed, filling the air with their intoxicating scent and adding to the magic of the night. Alice felt a sense of excitement and freedom.

On the last day of her stay, a week after the festival, Alice woke up to find a small, violet glass vial on her nightstand. She didn't understand what it was and her mute host was unable to provide any explanation as to what the vial might contain. Nevertheless, she decided to keep it as a memory of her stay.



Weeks turned into months and months turned into years. Alice was about to graduate from her studies at a university in a country far away from Capital city and worlds apart from the remote village. The festival was slowly fading into a distant memory.



Having spent most of her years growing up in different parts of the world, Alice had a hard time connecting with the other students. She was shy and felt like a stranger, totally out of place. She spent a lot of time away from campus and kept to herself.



A big ball was scheduled for the graduation. Alice didn't want to go. Nobody had asked her out. But she felt obliged, as official pictures would be taken and those would make her parents proud.



She struggled with her own thoughts. She tried to muster up the courage to go. She spent hours procrastinating pretending to decide what to wear, how long to stay and came up with many excuses for staying at home. She went through her drawers and cabinets with frustration. Suddenly she came across the violet glass vial. Alice decided to open it for the first time. There was a dark purple liquid inside. As she pulled open the vial, images of the flickering lights of the festival and memories of the sweet aroma of breezy summer nights and cut timber came back to her. She dabbed some of the liquid content on her forearms and behind her ears.



In that moment, as the room filled with the exotic yet familiar aroma, she decided to approach the ball with the same anticipation that she felt when she arrived at the remote village so many years ago.



Alice felt a sense of excitement and freedom. Her arrival to the graduation ball was heralded by a shower of shimmering jasmine petals mixed that filled the air with an intoxicating scent, like an ethereal form surrounded by a halo of golden light. She loved the way it made her feel confident and powerful. She was greeted with open arms by the other students and she received a lot of compliments.



Eventually, Alice's adventures came to an end. The violet glass vial ran out. But she knew that she would always cherish the memories of her journey and the powerful impact that fragrant memory of the windswept jasmine petals had on her experience. Especially those days when she felt like an alien in this world.

To my nose, this isn't really jasmine, but it is a lush white flower with yellow pollen elements that I find pleasing, plus a crunchy/chewy kind of foody element that I can't pinpoint. Graham crackers? Cookies? But mostly it's a very strong white flower with sillage that makes me uncomfortable, as it violates the airspace of others pretty easily. The scent is okay but the mini jewel bottle is what I really lust after. Full ddry down is a nice woody vanilla, but it's hardly ground breaking at that point. I'm gonna go with a thumbs up vote, but it's tilting towards neutral.

There was a time that I did not like this perfume. Now, I can’t imagine not liking it. It’s gorgeous, spellbinding, and addictive. It has crazy good longevity, and the sillage is stunning. It stops me in my own tracks and makes me think, “Wow! I smell amazing!” It lasts pretty much all day, and when I’m driving, I like to have the ac/heat blowers on my arm so that the wind brings this deliciousness and intoxicating gorgeousness straight to my face so I can smell it the whole journey. Just beautiful!

This is one gorgeous perfume!

It's very other-wordly and yet deeply sensuous and inviting at the same time. I call it my "outerspace" jasmine scent.Depite being a white floral it doesn't smell screechy at all because it is grounded by the woods and the amber, which give it depth.

I prefer to wear this in colder weather and save it for special evenings out. It would be too much in an office situation or for everyday use.

It is best applied sparingly and worn with unashamed abandon.