Angel On My Shoulders Makes Me Happy (Scent Review: Thierry Mugler Angel)

I don't think any perfume lover would argue with me if I say that Thierry Mugler's Angel can now be considered a classic.  Created in 1992, it is still going strong, and is probably one of the biggest perfume success stories from the past two decades. But, it is also one of the most polarizing scents - this one, I assure you, is something you either love or hate. There's just no middle ground with it. I *LOVED* it - it was a powerhouse of a scent. At the time, it was, for me, revolutionary. It smelled like a big desert. I initially thought (mistakenly) that it was called Angel because it smelled like Angel Food Cake, but it was certainly much more than that. Angel cake is for a cake comparison, uch too subtle and plain. It's a "dump-all" cake. Look at the list of notes: 

melon, coconut, mandarin orange, cassia, jasmine, bergamot, cotton candy, honey, apricot, blackberry, plum, orchid, peach, jasmine, lily-of-the-valley, red berries,rose, tonka bean, amber and vanilla, patchouli, musk, vanilla, dark chocolate and caramel

Nauseous much? For some, that's exactly how they feel when they smell this. It's a powerhouse, so strong and lethal. It was gourmand before gourmand became in. I remember wearing plain Vanilla Oil (from The Body Shop) before I got into this. The patchouli base was so foreign for me at the time, and I loved teh combination of sweet dirt when it got mixed with the vanilla and chocolate.

 I wore Angel early this morning before going to work, and here I am, at nine p.m. on a hot summer day, and it's still there. I smell my arm and the chocolate/patchouli base is still pungent. I wore this spontaneously this morning, as I have not thought about it for a while, and I still love it. There was a time in the 90s when this was my "signature' scent - I wore it everywhere. They were my salad days, I was going out a lot, I was falling in love a lot, I was young, carefree. I guess I will always associate this scent with that time of my life, and even now as I write about it I find myself smiling. So Angel is a scent that makes me happy, it takes me to a time in my life when I was happy. There was a stretch of time when I stopped wearing it - I think I got tired of it and I started doing the niche stuff - but perhaps two or three years ago, I got a big bottle. Though I don't wear it as often as I wish (I find it gets lost in my scent shuffle)  I now feel a certain craving for it.