When it was first released in 1992, Thierry Mugler Angel was a bona-fide trendsetter. Angel singlehandedly launched the gourmand fragrance genre, a style that remains enormously popular to this day. The new Angel EDT, however, meekly follows the current trends. Angel EDP contains a revolutionary (at the time) combination: fruit and chocolate. Angel EDT disposes with the chocolate, opting instead for a predominately berry scent. The berries used in Angel EDT smell pleasant, if generic, but the fragrance is persistently dogged by an astringent harshness. There is something sour about Angel EDT. It has very little of the original’s lusciously honeyed sweetness.

 

As a true original, Angel EDP has had many imitators over the years. Angel EDT smells like one of them. Angel EDT is a success in that it is a more wearable version of Angel, and is therefore likely to make Thierry Mugler more money than the controversial Angel EDP. But Angel EDT is also a failure, because it is less distinctive and smells worse than Angel EDP. If Angel EDT sells well- and you and I both know that it will- it will represent the triumph of the commercial over the artistic.

Also, Eva Mendes? Really? While I’m always delighted to see women of color represented in advertisements, I’m not exactly sure that Eva’s milkshake is bringing the perfume buyers to the yard. As I recall, Calvin Klein Secret Obsession barely lasted a year on the shelves.