Bottle Design:
Thierry Mugler

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Alma Alvaro Moreno 1987

7.2 / 10 1185 Ratings

A perfume by Alvaro Moreno for men, released in 1987. The scent is sweet-gourmand. Projection and longevity are above-average. It is being marketed by L'Oréal.
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Main accords

Sweet

Gourmand

Spicy

Oriental

Woody

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Coriander

Lavender

Bergamot

Peppermint

Nocturnal Concrete

Heart Notes

Caramel

Patchouli

Cedarwood

Honey

Lily of the valley Jasmine

Jasmine

Base Notes

Coffee

Tonka bean Amber

Amber

Benzoin

Musk

Vanilla

Sandalwood Styrax

Styrax

Yellowed Calculator

Perfumer

Jacques Huclier

Ratings

Scent

7.21185 Ratings

Longevity

8.8963 Ratings

Sillage

8.5914 Ratings

Bottle

6.9920 Ratings

Value for money

7.8400 Ratings

Submitted by DonVanVliet · last update on 01/08/2026.

Source-backed & verified

Interesting Facts

The fragrance was awarded the "Fragrance of the Year – Men's Luxury" prize by the Fragrance Foundation in 1998.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

A*Men Gold Edition

Intoxicated

Angel Eau de Parfum

Diable Bleu pour Homme

Prestige

A*Men Fantasm

Reviews

113 in-depth fragrance descriptions

02/06/2012

7Scent 7.5Longevity 10Sillage

Missk
1357 Reviews

Missk

Top Review 7

Masculine dark chocolate

A*Men is the male equivalent of Angel, to put it bluntly. It has all that chocolatey goodness with a touch more richness to give it that masculine touch.

If Angel is milk chocolate, A*Men is dark, bitter chocolate. I dare say that I prefer A*Men over the very controversial and very popular Angel.

Despite the fact that this fragrance has been emulated many times, for example, Very Irresistible for Men by Givenchy, this is a truly unforgettable scent.

A*Men is somewhat linear. Throughout most of its wear it smells like a perfect blend of golden syrup, dark chocolate, coffee, musty patchouli, lavender and rich amber.

Only in the drydown does it change ever so slightly into a musky, chocolate powder type scent.

A*Men intrigued me with its darkness and rich chocolatey notes which you don't expect to smell on a man. All men seem to wear these days are those predictable fresh and citrusy scents. It was nice to smell A*Men for a change.

If you're looking for a stronger, more classic version of A*Men, I do recommend the classic Tsar by Van Cleef & Arpels. It has that strong chocolate note without the sweetness.

Talking about strength, A*Men lasts for a very long time. The sillage is also phenomenal, very strong, so beware. I wouldn't be game enough to wear this in Summer, but for Winter, despite its popularity, it is a wonderfully unique and sensual choice. I urge the ladies not to dismiss wearing this fragrance either. Do not let the name fool you into thinking it is just for men.

10/23/2023

8.5Scent 9Longevity 9Sillage

Dmbfaninmass
34 Reviews

Dmbfaninmass

Very helpful Review 7

Will Always Be Special

If there’s any fragrance I wish I had bought backup bottles of… or should I say, more backup bottles of… this would be it.

I’ll never forget the first time I smelled this. Winter of 2001, I was Christmas shopping with a friend. I had in mind purchasing myself a new fragrance. I was several years into loving fragrances and had a rotation a dozen or two deep at the time, but we were going to the mall that was a further drive from home. The same one, an hour and a half drive from home, I had to drive to for l’eau d’Issey. Our local mall had a Macy’s, Sears, and a JC Penny as flagship anchor stores. Sears and JC didn’t have much worth mentioning for fragrances, and our Macy’s had a better selection, but in the late 90s through the closing of that Macy’s, the selection was always somewhat limited compared to some malls a tad further away that were closer to the city. Some years later, in the times of the boom of all the A*Men flankers, at long last, our Macy’s did carry the A*Men line.

A few weeks back, I made an online purchase, one bottle of which is Soul Batik by Moresque. A few wearings all conjured up some long lost memories, thanks to the glaring similarity to A*Men.

Back on that fateful winter day in 2001, I knew odds were quite high I would find something that might just blow my hair back and my socks off my feet. I wasn’t prepared for what was to come, though. I saw this really cool silver or black rubber encased bottle with a star. Some designer I’d never heard of, Thierry Mugler, and a name for a men’s fragrance I’d not heard of, nor imagined seeing, Angel Men… I thought, “well I’m quite angelic…” and gave it a try. WOW! There was nothing I’d ever smelled before quite like this. I grabbed 3 bottles, and my friend, smelling the tail I was leaving, grabbed one for himself. For many years to follow, l’eau d’Issey was my warm weather signature, and this was my cool to cold weather signature. About 3 years ago, when I really dove head first into the fragrance rabbit hole, I still had about 20 ml in the 3rd bottle of my 2001 Angel Men. I was saving that last 20 ml for dear life over the prior 5 or so years. Alas, I went to spray it on one fall day during 2020 and noticed a lot of floating sediment. For many years I always had about 5 fragrances in my center console in my car. This bottle had seen many days over 100 F in the summer heat and many cold days down to below 0 F. If I knew back then I had I know now, perhaps I never would have left fragrances in the car and that fragrance would be as good as ever like some I never took with me just out of not enjoying them nearly as much. Anyhow, I sprayed… and the fragrance was gone. I don’t recall what scent came out, if any, but it sure wasn’t Angel Men / A*Men. My first dive into the rabbit hole was purchasing frags I’d had in the past, then some I’d wanted over the years but didn’t have the money or time for anything other than a quick drive to the local TJ Maxx for whatever was cheap. I figured with Angel having fallen from fragrance grace, it was time. I ordered a new bottle of A*Men and immediately realized what people were talking about with it having been watered down.

With having been reminded of A*Men due to the recent purchase of Soul Batik, tonight I took out 2 versions of Angel / A*Men. First I sprayed my 2020 bottle of A*Men liberally - 3 sprays to the top of each forearm, and 2 each to the underside to of each forearm. Then I remembered a couple years back I chatted with someone on a forum about the old formulation of Angel and he read me the batchcode on his vintage bottle that matched the code on my old bottle I kept with the last 20 ml of chunky juice. He sent me a 10 ml decant and it’s sat for the past 2 years without being sprayed.

I must admit, after spraying the top of each hand with the vintage Angel formulation, I am utterly flummoxed. On one hand, I love how utterly potent and aggressive the old formulations are. I sprayed the A*Men and then Angel formulation about a half hour later. In the first 10 or so minutes after spraying the Angel iteration, I began thinking “maybe they’re not as different as I am thinking…” then another 20 minutes went by and the Angel on the back of the hands grew teeth… no, fangs! There it is was! That burned sugar / cotton candy / rubber / asphalt / mind blowing mix of this that and the other… it just shone through and was POWERFUL! That was the one that got all the attention, if people weren’t inclined to notice, it whacked em across the back of the head, then punched them in the nose and screamed “you WILL notice me!”

It’s really fun to wear that 20+ year old batch and just recognize how much of a monstrous beauty that was. How is the newer batch though? I just admit, being 20+ years older, I adore it. Is it as loud? No, not close. Is it as demanding of attention just in the sheer audacious mix of notes and how it can present as a number of quite different things - rubber / asphalt / burning sugar, etc… no, not close. You know what, though, while I sure as heck am enjoying the olfactive trip down memory lane from this decant I have of the old juice, as a 40-something, I prefer the newer iteration. I don’t go clubbing anymore, when I wear fragrance it’s for me, rather than to get noticed - I mean, if someone notices and they enjoy my fragrance, great, but it’s not my aim. I wear things to please my nose, not make a statement. This newer juice is like a more grown version. It’s settled down, more calm, in control, and knows what it wants. Comparing the old Angel with the newer batch of A*Men, to me, is literally like comparing a party and club going 20 year old to their settled down homebody 40 something year old self. It’s exquisite, has more of the lavender shining through, as well as more of the honeyed sweetness. The Soul Batik, in my opinion, is quite like the newer iterations of A*Men, it’s the sweet side without the more daring aspects of the old Angel Men batches of this fragrance. A classic that I’ll love until my dying days, and then hopefully one of my nephews will enjoy what’s left in of the bottle cause there’s not a chance I’ll finish it in my lifetime!

12/21/2012

4Scent 10Longevity 10Sillage

Sherapop
1240 Reviews

Sherapop

Very helpful Review 5

Rubber Chocolates

I only just noticed that Thierry Mugler A*MEN or ANGEL FOR MEN was first produced way back in 1996. That fact alone causes me to pause before launching into a negative review. This must have been one of the first men's fragrances to serve up sweets while holding on to manliness, here in the form of the scent of a new car interior. Thankfully the axle grease of Dior FAHRENHEIT is nowhere to be sniffed. Rather than the mechanic, the gent in question here is the car dealer, as smooth as Ricky Roma and ready to take his prospective customer out for a test drive in a slick model, one of the virtues of which, he insists, is that "Chics dig it."

Does it work? Well, that all depends on your views on rubber chocolates. To me, it's close to a scrubber, but I dislike rubber notes in perfume and could not bring myself to acquire even a small bottle of the famous Bvlgari BLACK, though I have liked most of the Bvlgari perfumes (well, up until the OMNIA series, the beginning of that house's rapid descent). I tested Bvlgari BLACK, and it was headache material for me.

In the case of A*MEN, the same sort of weird sweet vanilla and rubber scent is simply too contradictory for me to be able to stomach. Maybe because I hate artificial food in general and eschew "foodstuffs" filled with science fiction-inspired ingredients. So naturally when I smell rubber and vanilla or coffee, which is more dominant than vanilla in A*MEN, my natural inclination is to experience a slight gag reflex.

I purchased a small, 30ml tester bottle of A*MEN to satisfy my curiosity about this scent--it wasn't much more than the price of a sample--and have tried to wear it several times, but for me it has turned out to be no more and no less than a prelude to a bath. To those who don't mind--or perhaps even crave--the smell of rubber mingling in with their gourmand chocolates and coffee, this may work well. I continue to find the scent similar to that of a Starbucks venti spilled as a driver accelerates to a red light before slamming on the brakes.

In a phrase: not a panty dropper.

03/16/2016

7.5Scent 9Longevity 8Sillage

MasterLi
376 Reviews

MasterLi

Very helpful Review 4

Love or Hate...

Such a unique smell. Chocolate & Patchouli coupled with Coffee & Caramel. I think the main thing here is that the sweetness of the gourmand aspects are counterbalanced by the patchouli note. Without this note (and the tar as well), then this fragrance would be nauseatingly sweet. I think this is a very clever concept on the part of the perfumer.

When I first tried this, I was taken aback by the harshness of the first spray. It seems like the tar, lavender and patchouli dominate all within the first 30-40 mins. It's only until later that the coffee, chocolate and caramel blend into the composition beautifully, leaving a wonderful chocolate skin scent by the very end.

Angel Men/A*Men is a fragrance which takes you on a journey. It's not always apparent from the start where you will end up, but it's worth the wait. I would say if you are trying this for the first time, then please give it time to develop on skin. I think you must like chocolate or gourmand fragrances to warm up to this one. I am impressed and I think it's good value for money. Maybe don't over spray but nevertheless the coffee & chocolate caramel drydown at the end is irresistible and well worth the patchouli and lavender phase in my opinion. Great overall fragrance and one which was a trendsetter in perfumery. Definitely worth a try.

11/29/2021

JavSantana
68 Reviews

JavSantana

Very helpful Review 5

Mother of Gourmands

AMen by Mugler (RIP!) seems to have been the first fragrance to get gourmand accords into the mainstream game by the mid to late 1990's. I knew it from an accidental sniff in my city in winter of 2021.

Opens very aromatic and metallic - like, plus the honey and fruits give it kind of a liquor edge in my opinion, dries down rather quickly into this kind of caramel - coffee - sweet patchouli accord which is very tasty but in my opinion asks exclusively for winter wear, even thou i live in a very cold city. Patchouli, caramel, coffee, honey and lactonic notes (Which i cannot imagine how would smell or how would be composed...) plus balsamic amber and vanillic accords make up the drydown of this which in my opinion smells definitely like some kind of dessert or a freshly baked cake or sweet bread out of the oven.
Current formula is still a monster and outperforms modern day EDT's.

Bottom line: If you smell it in summer and puke, give it another chance a few months later. It is beautiful

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