A*Men Pure Wood Mugler 2014

The Thierry Mugler brand seems to explore on their line an answer to the following question that come into my head: How far you can go with flankers of a consolidated best seller on the market without tiring the audience? It is a task interesting somehow, because it requires you to be able to transform your perfume to the point it seems a new and interesting concept but at the same time keeping the link with the original creation. In some editions of the Pure Collection we have seen this approach be very successful, with Pure Coffee, Pure Malt and Pure Havane standing out among the most celebrated. The Flankers Taste of Fragrance and Pure Leather / Cuir were also able to bring interesting details the original idea, but failed to create a distinctive aroma and its evolution makes them much like the Amen so it is difficult to keep the interest in them after a few uses. I expected Pure Wood to follow suit them, though its scent seems to show that it is still possible to extract interesting variations of woody oriental theme in Amen.

First, it is interesting to note that despite the name indicating a possible dominance of the aroma of woods, Pure Wood does not go the obvious route and doesn't shows a saturation in cedar, sandalwood, oud or synthetic amber materials that can pass a heavy, dry and diffusive wooden aroma Some of these woods can even be perceived as secondary, but what really stands out and gives a new life to the smell of Amen is the use of oak wood in the composition. It brings a little explored commercial woody nuance, a scent with nuances of rum, honey and dried fruits.

Although not listed, besides the oak aroma I notice a very obvious smell of guaiac, a wood interesting for its spicy aspect and phenolic impression (smoky and rubber like) while having also a slightly sugary touch. We still have a secondary and sophisticated scent of leather aroma that mingles with the sweet, sugary scent of vanilla and roasted smell of coffee. These two notes together with patchouli end up being the main responsible for making the connection with the traditional AMen while the oak, guaiac and aroma of sweetened ambery resins give a new look to the oriental aroma composition. Although little known and commented it is one of the most interesting flankers in the line in the way ut explores the concept, bordering on an approach that would not be bad in a niche perfume or a more exclusive one.

From the time Pure Wood was released, I wasn't too excited to go with the hyped train on either a bottle or decant due to neutral and not too highly regard feedback by perfume reviewers and aficionados. I was wrong.

Last month, I was offered by the SA a tester bottle of Pure Wood (80ml) left, should I buy a bnib Mugler Ultra Zest. Who wouldn't bite this offer right? I was also flooded with 40+ assorted carded samples.

TM's Pure Wood to my skin is a well balanced of notes with a moderate emphasis on oak and other woody notes. Since I am a coffee lover and has a fond for patchouli, both notes here aren't so pronounced but one would know that Pure Wood possess a gourmand essence in an almost perfect sweetness and spice. The aromatic character is only a coating upon application for it melted away some few minutes later. But a very refined yet gentle, suave, smooth essence came after. Such a smell that neither boast nor brag it's presence but one can attest that the quality and rich blend was there. Bold yet tamed. Pure Wood is a fragrance for self pleasure, for comfort and not for self seeking praises/compliments. This is a perfume that quietly captivates. Merely 2 to 3 hours (on my skin)but mind you, it is a very good close quarter smell with it's pure woody magical aroma, manly contained sexiness and unique scent dry down. Actually, Pure Wood's character reminded me of one classic Calvin Klein (both of them have very different smell) which radiated wonder, sensuality and spellbinding over dry down/close quarters: CK Be (black bottle). Pure Wood may be different from Thierry Mugler for Men fragrance dna, but it is a distinct composition that deserve an applause and respect. I would have rated it higher if projection and longevity would be beast mode. Maybe a Pure Wood Extreme or Intense might pop up soon. For now, my rate on Pure Wood: 8/10

it smells like a piece of wood freshly cut then sweetened!!! then there is another note that kinda takes it from smelling like wood at the same time! kinda weird! any one remember avon tai winds & wild country?? it smells like some one took these two layered them then dumped sweetness in there :/ but I can say I do like it a little more then when I first sprayed it but can't say I like it still before I just did not! at all actually any who think I am going to get rid of it I just don't care to wear it! I do like the old avon wild country but thats because of the heavy note of oakmoss! but not this, it's a little splattered together not happy with it

Most of the flankers in this line are made the same way; the base of the original A*Men with one or more notes added. These added notes take center stage at the top and as the perfume dries down they end up merging with the base.

In this Pure Wood it is the oak note. I don't know what an oak smells like, but I can say that on this occasion what I perceive is a very, very dry wood. It reminds me of the woods of eighties perfumes, without concessions.

How my pulse raced when a brand new A*Men offshoot was announced a few months ago... and that wooden bottle, it looked stunning in the promotional pictures back then. Now it is finally available regularly in Germany, autumn has arrived - a perfect release date for a woody-soft A*Men. Does it live up to the high expectations? Does it achieve legendary status like Pure Malt, or flop status like Pure Chili?

I am a big fan of A*Men, having acquired almost all the stars long before the reintroduction of Pure Malt & Co... except for Pure Shot/Energy and the rare B*Men/Pure Rhubarb. So I was all the more excited about the woody offshoot, the expectations were high, and the rumor and opinion mill was in full swing. I often wanted to part ways with a few stars like Pure Leather or Pure Chili, as the occasions to wear them were simply lacking - but until now, my passion for collecting always won out. So there are definitely less experienced gentlemen than me in this lineup.

Positives: beautifully woody at times, but I expected much more oak. By the name, there is overall a whole lot less wood (pun intended). It is definitely the softest, everyday A*Men, and therefore also the most interesting for skeptics. Coffee, patchouli & vanilla, wonderful as always --> A*Men DNA is pretty & unmistakably present. Even office-friendly. Perfect for the orange-brown autumn. Lasts the entire workday. A must for fans. Unfortunately, it's a bit unremarkable & too tame/flat. It lacks the explosive wit, the pepper in the star soup. The initially hard-to-get tar note of the original is missing.

Negatives: as mentioned, one could accuse it of lacking guts. Only conditionally suitable for going out. Wood is far too subtle on my skin, but I often have trouble detecting that. Overall, it's not as grand as, for example, Pure Havane. It ranks in the back of the A*Men field.

Bottle: it could have been so beautiful with a darker color & perhaps (un-) real wood... now it looks more like a toy from the junior bag.
Sillage: the tamest of all A*Men (along with Pure Energy), but still an A*Men.
Longevity: no weakness from the office star - 9-10 hours.

One could say it is unnecessary, humorless & superfluous. Or also wonderfully different, light, casual, unpretentious & more versatile than its brothers. Either way, to complete the star collection, it must be acquired sooner or later.