The original scent of this long lineage - the original A*Men - is a topic of debate - and rightly so. Few fragrances polarize like A*Men. One of my other passions is testing Scottish single malts. The Laphroaig distillery on the Isle of Islay produces a whisky that smells and tastes of tar, seaweed, bonfire, peat, and phenol, and has coined the slogan "You love it or you hate it." This could not better summarize the divided opinions about the rubber-tar-sentimental monstrosity A*Men. One thing is for sure: I admire the audacity of the fragrance and its absolutely outstanding uniqueness, but I could not wear this powerhouse myself.
Since the launch of the original scent in 1996, an endless number of flankers have been released, each dedicated to a specific fragrance note and merging it with the scent DNA of the patriarch. Some of the flankers managed to keep the rude base DNA in check and, thanks to their respective ingredients, even turned into a wonderfully composed fragrance. So far, each of these flankers has retained a small genetic portion of the original - some were brilliant (Pure Malt, Pure Coffee, Pure Havanne), some good (Pure Tonka), while others were a weak performance (Kryptomint). With the last in this series, I also see the end of a meaningful reinterpretation of the first. Kryptomint tried to bring some freshness to a heavy, cloying scent through mint. The end result could not convince either olfactorily or in performance.
However, as I am a big fan, especially of Pure Malt, I wanted to test this new release from 2019 as soon as possible and therefore ordered a bottle online, as it was not yet available in any perfumery. The color of the bottle, as well as the listed fragrance notes, gave me hope, as I am a big coffee lover.
The bottle and packaging are brilliantly designed. Despite the already somewhat deficient spray head, I like the rubberized bottles that feel great in the hand. The uniformity of the entire line also looks very nice on the fragrance shelf. So far, the color has always revealed something about the scent and was appropriately chosen.
However, here neither the title nor the color fits the chosen aromas.
In what way does the ultimate man stand out through Café Mocha? And why is the bottle smurf blue?
Now to the scent itself: for the first time in the series of all the flankers, I can no longer detect the unique A*Men DNA. The fragrance is independent and for me is not a flanker of this series. While it is also a gourmand through and through, it lacks the patchouli heaviness that was characteristic of all the others, even if only in the background.
Can the scent at least convince, aside from the failed naming and bottle choice? Unfortunately, I must also decline here. Instead of Café Mocha, I get wafts of a brew that was available at the coffee machine during university days: Irish Coffee. While I despised this devil's elixir as much as the holy water, one of my best friends enjoyed a cup of the syrupy-sweet "hot drink" during breaks between lectures, which has nothing to do with good coffee. The balsam fir makes the scent somewhat sticky-creamy. Bergamot is wishful thinking! The fragrance starts off sticky sweet and continues just the same. Little change, little complexity, no depth. It does not reach the power of the original, let alone that of Pure Malt or Pure Havanne. After 6-7 hours, it was gone.
I would have loved to use it as my autumn and winter scent for 2019, as I was already looking for coffee fragrances. Now it will be replaced by Mancera's Aoud Café. The first fragrance that at least for a short time authentically smells like real coffee.
In summary, this Ultimate Men is for me, after Kryptomint, not only a misstep, but Mugler's perfumers seem to have strayed from the right path. Return to the original idea or stop beating the marketing horse to death! This one is not for the ultimate man (the title seems to be borrowed from JPG anyway), but rather the ultimate fail.
Shaking 6 years ago
