Thierry Mugler’s Garden of Stars: Heaven-scent

In 1985, every other girl or woman seemed to wear Poison by Christian Dior. I was probably too young to wear perfume then, but even I had to join the bandwagon.

In 1992, perfumer Olivier Cresp created the Angel fragrance for French fashion house Thierry Mugler. It was so popular that it became in the ’90s what Poison was in the ’80s.

Composed largely of "edible" notes such as berries, caramel, vanilla, patchouli and chocolate, the unusual scent became the best-selling women’s fragrance in France, toppling Chanel No. 5 from its number one spot.

Now, more than a decade later, Mugler comes up with four new interpretations derived from the Angel scent: The Lily Angel, Violet Angel, Peony Angel, and Angel Rose.

Collectively known as Garden of Stars, Mugler takes the base scent of Angel and the basic design of the bottle to create sister scents of the Angel fragrance.

The bottle design, sculpted in off-kilter stars, reflects the space-age, modernist sensibilities Mugler is known for.

After surfing the Net, I found out that Mugler worked as a window dresser and ballet dancer before becoming a fashion designer, photographer, and director. (If you recall George Michael’s Too Funky video that featured supermodels wearing Mugler fashions, well, Mugler directed that video.)

Mugler’s work over the next two decades was characterized by strong, angular silhouettes — with the wide shoulder pads, wasp-like waists, tight skirts, panniers, corsets, and interesting headpieces.

Prints were strictly taboo: Mugler’s clothes came in solid colors, favoring materials from taffeta, lace, muslin, raffia and even piña to leather, latex, rubber, plastic, Plexiglas, and chrome.

Although Mugler’s fashion style did not survive the ’90s, his name remains popular in the fragrance industry. Since 1997, Thierry Mugler Inc. has been owned by French cosmetics and skincare company Clarins.

John Marangos, Thierry Mugler’s marketing & public relations director for Asia Pacific, was recently in town to conduct a simple olfactory workshop and introduce the Garden of Stars collection to the local media.

Angel Peony is an extravagant mixture of mimosa, mandarin flower, rose absolute, raspberry flower, patchouli oil, tonka bean, vanilla absolute, musk, and sandalwood oil.

Peony is a spicy scent in a baby pink bottle. Once it settles on your skin, it gives off a strong aroma. The scent slowly evaporates, leaving a faint floral, feminine odor.

Angel Lily is a softer, lighter, more subtle persona, down to the bottle. Whereas the Peony bottle is a strong baby pink, The Lily is almost transparent, with a pale rosy hue.

Also spicy but with sweet notes, the patchouli is again contrasted, this time with honey and nutmeg.

Whereas Peony is perfect for clubbing, The Lily is meant for a romantic evening, worn by a woman who’s both playful, mysterious and innocent, but most of all captivating.

Angel Violet is a mixture of mandarin, passion fruit, bergamot, apricot, violet, patchouli, vanilla, chocolate, caramel, and peach.

The violet is a flower of contrasts with a small and delicate, full, voluptuous scent. This flower, once thought to be passé or old-fashioned, has been given a new, youthful twist by combining it with the lush patchouli notes of the traditional Angel fragrance.

Violet Angel is fresh, young, sparkling, and the most floral of the three. Here the patchouli mixes with violet and woody tones to create a strong floral aroma. This is for the most traditional, feminine woman.

Finally, the latest addition to the Garden of Stars collection is Angel Rose, a sexy fragrance created in 2006.

A mixture of rose, bergamot, hedione, helional, honey, dewberry, red berries, vanilla, caramel, patchouli, chocolate, and coumarin, Angel Rose is a smooth, lush, simultaneously satiny, and velvety scent.

All are available at Rustan’s Department Stores.