Let’s be clear: this isn’t a disaster. When the Mugler licence moved over from Clarins to L’Oreal in 2019, many were understandably worried. Under its previous banner, the Mugler brand had forged an identity as one of the bravest, most uncompromising creators in the mainstream. Granted, things began to deteriorate when Womanity was released: the brand abandoned the polarising scent far more quickly than it would have in the past, and in its place gave us the forgettable Aura. However, during that time it also treated us to the Exceptions range, so not all was terrible. But L’Oreal doesn’t have the most commendable track record when it comes to nurturing creativity, so brows were furrowed in consternation when the behemoth began to release its own Mugler works, one of these being the subject of today’s review, Angel Nova, yet another flanker to the endlessly divisive 1992 blockbuster.
The original is, of course, a playful (some would say spoilt-brattish) over-indulgence in the stickiness of caramel, coffee, vanilla and patchouli. It is sweet beyond redemption: an angel of gluttony intent on charming everyone around it with an insistence that, dammit, will force you to have one more spoon of butterscotch sauce whether your waistline is about to explode or not. Its grossness is the very point of its existence.
Angel Nova is the healthier, 21st century version of the same creature. It’s Angel on a diet. Yes, the patchouli base is present, but in the form of Givaudan’s less chocolatey, more sour material, Akigalawood. The sweetness is here too, but tempered by tart raspberry at the top (there’s that calorie-counting again) and a watery lychee in the heart. And if there is any caramel here, it’s trying to conceal itself beneath a pseudo-rose and the relatively sophisticated powderiness of benzoin. The whole is more appealing than we might have expected, and it’s certainly as room-filling as its parent, but there’s very little about it that’s nova. Thirty years after it descended upon us, we can now declare that the original Angel turned out to be a game changer. But I suspect Angel Nova will never be more than a mere game player.
Persolaise
[Mugler Angel Nova review based on a sample of eau de parfum obtained by me in 2022.]
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Poetry! I love your poetry… if only I had ways with words as you do. Fascinating read. Thank you for sharing this review. The original Angel was indeed about opulence and indulgence without restraints – a time when consequences weren’t necessarily thought out and where luxuries and liberties were (still, to some degree) true. These “calorie-deficit” days are so bland, leaving us only reminiscing of what we never imagined would be the “good old days”…
Thank you so much for taking the time to write, David.