
By: Sandra Raičević-Petrović
Alien is a cosmic fragrance which aims to present itself as an unfamilliar, distant and unknown scent. It is suffocating, powdery and clean in the same time, representative of airless space, thick and fluid. The perfume is unconditionally intensive, unique, smooth and dry, opening with a juicy touch in the beginning, along with tasty mandarin, characteristic for its short but passionate aromas. Sambac jasmine develops, dominates and wins you over afterwards, in a straight line, loud and clear. Solar amber and white musk stay in the background. The fragrance becomes softer and slightly warmer as it comes closer to its finish. The composition encompasses Cashmeran molecule, which supports woody-musky nuances with spicy accords.
The gem that represents the perfume is purple amethyst. Its flacon is very luxurious, having an unusual shape that attracts attention with its design. Amethyst, a gem with smooth sides, was not chosen by accident. It has been the most valuable quartz for hundreds of years, valued as an amulet by the Romans, and believed to possess magical and medicinal powers.
It is the gem of peace and wealth and a decoration in numerous royal crowns. It has been valued just like ruby, emerald and sapphire since ancient times. The gem improves spiritual development and can be called the "stone of the wise." Amethyst certainly marks the popular fragrance from Mugler’s collection of fragrant "extraterrestrials."
I suppose that Thierry Mugler wanted Alien to be as unusual and memorable as Angel, or even to present an opposition to commercial perfumery, presented in a different and alien way. Angel is the scent of closeness, embraces, holidays. Alien is anything but close. Prejudices towards the unfamiliar Alien can scare you or drive you away from it, just like its appearance and intensity. If you let the scent develop slowly and make an effort to get to know it, give it a chance to understand its accords, you will certainly love it! I think that this is the right fragrance to represent airless space. Even though it offers a fragrant composition, it takes its users’ breath away. When I move my nose closer to the place on my arm where I tried the perfume, there is simply no room for air or freshness. It imposes itself and affects you strongly, taking you over completely and with complexity.
The original version designed by Dominique Ropion and Laurent Bruyere, arrived on the market in 2005 and is available in several limited versions of the flacons launched by Thierry Mugler as a shower of purple meteorites which seduce buyers and fans of this perfume. The perfume was created as 15, 30, 60, 90 ml (lux edition), one liter, as a solid perfume, as well as a glittering perfume.

Three years after great success of Alien, Thierry Mugler presented his first summer version of Alien, limited and sunny Alien eau Luminescente. Its intention was to win over the audience which had not been seduced by magic of the purple beauty.
My favorite among Aliens is the juiciest, the most cheerful, elegant and magical scent of sun and summer. The mandarin scent is dominant in the composition. The fragrance is somewhat softer than the first perfume, but very intense and long-lasting, with a wide aura leaving a clear trail. This elegant and festive fragrance can accompany you any time you want it to.
This edition will delight you, calm you down, refresh the space around you and will not irritate. The concept stayed the same: solar amber, cashmeran and musk. Jasmine Sambac was exchanged for Tiare flower, which added a more exotic rhythm. Mandarin introduces a juiciness and tastiness which the first version lacked, and vanilla softens the base and brings comfort and pleasure to its user.

The gem that represents this edition is orange Topaz, which according to beliefs of the ancient Greeks gives strength, breaks spells and removes anger. Indians celebrated it as a gem which, when you hold it near yoru heart, prolongs life, ensures beauty and wisdom.
This kind of gem offers a wide range of colors, varying from blue, purple, green, pink, red, orange and yellow nuances, but it appears colorless as well. There are several varieties of topaz. The most precious one is red, royal Imperial Topaz.
Alien eau Luminescente was introduced as a limited edition in 2008 and is available in a 60 ml flacon. (Unfortunately, this fragrance is very rare today and I suggest trying it before it disappears from stores.)

The third edition, Alien Sunessence, has been launched recently and it aims at Summer 2009. It arrives in a flacon which represents the gem Citrine, colored in light yellow and named after the Latin word for citrus. As the gem suggests, the new limited Alien is based on a mixture of lemon with characteristic solar effects of amber, cashmeran and musk, with a hint of honey.
The new edition is very special, even though it is a variation of the original theme. Lemon does not increase the freshness of luminous effects in the beginning, but appears as lemon cake or cream, with honey drops and vanilla accords. It certainly adds a lighter tone to the composition and can be detected in the top notes. After 20 minutes the lemon gives way to powdery and light Sambac jasmine flowers, along with musky nuances supporting it. It is closer to the original perfume than the orange version Alien eau Luminescente. The fragrance is just as long-lasting as other Alien compositions.
Citrine was considered a gift of Sun, so this year’s edition is a genuine gift and an ode to Summer 2009 by the house of Thierry Mugler. The flacon of Alien Sunessence has the same shape as the previous summer edition: smooth, unusual, extraterrestrial. The perfume is available as a limited edition, in the amount of 60 ml eau de toilette.
I suppose that the next year will bring us a new "wisdom stone," and I can’t wait to feel its notes!

Author: Sandrina (sandrina_bambina)
Fragrantica Member
Alien mY signature :) ,, I adore the original one so powerful and unique .. and i use the orange one for day time..
Thanks for the reveiw ,, choosing Alien to talk about it is a very smart hint from you ;)
Thank you guys:)) This is a review made 2 years ago. There are two more limited Aliens launched till today.
Sapphire edition reminds me so much of my favorite orange Alien eau Luminescente, so if you can`t find this edition, try with Sapphire (2010).
Brand new Alien Or d`Ambre with adorable kiwi notes I just can`t wait to try.
Sandrina: I posted a glowing review of the article/reviews...but the filter must have kept it from posting (I did mention...*ahem* a national retailer of perfumes, that no longer is listed here).
I love Love LOVE the way you tied the Alien "idea" into the knowledge of ancient crystal lore, and then proceeded to describe the notes of the three perfumes!
I do whope that I can find one or two of the LE flankers at a "store near me", as I just adore the original Alien!! It smells great on me...
Keep up the great work, and they should let you write MORE reviews!
:) :) :)
Sandrina , thanks for your lovely and poetic
description of one of my favorites !
I really love Sunessence the yellow one,
its rare and unic !
Thank you, Sandrina, for the lovely reviews- you've motivated me to check these out!
Like you, I put Thierry Mugler and Dior at the top of the list...
Dear Fragrantica friends, I want to thank you for your compliments, I really appreciate it.
Thierry Mugler is my favorite perfume brand beside Dior, so, I look forward to test their's new editions. A*Men Pure Malt sounds so interesting, but it's not available here yet...I'm waiting :))
♥ ♥ ♥
What a wonderful review! I love the art work also. I must sample these three ASAP. I had been intending to try Alien, and now I'm even more eager. The lemon twist, so to speak, sounds particularly good.
Alien is a cosmic fragrance ... distant and unknown scent.
I simply love this article opening.
I just bought the Angel luminescense. it is great fro summer....much lighter and suitable for outdoors. This was such a great review!
What a fantastic review! I love "Angel" and I am still relatively new to the house of TM. After reading this, I am very eager to try "Alien" and it's sisters!
Thanks so much for this article Sandrina. I'm a big fan of Thierry Mugler's "ANGEL" and "INNOCENT ANGEL". Yes, I know they are multi-dimensional and strange scents, but I Love them. I've been wanting to try "ALIEN" for some time now, and thanks to your critique of its sister fragrances, I've decided to go ahead and and try them out. I think I'll start with the original ALIEN first. ALIEN SUNESSENCE and ANGEL EAU LUMINESSENCE both sound interesting as well. I'll probably try them out too.
Great article, Sandrina! Alien is one of my all-time favorites and I'm glad to see it has lots of fans! My boyfriend bought it for me for Christmas, otherwise I'd probably never have tried it because I find the bottle so strange and off-putting. It's definitely an original and I've always found it very hard-to-define, but I think you did a great job of putting several aspects of it into words! The original perfume is the only one I adore - I wasn't dazzled by the limited editions, though I did think that they were very creative. Alien always gets compliments and I've never encountered another woman wearing it. I'm sure it will always be a staple in my collection, if only for those days when I feel like being swathed in mystery! Thanks for the beautiful reviews! ;)
Well-written article Sandrina! I unfortunately do not find Alien all that pleasing, though my husband does, oddly enough. (He and I both dislike Angel). I WOULD, however, like to try and orange and yellow Alien just to see what the difference is. I may end up liking them more than the original.
Alien is the one I would buy just for bottle.
We don't have summer editions here (ok, at least I haven't seen)
I will definitely try them if I see sometime.
Brilliant review.
Thank you all :)
Dear Rebbela, I`ll tell you the truth, Alien article was published on PunMiris two days ago, although it is published here this morning. :)))
I`ve got an idea to write Mr. Mugler asking him to put Alien Luminescence into a regular production (pity it is limited edition).
Lovely article, and as a co-incident I write a review abot Alien on my blog earlier today. :)
Sorry enough I haven´t yet tried the flankers, but I hope I will soon. They sounds as good as the original...
Beautifully written! Thank you Sandrina for this beautiful article on the 3 "Alien" fragrances!
I just ordered myself the "Orange Alien" and can hardly wait to hold it in my hand and take the first spritz……(sweet anticipation :-))
Alien is truly one of the most unusual fragrance out there…..cannot live without it…
I want to try the sunessence. sounds lovely!
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