Late to the party for the A*Men experience

[Cadillacs&cologne]

I fear I may have caught the last bus destined for A*men. I heard the line has been discontinued, so I grabbed what may be one of the final new bottles of Pure Havane and a mostly full used bottle of Pure Malt. I’m going to give Pure Malt more time to grow on me before rendering judgment, but I decided I had to grab it while I could still find a used bottle for a decent price after I absolutely fell in love with Pure Havane. Pure Havane is perhaps the cozziest, most warmth-evoking scent I have ever smelled, and frankly cannot believe this frag sold for $60-ish when widely available as I think it could easily pass for far more. The tobacco, honey and vanilla are perfectly balanced so that none eclipse the others. It settles into such a warm cozy boozy base that I’ve been wearing a spray to bed every night. I truly hope such a wonderful frag has not been discontinued and that the rumors are simply that as apparently has persisted off-and-on for many years. Perhaps I should pick up another bottle before prices skyrocket just to be extra cautious…

 

[N.CAL Fragrance Reviewer]

Yes Mugler has pulled the plug on Amen's flankers. Pure Malt is a good choice a very comforting scent, one that I do enjoy. Pure Havane I'm not a fan of but there's many who enjoy it. Regardless, glad you were able to acquire these. They are going up in premium as Mugler no longer stocks them on their website.

 

[hednic]

I fear I may have caught the last bus destined for A*men. I heard the line has been discontinued, so I grabbed what may be one of the final new bottles of Pure Havane and a mostly full used bottle of Pure Malt.

Good for you!

 

[Zgb]

I'm still not sure if the original A*Men is discontinued. I'm glad I got most of the flankers in time.

 

[Ken_Russell]

Seconding the same largely pleasant to downright impressive sensations gotten from the mostly either limited edition or barely still in production if not fully discontinued Amen flankers-maybe even more so than with the regular Mugler Amen

 

[Ifti]

Yes with you on this.
Had a little shower gel of A amen recently, rather enjoyed it. A bit of nostalgia, yet still an impressive fragrance. Comforting, lovely patch.
Slight reminisces in Hommage Voyageur for me and the Amen experience has also helped me appreciate HALH V more. Win!

 

[N.CAL Fragrance Reviewer]

I'm still not sure if the original A*Men is discontinued. I'm glad I got most of the flankers in time.

To my knowledge the Original is still available.

 

[Cadillacs&cologne]

My Pure Malt 80%-ish bottle arrived today. Another gorgeous A*men scent, although I find Pure Havane more unique, composed and with a better drydown. So impressed have I been with these two though that I grabbed a 70% bottle of Pure Leather as a blind buy. I then went back to FragranceNet and found that the bottle of Pure Havane that I bought new for $120 a month ago (which was $136 a few days ago) is now sold out. I really really hope this is just a dip in A*men production, but that seems to be wishful thinking.

 

[N.CAL Fragrance Reviewer]

My Pure Malt 80%-ish bottle arrived today. Another gorgeous A*men scent, although I find Pure Havane more unique, composed and with a better drydown. So impressed have I been with these two though that I grabbed a 70% bottle of Pure Leather as a blind buy. I then went back to FragranceNet and found that the bottle of Pure Havane that I bought new for $120 a month ago (which was $136 a few days ago) is now sold out. I really really hope this is just a dip in A*men production, but that seems to be wishful thinking.

Those are some of the more notable flankers from AMEN. Another one to look at is Pure Zest, that one carries a premium unfortunately.

 

[hednic]

Another gorgeous A*men scent, although I find Pure Havane more unique, composed and with a better drydown.

Agree with that assessment.

 

[ripjean]

Got lucky with some Pure Malt and Pure Havane today - went into a shop which is closing down - they had 2 Pure Malts and 1 Pure Havane, sealed, at £48 each with 20% off so around £38 ($50) a bottle - I bought them all! Love these fragrances, so happy to find these.

 

[naylor]

Got lucky with some Pure Malt and Pure Havane today - went into a shop which is closing down - they had 2 Pure Malts and 1 Pure Havane, sealed, at £48 each with 20% off so around £38 ($50) a bottle - I bought them all! Love these fragrances, so happy to find these.

Nice deal! Congrats, and I hope you enjoy them ... those are easily the two best flankers from the line.

 

[ripjean]

Nice deal! Congrats, and I hope you enjoy them ... those are easily the two best flankers from the line.

Thank you! I agree they are amongst by favourites, along with Ultra Zest and Pure Tonka.

 

[N.CAL Fragrance Reviewer]

Got lucky with some Pure Malt and Pure Havane today - went into a shop which is closing down - they had 2 Pure Malts and 1 Pure Havane, sealed, at £48 each with 20% off so around £38 ($50) a bottle - I bought them all! Love these fragrances, so happy to find these.

Thank you! I agree they are amongst by favourites, along with Ultra Zest and Pure Tonka.

Great finds. Are you planning on acquiring some of the other flankers as well?

 

[andym72]

Hmm, might have to get a backup Pure Havane

 

[Jay-Lux'eau]

Got lucky with some Pure Malt and Pure Havane today - went into a shop which is closing down - they had 2 Pure Malts and 1 Pure Havane, sealed, at £48 each with 20% off so around £38 ($50) a bottle - I bought them all! Love these fragrances, so happy to find these.

Lucker! I was hoping for the same but had no such luck trying some brick 'n mortar shops here. In fact one sales lady said other people had already come in asking for Pure Havane but she had to disappoint them as well. After that the damage for me was ~90£/107€/115$ online.

 

[hednic]

Got lucky with some Pure Malt and Pure Havane today - went into a shop which is closing down - they had 2 Pure Malts and 1 Pure Havane, sealed, at £48 each with 20% off so around £38 ($50) a bottle - I bought them all! Love these fragrances, so happy to find these.

Congrats and enjoy them!

 

[RCavs]

Prices of A*men taste of Fragrance and Ultra Zest have already skyrocketed, unfortunately...

 

[Andy the frenchy]

[...] Pure Havane is perhaps the cozziest, most warmth-evoking scent I have ever smelled [...]

I thought to put PH on my to-sale list, but decided not to, since like you, I find it very cozy (even if not the best thing ever produced).
Pure Malt was very weak on my skin the couple of times I tried it, and not outstanding in my book, but I hope you'll like it.

The only other two I tried worth a bottle (for me) are B*Men, and the original A*Men (I own the first, but the 2nd is a bit too sweet for me - in spite of being great).

 

[Cadillacs&cologne]

Agreed with the overall opinion of Pure Havane and Pure Malt. I also bought a 2/3rds full bottle of Pure Leather that arrived today and find this much less impressive. The leather note is far too sweet and underplayed, unlike Tom Ford’s Ombre Leather which I find to be sweet but also bold and pronounced. The leather in Pure Leather is almost a sickly-sweet odor that I really do not find pleasant. I’ll give it a few more tries but this one I may well end up reselling.

 

[naylor]

Prices of A*men taste of Fragrance and Ultra Zest have already skyrocketed, unfortunately...

This gives me flashbacks to 2011, when the original limited edition flankers sold out and were immediately fetching extraordinary prices on the secondary market.

 

[ripjean]

Great finds. Are you planning on acquiring some of the other flankers as well?

Thanks. I have at least a couple of bottles of all the ones I want (Malt, Havane, Zest, Kryptomint, Tonka,). If I come across any others at a good price I will get them.

Lucker! I was hoping for the same but had no such luck trying some brick 'n mortar shops here. In fact one sales lady said other people had already come in asking for Pure Havane but she had to disappoint them as well. After that the damage for me was ~90£/107€/115$ online.

Yep, was lucky! The shop was busy, but luckily people were buying the Armani's, Diors, Hugo Boss etc - no-one really looking at the Mugler's! I guess masculine Mugler's are not all that popular outside Fragcomm, which is why they are getting discontinued possibly.

Congrats and enjoy them!

Thanks Hednic.

 

[N.CAL Fragrance Reviewer]

Prices of A*men taste of Fragrance and Ultra Zest have already skyrocketed, unfortunately...

Yep Ultra Zest went up in premium quite quickly if I recalled.

 

[H_West]

Better late than never!

I love Pure Havane! I ended up selling Pure Malt. Didn't see that coming but I can't say I regret it. Became hard to wear

 

[Cadillacs&cologne]

Pure Leather has grown on me. It’s definitely not the destinctive typical type of leather accord one (myself included) would expect in an A*men flanker. It’s actually quite surprising. It reminds me of an old, dirty leather jacket that’s always been hung up near a sweet, soft candle in the front doorway of an old home. That mixed in with church frankincense. I do like it but it certainly is not something everyone will gravitate to or even appreciate. It’s a scent to be using sparingly and only in the right weather for the right occasion. Pure Malt and even Pure Havane are more versatile.

 

[N.CAL Fragrance Reviewer]

Better late than never!

I love Pure Havane! I ended up selling Pure Malt. Didn't see that coming but I can't say I regret it. Became hard to wear

That was the opposite for me. Can't stand Pure Havane.

 

[hednic]

I love Pure Havane!

As do I.

 

[H_West]

That was the opposite for me. Can't stand Pure Havane.

Yeah, I've noticed our tastes differ quite a lot. I still like Pure Malt though, it's just that I never found a good opportunity to wear it. I wore Pure Havane this weekend and it sure is still a love

 

[N.CAL Fragrance Reviewer]

Yeah, I've noticed our tastes differ quite a lot. I still like Pure Malt though, it's just that I never found a good opportunity to wear it. I wore Pure Havane this weekend and it sure is still a love

If you resided in the States I would've been more than happy to give you my bottle. I divested it off about 2 years ago to another fellow BNer. Only reason I bought it was that it was the last one during the original release back in 2011.

 

[AfluentlyFragrant]

Why pull the plug on these flankers? Unless I'm overestimating the demand they seemed to be a big money maker for TM.

 

[ripjean]

Why pull the plug on these flankers? Unless I'm overestimating the demand they seemed to be a big money maker for TM.

I don't think they are a money maker- they fairly niche in comparison to the ADG, Bleu De Chanel's and Dior Sauvages of the world! These flankers become sought after only when discontinued (mainly for new fragcomm members who have not had a chance to get their hands on it). I don't think the whole concept of cigar and whiskey smelling fragrances appeals to L'oreal so I do think that they won't be coming back, unless there is another change of ownership at Mugler.

 

[naylor]

I don't think they are a money maker- they fairly niche in comparison to the ADG, Bleu De Chanel's and Dior Sauvages of the world! These flankers become sought after only when discontinued (mainly for new fragcomm members who have not had a chance to get their hands on it). I don't think the whole concept of cigar and whiskey smelling fragrances appeals to L'oreal so I do think that they won't be coming back, unless there is another change of ownership at Mugler.

Well said -- my sentiments exactly. We are, after all, an extremely niche community within the world of perfume consumers.

 

[StylinLA]

Pure Malt was the only one that really clicked with me. It just didn't seem as over the top as some of the other flankers.

Actually really like it.

I'm no more an expert than any other long time Basenoter. I think the A*Men flankers had a very strong following among hardcore fans of the original scent, but the number of those hard core followers dwindles down a lot compared to the heavy hitters like Bleu de Channel, Aqua di Gio, Sauvage, etc. Plus, I think A*Men's days as a big seller are behind it.

I like A*Men and Pure Malt a lot, but I think they are very secondary scents these days.

 

[StylinLA]

Yeah, I've noticed our tastes differ quite a lot. I still like Pure Malt though, it's just that I never found a good opportunity to wear it. I wore Pure Havane this weekend and it sure is still a love

Easy for me to spend your money but try Naxos.

 

[N.CAL Fragrance Reviewer]

Easy for me to spend your money but try Naxos.

Naxos would be the next ideal alternative. Pure Havane might eventually carry a higher price tag than Naxos because its increasingly absurd premium.

 

[H_West]

Easy for me to spend your money but try Naxos.

I always appreciate new suggestions, so thanks And Naxos is a good one, I've used up a decant, which I enjoyed, but I'm now satisfied with my bottle of PH.

 

[StylinLA]

I always appreciate new suggestions, so thanks And Naxos is a good one, I've used up a decant, which I enjoyed, but I'm now satisfied with my bottle of PH.

Självklart. Njut alltid av din input. Jag pratar inte svenska. Jävla USA-geografi och hybris gjorde oss lata med att lära oss andra språk. Jag är mycket imponerad över hur många europeiska Basenoters som talar fantastisk engelska.

 

[H_West]

Självklart. Njut alltid av din input. Jag pratar inte svenska. Jävla USA-geografi och hybris gjorde oss lata med att lära oss andra språk. Jag är mycket imponerad över hur många europeiska Basenoters som talar fantastisk engelska.

Wow, thanks! To be fair I'm getting more out of learning English than you would be by learning Swedish, but I like your humble approach.

 

[AfluentlyFragrant]

I don't think they are a money maker- they fairly niche in comparison to the ADG, Bleu De Chanel's and Dior Sauvages of the world! These flankers become sought after only when discontinued (mainly for new fragcomm members who have not had a chance to get their hands on it). I don't think the whole concept of cigar and whiskey smelling fragrances appeals to L'oreal so I do think that they won't be coming back, unless there is another change of ownership at Mugler.

Well said -- my sentiments exactly. We are, after all, an extremely niche community within the world of perfume consumers.

Yeah, you both summed it up. Easy for me to lose sight of the fact that I'm in a minority. Money talks, sometimes unfortunately.

I'm open to suggestions of some decently comparable fragrances. Not necessarily imitations, just something in the same genre that might evoke similar feelings.

 

[ripjean]

Yeah, you both summed it up. Easy for me to lose sight of the fact that I'm in a minority. Money talks, sometimes unfortunately.

I'm open to suggestions of some decently comparable fragrances. Not necessarily imitations, just something in the same genre that might evoke similar feelings.

I think someone has mentioned Naxos as been close to Pure Havane. Naxos is more expensive at the moment, but in a couple of years, people will be paying more for Pure Havane than Naxos!