What’s the deal with the A* for men flankers?

[Miltz]

Hey guys,

I recently got into A* for men Pure Havane but it’s very quickly become very hard to get. I can now only find it stocked on two websites available to me, everywhere else is sold out including Muglers website.

With some research I’ve seen some articles that’s it’s been discontinued…. Amongst seemingly all the others?!

Which is sad, because I desperately wanted to get into Pure Wood, Pure Tonka and Pure Malt!

So, my question is, what’s going on with all of the A* flankers since L’Oreal bought Mugler? Are they officially being discontinued or do we expect to see them back in stock some time?

 

[hednic]

Over the years they have periodically reappeared and then disappeared again, and this has been happening for a while at least in my area.

 

[StylinLA]

I haven't chased any of the flankers since PURE MALT about 10 years ago, but from what I can tell, they sort of come and go and come back as hednic said.

Other than the original and PURE MALT, I don't think many others are big sellers in the big picture.

 

[masonjarjar]

I don’t know. It’s getting weird out there. I’m sad I didn’t buy a Pure Malt when I had the chance to pay $50. But I can’t imagine it won’t be back. There must be some reason they’ve gone missing.

 

[Varanis Ridari]

Owner change and pandemic-induced stopping of manufacture, materials/labor shortage, supply-chain issues. Most cheapies are now cresting $50 rather than $30 like they were two years ago, plus a lot of things have seen soft (unannounced/unconfirmed) discontinuation for some of these reasons. Maybe they'll come back, or maybe they'll all be unicorns like Ultra Zest in 6 months.

Funny seeing a collection of discontinued Mugler flankers becoming some kind of weird Instagram flex in the near future, but here we are. I was never super into the range past the original A*Men anyway, so I'll let the hypebeasts have their clout.

 

[ultravisitor]

Over the years they have periodically reappeared and then disappeared again, and this has been happening for a while at least in my area.

Yep. Pure Malt, at least, seems to get discontinued and then put back into production for a *limited time* every now and then. I'm sure it will come back eventually.

 

[N.CAL Fragrance Reviewer]

I haven't chased any of the flankers since PURE MALT about 10 years ago, but from what I can tell, they sort of come and go and come back as hednic said.

Other than the original and PURE MALT, I don't think many others are big sellers in the big picture.

Personally I've never been into the flankers. Only Pure Malt made an impact for me but I would take the original over it any day.

 

[NickZee]

Owner change and pandemic-induced stopping of manufacture, materials/labor shortage, supply-chain issues. Most cheapies are now cresting $50 rather than $30 like they were two years ago, plus a lot of things have seen soft (unannounced/unconfirmed) discontinuation for some of these reasons. Maybe they'll come back, or maybe they'll all be unicorns like Ultra Zest in 6 months.

Funny seeing a collection of discontinued Mugler flankers becoming some kind of weird Instagram flex in the near future, but here we are. I was never super into the range past the original A*Men anyway, so I'll let the hypebeasts have their clout.

Flex post coming soon :laugh:. I had always taken for granted that they’d be around forever and now I am short Kryptomint and Tonka

 

[sjg3839]

The only one I struggled to purchase years ago was Pure Coffee a few years back. Finally got a bottle from Macys for a good price. As previously mentioned, they come and go.

 

[Andy the frenchy]

Yep. Pure Malt, at least, seems to get discontinued and then put back into production for a *limited time* every now and then. I'm sure it will come back eventually.

They are not bestseller today. It's just that Clarins (and now L'Oreal) probably do not produce a batch every year, and when they do, they create huge ones.

 

[DoctorM81]

The only one I struggled to purchase years ago was Pure Coffee a few years back. Finally got a bottle from Macys for a good price. As previously mentioned, they come and go.

Yeah it was very hard to come by at one time. I overpaid somewhat for mine during the hype, but it was my favourite from the line (plus I do recall that the seller was really mad the auction didn't go even higher!), so no regrets.

What's the situation with this line in 2022?

 

[andym72]

I've only ever liked the Flankers... in fact I'm a bit of an A*Men Flankers tart...

From what I understand, the brands or brand holders have to pay ongoing licensing fees back to the likes of Symrise, Givaudan, IFF etc, if the fragrances was originally created by one of those companies. And it just so happened that when L'Oreal took over the Clarins Group fragrance division, they dropped every A*Men variant apart from the original and the very latest flanker, Ultimate. And now even Ultimate has gone.

I will leave you to draw your own conclusions, given those two facts.

 

[hednic]

I will leave you to draw your own conclusions, given those two facts.

Thanks for that interesting factoid.

 

[Shaheen]

It would seem that L’Oreal is taking Mugler in a different direction. All of the quirky gourmand fragrances seem to be disappearing, and being replaced by what? A plethora of forgettable Mugler Cologne flankers that pale in comparison to the original. Alien Man and two flankers, which I didn't care for at all.

And all that's really left is A*Men (1996). Although I wouldn't be surprised if that one got discontinued as well. Mugler used to be one of my favorite fragrance houses ~12 years ago, but it's almost unrecognizable to me at present.

 

[Schnitter]

I took a 1 year break from fragrances, and came back to realize they've discontinued them all. I have Ultra Zest, Havanne, and Malt. Was hoping to get coffee in the collection but after watching those ebay prices, I want to sell mine!

 

[Shaheen]

I have all the flankers except Taste of Fragrance (Pure Chili) and Ultimate. I skipped ToF when it released because I didn't enjoy the Red Hots candy accord. Ultimate... just smelled like some weird "blue" department store fragrance. idk about that one, maybe I'll revisit it at some point.

 

[Renato]

The only thing I'd like to add to this discussion is Pure Leather and Pure Shot.........because no one ever seems to mention them in these discussions of A*Men flankers.

Nor are B*Men and Ice Men.
Cheers,
Renato

 

[Speedway]

I've only ever liked the Flankers... in fact I'm a bit of an A*Men Flankers tart...

From what I understand, the brands or brand holders have to pay ongoing licensing fees back to the likes of Symrise, Givaudan, IFF etc, if the fragrances was originally created by one of those companies. And it just so happened that when L'Oreal took over the Clarins Group fragrance division, they dropped every A*Men variant apart from the original and the very latest flanker, Ultimate. And now even Ultimate has gone.

I will leave you to draw your own conclusions, given those two facts.

Ultimate is still available on the Mugler website

 

[Proust_Madeleine]

Only thing I’ll add is that I’ll never forget an SA telling me I HAD to try the flankers when I went to repurchase the original and pulling out at least 4 or 5 bottles. It was so much fun, all at once smelling these weirdo futuristic gourmand takes on A Men. Something about those rubber bottles made me feel like I was in David Cronenberg’s local Macy’s or something like that.

 

[Ken_Russell]

Seconding the hypothesis of their quite recurrent disappearance and/or (more or less) recurrent (re) surfacing on the market.

Having said this, so far enjoyed most, in no further particular order and thus likelier to recommend especially: Ultra Zest, Pure Havane, Pure Malt and Pure Malt Creation, Kryptomint, Pure Shot, Pure Tonka, Pure Wood, Pure Coffee.

 

[Andyjreid]

Yeah it was very hard to come by at one time. I overpaid somewhat for mine during the hype, but it was my favourite from the line (plus I do recall that the seller was really mad the auction didn't go even higher!), so no regrets.

What's the situation with this line in 2022?

When I emailed them through the Mugler website a while back they confirmed that all flankers had been discontinued BUT as others have said that has happened before. However given how little attention they have given their male fragrance lines over the last 5 years I'd say there's a good chance the A*Men line is as good as dead.

L'Oréal will be looking at profit margins and I'm pretty sure they'll continue to focus on Angel, Alien and their flankers as these still seem to sell well