FRAGRANCE | Ice*Men EDT by Thierry Mugler: A rather odd but viable summer frag

halfwhiteboy - Ice*Men EDT by Thierry Mugler 02

Last year I managed to score a tester bottle of Thierry Mugler's Ice*Men, which I believe is already discontinued. A flanker of the house's popular A*Men line, this one is a little different, however, judging by the bottle design. It eschews the characteristic rubber casing and moves the trademark star to the side, deviating even further from the bas-relief aesthetic of A*Men by going for a depressed carving instead. And I like it. It looks like the bottle is broken or has a chip on the side, which I think it's cool.

Ice*Men stays true to its name with its icy opening, with a dry patchouli coming through almost immediately. It's fresh with a little spicy sharpness. The freshness isn't coming from mint, however, which clearly differentiates itself from A*men Kryptomint. It's not citrusy fresh either but more like a refreshing alcoholic drink. There's also hardly any sweetness here, if at all. Unlike Kryptomint, it doesn't carry A*Men's delicious tonka-patchouli DNA.

halfwhiteboy - Ice*Men EDT by Thierry Mugler 01

The patch here is dry, its earthy and woody character laid bare. And I like how exposed and practically unadorned it is. It's clean, though, far from the ingredient's dirty archetype displayed in varying degrees in fragrances like Diptyque Tempo. The absolute want of any weighty sweetness only emphasizes its lightness, making Ice*Men a rather odd but very viable summer fragrance.

Both projection and longevity are fairly moderate to me overall. The scent is never loud but it can last for a good few hours, affording you random whiffs throughout the day. It dries down to a dry, dusty, woody base and somehow it still feels like the iciness is still there even though I'm sure it no longer is. All things considered, this is well worth a try.

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