Womanity by Thierry Mugler

Sweet and savory.   Fig, Caviar.  Epic fail that will probably be a huge hit.  The bottle is super-interesting, and it’s not nearly as tragic weird looking in person. It’s got the Mugler name.  I really wanted to like it because the guys at Mane were so excited about it, and it uses their new Jungle Essence extraction.  Caviar and fig should go together in some weirdly unique way. But that they threw a gallon of Pink Sugar on top of it instead of letting the fig naturally sweeten some of the other notes mystifies me.  The caviar part – which I don’t read as caviar because that’s fishy and strong, and this is just salty – is interesting, and I kinda like it a lot, I think. It’s hard to tell in the cotton candy mess.  Think your kids snagged the caviar out of the fridge and shoved it in their Pop Rocks.

I don’t hate it, at least not at the level that I hate Angel.  But Angel, despite my loathing of it, is distinct, fully formed and lovable/hatable. Womanity isn’t nearly that offensive, and there’s a couple of moments while I’m wearing it that I think they’re onto something, and then it veers off into something else indistinct and murky and less imaginative.  Disappointing.

But that bottle.  I still can’t quite figure out whether I think  it’s the most atrocious thing I’ve ever seen or the most interesting. If only the juice inside had matched the freak factor of the bottle. I’m trying to think of other bottles that are great/interesting/freakish and the perfume inside doesn’t really come close to it.  Oriens is one.  Others?

  • BPerfumed says:

    Isn’t that Medusa’s head? Doesn’t Versace hold all rights to it? :)

    I knew the juice would be sugary and nasty… pink-colored liquid must be some sort of code.

  • Kate says:

    the bottle is ghastly. (Unless perhaps one is stoned.) AND pink! However, someone with fragrance taste that I admire, said this juice was kinda interesting.

  • Nancy Walker says:

    Oh, the Givenchy Orgzanza and Indecence bottles have to qualify in the “what were they thinking?” category of container design. Nice scents but annoyingly peculiar bottles.

  • nigel says:

    Ah. After too many years in the cosmetics business this perhaps is not the most stylish of bottle shapes. There has been worse….Halston was ‘interesting’.
    Found some really outstanding perfume bottles, all hand made in Vancouver by an amazing glass artist http://www.sidestreetstudio.com/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?search_in_description=1&keywords=perfume&osCsid=9e12a823406db6141f0c4c5ad42fbfddancouver and signed by the artist. They are at

  • Sherri M. says:

    I wanted to add I think all the Bond bottles are great, but haven’t liked a single one. I really like the MDCI bottles (though in that case I actually like all the perfumes) in pictures, but are they really all that nice/elegant in person? I thought the Auguste bottles might be nice to add to my collection, but the perfumes were all awful. Thank goodness they didn’t make a blue-and-white one; I know I’d buy it no matter how horrific the juice might be! What is everyone’s favorite perfume bottle?

    • Tamara*J says:

      Sherri,
      I think that Teo Cabanel’s bottles are very attractive.
      When I take my Alahine amber lady,
      her solid crystal square shape and etched flowers are pretty and I always stop to admire it.

      Plus she smells BOMB.

  • Tamara*J says:

    Wow, it cut me off!
    I meant to say-

    Love, Tamara

    ok bye!

    BTW, I think that bottle is oogly with an O. :P

  • Tamara*J says:

    Hello fume’ heads in blog world,

    So this is totally unrelated to this post but I just gotta put it out there that I’m craving vintage Femme really bad.
    I have the tiniest couple drops and I love it.
    I want to get enough to spray myself with it’s skank.

    I’m crazy to want to in the summer huh?
    Or maybe some of you think thats’ crazy anytime of the year?

    That is all.

  • Sherri M. says:

    I don’t care for it, but it does like something one of my teens might bring home. I admit it looks like it could be sold at Hot Topic! Some of my teens like that kind of edgy, “freakish” look. I would imagine imagine this perfume is being marketed towards a younger audience. Our Sephora, now dominated by Toki Doki, Urban Decay, Tarina Tarantino (did I get that right?) et al., has become one of my teens’ favorite stores.

    • Nancy Walker says:

      Agree they must be going after a very young demographic. “Freakish” bottle, icky color, too-cute name. Uggghhhh! Not appealing to a …uuummm… very mature grownup like me.

  • AnnieA says:

    The bottle looks like it’s a pillar from Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis”.

  • Josie says:

    This bottle reminds me of the alien from the movie “Alien”.

  • Disteza says:

    I don’t know, I think I like the bottle! It’s kind of Geiger-does-Art-Nouveau, and I’m hoping cheapies show up on eBay so I can empty them out and put a much more appropriate perfume in there, like Profumum’s Olibanum, or maybe Aftelier’s Cepes.

    • Disteza says:

      And as for other crazy bottles, is it just me, or does the new bottle for L’Air du Temps look like the glass version of a knuckle duster?

      • Louise says:

        I just spotted the new L’Air bottle on Perfume Shrine-Oy, Oy!

        It seems it had a Rorchach test as a model-is it a dove? brass knuckles? your mother’s neurosis???

  • Ann N. says:

    Hi Patty, thanks for the review on Womanity. Sounds at least interesting, if nothing else. I hope to try it sometime but not sure when, as I have been in crisis mode the past 2 1/2 weeks, and have been wearing only my summer comfort scents like SL’s Fleur de Citronnier and Kai. My son, 9, nearly drowned in a pool in Florida and is in the hospital now, being kept highly sedated, while they wait for his lungs and air leaks to heal. Would greatly appreciate any prayers and good thoughts for him. Thanks so much!!

    • Tiara says:

      Ann: So sorry to hear about your son’s accident. Of course prayers and good thoughts will head your way. I’m glad you’ve found at least of couple of scents that offer some comfort in this stressful time.

    • mals86 says:

      Oh no… we’ll be thinking of you and your son. I have a 9yo boy myself (will give him an extra squeeze) and I know you’re worried. Best wishes for his recovery, and your peace of mind.

  • dissed says:

    My 14-year-old would adore that bottle, but she would hate the sweet.

  • Nava says:

    That bottle reminds me of a gargoyle. Or a nightmare; not sure which yet.

    The scent sounds like something I would like, but then again, I liked Angel when it first came out. Now I want to kill myself and whoever’s wearing it every time I smell it.

  • Ruanne says:

    When my daughter was a toddler, she drank a partial bottle of Jean Paul Gaultier. I felt that I should have gotten the blue ribbon bad mother award for showing up at the emergency room with a drunken 2 year old AND having to show them that particular bottle. Incidentally, the emergency room docs (yes, plural, because the doctor called everyone in to laugh at it) were so taken with the bottle that I let them keep it.

    • dissed says:

      GREAT story. You should tuck away a bottle for her.

      • Ruanne says:

        I did show her a bottle, and she got a kick out of it (although she didn’t care for the scent- probably for the same reason I couldn’t stand the smell of tequila after college.)

  • Style Spy says:

    I’ve become really, really leery of any perfume tinted pink. It almost seems a guarantee I’m not going to like it. I think they use it as a signifier to people who DO want Pink Sugar.

    My cat’s favorite treats are dried whole anchovies that I buy at the Asian grocery store. I love the brininess of anchovies & caviar in food, but I keep thinking about the whiff I get whenever I open the container that holds Shine’s fishies and I know for certain I don’t want to wear that (or anything like it) on my skin.

  • Musette says:

    This bottle looks like Shelob commissioned it – and if Joe puts it near his others and they come to life one night – well, he’s in for a rough ride.

    And the juice sounds terrifying, much like Shelob herself; but I hate Angel like a mongoose hates a snake so what do I know?

    xoxo >-)

    • Joe says:

      Maybe I should line my lovelies up on the dresser, looking down on me… I think Idole would make sort of a good guardian angel, actually.

  • Louise says:

    I adore a good fig note (including BBW Brown Sugar and Fig!), with my favorite being the deep rich fig of the Slatkin Absinthe/Fig mix. And the idea of salted fig sounds incredible. But I think after reading your review…I’ll just have to try the fruit on a plate with some sea salt.

    I don’t hate Angel-go ahead, have at me-first BBW, now this!

    I mostly only like minimalist bottles-such as Piguet black, so I’ve not been lured by pretty bottles with stinky juice, so far….oh, except that UFO thingy-not stinky, but quite meh.

    • Nava says:

      I’m right there with you Louise. I love fig, and B&BW doesn’t annoy me nearly as much as it used to! :x

    • Disteza says:

      Ya know, I’m not a huge Martha Stewart fan, but she has a recipe for honey-roasted salted figs that is sublime beyond all description. I can post it later if anyone’s interested.

      • Shelley says:

        Erm…Louise piqued my interest…now you’ve got me looking around for a salted fig…yum!

      • Claudia says:

        Please, please, please………..

        • Disteza says:

          OK, here’s the recipe. It’s not only quick, it’s easy too:

          Ingredients
          1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
          1/4 cup honey
          10 ounces dried Turkish figs
          10 ounces dried Black Mission figs
          1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

          Directions
          1. Lightly brush a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil.
          2. Whisk 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil and 1/4 cup honey in a large bowl.
          3. Add 10 ounces each of dried Turkish and Black Mission figs; toss to coat.
          4. Arrange figs in a single layer on prepared sheet. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt.
          5. Roast until fragrant and caramelized, 12 to 15 minutes. Immediately loosen figs from sheet with a metal spatula.
          6. Let figs cool slightly, loosening again after 5 minutes. Transfer to a platter, and serve with assorted grapes.

  • Shelley says:

    Well, hmmm, there’s definitely a “meh” contingent developing on this one. Is it “meh” overall, or just that people want more ooh la la?

    Disappointing/misleading bottles…I think I’d add Feerie to that list. And the new Puccis.

  • Joe says:

    Uh oh. I don’t think Robin seemed to get as much cotton candy out of this as you and Denyse seem to have. I’m still curious to try it, and I wouldn’t mind having one of those itty bitty 10ml bottles to put next to Lubin Idole, mini Gres Cabaret, and mini Dallisime (those Dali bottles are freakish, no?). For whatever it’s worth, I don’t hate Angel and enjoy Alien Liqueur.

    I’m expecting my free sample to arrive one of these days, but I heard from a friend who got hers today that it’s just one of those foil bubble things. Pffth!

  • Much as loathe Angel, I admire Thierry Mugler Parfum, it’s a company that’s got b*lls and two classics under its belt — I’m counting the Cologne as one.
    But I’m feeling like you on Womanity. I find the bottle loathsome and while I *did* manage to wear the perfume on skin at least three times without gagging, I ended decided, like you, that it was a mess. But I’m counting on the Bath and Body Works/ Body Shop brigade to make a hit out of it.

  • Dina C says:

    I wore TM’s Cologne on Monday. It’s the only one of his that I like so far. The Pink Sugar warning puts me off of Womanity. I shy away from the uber-sweet scents. Ugh. But it has that so-ugly-I-can’t-stop-looking-at-it fascination about it. If I see it in a store, I’m sure I’ll sniff some (on blotter paper, not skin!) just to assuage my curiosity.

  • Sashinka says:

    Alien has a great bottle. Oh, another Thierry Mugler!