A*Men Pure Tonka by Mugler

This is a perfume with all the letters. I absolutely love the kilometre-long trails. The first time I tried it on blotting paper, I kept it in my jacket; the scent permeated it for days, although I later thought it was too invasive. Be warned, never judge a perfume solely by blotting paper. A year later, I smelled it again and had to buy it: it smells like a caramel macchiato, the only way to describe that rich, sweet aroma. It is a gourmand as it should be. On skin, it lasts more than 24 hours and the trail is kilometre-long; if there is a breeze, people will smell you from the other side of the street. What a wonder, what a pity they don’t make perfumes like this. Thanks Mugler for this fantastic and delicious fragrance that I treasured like gold in a casket, although it is extremely discontinued. I sold it because, although I used 10ml, I applied it drop by drop due to its potency and rarely found an occasion to use it, so I put it up for sale so someone who looks for it can enjoy it properly.

It arrived today, I got it cheap on a forum. I am missing the Pure Coffee and the Pure Wood, but this is the queen. It smells like Havane and Malt with a sweet tonka fixation that is not cloying. Smelling it is seeing the shit that exists today in designer perfumery; it is not rare that it does not settle, it was niche in the 90s. It reminds me of Sauvage Elixir at the start: brutal lavender, sour with licorice, bursts of Havane and coffee/pachouli from the original Amén. In dry down, hidden suede with a liquor-type whisky like Malt. Pure genius. If you find it, do not hesitate.

Exquisite gourmand fragrance, a combo loaded with coffee, vanilla and tonka; to me it smells like roasted coffee or latte. Very good with powerful longevity. With P. Tonka we have excellent projection and a giant longevity of 9 hours on my skin, even more. This sensual aroma is ideal for any moment, especially in cold seasons.

This is my best winter perfume: it projects for 7 hours and lasts 10. It is sweet with a coffee that harmonises with the vanilla. If it is very cold and you put on a scarf, it performs better; as the temperature of the neck rises, it potentiates the aroma and makes it more vanilla and moderate. Do you remember? It cost 100 dollars, but I had the fortune to buy it for 50 at an outlet. I bought it blind; one must risk to win, I like betting.

This perfume exceeds 12 hours of longevity. It is curious what happens to me with Mugler and its flankers: they are not the ones that match my tastes the most, but I recognise certain quality and charm. This shares facets with Feve Deliciuese and above all with New Haarlem, which I consider better, although of course, it is also much more expensive hehe. It is a soft coffee, like a cappuccino, with vanilla, a touch of cocoa and the tonka on top, all very mixed with few edges. The patchouli is there giving that Mugler DNA, and the rest of the notes are intuited but always at a lower volume. Personally it is a scent to wear once in a while. Despite not seeing it as linear as it seems at first, smelling coffee every day for more than 12 hours does not quite seem right to me hehe.

First and foremost, I want to emphasise something central: skin pH. The more I delve into this world, the more I realise fragrances smell and last differently on everyone. That said, Pure Tonka is the most potent and dark fragrance from Thierry Mugler. At some point, it reminds me of Pure Havane. In my opinion, it’s the best from this house, by far.

Interesting, trying it now. It’s sweet, which I usually don’t like due to cloying and poor versatility in warm weather. That said, it seems the most durable and with the best projection of all the Muglers I’ve tried, which generally have poor intensity. I don’t like applying it 10 times to make an impression; here, five sprays are respectable. The tonka bean is there, but less than expected, mixed with vanilla and something like smoked coconut, chocolate. The smoky touch is the most exceptional, frankly special and elegant. For the price, it’s a good option for half the year; for autumn-winter, it’s ideal. It depends on what you’re looking for. Initially, I was seeking a personal scent, my signature, but increasingly I find it’s like dressing: you can wear different fragrances according to the occasion, even keeping common notes. It’s a strange path, a perfumery hobby in the midst of many worlds and reflections.

An unprecedented genius, this flanker of A*Men has me hooked. Never has a gourmand been so gourmand. From the opening, it’s pompous, nothing fresh, zero lavender or mint, it’s a sweet almost edible accord; it smells to me of coconut condensed milk with caramel (I assume liquorice) over patchouli. A coffee-type fragrance, but neither the tester nor the official website lists this accord; instead, there’s a note of creamy cappuccino with vanilla, which reminded me of the reformulated Angel, quite unisex or feminine. Pure Tonka isn’t the mecca of originality; it’s Oriental-Amber and offers a caramelised praline, dense and full-bodied. We should appreciate a fragrance this gourmand. The good thing about the A*Men line is that almost all have Jacques Cavallier’s nose, so they share DNA but are different. This succulent Pure Tonka and its brother A*Men share the opening and dry-down; the big change is in the heart: this Tonka is more accessible, with a sensation of creamy, pastry-like caramel, not burnt sugar like the 96 star. Totally recommended if you like sweets; I’m careful not to take a bite out of the bottle and end up drinking the liquid.

When I first spray it, it smells very similar to Guerlain’s L’Homme Idéal, with cherry alcohol notes and the powdery dry-down of tonka bean, but Guerlain’s is linear. Thierry Mugler isn’t from this planet; his fragrances evolve magically with your pH and the weather. In the cold, it lasts 2 or 3 hours, then it becomes sweet, creamy, caramelised like dulce de leche, with a bitter touch on a strong base of delicious liquorice, which resembles ripe cherry. Then the tonka bean comes out, lasting another 4 hours, with very good and strong projection. On hot days, the tonka bean comes out from the start, the liquorice lasts a short while on skin and the fragrance opens on a base of burnt and creamy caramel, slightly vanilla with the tonka around. It’s magnificent, I fell in love. It lasts on skin until the next day.

I’ve been able to liken this gourmand fragrance to a coffee latte or a mocha… in short, the review is on my YouTube channel, MOY OLAF. Enjoy my point of view. A hug.

1. Better coffee than Pure Coffee: this one is sweet, like Starbucks. 2. Brutal fixation: lasts 15 hours on skin and a week on clothes without effort. 3. Heavy but rich trail. 4. Everyone should own it.

Smells literally like a coconut candy stick. Delicious with an enormous fixative and long-lasting on skin.

Pure Tonka: the best of gourmand, surpassing Uomo Ferragamo and Intense in intensity, projection, and trail. If you overapply, you get dizzy; it’s potent. I put it on my shirt and it still smelled of it a week later. Women love it; it’s a conquest scent. I give it 9 for scent, 11 for everything else. It breaks barriers, draws attention, people either love or hate you, but women will adore you. The best; I take off my hat.

I’m searching everywhere for where to buy it. Does anyone from Chile have details? Excellent reviews, any other similar ones?

Pure Tonka smells like this: opening, cocoa liqueur with vanilla; after two hours, a cocada; a mix of dulce de leche and coconut cookies. Finally, powdery cocoa that evokes old books. I would have liked more pink pepper and caramel in the base. Good, but it’s a matter of taste.