Thierry Mugler Angel

Angel invented the modern gourmand category by pairing dark, earthy patchouli with a candy-sweet fruit-and-caramel opening, and it remains one of the most divisive fragrances ever released. This One Pure Drop oil captures the sweetness readily - melon, coconut and a cotton-candy accord open bright and sugary - and carries a real patchouli-chocolate base that nods clearly to the original's DNA. What's toned down is the patchouli's earthy, almost dirty edge that gives real Angel its power and polarises wearers; here it's rounded off into something warmer and more conventionally gourmand, less likely to clear a room but also less distinctive. Fans who find the original too intense may actually prefer this softer version. As an oil it's strong enough that one drop is plenty - this is not a fragrance that benefits from a heavy hand regardless of format.