Hey fellow perfume/cologne fans,

I would like to highlight something regarding gift sets. A few days ago I stopped by Tangs@Pavilion and chanced upon a Thierry Mugler A*Men gift set reatailing for RM150. A regular 50ml bottle of A*Men retails for RM194 so the gift set was almost a bargain. The set contains a 50ml EDT (rubber flask), 50ml shower gel and a 50ml aftershave/moisturizer. When i got home I noticed that the normally blue colour of A*Men EDT's contents was instead dark green (similar to Bulgari Aqua bottle). I posted this fact of mine on a fragrance forum and was told that the change in colour was most probably caused by exposure to light or aging of the dyes/colouring used. On the gift set box, the manufactured date was listed as December 2008.

Feeling very unsatisfied I called Luxasia and spoke to the brand manager in charge and she agreed to replace my discoloured A*Men. I was told that this kind of discolouration sometimes happens. So I went back to Tangs and managed to get it replaced. The SAs there needed a lot of convincing but in the end it was settled. Even though there was no difference in smell between the normal blue A*Men and my dark green A*Men, the colour change means that the perfume will not last as long as a new one. After examining the product code, I concluded that the dark green A*Men was in fact made in 2004/2005 instead of 2008.

So guys, be wary when u buy gift sets especially those that are heavily discounted. I suspect that gift sets are used to clear off old stock obtained from overseas markets. Always requests for a new gift set and not the one on display because no one knows how long it has been exposed to the store lights.

Btw, remember my old dark green A*Men....well the SA just took it and place it back into a normal box that used to house my current blue A*Men and taped it back, all ready to be sold to the next unsuspecting customer.

A*Men smells great by the way. Chocolate and coffee galore, it's becoming one of my favourite frags. It's very long lasting too and with 2-3 sprays it's powerful enough to attract attention due to its awesome sillage.

Cheers.