Athens

[MaeKitty]

A reformulation and modernization of a true Classical Greek perfume, myrrhine: voluptuous myrrh, golden honey, red wine, and sweet flowers.

In the Bottle: Spiced honey (reminded me of anchasta's Hunny Bunny)
On Me: Oh, I love this. It's sweet, rich and a little dark. I see it as sort of a gold blend (as opposed to dark, red, etc...). The wine makes it a little tart, but in a refreshing way. The flowers add a fresh element. Love it! Might need a 5ml one day!

[steelxrose]

Upon first whiff of Athens, I could have sworn there was pepper in this. I see now that the culprit could be my nemesis: myrrh. Unfortunately, this one goes bitter and gross. And, unfortunately, because my skin amps myrrh like I can't believe, I had a peppery-spicy headache.

 

Pass.

[donnatron]

Imp: It smells like drinking red wine in the bulk herbs section of a health food shop.

 

Wet: This is NICE! It morphs instantly into this sweet, floral, incense-y scent. It smells like going to a friend's house for drinks and getting a glass of wine and sitting next to a nice floral arrangement while your host lights some incense.

 

Dry: Mostly it's the myrhh coming through, but I am a myrhh lover so this doesn't bother me. This is really sexy and heady and a wine scent I feel that I can wear in the daytime.

 

Throw: Good.

 

Overall: I'm trying a few scents on before heading back out for the night, and this might be my scent of choice this evening. And many others.

[Lyrical]

In vial: sour! Red wine, honey and rich myrrh.

 

Wet on skin: still sour, but not for long! The red wine and myrrh are dry and powdery, barely sweetened by the honey.

 

Dry on skin: I can't say I like this much. Red wine scents don't seem to work on me. But perhaps it will age well. I'll put it aside to test again another day.

[CrazyPretzel]

While wet, this scent is tart and richly sweet, reminding me a little of the sticky strawberry-flavoured tobacco made for sheesha pipes. As it dries the myrrh and honey come out strongly and combine to make a sweet powdery scent - my nose doesn't read it as baby powder though; it's more like kama sutra honey dusting powder

 

I like the sweet honey and myrrh aspects of this, but I think the red wine note is a little less successful. It does come out pretty sour on me. I might swap this one.

[Argentwolf]

Initially, I smelled the myrrh and wine, with perhaps the honey thrown in...it had a very sticky, tart, juicy sap-like quality to it.

 

As it went on, the stickiness of it went away...just becoming myrrh and wine, with perhaps an herbal tint around the edges.

 

I'm thinking that myrrh is going to be one of those hit-and-miss things with me. This time, it was a miss, and I think it was the wine note that did it...the blend had a sourness to it that did not appeal to me. So, nope, not for me.

[suki]

in the imp: like sweet rich fruits: dates, figs, all slathered in honey

 

wet on skin: the wine is coming out now, and this has shifted into a mead scent as a result. delicious!

 

dry down: oh YUM! it's become deep red wine, honey and raisins all fermented together for weeks and served on a fanciful first harvest holiday.

 

in all: a must have. it's as simple as that.

 

 

 

 

[veronicafranco]

Dark evergreen smelling. The color, not the type of plant, although there’s a bit of pininess or juniper to the myrrh here. When I very first put it on, the wine gives it a dark fruitiness, but it just serves to darken the myrrh scent as it dries. The dark myrrh fragrance is actually kind of odd with the honey, on me. Not sure when I would wear this, but it is interesting. Will try it again anyway, I like the concept so much.

[callire]

I got this as a free imp sample, so mind you this isn't something I would normally pick (I like Dorian and Poisoned Apple for comparisons sake)

 

In bottle: WHOA! Instant headache inducer. I had to cap this and put it away for a bit before I could try again. To be fair, I decided to brave this one on.

 

On skin: At first I get the same overwhelming scents of myrrh and wine, but it's tinged with a very potent note that I can't quite put my finger on.

 

Drydown: It smells like incense with a tinge of Honey. It's rather nice, and I'll admit that it's a beautiful scent for anyone who likes this sort of combination. For me, the latter stages of the drydown proved a nice scent, but it's far too strong for my liking.

[Etheriel]

Athens excited me because of my mad obsession with ancient Greece. However the scent does not live up to my expectations.

 

In bottle: overpoweringly sweet, like nectar. It's definitely the honeyed wine that dominates this mix.

 

Wet: It's slightly less sweet but still very much a mulled wine smell with the myrrh peaking through.

 

Dry: The flowers come out but still the honey/wine smell is just too much.

 

 

I also tried this as a room scent in my burner and it just makes my room smell like carmelized sugar

This is my least favorite 5 ml so far so I'm most likely going to try and swap.

[greenranger]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh. I love this scent.

 

Before I started sampling the different scents, and before I tried a frimp of Bordello, I might not have ordered this one. Bordello is the reason I tried Athens, since before that I had no idea that I might like wine as a scent. Bordello was fun, but this one. Mmmmm!

 

When I applied this I was lost for a moment in the glorious unfolding of the scent. It was warm, rich, sweet and I just sat there and sniffed it for a couple minutes. I've been sniffing at my wrists all day. On my skin the scent lasts reasonably well for about ten hours. It does change slightly from a rich fruity red scent(mostly wine, I think), to a more spicy and subtle golden scent(mostly myrrh and honey), but it takes hours and hours, and the change is gradual.

 

Near the begining, I did think I was smelling raisins...or raisins soaked in wine, sweetened by honey and myrrh, warmed by the sun or being simmered on a stove. It was still a glorious scent, and all I could think of was, how was I supposed to know that I liked smelling like that? I don't normally like raisins to eat, but, here the scent was so rich and sweet and edible, it distracted me all day.

[RosaLinda]

I can't believe I hadn't tried this until now. Athens was sitting there in my imp box, alone and unloved. Not anymore!

 

Wet: Delicious sweet honey with a little bit of spice.

 

Dry: Honeyed, spiced wine

 

 

I really love this! Definitely planning on getting a bottle!

[inurbanus]

Athens is one of the first GC I ever bought, so I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to review it. I tend to go back and forth on it -- sometimes it's a bit mustier (maybe because of the flowers?) than others, but today it's the purest I've ever smelled it, so I think it's a good time to write a review.

 

Athens is a mixture of wine, honey, and myrrh. None of the notes dominate the oil -- instead they blend smoothly together into one gorgeous scent. It's very sweet, but has a smoky edge that makes this one of the sexiest fruit blends I've tried. What I really like Athens is that it defies categorization -- it's very unique. I think it's seductive, but still appropriate for day. I usually wear it when I need to get things done. As for color association, I always think of carmine. Try Kali if you're a fan of this.

 

4.5/5

[lilirose]

In the imp: Fruity and sour.

 

On skin, wet: wine, which still manages to be very sour despite a clear honey note. The flowers are nowhere to be found.

 

On skin, dry: Wine. Still no flowers, no myrrh, only a touch of honey. Beginning to give me heartburn as if I’d actually been drinking red wine (which is something I never do, because it makes me very sick).

 

Morph: After a couple of hours the myrrh becomes detectable, but still, this is so very much sour red wine concentrate on me.

 

I'm afraid this one is a “no can do” for me.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Pale honey coloured oil. Dark, bitter myrrh hits first, followed super sweet, candy-medicinal grapiness. Lighter, sugary honey. Hints of sort of heady flowers.

 

Wet: Much the same right at first. The honey is perhaps a bit stronger, and the florals quickly start amping. The grapiness is a bit more winey, less artificial.

 

Dry: Extremely slow to dry. The myrhh becomes smokier but still has that bitter edge. Honey and flowers amp further. Very sweet grapes are still far more medicine than wine.

 

Later: The myrrh softens, such that I can detect the bitterness primarily only up close. It's still a dark blend, but from a distance, the sweet honey and cough syrup grapes dominate. The flowers have faded.

 

Summary: in the final drydown, this is incense, earthy woods, and honey, faintly touched with aged, sour wine. It's dark, mildly sweet, and exotic. Grapiness and all flowers gone. There's a dry, smoky wood note that reminds me of the scorched sandalwood in Hellion. The drydown could work on men, but overall this is feminine. Strong throw, great lasting power.

 

Not my thing.

[jiggahava]

This oil is making me crave honey. It is a good sign when a "foody" oil is making me crave sweets! It means My skin chemistry works well with it. I get sweet sticky honey with wine as a background note. The myhrr grounds the scent and makes it slightly amber-y smelling. its a yummy combination, and I definitley want to keep the imp. I'll consider getting a bottle for my honey cravings. Throw is moderate.

Edited July 3, 2008 by Hava

[Poenari]

Very strong red wine scent. Almost too boozy, but the honey sweetens it and the myrrh darkens it. I almost get a chocolate note- that might be the myrrh reacting to my body chemistry. I like this but not enough to get a bottle. This invokes a similar "feeling" to me as Centzon Totochtin, which I prefer.

[Kabooki]

Ever since Athens started to rev up on me this morning I have had “Sweet Cherry Wine” stuck in my head, cause I don’t think anything else describes it better. It starts out super sweet and dry wineish, then I start to amp up the honey and it turns into a nice honeyed red wine, and that’s how it remains for the rest of the day.

 

Overall a nice scent, but not something I am going to go buy a big bottle of

[stillalive]

At least now I know what didn't work in Blood Kiss... it wasn't the blood component but rather the honey-cherry!

 

Needless to say, this will probably end up in a swap/sale. How sad. But at least now I know what's doing weird things on my skin...

[caffinatedangel]

Athens is a unique scent. The most prominent note the entire time (hours) was honey. I smelled like I had smeared a honey comb over my skin. Is that good or bad? I'm still not certain.

 

The myrrh and floral notes ended up just being a backdrop, but cozied into my skin deliciously. The wine just mixed with the honey, and made honey-wine. Which was sweet and thick. I felt decadent. I felt Greek. It was quite the experience.

 

Overall, I don't think I could wear it often. My father is diabetic, after all. (lolz) It was just too sweet to wear daily, but perhaps when I'm in a mood that craves to smell delectable I'll grab the imp.

[Lethran]

In bottle: Grapes and sweet flowers with a hint of myrrh. Wet: Boozey and prefumey, heady with overripe grape and myrrh. Exotic, but overblown with my skin chemistry. Dry: The myrrh really comes out, softening and sweetening it. I could almost wear this.

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Honey and slightly sour wine

 

On Application

Honey and wine

 

Dry Down

Surprisingly soft as it warms. Honey at the fore with a herbal/dry wildflower backdrop. The wine re-emerges, stronger than ever, after about 5 minutes into the drydown to give the blend a honeyed wine scent. Becomes stronger as it dries. I really quite like this but don't think I would wear it.

 

Rating (0-5)

3.5

[dorothy humbird]

ATHENS

 

Reminded me first of Blood Kiss, and then of Hetairae. All have honey, and there are common notes of myrrh, red wine, or clove between at least two at a time. Otherwise I have no idea why I find the similarities.

 

First on, I get mostly honey and wine grapes; myrrh must be that deep, voluptuous scent in the background. After some drydown on my skin, I keep getting wafts of a sweet honey scent sort of spiced with myrrh. The wine note isn't too sharp or too sickly sweet - it just adds an interesting dimension to the sweetness of the honey. There isn't much floral that I notice from this - at least, not enough to detract from my appreciation of the honey-myrrh vibe.

 

I've got a little crush on Athens right now. See, I had a long-term fling with Blood Kiss, but it took me a while to realize that as much as I loved his sweeter side, I couldn't really handle the vetiver lurking underneath. Hetairae inspired a brief obsession that I soon realized was totally superficial -- after the first five minutes I realized she was WAY too high pitched (too much clove?). But I think Athens is the middle sibling here. Charming, but moderated. I'm gonna see where this crush goes.

[Iceblink]

Really really sour honey--almost repulsively so. I love most honey blends but the wine in this just makes it way too sour and strong.

[taramarie]

In the imp and on my skin, Athens is honey single note. It even has the consistency of thin honey. This one's definitely not staying.