Athens

[rainbow]

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

In the bottle and wet on my skin- smells of honeyed wine, and brings to mind outdoor bazaars and markets. It's a burgundy and rich, luxuriant gold scent, full of opulence and luxury.

As I'm wearing it the spices develop and the scent becomes much more incensey and resiny. The honey is still there, but less sweet. There's also something fruity, which smells almost like apples- possibly spiced or baked apples. I'm also getting more grape and less wine.

A few hours in- wow, this scent has finally arrived for me. The honey has faded, and the spices are the predominant notes. This is really nice.

Overall- I'm not a huge fan of honey, but I love the spicy, incense part of this scent. Also, I can really appreciate how well put together this scent is, even though I don't particularly care for one of the notes. The way the blend works is really amazing. Even just wearing it these first couple of times the scent is growing on me. I'll definitely work my way through the imp, but I don't forsee a big bottle, because of the honey thing.

[Penance]

Origin:

 

I got an imp of this from SilverAngel.

 

First sniff:

 

I smell myrrh first, then honey and then red wine. This reminds me of another BPAL scent, but I can't put my finger on what it is right now...maybe it'll come to me later, but right now it's driving me crazy.

 

Wet on skin:

 

I'm thinking it's the wet stage of F54 that this is reminding me of. They're not identical, but there is a similarity that I never would have expected or even believed if I weren't smelling it myself. The honey and red wine are the strongest notes, followed by the myrrh and a hint of florals. I decided to try this one on a whim and, so far, I'm quite glad I decided to!

 

Dry down:

 

The myrrh is the dominant note now, with the honey and wine lingering in the background. This doesn't smell like F54 anymore, but it's lovely in its own right. I'm developing an all new appreciation for wine and honey scents and Athens is just more fuel for that fire. This is lovely and subdued smelling...vaguely sweet, a little like wine and softly resinous.

 

The bottom line:

 

I quite like Athens. It's resiny without smelling like a headshop, sweet without smelling like a bakery and smells of wine without smelling boozy. Beautifully balanced and subdued.

Edited January 3, 2005 by Penance

[hypothermya]

Athens

 

First Impression

 

Well, I've forever had a love affair with Athens (probably due to all of the Greek mythology I was spoon fed as a child), and I couldn't think of a more apt scent. On the other hand, I also couldn't think of one that clashed with my skin chemistry more. Out of the vial, it smells incredibly sweet, fruity (the wine, I assume), and floral.

 

Wearing It

 

When this hits my skin, the first thing to emerge is the myrhh. Actually, this isn't a bad thing, since the incense scent is saving me from the honey (which my body loves to amplify). It has the scent of reverent temples, but underneath that, I can still smell the honey, raucous wine, and the florals -- all of which argue for a much more Dionysian interpretation of religion. It still smells reverent, but in the sweetest and most gracious way.

 

The honey is still trying to overpower everything (and since I despise honey...it makes me nauseous for some reason), I think this one is also a miss. But I was still pleasantly surprised by the myrhh and the joy of the overall scent.

[teza]

I desperately wanted to love this with all the love in my loving little heart. Love, do you hear me? Love!

 

But in the end, it reminds me of a Kali Jr. A simpler, less complex Kali. In the vial and wet on my skin, Kali and Athens both have the same sharp honeyed wine scent.

 

UNLIKE, Kali, though, It stays rich and golden on my skin, with a faint hint of florals around the pungent honey. It pretty much stays there, too. Unfortunately, I'm not so fond of the honey so Kali tops this for me. Athens is too strong and too sweet.

[anshara]

In the imp: HOLY MEADE MUGS BATMAN!!!!! This is a good thing!!! Honey and wine, with a hint of spice.... YUMMY!!!!!

 

On me: Swiped on wrist wet: True to the imp with a hint of floral... VERY NICE....

Drydown five to ten minutes: OH MY!!!!! Second skin scent the florals are fading and it's back to spiced Meade.... MMMMM.... Though someone said that it's a rather obvious tribute to Dionysis, I agree... But I think that's a GOOD thing.... Wonderful in fact. Another hit for the lab...

[sun_set_bravely]

Old Athens

 

In the bottle: Nice honey color. sharp, shoots up into my brain through the top of my nose, musty with a hint of sweet waiting in the wings, smells like alcohol (vodka).

 

Wet, on skin: resiny, warm and old, but slightly edgy. Dusty. I can't identify what the notes are in this. When I inhale with my wrists away from my nose, I can smell a bubblegum-like scent wafting from them. (My partner says that I smell like a Greek woman that we know.) Smells a bit like an middle-aged woman wearing too much perfume.

 

1.5 Hours on skin: old wood scent mixed with a plainness. The strength has diminished significantly. The resin still stands out.

 

Drydown: Very faint now, with an old person smell to it. Smells like an old hollow door in a parsonage I lived in as a kid.

 

Conclusion: It never turned sweet on me, only musty and kind of bitter. Not pleasant.

[sarahjay]

first time I tried this I really wasn't sure - the honey smelt a bit too, well, honeyish - and the red wine was too strong. but the florals and the myrrh was nice.

 

we went to belgium last weekend & this was one of the imps I took with me to try - oooh I really liked it. the honey didn't seem too strong at all! mybe it has toned down a little since being made - is this one that ages well? anyway, I am loving myrrh & myrrh is loving me. it really seems quite an unusual combination and so fragrant - I kept dipping my nose into my polo-neck so I could keep sniffing it

[eleventhousand]

This is the only honey scent so far that I can't wear. It is sour and winey, as well as oddly bitter...

[grrrlennyl]

at first: i love the honey, sweet flowers, and wine scent of this. however, i'm not sure about the myrrh, though.

on: a very bright, fruity floral.

1.5 hours later: less fruit now. more of a fresh, green, floral scent.

8 hours later: a strong, heavy, almost-sweet floral.

overall: i really like this, but not enough to get a bottle. i think this will be nice for summer.

[quimerula]

Wet: myrrh and a bit of honey. Wine and the flowers are standing behind but I can feel them.

As time goes by the myrrh is getting stronger and the honey is getting weaker. I didn't think I would like honey in a blend, but I have to confess that makes the myrrh less dry and gives it a kind of playfull undertone without being sweet. I love the mix.

The wine is there forever, gorwing with the myrrh (and perhaps making the honey not so sweet).

 

I love this scent, it lasts long enough and it's quite evocative (makes me want to see Troy or wear a long, white dress). I see myself wearing this in summer, but it's just a thought.

[shelldoo]

i actually sqeed when i opened this one

 

wet was honey and wine

 

as it dries it becomes prominently honey sexy sweet sticky honey, w/ a wine sophistication and a deepness offered by myrrh.

 

i didn't get even the slightest hint of florals and i am not complaining one bit...this one is beautiful

 

 

(altho i must add i lived in athens ga for a while and it smells nothing like this it is beer, and college dorms to me...ohhh wait athens the greece location nm perfect ok ok i am a goof)

[bellis]

Wet, this is all honey on me. As it starts to dry, the myrrh shows up and makes this a lovely, warm, dusty fragrance. Very soft and sweet. I can just catch a whiff of the flowers in the background. I'm not getting any wine at all, but this is absolutely gorgeous even without it. Yummy.

 

ETA: Hmm. Most of the sweetness has gone away, and I'm left with a slightly bitter, smoky and resinous smell. I can still smell the honey and flowers if I try hard enough, but I don't think I like this enough to keep it around once it's changed.

Edited April 14, 2005 by bellis

[surf-tormented]

Ooh, this starts off as a Delphi scent on me...that weird overly smell, almost sweet rotting garbage smell...it does get better as it dries, but not much better.

 

I think my nose reacts to both wine and honey badly...so this just isn't for me. It is just rank on me.

[SoapyRN]

In the imp, a thick rich honey wine dwells. I adore mead, and the lore around it, esp that of goddesses. It was the reason I purchased the imp.

 

On, this is honey. Straight up and thick.

As it drs, the sweetness stays around but this myrrh. And insense, of some sort. Very old insense. I like it. This would be the most myrrh I would ever wear in a blend as that note I normally shy away from.

 

I like it. I don't think I will wear it as a perfume, but maybe in a warmer for the house.

[summer]

Athens is thick, hot honey, and the honey note remains true throughout wear. Thick, hot, sexual honey -- I can almost feel it pouring over my skin --- mixed with red wine and provocative incense.

 

I didn't think I'd like this, as sometimes honey goes sour on my skin, but this is a bold, sultry blend that smells fantastic on me. It reminds me of what Angelina Jolie's character in "Alexander" would have smelled like. Although apparently the movie was godawful, Athens is the scent of a smokin-hot, mysterious, sexual woman anointed with all of the fine things of the ancient world -- honey, wine, and resins.

 

*runs off to take a cold shower at the thought of Angelina Jolie smelling like Athens*

 

[Aurelius]

In the vial: Ew! Argh! It's the same scent that smacks me in the face when I open my vial of Wanda. Bam! It must be the red wine/merlot.

 

Wet: Ah. The wine must be calming down. I'm also beginning to smell some flowers.

 

Drying: Baby powder. Pffft.

 

Dry: Sweetness with a vengeance. Honey: This Time It's Personal. Seriously, the sweet notes are out for blood.

 

Dry, later: What in god's name is going on? There's an overwhelming sweetness, and, I kid you not, corn chips! I'm guessing that Athens does not smell of Candied Fritos. But hey, I could be wrong.

 

Stupid body chemistry.

[starrykitten]

Very very honey and red wine. Boozy and golden, methinks.

 

It smells almost edible and a bit incensy. Somehow it feels almost too rich to really wear though, so I either swipe lightly or sniff in the bottle.

 

I think if you were going to be in a big open room, this would be a good one to draw attention to yourself without getting tired of the scent.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 2/5

Summarised in a word or two: Sweet.

 

In the imp/bottle: Very strong, floral cherries. Digustingly bitter-sweet.

 

On skin, wet: Hmm... this still seems too sweet for me. The honey and red wine are by far the dominant notes.

 

On skin, dry: This seems to quickly mellow out into a warm, red wine floral, though the myrrh is definitely still there. After a few hours, it's pure, sweet honey.

 

Conclusion: This starts out horribly, turns into something fairly nice, and ends on an "eh" note. Not strikingly beautiful, but not horrible, either -- just not my thing.

Edited December 24, 2005 by Aredhel

[Gin]

Dry smoky myrrh and wine. It smells like a great hall during a feast, and then goes entirely smoky on me. Makes me feel sneezy.

[yummysushitoo]

I catch a very slight hint of flowers, but I'm afraid the myrrh overpowers the honey and wine. This is very strong, and not very pleasant. A shame. Will be swapping this one.

[wickedgoddess]

Origin - imp, fresh from the lab.

 

Another winner!

 

Wet - myrrh and honey.

 

Dry - a bit of wine pokes through. This smells wonderful, although it does seem rather similar to Cairo. But thenn this dries down to a wonderful spicy honey with wine, and it blows Cairo away. This goes on my big bottle list.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 5.

[VelvetSky]

Athens:

 

Strong. Sinus-clearing strong. When I swipe it on my wrist, I can't put my nose too close, it's that strong.

 

I think my first impression of Athens is the honey, with the dry scent of myrrh aggressively cutting through it's sweetness. The wine comes through slowly, but never really becomes a distinct note until the drydown.

 

For me, Athens is a bawdy fragrance. This is a wild, unrestrained, unpretentious scent. It smells ancient, basic and a bit crazy.

[telesilla]

There might be others later, but I think I've found my first BPAL signature scent. I admit I put of trying it out because I was afraid I wouldn't like it.

 

Athens is a really important place to me; I spent six weeks there starting in November of 78 and I loved it. If I had to make a decision right now to live in a city where English was not the native language, Athens would be in the top five.

 

Anyway ... the review:

 

In the bottle -- pure bubble gum, which would be hugely off-putting if I hadn't been warned by reviews on the forum that this would happen.

 

Wet -- the bubble gum is, thankfully, fading and now it's sweet and a little spicy. I already like it.

 

Dry down -- It's both sweet and smoky, my wrist smells like I've been holding it over an incense burner burning sweet, resinous incense. I don't smell the red wine, but I think it's there along with the myrrh keeping the flowers and the honey from being overwhelmingly sweet. Gods, this stuff is amazingly fantastic.

 

About six hours later -- It's gotten sweeter now and it's fading, but the sweet is honey-like without being too foody.

 

Overall impression -- Athens doesn't remind me of Modern Athens at all, but it totally reminds me of the Athens and Ancient Greece I imagined as we wandered all the ruins in Athens and on our Classical tour of the Peloponissos. I love this stuff with a passion, and it's actually bumping Cathedral out of the number one spot on my big bottle list. Now I aboslutely have to try Delphi.

 

GF's reaction -- Nancy actually likes it more than she liked Cathedral, so it's a winner all the way around.

[joseybird]

The myrrh makes this smell like sweet honeyed insence I recognize the wine and honey from Delphi, but Athens doesn't seem to have the same intoxicating quality. I get no florals (thank goodness). During drydown the honey and wine fade away until only the myrrh is left.

 

This smells like an ancient Greek temple would smell, and it's Delphi's non-drugged-up counterpart

[nineveh]

I ordered this before I knew that I can't wear honey. On me, Athens turned into a burning plastic smell, then a moldy wet dog smell, because of the honey. It smelled great in the imp; I could pick out the wine, honey (which I do love the smell of when it's not on me), and myrrh. So thanks a lot for ruining this one, chemistry!