Athens

[Tesseljoan]

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

On first application, athens smells like straight up honey. Later, I can smell the myrrh and the wine a bit more. It is nice and sweet, and it smells a bit like my new-age shop (note: not a hippie/head shop. There is a difference in smell, apparantly! )

[Orodemniades]

Imp: Oo, this smells sickly sweet, with an undertone of rankness. But! I shall endeaver onwards...

 

Wet: Still berry berry sweet...

 

Drydwn: Oo, what's this? Why, it must be the myrhh! And there's some honey, I think that's the rank smell, cuz other non-BPAL honey products have the same tone, and oo, it's turned all to incense!! Omfg I this!! This reminds me of an incense I used to burn - but it's not the afterscent, but of the stick before it's burned, or post-burning but without the smokey odor. Does anyone know what I'm talking about, here?? It's not Gonesh, but I think one of the other major brands, the one with the piccy of blue Krishna on the front, they do perfume oils too. Can. Not. Remember.

 

Overall: Guess what's going to be in my next order?? This smells fab on me and would be pretty damned jumpable on a person of the male persuasion. Truly gender neutral!

 

Edited to add: Having read the other reviews after posting my own, I must agree that this is very much a pagan, temple smell. This is what I will be wearing when I worship, and quite frankly, this might even become my signature scent - and that's saying something!

 

Oro

Edited June 23, 2005 by Orodemniades

[Stumbeline]

In the imp this smelled like mulled grape juice. Not wine, I didn't get a boozy smell at all just straight up spiced grape juice.

 

Wet it began to morph, with the myrrh coming out to the forefront and mellowing out the sweetness, and the actual wine (boozy) started to show. In this stage it starts to remind me of something vaguely...

 

...then it dries down and BAM! It's Rome! Not the BPAL scent, but the actual city. It reminds me exactly of the smell of my hotel room in Rome, which I think is the wine. It brings back so many wonderful memories and images for me, so I just sit around and sniff my wrists and sigh in nostalgia.

 

I love this scent. A big bottle for sure.

Edited June 29, 2005 by Stumbeline

[quinkel]

This scent is pops up many times as frimps from the lab and as freebies in swaps, so time to review it I guess...

 

At first i didn't like this scnet. Out of the imps it smells yummie, pure honey but much sweeter than the honey in O and the single note Honey.

On my skin it turns sour. That must be the wine, it is like Bordello, but Bordello turns fresh sour, Athens turns sweet/sour.

But after some tries it seems to grow on me and while some days it becomes sweet/sour, other days its like Honey incense.

[Ajila]

In the vial this was boozy honey and really strong, so strong it quite took me aback. Wet on me whilst the 'throw' continued with the boozy honey theme, which I quite liked, but actually sniffing my skin gave me a really heavy sour wine scent that was actually quite uncomfortable to smell. Fortunately that faded quite quickly, and when it is gone I was left with a glorious sweet and spicy incense, which so far has lasted strongly for about 7 hours.

[OdetteOdile]

Athens

Initial impression: plum liqueur, chocolate and honey (why do so many BPAL fragrances smell chocolatey on me?)

Wet hay or sweetgrass.

Drinking wine in a very clean barn filled with flowers.

The syrupy wine scent became a little cloying on me eventually, and a little powdery.

Eventually what I mostly smelled was baby powder.

I'm not sure about this one. It's not bad, but not especially "me."

[Sara]

Initial imp sniff: This is a very, very thick feeling fragrance. Like syrupy thick, mildly sweet molasses (not smell or anything, just feel) thick.

 

Swipe: I hope nobody gets peevish with my reviews since I hardly mention notes...but I suck so bad at knowing what the notes are. There's barely a handful I can pick out accurately. So anyway, the tiniest little swipe (seriously, a tiny little light circle of oil) produces the biggest smell. It's just encompassing everything and I can smell it when my arm isn't anywhere near my face. The thick sweet syrup description still holds for the wetness. It's not floral or fruity smelling..just thick and sweet.

 

Drydown: A spiciness emerged, almost incensey spicy, from the drying of the syrup...it's still sweet, but a spicy sweet. And, yep, it's still pretty damn strong on me for such a tiny dab. There was a point in the early drydown though that didn't sit well with me. There was a sliver of something "fake & barbiedoll plasticky" lurking in the background, reminiscent of Tintagel's similar fake plasticky smell....

 

Overall: Maybe it's pms or something, but everything is making me nauseous lately. My grilled cheese sandwich last night, the avocado eggrolls at yesterday's lunch, the rank smell of playdoh coming from other women's perfume.....and now Athens. It truly is a glorious scent of rich deliciousness...but it's making me feel a little sick. It probably is just pms making me wonky.

 

Edited because I scrolled up and after reading this said "yes!!":

It is nice and sweet, and it smells a bit like my new-age shop

Edited July 12, 2005 by Sara

[gingersnapp]

This is sweet and heady. The honey and the wine blend beautifully, and have wonderful throw. I'll also chime in that the association with a head-shop is pretty dead on.

[QueenFae]

Honeyed wine, with a bit of a kick. The florals are there, but they are majorly undershadowed by the wine. The longer I sniff, the more that the myrrh shows itself as well. It's a sweet scent, but definitely debauched by the alcohol in the wine. I like it, I think this is a really complex and inventive one, and I'll certainly enjoy my imp.

[Blood onmy hands]

Athens is not one of my favorite scents. I don't hate it, but it's not one that I ever find myself reaching for either.

 

I get the same sort of golden and fuzzy honey note that I get in Hetairae. I don't really like red wine, but it thankfully isn't that strong on me in Athens. It just adds a sort of rotten boozy quality in the background. The overall feel is of a boozy honey. The florals are pleasant, but I can't pick out any floral note in particular. Just a sort of sweet flowery note that comes out more after I've been wearing Athens for a few hours.

 

Boozy honey with a light layer of florals. Not a favorite, but it's okay...

[Monster]

Ohhhh very sweet and yummy!

Out of the bottle, Athens smells like grapes and honey, very boozy.

On my skin it turns a bit more resiny...the myrrh really comes out, along with some floral notes.

This is a very mature smelling perfume, really nice for early fall.

It's something I'd wear with a classic dress and out to a nice dinner with my boyfriend, or to a company holiday party.

 

The dry down is a soft powdery scent, and the sweet honey/grape scent is still present.

 

After a while, however, the honey begins to come out even more, giving me a headache and a slight stomach ache.

 

I think this one might be a little bit too strong for me in the end, which is really dissapointing because I really thought i was going to like it.

 

Overall, this is very pretty but much too strong for me.

Edited September 6, 2005 by CourtneyLynne

[AlaskaSnows]

In the Bottle: Honey, Wine, fruit and a bright sharp musk.

 

Dry: the musk in this LEAPS out and bites you. The sweetness of the honey and wine is all but gone, and a faint, sweet and really pretty floral is way back there trying to come out. But overall it's a mean biting musk. I could swear I smell hateful bitter myrrh in there.

 

ETA: duh of course I do, it's got it in there. D'OH!! I hate myrrh!!

Edited September 10, 2005 by AlaskaSnows

[sookster]

myrrh, honey and wine are the most predominant notes .... wow.... someone mentioned this smelling like a "new age shop".... and that is exactly where this takes me........my goodness this is phenomenally gorgeous....

 

I so need this one......fantastic....and I adore how this stays so close to my skin yet it truly is a strong blend.....

[evil_laugher]

This is a lot like Delphi, but sweeter and more pleasant. Still, like I've constantly learned, honey turns into some sort of body musk on me, and that with the wine isn't a good combo. So it's interesting, but not something I'd wear.

[carolinachiquita]

This smelled yummy in the bottle and I couldn't wait to try it unfortunately it is too overpowering and heavy when I first put it on my skin. It did dry down ok - but it was too sickly and heady for me I think that it must be the wine in it - Wine just doesn't go with my skin at all. A shame cos it smelled lovely in the bottle!

[herongale]

preconceived notion: I've had this on-hand for several weeks now, and have "sampled" it dozens of times at this point. Clearly it's a winner, and I've already ordered a 5ml. But this (along with Maiden) evoked such a positive response from me, that I actually put off reviewing it... because the notes are so complex, the way they wear and morph on my skin is so interesting and evocative, and it seems sort of dubious as to whether I can do this scent any kind of justice. It is, to put is simply, such an artful blend, that appreciation of it for me is on a level with the appreciation of fine literature. Also, my response is fairly personal. I can almost believe this scent was tailor-made just for me.

 

in the bottle: ice-tea colour in the vial. I'd say that the honey and the myrrh are the most prominent notes, creating a tasty blend that reminds me of the sticky-sweet flavour of baklava. This is a very specific kind of honey... perhaps clover honey? The overall impression is that of a rich, ancient Mediterranean dessert. Mmm!

 

wet: honey and... chocolate. Spicy nutty imported high-cocoa chocolate.

 

drydown: this lasts and lasts. The myrrh comes out more and more as time progresses, but the honey lingers, leaving a sweet scent that really is not very "incense-y." This is a really warm scent that seems to have a lot of seasonal flexibility... on the hottest days it is light enough not to be overbearing, and yet on a cold, windy day like today, it really gives off a nice warm impression. Also, it works great as an end-of-the-day scent, because it's better on a body that is not stripped of its own natural oils. This is the kind of scent that makes you not want to bathe because it's just so sexy and feminine, and becomes even more so on a warm, working body. Would be great on a call night.

 

verdict: As I said, this is worth a 5ml... and I will definitely reorder when I run out. Worth hoarding.

 

post-conceived notion: I can't think of anyone I wouldn't recommend this to, at least for a trial run. Although it feels very specific for my skin, I get the impression that it would be rather flexible within a range of body chemistries... perhaps that is the advantage of resurrecting ancient, time-tested blends.

[chapatti]

Ancient Greek perfume? As an archaeology student, it's impossible to pass!

 

First whiff: Yup, it's Greek all right. More exactly, it smells like that awful Greek wine, retsina. It doesn't smell bad, mind you, just dry (white, to my nose) wine and dry herbs. No golden honey or sweet flowers here.

 

Drying down: The retsina smell amps up like mad, while the honey doesn't come up at all (and that's weird, considering how honeyrrific Blood Kiss goes on me).

And two hours in... uggggh, what is this now?

Alas, I know this smell well.

Cat pee.

And it's the gift that keeps giving, too. I could still smell that, er, peculiar odor the next morning.

 

Verdict: I can't believe this. The concept was so interesting, the reviews were so good, I was so looking forward to Athens, and then have it turn to, well, be-herbed pipi de chat... be darned, wonky chemistry!

Passing this imp along to a more loving home.

 

5/10

[tansil]

This is the scent that taught my about my skin's reaction to myrrh, which is to say: Not good. It has this bitter spice smell on me. So as much as I wanted to like Athens, the honey goes on sweet and threatens baby-powder like it always does.

 

Then the honey goes straight to baby powder with the sharp spice of the myrrh under it. I swapped it out and vowed to find a Wanderlust smell that *would* work on me.

[shayelea]

In the bottle: Hm, something sweet, almost nectar-like, mixed with something aromatic and a faint trace of incense. A little sweet in the bottle, but it could play out much differently on my skin.

 

Wet: Ooh, immediately the sweetness gets tempered by the aromatic note, plus something spicy comes out that I didn't smell before. Over the next several minutes it morphs into a sort of sweet-smelling woodsmoke that is at the same time not in the least overpowering. So far, it's really lovely.

 

Drydown: Okay, so the smoky/incense smell is the myrrh, which as gone just a wee bit powdery on me (as most resins and woods do.) But it's nice all the same, tempered by the richness of honey and wine. Not at all like the scents I normally wear, but I can definitely see using this when I want a change. The longer this dries down, the less powdery/incensey it gets; it also becomes sweeter over time.

 

I wore this again the next day, and it got to be too much. I think this is one I won't be able to wear two days in a row - it just feels *too* sweet after awhile. So, for occasional wear, then.

[Xiabelle]

I pretty much knew this wouldn't work when I ordered it, but I had to try, just because, well.... It's Athens! I had to try it for the pure historical construct.

 

In the imp: Honey and wine. Specifically, super-sweet grapejuice with an alcohol tang.

 

On me: Pure grape juice. Wine always turns to grape juice on me, and this was super-sweet with the honey. I like grapes, but I hate grape juice and most grape flavored things, and this just hits me like nasty fake grape.

 

Eventually, it starts to temper, but the myrrh comes out. I thought I liked myrrh, but now it smells like something burning with wine. Fires while drunk? It's just... not good for me. I definitely get the pagan temple thing, and it has a very old scent. Nifty, but not a perfume for me.

 

The final dry down gets sweeter and the burning smell goes away, but then it settles into a very fruity honey. My skin amps honey and makes it sharp if there's more than just a touch of it, so this is just a no go all around.

 

Pity, because I love the concept.

[aedes]

Oooh! This is an interesting one! I *heart* myrrh, but wine smell is usually my nemesis. Initial scent on this was actually pink bubblegum for me. As it's drying, I get predominantly lilacs, of all things, or some other lush, sweet, heady flower. But as it finally dries out, mama mia, there's the myrrh! Hello, friend! Smells like a really nice floral incense. No sign of rotten, sickly wine yet! Wahoo!

 

Darkness is one of my faves, and Athens definitely reminds me of it. Maybe it's Darkness's younger, more free-spirited and lusty sister. It's still a bit heady for daytime (that lilac is still belting it out) but mm MM!

[lookingglass]

Smells like Blood Kiss (one of my all time faves)without the cherry and vertiver. Dry incense but with a honey sweetness. Pretty nice...but I like the way that Blood Kiss tempers the wine note with the addition of the cherry better than Athens alone.

DH says "Mmmm...I like that one!" from across the room...

Edited January 11, 2007 by lookingglass

[PrettyPenny]

Wine notes tend to go very strong and sour on me, and Athens is no exception. In fact, that's all I can smell in this blend.

[malanna]

Egads, Athens is strong, which isn't surprising, considering how it was one of the greatest Greek city-states (okay, it sounded sort of like a joke in my head, which has been warped due to my taking Origins of Western Civ). This is honeyed red wine with a dash of florals at first. There's something to it, similar to jasmine (maybe it is jasmine?), that makes Athens a heady and overpowering scent. Perhaps it's the myrrh (not sure if myrrh is overpowering in addition to being spicy). I really disliked this scent, because it was so strong and incredibly overpoweringly floral. Maybe if I actually drank mead I'd like this, but alas, I do not.

[Abbie]

In the imp: Choke, gag. Geez, I just have no luck with these "Greek" scents... Delphi was like this too. WAY too sweet, with a nasty recycled red wine undertone. Normally I go through this whole rigamarole of testing the scents and analyzing them but I can't imagine any possible drydown that would be good enough that I'd want to wear this.