Anteros

[boomtownrat]

The God of Love Returned and avenger of unrequited love, Anteros is Eros’ brother – one of the Twin Cupids – and was given to Eros by his mother, for without reciprocal affection, love will wither. He wields lead arrows and a hammer of gold, and he wields his weapons to inspire mutual ardor and smite those who spurn love. His scent pierces the heart with glimmering shards of rapture and the sweet ache of passion: throbbing red musk and shimmering chypre with saffron, sweet patchouli, Italian bergamot, red currant, and vanilla bean.

Even though I should know better than to test things when they're fresh off the mail truck, I was so excited for Anteros that I couldn't wait a day or two for it to settle down. The majority of the notes are great on me, and there's nothing that has failed on me yet. Just a little dab on one wrist gave off plenty of throw on its own. After about an hour I added some to my throat. I showered before it had a chance to wear off, but I can say that it had good staying power for at least four hours.

The description and theme might make you think Anteros is a masculine blend, but I think it's more androgynous. Shimmering chypre wanted to hog the spotlight for herself, and after warring with Italian bergamot for a while she mostly succeeded in the end. My friend the red musk note wasn't as grapey as usual, but for the first hour there were whiffs that occasionally made me think of Vixen, so I think she's just biding her time and waiting for chypre and bergamot to relax. Red musk has always intensified with time in all my BPAL blends so far. At times I thought I could detect a bit of saffron, a note that I've only smelled in one other blend. Vanilla bean, sweet patchouli, and red currant missed the show completely, but maybe they'll make themselves known after this bottle has had some time for the more astringent notes to mellow.

I expect that this scent will sweeten up quite a bit with time, but last night it was a little sharper than I like. Eventually I started getting a headache, which was probably because of other things in addition to Anteros. Given a day or two, I think it will be more to my liking. It's also worth noting that it smelled a little sweeter on my wrist than it did on my neck.

When I test this again, I'll update the review. Edited February 19, 2014 by Silvertree
Merged w/placeholder

[Bluestblood]

Disclaimer: I love red musk.

 

This is gorgeous. It manages to be innocent, sinister and sultry at once.

 

When wet, it smells like a blast of sweet - almost honeyed - red musk with very little complexity...

 

...but holy mother of god, when it dries, something magical happens.... The red musk is still the top note, and there is something vaguely naturalistic about it like laying out in a field. There is also an undertone of something tannic like the dryness of black tea (just so I am not mistaken, it does not smell like tea, it just has a similar dry quality). The patchouli is detectable and adds a gentle gritty earthiness. It has an average throw, but when you sniff it close to the skin it has an almost sharp quality to it which is my only peeve; however, considering this beauty's namesake is a dude who shoots people in the name of love, I guess it should be sharp. I smell zero vanilla, and barely a hint of the bergamot and currant.

[tinyvulture]

I've always associated red musk with sexy, feminine perfumes, but Anteros is like a red musk cologne that I must have my husband try on. Earthy patchouli is the second-most dominant note. I could swear I also detect leather, but I guess it's just the way this particular patchouli smells. The red musk and patchouli are so strong that I don't notice any bergamot, currant, or saffron. Maybe a little vanilla -- there is definitely a sweetness. It's a bold scent with staying power -- a masculine version of Smut, maybe? And I'll have to dig out my old decant of Crowley for comparison, because they sound similar as well.

Edited March 21, 2014 by tinyvulture

[Balame]

I amp red musk so I wasn't sure if I'd get much more than that in this blend, but everything else sounded too good to pass up. Fortunately, although this starts out heavy on the juicy, slightly fruity musk (that's just how red musk "reads" to me, not so much because of the currant) it then lightens up and I pick out delicious honey and vanilla. It's not like the combo in O, however. For some reason the honey there always came across as plastic to me, but here it's delightfully realistic. The chypre lends it a touch of earthiness, but I'm not getting big blasts of patchouli or bergamot. It seems like a lot of people are finding this cologne-y, but it's actually super light on me. So much that it's essentially gone within a short 20 minutes. I guess my skin just eats this one, sadly.

[ReallyZeb]

On me this is very masculine at the moment - a really sexy high end woody cologne smell more than anything. it does remind me of Crowley but without the lift from the citrus. I get no bergamont, redcurrant or vanilla at all in this, which is a shame, but I'll age it for a while and hope those notes emerge.

[Quillifer]

Oh wow.

 

Wet, this is pleasant enough to me but nothing amazing - generic BPAL fairly masculine, resinous.

 

However.... after about half an house - wow. Just gorgeous. Rich, deep, kind of sweet/tangy - like the best marmalade. Yes - it smells like bitter orange tastes to me, perhaps mixed with a hint of pipe tobacco.

Clearly I have a confused nose but right now it's a very happy one!

 

[zankoku_zen]

Red musk, saffron, touch of red currant and vanilla.

 

So this is a sexy red musk blend, and definitely very in line with Lupers, and if you like that sort of thing, well, Anteros is here year round for you.

[Monday]

On my skin wet: Starts out fresh and sophisticated, red musk with the chypre and bergamot at the front. Sugary red currant is the next note to come forward. So far it reminds me a bit of Nadie Se Conoce.

On my skin dry: Fruity red musk with a hint of smoke from the saffron. The chypre is still in the background, I don't get any vanilla per se.

Surprisingly this fades pretty quickly maybe aging will help it stick around longer. I'm glad something that is like Nadie Se Conoce has made it to the GC as it is such an unusual scent.

[mymymai]

ITB: I get a strong but pleasant patchouli and a very clearly red musk that rivals the patchouli for attention. The bergamot is present, adding an attractive but somewhat elusive spin to the musky, earthy scent.

 

Wet: It's much sweeter on my wrist than I anticipated, but it's more of a resinous, exotic sweetness form the combination of the musk, patchouli, vanilla bean, and bergamot. I'm not picking up on any red currant, but there is a faint tone of saffron there as well. What's really odd is that the scent reads ever so slightly like chocolate.

 

Dry: The patchouli lingers after 10 hours along with the musk, but it ends up smelling similar to the Lab's patchouli single note than a blend.

[Monster]

Wow! I haven't smelled red musk in this way before. On my skin wet, this is red musk, a beautiful, dry chypre and bergamot. Red musk is usually sweet, juicy and femenine on my skin, however, paired with the bergamot and chypre, it becomes a little more masculine and refined. This could almost be part of the Wind in the Willows scents. As it dries, the red musk steps to the background letting the patchouli and vanilla come forward a bit more, softening the sharpness from the chypre. Could this be the masculine counterpart to Scherezade? Maybe! I think Anteros is a little more refined though. While she was raised by hippies and is draped in silks, Anteros wears a well-tailored suit and is devastatingly handsome.

 

I really love this one.

[AmyO'Shields]

Red musk, saffron and a clean patchouli. This is so beautiful. I tried it when it was released and it smelled horrific on me so i put it away and retested it today - yup, beautiful.

[milo]

Musky, kind of sour at first. Retains the fresh musk, in other words, doesn't settle into something nice. Not warm, and kind of perfumey. Maybe it will change in time, but for now. No.

[theseagrows]

immediately i smell red musk and i think what must be saffron and chypre. something kind of leathery-green that unsweetens the red musk a bit, which i like quite a bit. ooh this is nice. later on the red currant comes out sweetening it up more, along with vanilla. i actually liked it better before that, when it was more masculine/unisex, though i still like it now. that note that i read as leathery is just gorgeous but subtler than leather often can be. so glad i tried this one! gonna keep my imp, for sure

[tharsei-thanate]

I received a frimp of this in a recent order and wow, this is so pretty! I'm on the fence about red musk in general- sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't- but I really like it in this blend when wet and drying down. The notes complement it really well. The sweet notes meld together and cushion the red musk, which is then very lightly draped with chypre. I don't get bergamot, which is great because I'm not a huge fan, haha. Not sure if I'm catching any saffron, but I'm not entirely sure what saffron smells like anyway. It gets a liiiittle less pretty when dry, and I'm positive the red musk is the culprit (it smells a tad grapey now), but overall this is a very nice blend and is wonderful in the wet stage so I will definitely keep my imp.

[Myrrha]

Starts off as a lovely red musk scent. The vanilla and currant modulate the red musk rather than being stand out notes. As it dries I notice the patchouli more and the earthy chypre grounding everything. The patchouli is one of the sweeter ones, or the red musk is making it slightly sweet.

 

I agree with the previous poster who mentioned that some of the notes combine to give an impression similar to pipe tobacco. It does smell more masculine. On the other hand I would not find such a sweet scent attractive on a man. Maybe best for a man who is very in touch with his feminine side. In spite of the patchouli this is not a "hippy" scent, there is something refined and well-groomed about it.

Edited March 5, 2015 by Myrrha

[Missy_killer]

In the imp: Strong and sweet patchouli is the first one to greet me. It's backed up by a powerful red musk, and a vague hint of berries.

 

On: It starts off strong and it's very heavy on the patchouli. There's a smokey quality to this, smells very strongly of tobacco to me. Yup, it get's darker by the second. For a brief second I detect a sweetness (currants) but alas, they are quickly drowned in the thick black tobacco smoke and earthly, gnarly patchouli that's fighting it out right now. I believe this is the darkest patch I've ever smelled. It's the most earthy one at least. I'm surprised I can't smell any red musk - which usually adds just a touch of sweetness.

 

It tries desperately to sweeten up but it keeps failing. The smoke + grass makes the back of my throat itch and I get the urge to cough constantly. It's time to wash it off and declare defeat

[rayvn1]

Ohhhhh my god This started out as a ho-hum, fairly masculine blend with strong red musk, but on the dry-down my skin is amping the red currant, red musk, and vanilla. The throw is fantastic! It really smells like Marianne and Crowley had a baby without the strong, sexy leather that makes Crowley so unbeatable. I will be reaching for this on a regular basis!

[loubric]

I was nervous because of the musk and patchouli but it's quite nice on me. A sweet creamy red current and patchouli scent. A bit powdery on me though. It's pretty but no something I would wear often, a little too warm and musky on my skin. Although for some reason it does evoke memories of holidays at the beach...

[DiesMali]

In the imp: Resinous and smoky, saffron and musk and patchouli.

 

Wet on my skin: Similar to in the imp at first, smoky saffron with sweet patchouli and musk.

 

Dry: Pretty much anything with patchouli in it does magical things on my skin, and this one definitely does exactly that. This is an exceedingly sexy, slightly-masculine scent that actually seems to be doing quite well with inspiring me in this slightly sexy scene I'm writing for a story. Oh gosh, this is NICE. The vanilla and bergamot are there to lift this from an earthy, smoky cologne into something almost golden and...well, sexy. Oh god that smoky-saffron-vanilla-patchouli is GORGEOUS. The red musk is helping, but those three notes just make this whole blend. The feel of it is actually rather resinous and a little spicy, which is probably why it's coming across as a bit cologne-like. I happen to be a lady who loves cologne, though, so... Might need a bottle. Definitely might need a bottle.

Edited July 17, 2015 by DiesMali

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Avenging unrequited love sounds like the best job ever. This was a generous frimp from the Lab.

 

In the vial: very dark orange color, smells like patchouli and red musk, deep and rich but not "heavy"

 

Wet on my skin: patchouli dominates but it's spicy and not overly hippie-smelling

 

Drydown: Much more interesting as it dries! This is well-blended and hard to pick out specific notes, but there's some vanilla and red musk with a lighter twist of currant freshening and brightening it. I really like it dry! The currant makes all the difference. It's like a less sweet but more sexy Eat Me, and also reminds me of the discontinued Masquerade. Gender neutral.

Edited August 2, 2015 by Laurel the Woodfairy

[LiberAmoris]

I agree with Laurel that Anteros reads almost like a debauched Eat Me, way less foody and sweet and way more sexy. I got a frimp of this in a recent order and will be giving it to my husband to finish up, because I think this will be so great on him...I like it on myself as well. The red musk and currant and bergamot meld with the patchouli in such a seamless way, and the currant and vanilla bean are as good as they always are. Definitely a red musk-heavy blend, and incensey as heck (always a plus in my book!). It reminds me a bit of Sinus Amoris at times, not sure why, because aside from the vanilla, there's no overlap of notes. But I'm not complaining!

[stellamaris]

You know, just when I think I "know" BPAL along comes an imp, sent to me by a lovely fairy. Wow. I love this. It's warm and almost creamy, reminding me a bit of Other blends but being entirely its own. This could be my Snake Oil...

[roseus]

I got a frimp of this little beauty! This is one of the most truly unisex fragrances I've ever smelled. To me it doesn't lean even a little masculine or feminine. It's incredibly smooth. I'm surprised by how smooth the patchouli is, normally I find it to be a very textural element in the blend. The base is red musk and patchouli; warm, sensual, and slightly smoky. Definitely getting some saffron and a fruity sweetness I'm lending to the red currant (and maybe the vanilla bean, too).

[Blood onmy hands]

Anteros is one of those fragrances that I wish I could reach into and take out some of the notes (mainly the sour red currant and bergamot in this case). The vanilla-d red musk is wonderful and sensual... dark, warm, sweet musk. There's a mossy patchouli here as well, that reminds me of dry pine needles and forest floor with a whisp of tobacco smoke. It's earthy, sexy, and sort of musky-earthy-smoky-ambery in the drydown. Except for the red currant and bergamot, which add a really cheap, fruity, sour, tween at Bath & Body Works feel into the mix. The two sides don't mesh well for me.

[joopjoop]

This was a frimp and after reading the notes and the reviews, I was pretty sure I would hate this, but it is not bad (how’s that for a backhanded compliment?).

 

In the imp I am having a hard time picking out the notes- it just smells strong and musky.

 

On wet, the chypre and patchouli are dominant with the slightly biting grapes-ness of the red musk (and perhaps the red currant?).

 

It dries down to a patchouli and red musk scent - which translates to my nose as almost a sandalwood or some other strong wood scent.

 

Oh and Anteros is STRONG - incredible throw and sticks around forever - I just dabbed a tiny bit on my wrist and in the crook of one arm and it is wafting around me hours later.

 

Verdict; not for me - not the sort of scent I enjoy wearing - but I think it might be nice on the joop-man - and glad I got to try it!