Agonist The Infidels

Agonist has recently come out with a new perfume which spurred the memory of this perfume and it’s crazy abstract bottle. So I dug out my sampler vial and gave her a sniff.

Agonist Infidels

The Infidels by Agonist

In Bottle: Dark, earthy blackcurrant note. The blackcurrant is the most prominent smell I’m getting so far from The Infidels.

Applied: Yep blackcurrant. Not the sweet berries or tea-like blackcurrants, but this earthy, dark jammy blackcurrant note that’s very rich and dense. That currant note is an ever-present entity during the entire fragrance as The Infidels digs into the mid-stage with a slight showing of florals that helps with that earthiness. It’s not particularly interesting in the mid-stage but the end game is a bit better, as The Infidels takes it blackcurrant and plays in a touch of lavender with a woody, green patchouli and warm amber. Very interesting fragrance, though is the juice worth its price? I’m going to have to say that while this stuff smells interesting, it isn’t the best or even anywhere near my top fragrances. So to me, no, it’s not worth the price.

Extra: Priced at $495 for 1.7oz, The Infidels is quite a bit out of reach of most people’s budgets. This is one of those fragrances that have been priced so beyond affordability and practicality that it lands in Clive Christian territory, and that’s a double-edged sword. You can, however, bite the bullet and purchase the glass art bottle for $495 and get the subsequent refills for a–all things considered–reasonable $90 for 50ml.

Design: The design for this bottle is polarizing. There are people who think it’s a beautiful piece of abstract glass art and other people who just can’t figure out what it’s supposed to be. And some people who look at it and simply think it’s hideous. I’m a member of the, “Oooh! Glass art!” crowd. Agonist’s bottle is probably most of the price of the juice as it’s truly a beautiful, misunderstood, piece of artwork. It’s unlike any other perfume bottle I’ve seen out there, it’s strange, it’s compelling, it’s dramatic with the contrast between the redness and black and clear glass. It’s got that crazy application stick too that you don’t see much of. Everything about this bottle speaks of daring, dangerous, and blood. The fragrance isn’t shouting that stuff but the packaging certainly is and I appreciate this thing for the artistic merit of it and the boundaries it pushes in traditional and contemporary bottle design. This bottle is like the high fashion runway. You don’t have to understand it to appreciate it.

Fragrance Family: Fruity Earthy

Notes: Blackcurrant, green cumin, bergamot, magnolia, tonka, lavender, patchouli, amber, labdanum.

Let’s not kid ourselves, the major reason to own this perfume is for the bottle. The juice inside is pleasant enough but it’s second fiddle to the packaging.

Reviewed in This Post: The Infidels, 2010, Eau de  Parfum.


Frederic Malle Musc Ravageur

A lot of good things have been said about Musc Ravageur. The one that caught my eye the most was the comment that this stuff smells like cinnamon buns and leather. Always on the look out for a cinnamon bun-like fragrance, I got my hands on Musc Ravageur. Musc Ravageur

In Bottle: Spicy citrus, I get the cinnamon but mostly I get citrus, a little bit of dark musk and strong lavender.

Applied: That lavender mixed with citrus makes an interesting scent that many people might say smells medicinal or even powdery. But no, that’s just lavender doing its thing. Wear Musc Ravageur for a little more and it will evolve into a sweeter confection with a blend of smooth vanilla and cinnamon with clove dashed in there for extra spice. This stuff is powerful, projects like crazy, and it clung to me all day, staying in that delicious mid-stage where, I have to admit, it does smell a little bit like cinnamon buns but there’s an undercurrent at work here making it far more exciting. I catch whiffs of leather, incense, and musk.  Musc Ravageur has a dark  base that wafts in and out here and there taking this a little farther away than just as a gourmand. It’s a spicy, dense, sweet, delicious but very grown up. When Musc Ravageur finally chills out, the sweetness leads way into a spicy woodsy scent with a dark vanilla note, aided a bit by fading leather, and a lingering animalic muskiness.

Extra: Frederic Malle’s line of fragrances includes such beauties as Musc Ravageur and one of my other favorites; Angéliques sous la pluie by the much esteemed Jean-Claude Ellena. You may also find in the Frederic Malle line the rather famous Carnal Flower a–what else–tuberose dominant fragrance. Musc Ravageur, itself, was composed by Maurice Roucel who also composed Insolence by Guerlain, Donna Karan Be Delicious, and many others.

Design: I don’t own a bottle of Musc Ravageur but it looks like its bottled in a rather simple cylinder. Musc Ravageur, I guess, is not about the packaging as it keeps things as simple looking as possible. Classic-looking bottle and I really like it that way.

Fragrance Family: Spicy Gourmand

Notes: Lavender, bergamot, clove, cinnamon, gaiac wood, cedar, sandalwood, vanilla, tonka, musk.

Out of all the gourmands I’ve tried, Musc Ravageur is one of the nicest. It’s a well blended fragrance with a lot of interesting evolution going on when you wear it. It has excellent longevity and projection.

Reviewed in This Post: Musc Ravageur, 2009, Eau de Parfum.


Aquolina Blue Sugar

Blue Sugar, as you may have already guessed by now is Aquolina’s male version of their female fragrance, Pink Sugar. The basic gist of this stuff is Pink Sugar with a slap of woods thrown in.  Blue Sugar

In Bottle: Most people who enjoy Blue Sugar like the woodsy notes added in. I have to disagree as the mixture of candy and wood is a bizarre blend for me.

Applied: I smell the embodiment of Pink Sugar’s caramel and candy on initial application but give Blue Sugar a few seconds and you’ll start to notice the woods coming in to play. The opening is a slightly fresher interpretation of Pink Sugar as the bergamot gives the fragrance a slight hint of sophistication. Only a very slight hint, mind you. Now, I’m not a big fan of sweet, woody scents as it makes me think of medicinal herbs steeping over a fire. A nice visual but a pretty scary olfactory experience that makes me think of wilted plants, bark, and trees covered in caramel. There’s a slick sweetness to this that, I admit, does great when toned down and it makes me wish Pink Sugar smelled more like the lighter sweetness. AS it is, I can’t get on board with the sweet woody fragrance. The dry down is a fairly easy story of sweet wood with the woods coming up a bit more. I like the dry down, it strikes a more fair balance between sugar and tree rather than the slugfest the middle stage was advertisting.

Extra: Aquolina is most famous for their Pink Sugar fragrance but in addition to Blue Sugar they have a gourmand fragrance called Chocolovers which, you guessed it, smells like chocolate.

Design: Bottled in a similar fashion as Pink Sugar. Blue Sugar boasts a tall blue cylinder of scent and like the Pink Sugar bottle, it reminds me of packaging for a shampoo or a body mist rather than a perfume.

Fragrance Family: Sweet Woods

Notes: Bergamot, tangerine, star anise, ginger, licorice, patchouli, lavender, heliotrope, coriander, cedar, tonka bean.

Not much to be expected of this fragrance and sometimes I wonder if it was truly necessary to have a men’s and women’s version of a perfume that was largely straightforward in the first place. Between the two, I will stick (or stink!) with the pink girly version.

Reviewed in This Post: Aquolina Blue Sugar, 2009, Eau de Toilette.


Hugo Boss Hugo

Hugo is your run of the mill fresh aquatic that doesn’t bring much to the table and doesn’t leave with much either. The tide of aquatics has petered out in the latest years as the incoming flood of fruity florals starts dominating the scenes. Some of these are works of olfactory art in their own respect while others are forgettable. And some even regrettable. Unfortunately for Hugo, it was one of the less notable aquatics of its time. Hugo

In Bottle: Green and blue aquatic. Fresh, sharp, and a little bit spicy. The herbal notes up front are paired with pine and citrus.

Applied: The green flare, just a touch sweet before it settles into its spicy woodsiness where the pine is predominant on me. I smell kind of like one of those pine-shaped air fresheners you use for your car. Not unpleasant, I just have a strange association with anything pine scented. Well, perhaps not strange, just persistent. The scent stays with pine as it introduces a few spicy herbal notes into the mix. Hugo takes a turn for the interesting near the complete dry down stage as it leaves its fresh pine-scented herb garden and veers toward a darker, murkier, funnier funky note that’s reminiscent of the blast of aquatics upon application. It’s fleeting though, a one or two second moment that could just be me. Hugo dries down to a benign woodsy, spicy, fresh accord that doesn’t make any presumptions and doesn’t even want to think about standing out.

Extra: Hugo Boss fragrances have largely been a miss for me. The only one I can say I actually like is Deep Red. Even then, I don’t particularly like it that much. I can say nice things about it though. But this fragrance, it’s the generic men’s scent with the all too familiar aquatic citrus opening, the woodsy spicy middle, and the miasma of leftover freshness at the base.

Design: I could give or take with this design. It’s clean and simple and functional. Holding it is easy. Spraying it is easy. Kind of looks like a water bottle which is a bit cheesy but overall, not bad.

Fragrance Family: Fresh Woodsy

Notes: Grapefruit, green apple, pine needles, thyme, spearmint, basil, cedar, rum, jasmine, sage, geranium, clove, lavender, cedarwood, moss, fir balsam, sandalwood, vetiver, suede.

Yeah, I definitely cannot get past the predominant evergreen scent in this. Too much pine, maybe, or maybe I’m just not the kind of person who likes that in a scent.

Reviewed in This Post: Hugo, 2000, Eau de Toilette.


Chanel Platinum Egoiste

Platinum Égoïste is the well known Chanel men’s fragrance that many people claim exudes confidence. I can’t say it exudes confidence so much as it’s a pleasant, professional, quality fragrance. It’s loud but not shrieking, it’s pleasant but not boring, and it’ll last ’til the end of time. Platinum Égoïste is a clean, soap-like, aromatic that’s so versatile you’d be hard pressed to find a time when you can’t wear it.  Platinum Egoiste

In Bottle: Aromatics up my nose. Help. My very first reaction to this was that it smells very familiar. It took a few moments before I realized it. Holy hell, it smells like my fiance’s soap or shampoo.

Applied: Aromatics that mix together to make that masculine soap and shampoo scent. This is like Prada’s d’Homme but done much louder and a bit better. It’s clean, fresh, very familiar to the Acqua di Gio crowd but much more expensive and sophisticated while at the same time being pleasant and approachable. As Égoïste ages, it turns into a sharp lemon and aromatic which eventually fades back into a nicer, less abrasive floral heart with a pleasant touch of aqua. The dry down is a light, crisp cedar and musk. To get anywhere near the dry down you have to wait hours. Like with most Chanel fragrances, the scent stays on you for a long time. Which makes this a great office fragrance that you don’t have to worry about touching up. So long as you go light on it because while this stuff smells pleasant, sophisticated and approachable it is also extremely strong.

Extra: Platinum Égoïste sometimes gets accused of being boring or overpriced for what it is due to its similarity to Acqua di Gio fresh and other fairly typical aqua fragrances. I don’t smell Acqua di Gio in this, it has a very subtle sophistication to it that a pure AdG clone tends to lack. As for overpriced? I’d have to point to Creed’s Virgin Island Water or Green Irish Tweed if we’re banking on that argument. There’s an overarching feel  to Platinum Égoïste that sets it in the same mood as Acqua di Gio, but to me, there’s a bit of spin in this stuff that also sets it aside. It smells better, more expensive, and better made. In the end, if it smells the same to you as another fragrance then don’t buy it. As for me, I love it.

Design: Comes in a nicely made rectangular glass bottle with a metal cap. Has that nice weighty feel that most Chanel bottles have. Simple, elegant, not at all gaudy or over the top. Just minimalist and lovely.

Fragrance Family: Aromatic Fresh

Notes: Lavender, rosemary, petitgrain, clary sage, geranium, galbanum, vetiver, cedarwood, labdanum, treemoss.

Reviewed in This Post: Platinum Egoiste , 2009, Eau de Toilette.


Sarah Jessica Parker Covet

Covet is a fragrance with Sarah Jessica Parker’s name on it. She has other fragrances too, ones that I actually like more. Lovely is a pretty one. That new fragrance she has coming out seems worthwhile too. Covet never really drew me in as I heard its mid-stage can be somewhat intense. And now that I know why, I can safely say this isn’t for me. Covet

In Bottle: Soft, citrus, lavender floral with a touch of sweetness–almost licorice-like. Nice green, clean and kind of average smelling. I lower the bar for celebuscents as I really don’t expect these to break any new ground. I just expect them to smell pretty, agreeable and nice. And in the bottle, Covet smells pleasant.

Applied: Light, green aromatic floral. A little reminiscent of Spider Lily by India Hicks. Pleasant on application with a slight citrus note that layers and plays well with the greenness of the fragrance. The pleasant top notes last for a few minutes before Covet takes a turn for the sharp and chemical and powerful. After the initial pleasantries are through, Covet turns into a powerful bright green and lemon fragrance that’s more reminiscent of Versace Versense’s crazy powerful citrus than it is of Spider Lily now. Spider Lily had a boundary but Covet does not. It crashes through the boundaries and gives off wave after wave of too-strong lemon and sharpness. I don’t know what’s wrong with me but the citrus in this is really strong and entirely too overpowering. It’s trying to be sweet and sophisticated and pretty but that citrus is just so strong. Finally when Covet enters the dry down stage it mellows out just a little as that chemical green finally lets up and I can smell some sweetness.

Extra: I don’t know if this is just my experience or if a small swathe of people out there who also experienced this overpowering green lemon monster mid-stage just have really awkward skin chemistry but we do exist and Covet should be tested prior to purchase. Or you might experience what I did and just be thoroughly perplexed.

Design: It’s a cute bottle, little cap is a plastic flower petal ring type thing. It’s easy enough to hold and the design is not over the top. I have to agree with Tania Sanchez and what she said about this bottle in, Perfumes, The A-Z Guide, “The bottle looks like a Super Mario power-up”. It really does.

Fragrance Family: Citrus Floral

Notes: Geranium leaves, lemon, honeysuckle, lavender, lemon, amber.

I suspect one of those lemons–maybe both of them–are causing this sharp over-green explosion every time I try to enjoy a citrus-based fragrance. One of these days I’ll figure it out.

Reviewed in This Post: Covet, 2008, Eau de Parfum.