Aatos Polemoio

[thekittenkat]

AATOS POLEMOIO
Insatiate of War
Cedar, black currant, and saffron.

I'm so impressed by how many of these Ode to Ares oils are so well blended, and Aatos Polemoio is no exception. It may be seemingly a simple scent with three notes, but it is gorgeous. It's exactly as advertised, with aromatic cedar wood, a rich currant (very much like in one of the Motley trio), and the saffron just rounding the other two notes out. This strikes me as an autumnal scent, just right for when the leaves start their change in colors.

[Ravenclaw79]

Huh. It's always interesting to read the notes after smelling something blind. At first whiff, I got cinnamon out of this, but a woody cinnamon, not a spicy, hot or candy cinnamon. Now, it's woody and a little masculine with a hint of creaminess and a bit of spiciness.

 

I guess I can get currant, now that I know it's in there ... there is a hint of something sweet. Interesting. I'm not sure if I'll keep this one, but it's definitely worth a try for everyone, 'cause it's a really fascinating blend.

[edenssixthday]

Aatos Polemoio - You know what's my favorite thing about this scent? EVERYTHING! I love that this has two notes in it that are usually pretty awful on me (cedar, black currant) and one note in it that's merely "okay" on me (saffron); yet, somehow, when they're blended together, they equal OMG AMAZING!!! I've been decanting all the scents from the Lupercalia update, and I've gone through about half of them so far, and of the first half of the update, this is by far my #1 favorite scent. I would have never guessed I'd love it so much. Cedar usually smells like pencil shavings on me and black currant usually smells like cat pee. But this blend is dark and woody and spicy and uber sexy. I think I'd love this even more on a guy, but I love it so much I'm going to keep on wearing it myself, too. It's dark, heavy, and masculine in a feminine sort of way (?!). It's got a lot of "texture" about it. This is one of those scents that makes me wonder if I couldn't just order of bunch of bottles of it and get rid of the rest of my BPAL collection. I love it love it love it love it love it!!! Edited February 11, 2010 by edenssixthday

[greenranger]

This is a very interesting scent...and I'm not sure if it is love or hate right now, but, I suspect that it will grow on me.

 

If I didn't have a note list, I'd be completely and utterly wrong on my guesses. I'm smelling mint and pimento berry...and musk? It sure as heck doesn't smell like just three notes. It smells complicated.

[blktauna]

Woodsy camphor and a bit of berry juiciness. It's sour juiciness tho, almost unpleasant. Very woodsy like Snowstorm 07 or Loup Garou w/o the mint. Decent bit of throw. Not one I like, but interesting.

[PeshaRocha]

The notes blend together so that I can't pick out the individual scents, combining into a woody, spicy sweetness that is different from any of the components. These are all notes that I love, but I'm unsure about the combination. However, over time I keep finding myself thinking, "Mmm, what's that wonderful smell?" and then realizing it's this perfume. I tend to sniff my perfumed skin a lot, and up close I'm not crazy about this. However, the scent it throws off is lovely. I just have to remember not to huff it!

[Pottersville]

Ditto to upthread comments about how very well blended this is and .... "interesting"! I find it very "interesting" that it's so difficult to pick out individual notes in something that has so few. I'm also on the fence about liking AP. I do like it best wet because that's when it's at its most aromatic. During the drydown, it just seems to get somewhat muddled and indistinct.

[Saya]

I hate cedar blends. Whenever I wear a blend with this note I end up smelling like a hamster cage. I didn't want to try this blend but I was feeling adventurous.

 

So this is actually pretty nice. Starts off a bit tart, but it dries down to a lovely blend that is primarily current and saffron. I'll test this a few more times to make sure the cedar doesn't show up. I'm definitely keeping the imp.

[Little Bird]

My overall impression of Aatos Polemoio is that it smells like a handful of old, dusty, cheap, spice-scented potpourri left out in a dirty wooden bowl. It's a very dry, gritty sort of scent, and the spice smells so cheap, sharp, and gross on me. Bleh . I love black currant, but I don't get any fruitiness from this it all. It's all sharp, cheap, gross spiciness and dry, dark, gritty wood notes...

[Invidiana]

Cedar is an extremely iffy note on me if not a note of total FAIL 95% of the time. That said, remember that 95% doesn't cover all bases. I just had to take the risk with this because of the blackcurrant and against all odds, this is a total WIN. It does smell very masculine in the bottle, so I need to keep it far away from my hair and clothes, but when it hits my skin something magical happens. The mixing of blackcurrant and cedar just produces this sexy, fruity-with-an-edge scent on my skin with the saffron adding just the right kick, and the further it dries down, the more it warms up. The blackcurrant comes out on top with the cedar for a woody background but thankfully no more than that. If you're cedar-phobic but have luck with dark fruits, I totally suggest you at least give this a try.

[musichappens]

The cedar and saffron seem to be amping quite a bit on my skin because all I am getting from this blend is spicy woods. It's not a bad scent perse, but I was hoping that the black currant would pop out a little more. That all being said, this is a bit too masculine of a scent for me.

[sunshinedaisybliss]

 

Hmm.. this one's very interesting! It's kinda all been said already.. lovely warm cedar with slight sweetness from the blackcurrant - neither of these are strong or heavy - they're both quite subtle and soft. The saffron is like a little bit of dancing spice over the top - barely there, but lovely nonetheless. Black currant has a habit of turning to cat pee on my skin.. that didn't quite happen with this one, but I can feel it wanting to.. it's *just* on the edge of doing it.

 

My issue with this one is that it's so well blended that it becomes difficult to actually work out what's going on - the cedar seems to have flattened everything. It is, however, worthy of further testing because I think I want to like this one.

[IridiumFlash]

The second try-out went better than the first time I wore this. The first time, I just got a moderately spicy scent, probably the saffron and cedar ganging up on the black currant. I didn't pick up the black currant at all the first time. Today, the black currant pushed its way to the front at first, although all three notes were detectable. After a couple of hours the currant had faded back and the scent was primarily cedar with some modification by the saffron.

 

Aatos Polemoio has some staying power on my skin. It's still easily detected after six hours.

 

Not a "loooooove", but an interesting and likeable scent.

 

 

[milo]

Ah ha! A dude blend for sure! This is a lovely woody spicy blend. The black currant smells just like the ones my mom grows outside her house, and adds a non sweet fruity bite. I don't wear masculine blends, but would LOVE to smell this on a guy. Seriously sexy, and I'll pass this on to someone I can enjoy smelling this on!

[ami226]

A spicy woodsy scent! I am loving this! I can definitely pick out the cedar, but everything else just blends together so perfectly!! It is amazing! Kind of reminds me of Diable en Boite, but that was redwood instead of cedar.

 

This is a manly blend in my opinion and I may just have to pick up a bottle for the SO!!

[Dark Alice]

For once Cedar plays nice with my skin. The saffron keeps the cedar from becoming too strong and softens it up as well. However, my beloved Black currant is just not here. This is a soft saffron/cedar fragrance with no fruity black currant love.

 

 

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Richly masculine. Cedar is strongest with the saffron underneath. Really, the current is serving to smooth and slightly sweeten as opposed to acting on it’s own. Wet: Ooooo! Sexy. It’s sweeter on the skin. The current is a touch more assertive, though the cedar stays dominant. I’m loving the saffron in this. It’s more androgynous on the skin. I’m liking the spicy sweet edge to this delicious cedar blend. Dry: The blend goes more masculine. The black current comes out a bit more with wear, but it’s really all about the cedar.

[surlygurl]

On me, this is very much cedar. Saffron gives it a savory foodie bent, but it's still mostly cedar. Powerful throw. There's a bit of craft-store-candle vibe to it, either under the cedar or it is the cedar (potpourri, anyone?). Once it's dry, the currant joins in. Meh. The only thing keeping this from craft store candles is the addition of saffron. Silly skin chemistry.

[angelicruin]

This is spicy cedar and black current on my skin. Very sexy and clings close to my skin. Perfect balance of wood & fruit notes.

[fairnymph]

Amber coloured oil. Sweet, warm, woody and spicy. It's exactly what you'd expect from the notes; I can smell each on the clearly, though the cedar is dominating - it's VERY warm and sauna-esque, but the saffron is just behind, spicy and a little sharp, but NOT weirdly mintergreeny as it can be. The black currant is the lightest, a bit herbal and masculine, but still obviously fruity.

 

STRONG - it was in the imp too, but it's not pulling any punches on my skin. The saffron amps up to overtake the cedar and now does take on that unfortunate mentholic wintergreen aspect - but it's also VERY spicy-hot, almost peppery - I strongly suspect another spice, something a bit green - coriander or cardamom almost definitely. I get much more of the black currant now too, and it's a very nice note - it's subtle, and very slightly medicinal in a good way - it reminds me of European black currant lozenges, of which I'm very fond, and also a little of the black currant note in Montresor.

 

This is coalescing well, with each note coming into balance such that none strongly dominates - the black currant has amped up and the saffron has softened to accomplish this. Still getting some wintergreen from the latter note, but it's less overt. The cedar here is not the typical dry, pencil-shavings & sawdust type - it does have a dryness to it, but it much more about warmth and it's much more aromatic - it's much like (or the same as) the note in Lovers in a Carp Steamer. It really packs an incredible amount of sensual heat! I think the other spice note here - the one that's peppery - is cardamom, because this blend is just SO warm and that's another note that when it's the peppery spicy-hot type, adds a lot of heat. It works really well here, too, enhancing the other notes.

 

This sweetens up on my skin over time, either due to unlisted notes, or the saffron and cardamom softening and evolving - and definitely in large part to the morphing of the black currant, which loses its medicinal edge and really becomes just like the note I love in Montresor - rich, dark, sweet fruit. The cedar backs off a bit but remains warm and rich with a dry edge, and a good backdrop for the calmed spices - almost no trace of wintergreen from the saffron, and only faint pepperiness from the cardamom. This is much nicer than I expect and evolves nicely on my skin into a warm, spicy, woody unisex scent with good throw and great longevity.

 

Still, I don't like warm or spicy in my perfume, so not for me. But cedar haters - this is worth trying, if you like this sort of blend.

[Schmoozy]

 

Another winner. Simple and understated. Cedar & black currant with just a hint saffron to give it some spice and temper the sweetness ofthe black currant. It's woodsy and ffruity with a kick.

[zankoku_zen]

Aatos - sorry buddy. I get loads of cedar with a hint of fruitiness, but in combination with the saffron all of this smells like wood varnish.

 

*Sigh*

[childoftime]

This smells almost creamy on my skin. The saffron and the cedar balance each other out and each keeps the other from getting too strong, and blend together very well into a lovely warm spiciness. The black currant was easy to find in the bottle, but once it's on it's only detectable as a fruitiness blending in with the warmth and spice of the scent.

[ralenth]

I think that this is the star of the Ode to Mars update. Aatos Polemoio is warm cedar with subtle spicy sweetness. I would love to slather this on a man, but it smells pretty good on me. Sharing is not an option here.

[thebirdofhermes]

In Bottle: Deep golden oil. Strongly cedar spice, almost enough to make me sneeze. Also, a hint of something ozone like.

 

Wet: Goes very faint and almost watery saffron with little else to back it up. Maybe a hint of woodiness from the cedar, but there's not much going on. Now, if it weren't for the fact that I've worn this a lot before reviewing it, I would be expressing disappointment and debating just washing it off at this point. Thankfully, I was rather determined to like Aatos Polemoio from first look at the name, meaning, and notes, so even the first time I left it on and just waited. It's a very good thing I did.

 

Dry: Strengthens considerably on the drydown, and gains some very nice throw, to the point where moving my arms is enough to send little breaths of scent to my nose. The cedar does intensify, making the saffron a drier spice... but the currant also finally peeks out to come and play, lending a gentle, just this side of fruity sweetness to the blend that keeps it from being too dry and pencil-like on me. Which was my main concern with this blend, since my skin loves to amp cedar. I just didn't know until recently that my skin loves currants and saffron even more. If I had, I would have skipped the decant! It's quite masculine in character on my skin; probably since the dominant theme seems to be a woody spice. Oh, and this one lasts for hours on me. And I do mean hours. I applied some at around 1700 yesterday, and could still smell it when I finally fell asleep close to 0500 this morning. Wasn't throwing at all by that point, but it was still quite present when I had my wrists near my face.