Antony

[lilyliza]

The embodiment of Classic masculinity. A warrior's scent: the green hills and grasses of the battlefields, the resinous incense from the prayers to his Gods, and a touch of the musky leather of his armor. Ambergris and frankincense with sage, and basil.

I got this as a frimp from the lab. This is definitely a man returning from the outdoors kind of scent. It's not a super-heavy, in your face kind of masculine, but it's still a confident, herbal-tinged scent with plenty of leather. I like it, but it's too masculine for my personal tastes. That and even though ambergris is suprisingly good at keeping the nauseating tang that comes with frankincense at bay, it's still there, cutting into my enjoyment of this scent. Sigh. I think this would smell really good on a guy, though.

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): MY first impression is that the scent smells like it may skew soapy on me, but I hope that isn't the case. On deeper sniffs, I smell the ambergris, the leather, and the sage.

 

Wet: While the ambergris and leather are predominate, the sage is giving the scent a herbal spiciness. I'm also not smelling the basil, which is a nice undertone when sniffing deeply.

 

Dry: The frankincense has really developed (and I love that note on my skin). The ambergris and leather play nicely with the incense and just a hint of the herbal notes remain, to the extent that I have to concentrate in order to detect those notes.

[catalyst]

Wet, this is the best thing ever in the universe. Seriously. I love this even more than The White Rider when it's wet on my arm.

 

Then...

 

The last lingering note is not something I like. I think it's the musk? It's the very last thing that lingers for a few hours. Whatever that is, that ruins it for me. Which completely sucks because otherwise, this is amazing. So I'm giving it to a friend, which just kills me to do that, dangit. And I've tried it several times, but that last note... blah.

[Cactus]

In the imp: incense, leather, and greenery. I can smell the basil and maybe some bay.

 

On skin: Smells like a warmer version of what it smelled like in the imp. After a while a red wine scent comes in. It isn't in the list of notes - but whatever it is it goes well with the other scents. Making it sweeter and less SRS BIZNESS.

 

It mellows down into a incense-y, leather-y wood mix.

 

This is a beautiful scent that embodies strength for me. Will really enjoy using this.

[captnklaus]

I love the sage and basil in this, but it quickly becomes overwhelmed by something very powdery (ambergris? its the only note in this I haven't tried before). I caught hints of it in the imp but it was just too much on my skin.

I might try this one on the boy to see if it works any better on him, because it is simply too powdery for my liking when I wear it to keep otherwise.

[fufu_berry]

I got this as a frimp from the Lab. In the imp, it was promising - kind of like a more complex Old Spice (which I quite like the smell of). But as soon as I put it on, it got super sweet and powdery. Another review said powdery lavender, and that's kind of what I'm getting too. Huge bummer, powder and florals are very much not my thing.

[verbranden]

Someone earlier in the thread used "sharp, clean and herbal" to describe this scent, which is the perfect description for how it is on me. The leather is there, but mostly stays in the background, backing up the herbal-ness. It does tend toward powerderiness after extended wear, but it's light enough that I can refresh it periodically without feeling like I'm overapplying. The scent is also quite simple, but not in a bad way. It's very straightforward, but it works.

 

It is definitely masculine, but in a very understated way. Masculine, but not machismo if you will.

[Saffrin]

Imp: Herby with a slight sharp darkness behind it. I believe it's the frankincense, not leather. Definitely warmed, dirty herbs.

 

Wet: The herbs pop. Before they smelt sort of dried, now they smell freshly cut. Very, very, very green.

They quickly disappear behind the frankincense, though the super greenness can be smelt just on the ending edge. Can make out a tinyyyy bit of the leather.

 

Few minutes later, I'm only smelling the frankincense.

 

Dry: Only frankincense. I think I amp this note.

[Kit Foxly]

All these promising reviews here, the promise of masculine manly man-smell, notes of leather, musk and resins, and I get...

 

Baby powder.

 

Leather that's been marinated in baby powder until you can barely smell its initial leathery scent, with a touch of the herbs (sage more than basil, and a bemusing touch of lavender) if I really try and pinpoint them. Five hours later, the frankincense has come out along with some muskiness and the result is much nicer, but still powdery.

 

If this is “The embodiment of Classic masculinity” then I am amused.

Edited December 19, 2012 by Kit Foxly

[milo]

This is a dude blend all right, and a nice one at that. Fresh plants and musk, turns a bit soapy after awhile, but still nice, like a cosy, clean, musky guy. I like this, but will never wear it.

[kaberett]

Imp: Bitter sage; sweet basil and grasses. Warm sun and leather.

 

Wet: sage and basil and a whisper of incense, all underlain by ambergris.

 

Dry: leather and amber and sage and sweet smoke. This is absolutely gorgeous. I really love that it is both sweet and bitter, and that it's got such depth to it. Yum.

[Magycmyste]

Ambergris and frankincense with sage, and basil.

 

In the imp: Sweet and green. Honestly, so many green scents have given me bitter that this is a pleasant surprise.

 

Wet on skin: Still very green. I definitely get "grassy hills" out of this.

 

Dried down: Extra sweet and green. That frankincense takes this over the top, really. But the sage and basil kind of counteract it with that greenness. I'm not really sure what ambergris smells like, so I'm not sure where it comes into this.

 

Throw: This has some serious throw at first, but it fades to something light after about fifteen minutes or so.

 

Verdict: **** 1/* I really, really like this. I'm kind of surprised by that. I don't know if I'll get a bottle or not, mostly because as much as I love sweet, incensy scents, I have plenty. If I can convince F to try this on, though (so far, I've only managed to get him to try Wilde), and he likes it, and I like it on him.... this will be a bottle buy.

[keileya]

In the imp: A very organic resin, like the way tree sap smells. Golden and green.

 

Wet on skin: I had to go and look at the Lab description and then come read these reviews to see if I was imagining it or not, but: Wet on me, this smells like a very single-note licorice root. Not "licorice candy": the actual woody root of Glycyrrhiza glabra, precisely the way it smells when you've peeled back the bark and are chewing on the root itself. I swear I even smell it damp with spit.

 

Twenty minutes of licorice root and it finally fades to resiny incense, green herbs, and leather. The leather's faint, but holds the whole thing together. Strikes me as masculine-leaning but not exclusively masculine, more of a clean outdoorsy kind of scent than anything else -- but really, Antony? Licorice root? NOTHING IN YOU SHOULD SMELL LIKE CHEWED-ON LICORICE ROOT AND YET YOU DO. To see if it was just me and my wacky skin chemistry, I tried it on my wife, and she got the damp licorice root stage, too. I'm really baffled.

[lunabee34]

At first I smell sage and basil and a strong metal smell which quickly turns into an overpowering smell of gasoline that slowly burns off. I smell leather and something incensy, probably the frankincense. I smell nothing at all sweet in this scent to start with. It reminds me a bit of Juke Joint, and I wonder if they have ambergris in common. It's either the frankincense or the ambergris that I'm smelling as gasoline; my money is on the ambergris. And then it starts to get a little sweeter and more powdery, and I almost like it for about ten minutes, and then BAM!, all I can smell is baby powder. I wondered as I was reading forum reviews what people were talking about when they said a perfume had turned to powder. Now I know.

[KerylRaist]

Antony is killing me. He smells green and mysterious in the bottle. (Almost an absinthe quality, herb-y, licorice, yummy.)

 

Then I put him on my skin, and I get ten minutes of green/licorice/herb-y goodness. A bit sharp. Kind of watery. Freshly cut herbs.

 

Then he's done drying and turns into this soft, warm exotically spiced powder. Hints of amber. I was ready to get about sixteen bottles of this, because I love that smell. It's perfect. It's very gentle and femme and totally not what I was going for with this scent but absolutely delicious.

 

And an hour later he's gone. My nose is pressed to my wrist and I can just, barely, smell a faint hint of generic baby powder. I've got this slathered on my throat, can't smell a thing.

 

I had gotten some of this on my shirt as well, so on the fabric the green scent lasted longer, say forty-five minutes, and then nothing. That wandered off even faster than the scent on my skin.

 

Waaaah!

[Morsigne925]

Imp/wet: Funny, it doesn't seem all that overtly masculine right out of the imp? Rather it smells very clean to me, nice and fresh

 

Drying: It does start to smell a bit like some mens' deodorant scents I've smelled. I have to say I would not be able to stop smelling a guy wearing this; I can barely stop smelling it on myself! Not overpowering at all like some cologne, just....great-smelling. Definitely a keeper - would attempt to put on any guy I'd date. 4/5

[icecreamcone]

Starts off sharp but fades to a nice masculine 'woodsy and clean' scent. : )

I love some masculine scents but this one is not for me.

Edited December 26, 2022 by icecreamcone

[ResinManiac]

Definately licoricey and bitter, although I do have an aged bottle to sample with here. Its a masculine scent to be sure and for that reason I wont be trying it again. But maybe it ages better on someone with more testosterone in their system.

[Veronica]

I love this (on a guy). Fresh clean cologne scent with a slight woodsy note.

[DiesMali]

In the imp: Frankincense and sage.

 

Wet on my skin: Gorgeous frankincense and ambergris, sage, and no basil yet.

 

Dry: This is a beautiful cologne, and I don't care if it's masculine. I'll wear it anyway! Primarily frankincense and sage on me, layered over the ambergris and basil. There's just a hint of the leather, giving it an almost cool feel. It's actually a rather sweet scent on me, and I wouldn't feel at all out of place wearing this even with a fancy dress on. If this keeps working so well on my skin, I can see it joining my other "I don't care if you're supposed to be for men" blends as a bottle instead of an imp.

[theredkilt]

It's a bright balsamic scent. The basil stands out the most on my skin, but then it fades and i get a smooth warm base with sage peeking out.

[Aviatrix]

This is lovely, and rather unisex actually!

It is quite herbal with a sting of frankincense and a sexy background of leather. It also feels rather smoky, without feeling really burned. Just soft plumes of incense in a small church.

 

This is very fitting for the title character, and I shall definitely be enjoying it more often!

[Casablanca]

Bottle: A faintly sweet, woody aroma, and frankincense.

Wet: Mostly frankincense and sage, although there's the sweet, woody thing going on that I'm guessing is the lab's vegan or synthetic replacement for ambergris (labdanum or ambroxan?). The blend then becomes quite musky before it dries. I can smell leather and a little background basil at this point. The basil smelled to me at first like dried grasses. I'm not sure if grasses are a separate note.

Dry: The leather and herbs are mostly gone, but the frankincense and sweet woodiness hang on. Eventually, they start to veer toward baby powder, but for me, never quite get there.

[joopjoop]

On wet I can smell the basil and maybe a little of the sage at first plus musky grass? It is an odd one on me at first - almost kitchen-y in quality to my nose.

 

During the dry-down it remains quite herbal, but the fizz of the ambergris and a touch of incense round things out and make it much more wearable. During this phase it reads as slightly minty somehow (even though there is no mint), and smells like very nice quality shaving cream. I think someone upthread mentioned better smelling Old Spice and I can see that.

 

It becomes very faint rather fast, but the musky leather does start to emerge a couple hours in, and it also becomes just a touch more resiny, although it never develops that awful cloying sweetness that frankincense sometimes brings out on my skin (so that’s a big plus). It reads quite unisex to me - perhaps that's the 'classical' part!

 

I like it more than I thought I would - it’s quite intriguing and I’ve quickly come to adore ambergris (or at least the lab's interpretation of it - I assume they don't use the real thing) so this will be a interesting addition to my small but growing rotation of scents that include it. The imp will do for now, though.

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: Musky, almost musty herbs, and very well-loved leather. This is a very masculine smell - a sort of manly your-skin-but-better. (I credit the ambergris for the skin-like qualities.)

 

Wet: Opens with a big ol' blast of basil. Maybe complicated by sage, and maybe with a touch of ambergris rounding out the base, but mostly just a mouthwatering burst of basil, making me long for popcorn chicken, mozzarella, tomatoes, and olive oil. However, this phase doesn't last long, and eventually fades into a lovely herbal-ambergris blend. I was afraid of it leaning soapy, but it's more like freshly-washed, sun-warmed skin - I honestly can't tell whether this note is the ambergris or the leather; it's that well blended.

 

Dry: A powdery, soft, herbal, mellow scent - mostly ambergris and/or leather with the faintest breath of herbs, and frankincense proving unexpectedly tenacious. Frankincense tends to go a bit sour on me, and here is no exception, but it's nothing more than a vague edge to the scent.

 

I've never been the biggest fan of Mark Antony the historical figure or literary character (I don't *dis*like him, he just leaves me a bit meh), but this scent is wonderfully, deliciously masculine.