Antaeus by Chanel, 1981

Chanel Antaeus was the first perfume of my own. I dont remember who gave it to me, but I didnt choose it myself. Looking back, my touchstones in perfume were Patou Joy, Lanvin Arpege, Dior Eau Sauvage and Paco Rabanne pour Homme. The first two my mother had, and introduced me to classical perfumery. I would sniff them out of the bottle and relish them. I was, maybe, 8 years old. 9? I knew nothing about perfume, but somehow they got me thinking. They got me to see beyond the expected and the routine in the same way that Frank Zappas music eventually broadened my teenage sense of what rock could be. The Dior and the Paco Rabanne were ambient scents. Men wore them in the 1960s-1970s of my youth and I remember smelling them. Eau Sauvage seemed like a lemon drop to me. It was tart but brisk like snow water. Paco Rabanne was ubiquitous and the scent of it today still brings back the 70s I was fortunate to have such a superior group of fragrances to learn from. Pre-internet, pre-blog I had a limited set of guides: desire, inquisitiveness, well-made perfumes. On reflection, these are still my guides. My start with perfume was solitary and reflective. Perfume taught me to appreciate states of beauty and contemplation. I lacked a vocabulary and a perfume guru, and, even at a young age, I wasnt very narrative-driven. Perfume has never been about story per se. Perfume was my subject. The rest of my life, education and experience taught me how to know my subject. I didnt hide my fascination with perfume, but I didnt share it either. I guess its no surprise that I write anonymously. But with Antaeus, I went public. I loved Antaeus. It was unlike anything I knew. Also, Id never smelled it on anyone else, so it suited my solo perfume trip. It was visceral, and demanding and each time I put it on, it stopped me in my tracks. I first wore it in snowy weather, and it highlighted the cold woods of New England winter. Arpege and Joy were nothing like Antaeus, but they had prepared me. Unlike smelling Eau Sauvage in passing or lingering over a bottle of Joy, wearing Antaeus was a deliberate and public act. (I wasnt modest in my dosing.) If the first period of my perfume fascination was reflective, act 2 was expansive. [Sidebar: I think my questioning of marketing started early as well, with Antaeus as my primer. I already knew the myth of Herakles and Antaeus before Chanel. I thought the notion of associating a perfume with a character who symbolized cheating and the mundane and was odd until I realized that marketing wanted nothing more than a superficial image (hottie in a toga) and a link to the lofty/cultural (pretension). My thoughts on marketing, like marketing itself, may have evolved, but they havent really changed.] The 80s had so much to offer: power fragrances and volume, self-absorption without introspection . I took Antaeus to college where I met and fell for Kouros and Coco. I know, very au courant, very bisexual chic. But thank god I kept my classical roots and embraced old-lady perfumes, in this case, Chanel 5 and Worth Je Reviens. The end the formative years. http://www.scenthurdle.com

I tried Antaeus for the first time today, and the first spray shocked me it was such a gorgeous smell. I was expecting something strong and interesting with some smells that I would have to learn to enjoy. And this first smell was uncompromising but it was also plain out delicious, a beautiful experience rich and woody and sweet with nothing I needed to learn to like. And it wasn't strange in anyway or unfamiliar. In fact at center of the woody walk in a romantic forest fragrances wafted a high sweet nostalgic note that tantalized me like the replay from the middle of a favorite, half remembered melody. The longer I held on to the fragrance which I had sprayed on the back of my hand, the more I needed to go back to smell it again. Jacques Polge, the favorite composer of Chanel's later classic compositions, including Antaeus, is a genius many have said. I originally accepted this conclusion because Chanel backed so many of Polge's creations it just had to be so. In fact the backbone of the last three decades of Chanel creativity is Polge's work: Chanel Allure in all its varied array, Chanel Beige, Chanel Chance, Chanel Cristalle, Chanel Coco (a favorite of mine), Chanel Coromandel (a favorite of Luca Turin), Chanel Egoiste, Chanel Gardenia, Chanel Sycamore ( a favorite of many Basenote fans), and so on even unto other houses more important works. Tiffany for Men comes to mind, a rich, luscious composition that I never could learn to love. Somehow that Rosewood note never became beatiful to me, but rather it remained always unattractive at center of an otherwise lovely fragrance. But here in Chanel's Antaeus, a name I never found attractive, Polge created something I immediately found calling to me. And if there was anything out of place in ths composition, it may have been that the mysterious central, nostalgic fragrance bordered on a mystery note too sweet for a refined, classic blend. But i have not used Anraieus enough to come to a final decision on that question. And my experience, and Chanel tradition indicates to me that Polge's choices will turn out to be quietly balanced, and approaching a kind of bouquet of perfection. I shall purchase a bottle of Antaeus, and try to learn its secrets, and report back in six months or a year from now with a report based on more experience.

Antaeus Not dated, the write word is exotic, boldly exotic in reminiscence of fertile ages of the middle class in the leading countries of the world. I will never be able to put this one and Van Cleef & Arpels Pour Homme apart. A leathery boise' with a strong note of patchouli featured by myrtle, thyme, labdanum and castoreum, this is Antaeus, one of the subjects we derive our olfactory passion by. Despite dated for many, when i wear Antaeus, a timeless leathery masterpiece in my opinion, i feel as being in the course of a trendy party at the top of one of the buildings  located on the Rio de Janeiro's seaside in Copacabana, Ipanema or Leblon. The interiors of the rooms with the balcony leant on the ocean are a bit 70's kind of with aquariums, light fittings, square frames, woody fornitures and moquette, the terrace is crowded by people drinking cocktails and I'm boldly talking with a white dressed woman about my intense life for countries all around the world. Inhaling this one i perceive a leathery juice, due to castoreum and note of leather, a bit herbal and powerfully bold because of its fruited patchouli. The myrtle and sage, on the side of thyme flavour the following patchouli note impressing for it an utterly masculine and aromatic temperament enhanced by flowers as rose and jasmine in the middle. The flowers flank the green-edible elements in order to determine a deep, sweet and nocturnal touch. The myrtle is one of the key element and it's surrounded by dry-herbal, aromatic and citrusy starting notes as clary sage, coriander, thyme, basil and lime. The leather is smoothed by labdanum and sandalwood that imprint a touch of woodsy aromatic mildness which is anyway preserved by oakmoss in the final part. How can anybody write Antaeus lacks of distinction? It's less incensey and austere than Knize Ten and a bit less formal than Derby because of its fruity modernism at times but the elements are well balanced and the deep final sweetness is not a one way kind, is instead indented by herbal and aromatic nuances being couteracted by a boise barbershop kind of sharpness. Exotic as Aramis this one will be forever a fragrance for unapologetic and fashinating travellers of this wonderful world able to link the cultures, to enchant the women and to reach the highest goals.