Athalia Parfums de Marly 2016

I was pulled towards Athalia due to the frankincense note but, to be honest, I don’t get it at all...
Now, what’s making me want it over and over again, it’s the combination of iris and musc . There is something In that combination that gives me comfort, a sense of safe place . When I wear Athalia I fell like nothing bad can happen to me and that’s why I chose to wear it mostly when I go to sleep.
I feel also a subtitle suede smell but that I assimilate to the Musc , maybe cashmeran .
Also there is a small vetiver somewhere in the very back of the scenery.!
One of my favorites from my collection.

Powdery opening; must be the iris. It’s really quite nice—but definitely animalic, with a note reminiscent of Nishane’s Afrika Olifant. I’m surprised at how dark this one is. I definitely get some incense at the beginning. I’m surprised to find I like it, because I don’t tend to like really powdery scents, but there’s something intriguing about this one. I won’t be wearing this regularly, and I definitely don’t want a full bottle, but i admire the perfumer—it’s really well put together.

Athalia is quite lovely. There is a light incense note, at the top, which gets a bit smokier as the wear moves on (but never too much). However, what I mainly pick up at the start of this is orange blossom, orange, and some rose.

The iris powdery quality is hanging in the background, with a clean aroma, but it is secondary at this point.

After about 10 minutes, Athalia begins to shift more into becoming an iris-led floral perfume. The rose is not really that powerful to my nose, I mostly get the iris and orange blossom, with some of the smoky quality of the incense.

Athalia gets warmer, as it moves along, but I wish that orange bitter note still hung around. I really enjoyed that, in the opening act of this fragrance. Nonetheless, this perfume moves forward, with a surprisingly nice blend of iris, amber, and vetiver.

There is still some orange blossom and vanilla, but those two notes flank, these main three. That’s about what you get for the rest of the wear.

The longevity is really quite good, as well. It seems to sit somewhere in the 8-10 hour range, on my skin.

A beautiful, elegant scent my iris-loving mother passed on to me. Gorgeous composition with prominent iris, powdery, and smokey notes with amber in the drydown- very mature and appropriate for more serious occasions. It's one of those scents I adore on her, as an older woman, but can't see myself wearing due to how mature is smells. There is no sweetness from the orange blossom on my skin, and I simply can't think of an occasion that would suit it. Athalia is undeniably smooth and luxurious, and definitely smells expensive, but it simply isn't for me- yet.

So I actually received a sample of Athalia by accident when I was supposed to get Delina. And I’m glad it happened—I never would’ve thought I’d like this based on its description, but I suddenly can’t get enough of it. To me, the powdery scent is the most prominent at first, then it dissipates slightly to reveal the iris and when it dries down I get a clean musk quality. It’s intriguing and very classy. I think the concept of “smelling expensive” is kinda silly, but this probably fits the bill. However, I’m hesitant to get a full size yet, because I am not sure how unique this fragrance is among the iris family so I need to experiment more before committing to that big chunk of change.