Antaeus
Chanel (1981)
Average Rating:
240 User Reviews
Fragrance Overview Where to Buy Reviews Community Ownership
About Antaeus by Chanel
People & Companies
Chanel
Fragrance House
Fragrance House
Jacques Polge
Perfumer
Perfumer
Jacques Helleu
Packaging / Bottle Design
Packaging / Bottle Design
Antaeus was a handsome hero, son of Greek Goddess of the Earth, Gaeia and God of the Sea, Poseidon.
A warm, woody fragrance with notes of Sage, Patchouli and Labdanum.
Fragrance notes.
Where to buy Antaeus
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Reviews of Antaeus by Chanel
There are 240 reviews of Antaeus by Chanel.
I found a vintage 19ml mini of Antaeus that’s in a clear flacon. The liquid is a dark yellow color so I know it’s legit. It must be a first formula.
This is a stunningly handsome perfume for many hours until the dry down to kicks in that leaves you with a horrendous rendition of old lady perfume. Why oh why do so many 80’s creations veer directly into old lady perfume territory! This could’ve been a great scent. Unfortunately the dry down on this is gag inducing. Total thumbs down!
This is a stunningly handsome perfume for many hours until the dry down to kicks in that leaves you with a horrendous rendition of old lady perfume. Why oh why do so many 80’s creations veer directly into old lady perfume territory! This could’ve been a great scent. Unfortunately the dry down on this is gag inducing. Total thumbs down!
I have a newer bottle. To start with I get lemon Pledge and sage and some sort of synthetic funk that vaguely evokes cosmetics (the latter note identification could be pre-conditioning from reading other reviews; it's not a full-on Dior Homme lipstick thing, but I don't know how else to describe it). I do not really get many floral notes in the middle, but what I do occasionally smell is a small but fairly rank fecal note from the castoreum, maybe 1 time in 5 or 10 that I apply it. It's not consistently animalic, and it doesn't last very long when it happens, but I like it when it does. I think it's a hot-months phenomenon, maybe? And I always love the waxy, "rotten beehive" effect in the drydown. This has a lot of character, although I am still not exactly sure what the best application would be - I would not wear it out of the house, but I would not want to be without it.
This is the antithesis of modern perfume.
It is bold it is strong it is projection and it is longevity. It is ANTAEUS, Chanel Paris
What my nose detects.
The opening is pungent Lime and Myrrh and coriander. Slowing opens up the heart with that Basil peppered Rose landing on a labdanum patchouli and oak moss base.
There is a honeyed sweetness in the base even in current formula that is reminiscent of beeswax absolute.
This is based on 2020 formula. It’s a beast still and ever so satisfying. I have worn vintage and while it is more dense. The current form is more than satisfactory and pleasing. Especially given the true vintage prices.
It is bold it is strong it is projection and it is longevity. It is ANTAEUS, Chanel Paris
What my nose detects.
The opening is pungent Lime and Myrrh and coriander. Slowing opens up the heart with that Basil peppered Rose landing on a labdanum patchouli and oak moss base.
There is a honeyed sweetness in the base even in current formula that is reminiscent of beeswax absolute.
This is based on 2020 formula. It’s a beast still and ever so satisfying. I have worn vintage and while it is more dense. The current form is more than satisfactory and pleasing. Especially given the true vintage prices.
I’m too much of a novice and this is far too rich and complex a fragrance for me to try and give any sort of note breakdown so let’s just forego that.
I will say that, for what everyone says about how aggressive the opening is, I think it’s very well blended and as such, pretty easy to take..
Not vintage and no batch code on hand(read: lazy). I bought it in 2020 from a Chanel counter and, even compared to some other vintage bottles I have, it is deep, refined, honest and ambitious. It lasts long and it isn’t at all off-putting.
An integral part of a spiritual olfactory lineage in which it is the landmark with Aramis 900 on one side and Ho Hang Club on the other. Long live.
All said, if anyone wants to share a vintage decant, I’d be remiss to decline.
I will say that, for what everyone says about how aggressive the opening is, I think it’s very well blended and as such, pretty easy to take..
Not vintage and no batch code on hand(read: lazy). I bought it in 2020 from a Chanel counter and, even compared to some other vintage bottles I have, it is deep, refined, honest and ambitious. It lasts long and it isn’t at all off-putting.
An integral part of a spiritual olfactory lineage in which it is the landmark with Aramis 900 on one side and Ho Hang Club on the other. Long live.
All said, if anyone wants to share a vintage decant, I’d be remiss to decline.
Antaeus launched in 1981 for Chanel's men's line, at a time when hairy-chested powerhouses were poised to become the mainstream standard for men's perfumery. Forty years later and you should read the reviews on these fragrance forums. They talk about Antaeus as if it were big sweaty balls in a bottle. They say it drips with, and imparts onto the wearer, an objective and undeniable virility. They wax poetic about the good old days and lament the reformulations, which they denounce as castration. I have not worn, not even smelled (knowingly, anyway) vintage Antaeus. But I do have a modern formulation. And let me tell you, there is something very interesting going on with today's composition that nobody seems to be talking about: it's got a femme streak. Specifically, that waxy makeup accord that Chanel does so well. Sure, you've still got your aromatics atop patchouli and moss, and sure there's an ashiness throughout and a quality that many may find too animalic to bear. And yet, in contrast, there's that trademark Chanel makeup accord shot through. Not only is this a deliciously sly subversion of its own history of machismo, its also a savvy business move, because its unisex appeal ensures Antaeus will stay on the shelves. This nimble adaptability is, in my opinion, a sign of a truly complex fragrance.
Chanel Antaeus EDT -
Out of the night that covers me
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance,
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
- Invictus (Henley, W.)
4 Stars
Out of the night that covers me
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance,
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
- Invictus (Henley, W.)
4 Stars
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