Antaeus by Chanel

Classic yet timeless; I like it as much as Kouros, but it possesses more class and refinement. It is both clean and dirty, a true perfume of the 80s. The best part is the dry-down where the rose and civet blend with green and musky tones, creating a richness.

One of my favourites. The opening brings back childhood memories; my father used something similar to this classic accord, so masculine and pleasant. The dry-down is singular, animalic and elegant, something hard to achieve. In some passages it recalls Lapidus Pour Homme, but with fewer citrus notes and a different direction. It feels refined, complex and lordly. It has a unique, piercing strength. I would have loved to experience it in its original formulation, but the current version is brilliant, a beautiful perfume.

I totally agree with the ‘sensitive nose’ review: it is a great work of art. At the start it smells of rose combined with leather, a scent that exudes elegance and is the part I like most. I would give anything to feel that scent throughout the life of the perfume because it brings back beautiful memories of that great era of the 80s. To finish: those of us born in the 70s and earlier decades were happy and did not know it.

Antaeus displaced Aramis as my favourite boozy leather scent from the 70s and Kouros as my favourite ‘powerhouse’ from the 80s. I have never heard the original, but what they offer currently is fantastic. It is my type of aromatic woody opening: citrus, herbaceous and spicy, brimming with character. Personally, I love sage, and combined with lime and myrrh incense, it creates a potent concoction that is both vigorous and welcoming. Its velvet quality demonstrates from the start the quality of the materials (it gives me the same sensation as Egoïste, which I do not own but enjoy greatly). Then it quickly moves to a floral heart dominated by rose and thyme, and settles into a seductive, earthy and deliciously animal base, thanks to labdanum, patchouli and castoreum. I agree that there is a semi-sweet beeswax effect that fuses very well with the accorded tonic and the castoreum. Masculine, sensual and robust, Antaeus is a fragrance that announces itself, but without being vulgar, always captivating. Note: it is a potent juice that intensifies with body heat, and since the atomiser dispenses quite a lot, it must be applied with caution if you do not want to end up like Brian Fantana soaked in Sex Panther.

Kouros plus Aramis with a strong woody touch and without the leather of Aramis equals Antaeus by Chanel. In the opening it brings back memories of Kouros, but only for five or ten minutes, then it takes a very different path. To my nose in the heart phase it reminds me quite a bit of Aramis but a little more balanced and less brutal. Aramis smells like an old perfume (it is from 1966), Antaeus resembles it quite a bit but manages to escape the musty aroma to become something vintage but usable until today. It gives me a perfume to wear with a suit, very elegant. Accompanied by a good classic watch like a Cartier Tank.

Sober, potent and elegant masculinity; indestructible like the giant Antaeus.

Please, ladies, try it without fear that it is a man’s scent… it’s brilliant!

One of the best perfumes for men ever created, nothing to do with those of today. This Antaeus gives a thousand turns to all of them (my humble opinion). Not suitable for children, shaved or gradient scents; a perfume for a real man.

Sinister, dense, murky, dark, vintage and extremely old school. For some reason people in the medical profession tend to use it, so it reminds me of a hospital; it gives me that olfactory memory. It is more usable than YSL’s Kouros. Fortunately, fragrances like this are out of fashion, so they are worn more by those with retro tastes, not to say older people or people of that mindset. It is not a bad fragrance, but this is not for me.

A masterpiece. For an EDT, I applied it to blotting paper and after 10 hours it still smells delicious; the dry-down is wonderfully pleasant. People speak of Bulgaria Man Black and Oli; I’ve tried both and will take them on my travels. It smells like a classic from the nineties, yet I imagine a mature, dominant man, declaring ‘here comes the boss.’ Simply beautiful.

Again, this is not a fougère; it is a chypre. And one of the finest chypres available today, featuring one of the best reformulations, if not clearly the best of any chypre on the market, alongside, ironically, Eau Sauvage, which still contains natural oakmoss to this day. Antaeus lasts about 12 hours on my skin and projects strongly for the first half or third. It is not for the faint-hearted, but it is a magnificent fragrance rarely found on the market. By the way, I find little similarity with YSL’s Kouros; while the concept is similar, they follow two completely different lines. Kouros is an ultra-animalic scent leaning towards the more aggressive nuances of those notes, possessing a highlighted civet. Antaeus is a leather chypre which, while animalic, contains not a single milligram of civet.

A masterpiece; I cannot believe the pleasure this composition, created by the very gods, brings me. A characterful, masculine yet refined fragrance, unlike Kouros, which could be its direct competitor (I love Kouros too). Antaeus seems a more stately proposal, whereas Kouros is rougher and dirtier; Antaeus detonates elegance. On my skin, it presents a soapy facet that drives me mad, accompanied by that moss and civet. It lasts about 8 hours on my skin, projecting for the first 3, then if your body temperature rises, it resurfaces. With perfumes of this archetype, many tell me it does not suit my age, but the truth is I threw those comments back at them; I love fougères, I love what commercial perfumery used to be and not what it became. These were good perfumes; what a delight. Scent: 10/10 Longevity: 8/10 Projection: 8/10 Highly recommended; it is a jewel of perfumery.

JOLINES ‘YAYO’ WHAT A GREAT SWEET SMELL! It is truly an olfactory journey into the past, transporting you ipso facto years back, in the style of Kouros, but evidently in this case it is a less rougher aroma, so to speak, with more ‘bearing’, yet in the same league. Kouros is the hard man, sure of himself, with clear ideas and much, much ground covered. Shirt slightly open, jeans, and some boots. Antaeus is that same type, but in a suit and ready to go to a business dinner. It smells good, but I cannot see myself wearing it right now, perhaps in 60 years’ time, hehe. Mind you, which is curious to me, as Kouros, on the contrary, I have worn it cheerfully and it has not clashed at all (it has even been liked). Perhaps Antaeus, due to one of its parts, gives more of that sensation that most people share of ‘older person’, rather than just ‘retro aroma’. Finally, it has a certain base note like synthetic/chemical that does not quite convince me entirely but which is, I believe, exactly what gives it that characteristic and peculiar label. In any case, an elegant and quality aroma, reformulated, as everything is, but still with that a well-rounded composition. Personally, having already the King Kouros, the Prince will remain in the wardrobe until further notice. RESULT: 4 stars.

Antaeus is very different from what the perfume industry generally offers today. Yet, without being modern, it doesn’t smell like something for an older gentleman. I do believe it is an adult, characterful scent, but you can wear it perfectly well at 25. Antaeus isn’t as overtly masculine as many claim. It is masculine, but not in a brash way. Kouros, for example, feels more radical, and its opening might turn some people off, whereas with Antaeus that doesn’t happen; it recalls something of Kouros in the opening but is far more subtle. In the heart notes and especially the dry-down, they take different paths. I don’t wear it on clothes because it doesn’t evolve, and there it does remind me more of Kouros. It is simply a masterpiece. It is timeless and offers distinction. It is elegant and not shouty, yet it always makes an impression thanks to its refined and distinguished aroma. I don’t find it exclusively for winter; in summer, spraying less and from a distance achieves a softness that isn’t overwhelming. The evolution on skin and its nuances are rare to find these days. The projection is adequate, I’d say rather short-range, but it has a good trail when you move, and the longevity is high; on my skin, it lasts more than 10 hours. Alongside Égoïste, it is the best of Chanel in my opinion.

If Kouros is direct sex, Antaeus is a step-by-step courtship. Here, primal attraction skips nothing. While everything today smells superficial, this fragrance revives intrinsic desires. Chanel sold out to the market, but didn’t forget its jewels; thanks to us still having them, even if not with the same prestige. They say it’s outdated, but that’s a lack of culture; someone who only listens to reggaeton won’t understand the Beatles. Antaeus was born when things were clear: either you like it or you don’t. Today, with so much rubbish on the market, it’s easy to confuse the good with the bad, just as one can’t tell an alpaca from a polyester suit. I’ll stick to the notes, as there are better reviews. I deleted my 2015 review because I understood nothing, and now it’s one of my favourites. Pure men’s fragrance, to break the mould they want to put us in. Pure sensuality.