There’s a new trend in niche fragrances: expensive presentation bottles filled with reasonably priced perfumes — perfumes that can only be bought at the “reasonable price” after the initial “trophy bottle” purchase. Agonist Parfums, based in Sweden, is one such (what I’ll call) “niche-niche” perfumery; it specializes in “unique fragrances embraced by handcrafted Swedish glass.”
Agonist Parfums highlights its perfume presentation as much as it does its perfumes. I wonder if Agonist’s sales would increase greatly if their perfumes could be bought without the deluxe bottles? (Or is Agonist really geared towards glass collectors who like a splash of hard-to-find perfume with their glassware?)
The Infidels, purchased with the bottle shown above, costs $495 (when you buy The Infidels perfume for the first time, the scent is contained in a separate bottle until you decant it into the “presentation” bottle). After your bottle is empty, you can use your special customer registration number to buy a refill (50 ml Eau de Parfum for $90). When paying almost $500 (unless price is not a concern), one must really love and want The Infidels bottle as much as the perfume. I really like The Infidels fragrance, but I can live without the bottle, so I’ll never own this perfume — one I would have otherwise bought.
The Agonist brand was “inspired by the melancholy and beauty of film, poetry and literature from (Ingmar) Bergman, (Karin) Boye and (Greta) Garbo and other iconized characters from Swedish culture.” The Infidels contains notes of blackcurrant, green cumin, bergamot, magnolia, tonka bean, lavender, patchouli, labdanum and amber.
The Infidels is a beautifully blended leather fragrance with spicy and floral accents. The Infidels goes on soft and smooth with lots of “silky” labdanum; don’t expect a “shock” of blackcurrant or green cumin (each of these notes has been “blunted” in the composition — I think even cumin-haters won’t mind the sweet/powdery cumin in The Infidels). The heart of The Infidels is milky tonka bean mixed with “magnolia” (here, in a rich, slightly indolic interpretation). There is a hint of patchouli and a wonderful, slightly dry amber accord in the base (smelling of benzoin/vanilla, incense, fragrant wood). The Infidels smells “dressy” and expensive. How this perfume relates to the words “agonist” and “infidel” is lost on me; The Infidels fragrance seems made for a person who is self-assured, at ease, and reverential, if not to a god, certainly to the better things in life.
The Infidels is a unisex fragrance with good lasting power and sillage. The Infidels’ bottles, each one unique and designed by Åsa Jungnelius of Kosta Boda, come with steel pins for applying the scent onto skin; the bottles are hefty — at almost 6 inches high and 4 inches in width. The Agonist Parfums staff in Sweden were super-kind and helpful to me as I wrote this review — answering all my questions quickly...and patiently.
Agonist Parfums The Infidels is available in 50 ml Eau de Parfum and is currently sold at NK in Sweden and at Aedes or Luckyscent in the U.S.
Note: top images of Swedish actors Lars Ekborg and Greta Garbo and lower right image of a poppy (cropped) via Wikimedia Commons.
Thanks for this review, Kevin. We almost need a review of the bottle as well, at these prices, no? What is that weird pink looking thing on top, and how is the “steel pin” supposed to work–as a dauber? Sounds entirely unappealing…
Never mind! Went off to look at the website, where there is a better picture, and checked out the other bottles, too. I find them a little disturbing, and unintentionally (I’m assuming, at those prices) funny, with their phallic daubers. Really like that melty beaker one though, and I guess other people did too, since it’s sold out…
SweetLife: as for the wand…you simply dip it in the fragrance and apply the scent to skin. This is a “production!” I apply perfume at 5 a.m. so I’m sure the entire contents would fall on the floor pretty quickly.
Yes, melty beaker is great. For that 899 I didn’t know what to do with…
http://shop.textalk.se/en/article.php?id=14024&art=2970807
Det låter utmärkt!!!
This is really a doggone tease, Kevin… you know that, right? I missed out on winning one of 20 samples from Fragrantica, too, so I’m bummed right now. (Occasional NST commenter Furriner was lucky though… congrats!)
Niche-Niche is right. I wonder if I should bypass this altogether or spring for a pricey sample just for the heck of it. I love certain types of glass, but (a) this is nothing I need and (b) I’ve pretty much decided to almost entirely give up collecting “objects” (tchotchkes)in my life. Thanks once again for giving us the scoop.
Yeah, thanks! I just found out that I won earlier today! I was kind of surprised about this one!
Is the juice itself that blood red color, or is that in the presentation bottle?
Furriner: the glass is the red-plum color…juice is clear.
Joe: I know…I have so many knick-knacks I have to rotate them like a museum…”The Wonders of Mexico” “Land of the Buddha: Treasures from Thailand”…on and on. This is a beautiful scent so you should try it…even having to buy an over-priced sample.
I’m not usually one to shy away from cumin; in fact, it’s my favorite spice in food, and I like it in some fragrances: I love it in L’Artisan’s Al Oudh, and I find it very interesting in Heeley’s Cedre Blanc. But here I really just couldn’t take it: it didn’t smell like a perfume as much as a dish! I think it’s more akin to the savory spice overload in Gli Odori. But then again, I really didn’t want to love it in the first place because of that insane price tag. I’ve decided since that I will not even try any of these “niche-niche” perfumes for fear that I actually like one… My credit cards are crying out for mercy!
Arch: the cumin was very sedate on me, unlike the stronger labdanum that opens the fragrance.
Åsa Jungnelius is an amazing glassdesigner. I love her huge lipsticks in glass. I’m not sure about theese bottles however…
I’m super curious about this fragrance since I’m from northern sweden I love Karin Boye and I’m a sucker for melancholy, this is a pretty melancholic place to be in the midwinter.
Unfortunatelly, every time I have made it to NK in Stockholm Infidels hasnt been available. I guess my hunt goes on.
I’m really glad to hear that you liked this fragrance since we only have two perfume houses in Sweden, well actually theres three but I wouldnt like to think of the third as a perfume brand.
Det finns också Stendhal, Björk & Berries, och …???
And of course I already thought about Byredo.
Show off!
Oh, I forgot to say – just kidding. But I’m sure you knew that!
hey, I was pretty darn impressed.
Me too!
I thought Stendhal was french. Although I read somewhere that Stendhal worked with björk and berries on their perfumes.
Or was that Pierre Wulff?
It cracks me up, actually, that you know so much more Swedish than I do, when I’ve been living in a Swedish-speaking home for 5+ years. I understand enough, but would never even attempt to use it. My 5-yr old laughs at me, then gets mad, when I do.
saran: yes, I would buy this fragrance in a second if I didn’t have to commit to the bottle.
Thanks for the interesting review, Kevin. And in answer to your question – yes, Agonist really is geared towards glass collectors who like a splash of hard-to-find perfume with their glassware.
Rappleyea: you’re welcome!
i really really want this
they better not ever discontinue this, it might take me a while to be able to buy it.
I’ll have a job this month…but I’ll be filing papers and giving campus tours to pay for silly things like room&board, not $500 bottles of perfume.
krok: at your age, you SHOULD be making bad purchasing decisions! that’s part of the college experience. take out another credit card! HA!
no, I have to save all my money so I can go spend a semester in Berlin (hopefully. that’s not my school’s program). While I’m in Germany I need to go on a trip to Lübeck so I can go to Cafe Niederegger and buy $500 worth of marzipan.
I can follow your reasoning.. even 15 years after college… I think it’s the marzipan…
Agree—go for the marzipan. (you can always order the perfume later)
You know – that actually makes me want to punch whoever is in charge of that decision. It’s not like I could display the bottle without ruining the contents and I don’t even find it especially attractive.
On the other hand, it makes Kilian’s overprice presentation boxes look downright reasonable. And at least he finally gave up on keeping people from buying the refills without the original bottle – or at least Saks did.
You made a good point about displaying the bottle and thus ruining the perfume.
Aspirational perfume I understand – I own several that I wear privately, but that I’m not ready to run to the post office with leaving behind a trail of sillage that I can’t quite live up to . . . yet.
But aspirational bottles? PUHLEEEZE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh, I think that you should wear your aspirational perfume to the post office – why should the post office people deprived of your glorious sillage? Plus, I’ve decided that life’s too short to not wear what I want – maybe I’ll start wearing my good dresses to the post office, too!
LOL —well goodness knows, I only own 2 dresses…and one is black with sequins! So the post office is going to have to make due with my denim capris—-but I do trail expensive sillage every where I go! Life is way to short to save anything you love for “good” !! Heck, I wear Amouage out to weed in the garden. Here’s a tip though: don’t wear Montale Highness Rose to the garden—it’ll get you chased back to the house by bees. (yes, I was squealing…you got a problem with that?)
I used to dabble with trying to make my own perfumes from essential oils. Once I made a floral mixture (it had ylang-yland and just a little bit or rose and orange blossom, and wore it to church with a dress that had a floral print on a blue background. As I was coming out of church after the morning service, a bee flew up to me, circled around me several time, and finally flew off. I remembered reading somewhere that the favorite color of honeybees is blue. Let’s see–floral scent, floral print, blue–yep, the poor bee thought I was a flowerbed and couldn’t figure out where the nectar was!
I find that wearing bright yellow out to the garden gets me a lot more attention from insects than I prefer. I know it’s the color at least as much as perfume that gets the attention from small experiment with plastic toys several years ago—-bright yellow plastic, bright red plastic and bright blue plastic all similar in size —set out on the grass a little ways from my vegetable garden (now I have only flowers) …after a while I observed that there were different insects all over the yellow but virtually ignoring the red and blue. These were toys for very small children (Little Tykes) and it occurred to me that making bright yellow outdoor toys for small children (toddler types) was a very bad idea!
Cynthia: indeed! be as the eccentric British gardeners of yore…wear the furs in the potting shed, the tweed suit as you prune the trees, high heels in the sheep pasture. We all could “disappear” tomorrow and what would happen to our exorbitantly priced fragrances then?
RuthW: the way I apply perfume LIBERALLY I’d be getting “wand burn” pretty quickly, too!
CynthiaW: ah…didn’t know By Kilian was letting people buy the refills. I’ll refer people to Saks.
You can do it online from Luckyscent, and through Bergdorf’s–and Aedes too, pretty sure.
I’ve never tried to do it in store, but I didn’t have any problem ordering online – and I had a code for free shipping and 10% off, so it was a good deal.
I am so afraid they’re going to catch on to us at some point. I need to stock up now…
I don’t think Saks cares – I’m sure that they make more sales that way. We can’t be the only ones who don’t care about the bottles/boxes. Not that I would turn one down if it fell into my lap…
exactly what I wanted to comment. as for refills without initial purchase, no such luck over here. A great jasmine frag of his “love & Tears” shall come soon adn I really don’t feel like dishing out 200+ € for a box and a bottle.
The Infidels…does using it promote infidelity? What next…The Adults?
Let’s hope the militants over in the Middle East don’t find out about this…they’re always calling us Infidels…they’ll think we like the title!
VanMFan: I do like the name, but it really does not ‘match’ the scent in my opinion.
maybe it’s meant to attract the non-believers in the power of perfume. so the target group are the infidels…
I can’t believe that the refil costs so affordable comparing the the refillable bottle. Yes, it’s beautiful, but I don’t have time that justifies me spend 500 dollars only to have a stunning bottle that i won’t have time to admire.
I have my sample here, and I’m keeping the second wear for a special day. It’s really a beautiful, complex, rich scent, that I’d be happy to purchase if there were an affordable option. Hope that agonist does like killian and realease, at least, pocket versions that cost less.
RichBR: I’m not holding my breath…though I’d love a bottle.
Oy, too much to pay for a bottle! The fragrance sounds nice but $495
is beyond ridiculous! It’s a cool bottle, true…..but it’s still just a hunk of glass people! Perhaps given time they’ll make the fragrance available in a regular, utilitarian bottle…for those of us who make paying the mortgage a monthly priority. (how very pedestrian of me!)
Rickbr’s got the right idea—a couple of samples and leave it at that.
I laughed at “It’s just a hunk of glass, people”! So true… and yet there are those who would be bemused at our excitement over varieties of smelly water.
“smelly water” **GASP!** sacrilege!! LOL —ok, “good smelling water” at least (and it’s still just a hunk of glass)
I’ll have to go look at their site ….but I suspect that they’re using about a pound of hard glass (borosilicate) so I can’t help but look at it and think “hmmm, less then $5 worth of glass….”
It’s not just glass… it’s ART!! (I suppose. Fellow Philistine here.)
It’s just not the kind of art that I’m willing to spend $500 on.
I ordered a sample of this one looking forward to it greatly. Sounds very interesting and wonderful . Thanks for a great review- too few Agonist reviews on the net !
Mitsouko: hope you enjoy it.
I’m not particularly excited about the bottle…but the juice…YES! YES! YES!
C: does that YES YES YES mean you’ve tried it…or are excited to try it?
YES YES YES…as in HAVE. TO. SAMPLE. NOW. Haven’t sampled yet.
Personally, I think the bottle looks like a cross between a slot machine and a blender. A blender having a meltdown, that is. The price is laughable, anyway. For me to spend $495, it would have to be platinum plated! Based on your description, I may spring for a sample, though.
Just looked at the website. The focus is def. on the bottles themselves- they hardly even mention the fragrances! No notes list, nothing. Weird.
Megank4: when I looked the notes were listed with only one bottle choice…indeed the fragrance needs its own page space on the site.
I must go and smell this at NK, the juice sounds lovely. Much like, say, Kelly bags, Duesenberg cars and houses on the riviera, though, there is no way I would ever spend that amount of money on a presentation bottle of perfume unless I was ridiculously wealthy.
Pimpinett: it’s hard to “justify” unless you collect glass, love that bottle and have the $$$s. If money wasn’t an issue, I’d buy it, give away the bottle as a BIG gift and keep that I.D. number for refills!
nobody mentioned but Kosta Boda is THE name of glass manufacturing in Sweden. It’s like who’d you ask to amke your crystal bottles in France – Lalique and Baccarat. and in Sweden? Kosta Boda, of course. and all Kosta Boda candle holders and vases come at a price… yay! similar to ones of Lalique and the lot…
Thank you, Dory, I was about to mention the same thing. Kosta Boda makes exquisite glass pieces, every bit as beautifully designed and crafted as Lalique and Baccarat. The style is, of course, very different, but the quality is the same. As both an art glass collector and a perfumista, I actually might make this purchase. Particularly knowing that the juice is quite nice.
We hope you do treat yourself to a bottle – and then host splits of the very reasonable refills!
Thanks for the review Kevin
I already have placed an order for a sample at luckyscent. It would have to seriously rock my universe in order for me to spend this kind of money money money. I do think the bottle is interesting tho- and the wand is cute (and silly).
Anybody tried the Garden Party Frangipani?? (sounds nice and Luckyscent has them nearly 1/2 off)…
At least the Kilian packaging is designed to protect the perfume from light.
Kevin, love the art for this review! Now I’m curious about that actor, who is really stunning. He was in an early Bergman film according to Wikipedia, but I don’t think I’ve seen that one.
The perfume itself is so delightful, too bad about the price. I would have bought this in great quantities. But $8 for a tiny sample is outrageous. Still, I am sure I will buy several before too long…
http://theperfumedveil.blog.com/