Athalia by Parfums de Marly

For this fragrance review entry, I have a perfume from the women’s lineup of Parfums de Marly called, Athalia. PdM is a high end luxury fragrance brand, which has produced a lot of amazing scents over the past decade or so. This one was released in 2016.

In this post, I want to take a closer look at this one in particular. I will share my experiences wearing Athalia, discuss what it smells like, when it should be worn, and if it’s worth a try.

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What does Athalia Smell Like?

Notes include: incense, rose, orange bitter, iris, orange blossom, amber, vanilla, and vetiver

Click here to try: PARFUMS DE MARLY Athalia, 2.5 Fl Oz

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My Full Review

Before we get into my review, let’s see what Parfums de Marly says about Athalia: “Athalia is highly sensual with an opening of encens, rose, and orange bitter followed by a bouquet of iris and orange blossom on a base of amber, vanilla, and vetiver, giving the fragrance a floral amber accord. Seductive and attractive, this feminine perfume is one that is a perfect day regardless of the occasion.”

The opening of 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.

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Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, Athalia has a fairly moderate sillage. It’s not too powerful, even at the start, but you’ll know that it’s there throughout the wear.

Though, it will stay in that 2-4 foot range from where you sprayed it for a good portion 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.

It’s about what I get with most of the perfumes from this brand. Some will go deeper into double digits, but most get to the level that Althalia is at.

Seasonally, this is a warmer fragrance, so it’s best in cooler climates. Wouldn’t be bad for springtime either, just not a summer wear, at all. A lot of iris fragrances, can get too powdery, and not have that appealing side to them.

However, Athalia actually does deliver as seductive aroma, as promised, and is something that I enjoy smelling thoroughly.

It’s also not just stuck in being a nighttime fragrance. It isn’t anything to out there, that it couldn’t be worn at the office or even more casually. Athalia can check a lot of boxes, as to when it can be applied.

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Overall Impressions of Athalia

Overall, do I recommend Athalia? Yes, I think that it is a wonderful fragrance overall. My favorite part is the opening, but it is still nice during the rest of the way, also.

The incense is really well done, how it is paired with the rose, orange, and orange blossom, is fantastic. I’m not even a massive fan of that smoky note, but it’s so approachable and beautiful in this mix.

This is a fragrance, where you’re going to have to enjoy the iris note, because that’s the leader. That’s what you’re going to get a lot of in the dry down period versus it being more in the background in the opening act.

I might be a bit higher on this perfume than some other people, as I do enjoy a good iris scent.

But, there is still other things to enjoy from the orange bitter to the amber or the vetiver. The performance is very solid and it’s a joy to wear in totality.

It’s also just a perfume that can fit in a lot of places and has the potential to be a signature scent. At the $300+ price point, you might still want to test it out for yourself before committing to a full bottle. That can be a costly mistake, if you don’t enjoy the scent itself.