Athunis by Enrico Buccella for Sigilli 2010

/ australianperfumejunkiescom

Hey Hey Happy Huffers,

Earlier this year Jin and I travelled through Europe meeting some fabulous perfumistas along the way. One of those was Birgit from Olfactoria’s Travels who loaded me down with a multitude of samples. This is one from that extremely daunting because it’s so enormously FULL box. I decanted the 2ml manufacturers dab vial into a spritzer for more realistic testing. I have a FB of another of the Sigilli line, Pyrgos, which is made around the scented remnants in vessels recently unearthed at an archaeological site, very interesting and we’ll be reviewing it here soon.

Athunis by Sigilli 2010

Athunis is said to be named after the Etruscan god of beauty.

Athunis Sigilli FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Cedar
Heart: Java vetiver, cedar
Base: Java vetiver, musk.

If you like your fragrance woody and smoky, herbal, slightly bitter and earthy then this could be the one for you. The woody opening is like being at a lumber yard after everyone has gone home, you can smell the fresh sawdust, the timbers both green and fully dried, the machinery cooling and the very last whiff of humanity as the sun goes down cooling everything. When the initial blast of wood dies down I find myself in earthy country, humus rich compost and garden soil, still woody but more interesting. The smokiness comes and goes, sometimes it’s an incense style smoke other times it’s a wood fire crackling warmly, not intrusive but pleasantly washing a patina over the woods themselves. Lastly, many hours later, as a change from the earthy, resinous, woodsiness there is a soft musk that is quite human, clean but not freshly washed, that works beautifully alongside whats left of the woods and then gone.

Athunis lumber yard TapHardWoodsPhoto Stolen TapHardWoods

This is called a masculine and it skews that way decidedly but I think that any woman who likes a woody fragrance would smell incredible if she gave Athunis a shot. I find it much like Tam Dao but more powerful, less intricate and with excellent lifespan, I would not have picked this for myself based on the notes but have really enjoyed wearing Athunis and will definitely use up this decant. Will I spring for FB? There is an opening for something so outrageously woody in my collection and I would probably wear it, TSO Jin would be ALL OVER THIS though and I may just grab him a bottle.

Athunis stick-incense DivineAncestryPhoto Stolen DivineAncestry

Further reading: Scent For Thought
I could find other Sigilli samples but not this one
First In Fragrance has 100ml €90

Do you have a woody favourite perfume? Have you tried the Sigilli line?
Portia xx

16 thoughts on “Athunis by Enrico Buccella for Sigilli 2010”

    • Heya dkchocman,
      The vetiver here is woody/earthy, I get almost no salty tang and the cedar is HEFTY!!! I think it more interesting than Encre Noir, the smoke changing focus gives it a nicer lifespan for me.
      Portia xx

      Like

  4. I like woody fragrances but don’t think I could ever choose a favorite . . . Favorites are tough. I have been enjoying Autoportrait (courtesy of the wonderful and generous Birgit), which smells like pencil shavings to me. I actually love pencil shavings so this is perfect.

    Have not tried the Sigilli line but am so intrigued by Pyrgos! Looking forward to the review!

    And thanks for this one, Portia!

    Like

    • Hey BaconBiscuit212,
      When we were in Venice the ladies at (can’t remember the name but they’re sisters and it’s near the ETRO shop in the maze) were very excited about the Sigilli .,line, we tried a few of them and Pyrgos was the most lovely to me at the time, I’ll open the pack soon and see if it still measures up, I am now worried that Athunis should have been the one.
      Portia xx

      Like

  5. I love woody perfumes but can’t say that I have an all time favorite yet. I’ve never heard of this line. If this is stronger than Tam Dao it might be something I’d like.

    Like

  7. I’d never heard of the Sigilli line before. I’ll have to see if I can find them. I’m really intrigued by Pyrgos. I think the “based on ancient remnants from archaeological sites” thing kind of reels me in, honestly.

    There is a craft brewery here in the US called Dogfish Head that does something similar, but in beer. They have a line called Ancient Ales, each based on archeological findings and/or recovered writings from various parts of the world. I thought of it because they have an Etruscan one (which I’ve tried, and it’s very good).

    Like

    • WOW!! I love that stuff too. The great thing about the Sigilli line is they never say it’s exact but that they have tried to recreate. It feels like they are really into it not just spinning fairy tales and marketing.
      I will go back and open Pyrgos very soon,
      Portia xx

      Like

Comments are closed.