![\"Agonist](\"https:\/\/nstperfume.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/agonistlogo21.jpg\")
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There\u2019s a new trend in niche fragrances: expensive presentation bottles filled with reasonably priced perfumes \u2014 perfumes that can only be bought at the \u201creasonable price\u201d after<\/span> the initial \u201ctrophy bottle\u201d purchase. Agonist Parfums<\/a>, based in Sweden, is one such (what I\u2019ll call) \u201cniche-niche\u201d perfumery; it specializes in \u201cunique fragrances embraced by handcrafted Swedish glass.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Agonist Parfums highlights its perfume presentation as much as it does its perfumes. I wonder if Agonist\u2019s 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?)<\/p>\n 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 \u201cpresentation\u201d 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\u2019ll never own this perfume \u2014 one I would have otherwise bought.<\/p>\n The Agonist brand was \u201cinspired by the melancholy and beauty of film, poetry and literature from (Ingmar) Bergman<\/a>, (Karin) Boye<\/a> and (Greta) Garbo<\/a> and other iconized characters from Swedish culture.\u201d <\/em>The Infidels contains notes of blackcurrant, green cumin, bergamot, magnolia, tonka bean, lavender, patchouli, labdanum and amber.<\/p>\n The Infidels is a unisex fragrance with good lasting power and sillage. The Infidels\u2019 bottles, each one unique and designed by \u00c5sa Jungnelius of Kosta Boda<\/a>, come with steel pins for applying the scent onto skin; the bottles are hefty \u2014 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\u00a0\u2014 answering all my questions quickly…and patiently.<\/p>\n Agonist Parfums The Infidels is available in 50 ml Eau de Parfum and is currently sold at NK in Sweden<\/a> and at Aedes<\/a> or Luckyscent<\/a> in the U.S.<\/p>\n Note: top images of Swedish actors Lars Ekborg<\/a> and Greta Garbo<\/a> and lower right image of a poppy<\/a> (cropped) via Wikimedia Commons.<\/p>\n![\"Agonist](\"https:\/\/nstperfume.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/vase.jpg\")
The Infidels is a beautifully blended leather fragrance with spicy and floral accents. The Infidels goes on soft and smooth with lots of\u00a0 \u201csilky\u201d labdanum; don\u2019t expect a \u201cshock\u201d of blackcurrant or green cumin (each of these notes has been \u201cblunted\u201d in the composition \u2014 I think even cumin-haters won\u2019t mind the sweet\/powdery cumin in The Infidels). The heart of The Infidels is milky tonka bean mixed with \u201cmagnolia\u201d (here, in a rich, slightly indolic interpretation). There is a hint of patchouli and a wonderful, slightly\u00a0dry\u00a0amber accord in the base (smelling of benzoin\/vanilla, incense, fragrant wood). The Infidels smells \u201cdressy\u201d and expensive. How this perfume relates to the words \u201cagonist\u201d and \u201cinfidel\u201d is lost on me; The Infidels fragrance\u00a0seems made for a person who is\u00a0self-assured, at\u00a0 ease,\u00a0 and reverential, if not to a god, certainly to the better things in life.<\/p>\nPossibly of interest<\/h2>\n
![Lars Ekborg<\/a> and](\"http:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Lars_Ekborg.jpg\"){kind=link}
![Greta Garbo<\/a> and lower right image of a](\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Garbo_Lenox_Publicity.jpg\"){kind=link}