WHAT I SMELL: The Infidels goes on with a citrus/cloved combination that’s exotic and almost Indian in its essence. Quickly it moves into a floral stage that’s tinged with patchouli. The patchouli floral combination is earthy and sweetly rich. It then starts to morph into this earth mama hippie phase that I just can’t handle. To me it’s not nauseating, but there is nothing pleasurable about the sickly sweet tones which to me are kind of dirty and skanky. Mind you, this fragrance isn’t heavy and it stays pretty close to the skin. Finally, The Infidels sits in a lightly floral arena with an almost a chocolately vibe in the final drydown which is sweet, but not thick. The fragrance after a few hours becomes so ethereal and after about 5 hours all but disappeared on me. Fine with me.
The Infidels Notes:
Top Notes: Pink Pepper Corn, Sicilian Lemon, Cloves, Indian Davana and Elemi
Body Notes: May Rose, Turkish Rose, Sambac Jasmine, Egyptian Jasmine, Burmese Magnolia, Iris, Comoros Ylang Ylang, Somali Myrrh, Opoponax
Base Notes: Patchouli, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Cistus, Peruvian Balm, Lebanese Cedarwood, Virginia Cedarwood, Indian Amber, Bourbon Vanilla
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: The most prevalent smell is that of a local earthy crunchy store filled with scented soaps that smell of exotic oils that’s somewhat hippieish. I feel like I should be wearing some kind of long earth mama skirt to enjoy this. To me, this is not pleasurable.
THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE THE INFIDELS: hippieish, sweetened, semi-skanked
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE INFIDELS: That Smell, Scentsory Meltdown
BOTTOM LINE: As you can tell, I’m not a big fan. For the cost of this fragrance, I feel like I could go and purchase a $10 tin of solid fragrance at the local Whole Foods Market and smell the same.
- Bone Rating: 2.5 out of 5 possible bones
- Scent: Oriental
- Classification: Unisex
- Expense: $195 for 50ml EdP
The Scented Hound 
May 1, 2013 at 6:18 am
That’s a funny description for a perfume – it smells like a hippie mama. This made me laugh.
Agonist is not available in Poland, thanks to a friend I tried one of their offerings, Vanilla Marble but it wasn’t my kind of vanilla. I guess one day I will try a few more.
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May 1, 2013 at 6:37 pm
I’m hoping that the other samples in their line that I have are better. This wasn’t a good start!
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May 1, 2013 at 6:31 am
Hippie mama. No thanks. You’re right, that scent style can be had for far less money.
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May 1, 2013 at 6:38 pm
Yes, pretty darn pricey for what you get. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s a little bit better than what you can get at the earthy store…but for the price I would go for the cheaper.
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May 1, 2013 at 7:23 am
I always wonder who these expensive hippie things are targeted at. Thanks for the review- given the notes I might have thought this would be wonderful but it sounds like a pass.
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May 1, 2013 at 6:38 pm
I have read to great comments on this…maybe it’s just me??!
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May 1, 2013 at 8:22 am
I happen to like patchouli and many of the notes listed are right up my alley…but the price? No thank you! I can make a blend myself using my stash of Eden Botanicals for a fraction of the cost! Nonetheless enjoyed the review.. thanks from one hippy mama to one scented hound :D!!!!
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May 1, 2013 at 6:39 pm
I am a patchouli lover too when it’s not hippiesh. Maybe the creators didn’t live in the 60s and 70s so that it’s a novelty to them…not to me!
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May 1, 2013 at 8:54 am
Oh Lord Dear Hound!
It sound s like a car crash at what I believe we are to call a ‘head shop’.
Decidedly not The Dandy’s cup of tea I think.
Thank you for the laughs though.
Yours ever
The Perfumed Dandy
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May 1, 2013 at 6:40 pm
Glad I could make you laugh. Yes, mildly head shoppy Mr. Dandy.
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May 1, 2013 at 10:00 pm
I’ve never tried any of Agonist’s perfmes and for me the main appeal in them was a bottle, I’ve never considered them a perfume brand really. Once a beautifulbottle is gone – what’s left?
I mean, if there is a company whose scents I like and it decides to have a special/limited/etc. bottle for one of their perfumes or releases a new one in a special bottle but then also make that same juice in simpler version, I’m fine with that and might be glad to be able to get just a perfume. But with Agonist it doesn’t work like that for me. Also, what surprises me, it seems like the list of notes for the same perfume while it was sold
inwith a fancy bottle was completely different (see, for example, on NST but it’s also different in Kay’s review. Can it be that the perfume itself was changed for this new release?LikeLike
May 3, 2013 at 6:06 am
It’s funny, if you look at Fragrantica, it lists to very similar fragrances for Agonist, The Infidels and The Infidel which is listed with the following notes: Top notes: black currant, green cumin and bergamot. Heart: magnolia, tonka and lavender. Base: patchouli, amber and labdanum. Actually those sound much more appealing to me than those for The Infidels. I have no idea why they would so closely name 2 fragrances…but I’m sure they have their reasons.
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May 3, 2013 at 1:03 pm
To trick us! Those blck currant and amber sound much more appealing to me than whatever is in the one you tried 🙂
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May 2, 2013 at 10:11 am
Steve, your review cracked me up! I’ve not smelled this scent, but I’m so with you — I hate anything that smacks of crunchy, hippie mama, headshop stank. (Although saying that, it occurs to me that I like the cannabis smell of the oregano note in Interlude Man, but that note is really just one small aspect of that perfume). I like a hippie vibe, and a hippie spirit, but the thought of smelling like a 70s hippie is a complete “no.”
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May 3, 2013 at 6:08 am
Hi Suzanne – yes, I love the hippie philosophy and I’m about as left leaning as you can get, but oily, earthy, patchouli does not work for me either! Thanks for stopping by.
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May 4, 2013 at 7:54 pm
Oh dear. I have a sample of this perfume (or of some Agonist fragrance called Infidel — there are two?) and I’ve never been hugely motivated to sniff it. Perhaps because the person who sent it to me and who has very similar tastes to my own was completely unenthused. After your review, I’m even less tempted to try it. Hm. I like Patchouli and many of the notes you listed, but not the scent of a crunchy, earth mama. I know you enjoy some skanky elements, like that in Absolue Pour Le Soir, so if you don’t like it here, then…. Oh dear.
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May 5, 2013 at 6:20 am
LOL. If the sample says Infidel, you probably have the other and by the notes it does sound better. Trust me, I can like some skanky elements and in Absolue the skank is a deep rich honeyed dirt that brings out the beast. This just is a beast!
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May 5, 2013 at 2:04 pm
Well another one on the skip list;-). Or maybe I tried it last year in Milan’s Esxence. I remember Liquid Crystal and Vanilla Marble smelled quite good, unfortunately the price is a bit too high for me to consider buying. It seems someone there loves patchouli. I think it is just in every perfume of the line.
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May 5, 2013 at 5:47 pm
I have others to check out in the line. I hope they’re a little more to my liking. I like patchouli done right so there is hope.
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