PARFUMS DE MARLY
ATHENAIS
2026
neroli
bergamot
yuzu
jasmine sabac
orange blossom
mahonial
tonka bean
amber
Vanilla
‘Athénaïs opens with sparkling notes of neroli and yuzu, followed by a luminous heart of orange blossom, settling on a warm and addictive tonka bean powdery base. Flamboyant, charming and vivacious. ‘ – Parfums de Marly
If this was released as a 100$ designer at Sephora; I would be cool with it. Parfums de Marly has a bit of a reputation for making designer-style scents at one of the most overpriced pricepoints in the industry. I do not always agree with that sentiment, but sometimes I do and Athenais is a clear example of that criticism (and frankly, after the run of the Extraits, Castley & Palatine before this, it’s getting very hard to defend the brand in any manner).
Athenais is a powdery gourmand floral… Very sweet from the get go, with a typical mushy tonka bean-coconut-esque sweetness that seems to permiate fragrances in 2025 and 2026. In general, the whole vibe, texture and scent that Athenais exudes screams ‘average designer release’. Not ‘elevated’ as many a reviewer morphs it into, because of the high price point; just your average designer.
It’s not entirely unpleasant mind you. It has a soapy touch to the florals and a sweeter base. If anything, I’m surprised that it feels a bit dated. Its powdery and sweet florals move into a sun tan lotion direction a bit, but in a way that feels like it would be more popular 10 years ago. I wouldn’t expect a younger audience to be all over this release.
What made some of the older Parfums de Marly releases more justifiable in price, was great performance. Unfortunately, you don’t have to look to Athenais for that either. It’s on the weak side and wears more like a skin scent. To be fair, I wore it alongside Maison Crivelli Musc Nurasana, which is about 4x as long-lasting and loud, so that didn’t help my impression of Athenais.
Overall, a decent scent, but a ridiculous value proposition. Unless you have money to spare and for some reason want to collect Parfums de Marly fragrances, I can’t see a need to consider this one.
