Mediterranean travels have taken me to the shores of Italy, France and Spain. Of course I feel blessed to have experienced the azure waters, palm trees, and restful sun drenched beaches of the Mediterranean in these countries, but I have yet to meet the acquaintance of these waters in Greece or its islands. Greece is the destination I most frequently daydream about, and hope to make its beauty my reality someday.
The Peloponnese is the southernmost part of mainland Greece, and Peloponnesian is the name of an all natural perfume inspired by that region. Alexandra Balahoutis, creator of Strange Invisible Perfumes’ Peloponnesian, has tapped into what I imagine the air to be like in southern Greece; refreshing, crisp, warm and radiant.
The opening of Peloponnesian is brisk and green with woody topnotes courtesy of the oil from cypress twigs and leaves. Hydro-distilled orange and lime bring forth a sparkling clarity to its citrusy temperament while the basalmic tones add depth, warmth and a hint of sweetness. In truth, it’s not much different from SIP’s Atlantic, another gorgeous scent inspired by seafaring masculinity. Peloponnesian has more of a citrusy pop in its opening, making Atlantic’s lime notes feel subdued by comparison.
The drydowns of both fragrances run parallel to each other as they evoke beach-side citrus groves and salt tinged air, Peloponnesian maybe more so on the citrus aspect. But Peloponnesian has a sultry side to match Atlantic’s smoldering scent. If you’re familiar with SIP’s Musc Botanique’s explosive vegetal musk, you’ll find a more subtle take on that sexy botanical frenzy in Peloponnesian. Atlantic has it too, and Peloponnesian’s muskiness falls just between that and Musc Botanique.
Peloponnesian is an alluring scent of the Mediterranean that is beautifully constructed. The balance of citrus, sage, honeyed woods, and botanical musks lull me into my Grecian daydream as it wafts from my husband’s skin or from my own.
Peloponnesian is available at Beautyhabit.com, $160 for 50 ml. There is currently 25% off with the promo code: OPRAH. Good until August 13th, 2010.
Please visit the following blogs for more Mediterranean inspired scents. Many thanks to Ines and Elena for organizing this blog event:
Posted by ~Trish
thefloraesthetic.com 
I’ll have to try this soon! Sounds fabulous, and so fresh, which is what I’m after in this heat.
It’s fresh and sexy, not an easy achievement I would guess 😉
~T
Trish, your description of this makes it sounds so refreshing! You must smell absolutely lovely in the SIPs, your love for them is obvious. Thanks for continuing to pique my curiosity about this line.
I do love how I smell when I am wearing my SIPs 😉 Is it that obvious?
😀
yummy this sounds lovely. I wore fig this weekend from diptyque but Tam Dao is still may current favorite. Maybe I will have to try this-great to see you in PDX
Maura,
It was so nice to see you too! Tam Dao smells fabulous on you BTW 🙂
Peloponnesian strikes me as a fragrance you would enjoy.
Thanks for reading.
Trish
I have yet to try something from this company…but you keep pushing me sooner & sooner! I dearly love ctirus in general & bet I will LOVE this one!
thanks
D,
You must try some samples! SIP is a lovely line. They use such high quality ingredients which is very apparent when you wear them on your skin.
Let me know when you give them a try 🙂
~T
“Sexy botanical frenzy” – I love it!
Thanks Katie 😉
~T
One of the best side effects of these blog projects is that I always end up with so many new and interesting things to try.
Thank you for such lovely choices. 🙂
It’s so true 🙂 Thanks so much for spearheading this project and for the invitation!
~Trish
you make this sound like THE quintessential Med perfume- and what a perfect name and beautiful bottle. I am very tempted to try some!
Both Peloponnesian and Atlantic are swoon worthy. So worth checking out if you can!
~T
Ah, another SIP. I think that line is an enchantress for you… 🙂
I will have to keep eyes peeled for an opportunity to smell this one, and Atlantic. I’ll mention any time I have the opportunity that it was Black Rosette what pushed me down the rabbit hole…crazy ride, that, for a perfume newbie. I still have fun with it.
I just got a portion of Magazine Street last week; the first try was wonderful. Will have to play a little bit before becoming coherent about it, but among other things, the drydown reminded me of one of Roxana Villa’s perfumes. Will have to do some focused investigation.
Orange? balsamic tones? honeyed woods? Oh, you’ve left me thinking… 🙂
SIP is a love of mine, no doubt about it! 😉
Can’t wait to read your impressions of Magazine St. I reviewed it here if you’re interested:
http://www.scenthive.com/2009/02/13/strange-invisible-perfumes-magazine-street/
The vanilla, patchouli, vetiver mix is unique and gorgeous IMO.
~T
And now, of course, it’s transparently obvious why I have this Balahoutis creation on my “to try” list. It’s not easy to capture, as there are so many elements mingled (some more domineering than others).
Thanks for joining!
Would love to know your thoughts on this one Elena! I wish I had a full bottle of it so I could share with you. Unfortunately my little sample is just about gone and I’m not sure I can justify a FB since I already have Atlantic.
~T
I am not familiar with this one, or Atlantic, or Musc Botanique for that matter, but you have awakened my curiosity about all three!
I love Magazine Street and L’Invisible, while Black Rosette was weird but interesting. This sounds a less obviously floral number than my current faves, but the “honeyed woods” and musks are reeling me in!
Definitely not a floral number like L’Invisible! The honey lends sweetness for sure, and the musk makes it smooth, but it truly is a shining example of a sultry citrus fragrance for men and women.
~T