In Astra Antares by Sofia Bardelli: the red star that refuses to behave

I’ll be blunt. If you’re tired of syrupy vanillas and laundry musk rinse cycles, In Astra Antares is a much-needed voltage jolt. Named for the red supergiant that rules Scorpius, this is Sofia Bardelli painting in hot light, the kind that makes petals curl and spices sweat. The brand calls it flowers and spices bursting like a star in a summer night sky, and for once the poetry tracks with the experience.

On skin, Antares reads like a floral that learned to fight back. The opening has a charged vibration, not citrus-fresh, more like the shimmer of heat above a road. Then the bloom arrives, lush but not powdery, edged with a peppery glint that keeps the petal from going pretty for pretty’s sake. The spice feels calibrated, not a kitchen cabinet dump. Think tension instead of clutter. The result is a silhouette that sits just off center, a touch shadowed, which is why it feels modern.

What I appreciate most is the pacing. Antares doesn’t rush, yet it never gets sleepy. The heart stays bright, as if lit from within, while a warmer undercurrent smolders in the background. It reads like a long August evening, when the air holds you close and everything smells slightly amplified. No gourmand crash, no sterile scrub out. Just a steady glow.

As a 2025 launch, Antares is right on the pulse of where niche is heading. Floral, yes. Feminine, if you want it to be. But it has backbone and bite, the kind of sillage that marks a room without taking it hostage. It is not a comfort perfume. It flirts, it pricks, it cools down, then it turns its face back to the heat.

A quick nod to the celestial framing. We’ve seen plenty of star talk in perfumery, but In Astra Antares understands the reference. Antares the star is immense, red, radiant, a little ominous. Antares the perfume mirrors that mood. It blooms, it burns lightly, it refuses to behave.

And yes, there’s buzz around a Brightest Star theme attached to this release. Fitting. This one doesn’t just sparkle. It sears its orbit and leaves a trail.