Sep6

Viktor & Rolf ~ Antidote

Antidote by Viktor & RolfI’m hunching that too many folks will dismiss Antidote if they judge the fragrance soley upon the basis of the opening. And that’s a mistake.

Antidote begins with cliche, albeit a high quality one, due to a strong dose of bergamot. Those first 15 - 20 minutes smell standard for men’s cologne. The opening is the equivalent of exhanging pleasantries: congenial, but not a real converstion.

The trick here is to wait a wee bit. When the middle period unrolls, the fragrance dispenses completely with the stereotypical bergamot. Neroli (floral orangey) informs the heart notes, teaming with white florals and a light woodsy musk. It’s lovely, but not as lovely as the drydown.

As it dries, Antidote retains some of the floral connotations while taking a decidedly vanillic and woody turn. The effect is sweet and cuddly without cloying your face off with sugar. Viktor & Rolf denote leather as a base note, but I perceive incensey intonations instead. A subtle but piquant spiciness accompanies the drydown. A spiciness, I must add, which nicely cuts through the other notes to lend Antidote a certain effortless elegance. I’m at a loss to describe it further. The drydown smells really, really, ridiculously good.

It remains to be seen if many of my fellow perfume-obsessives will find Antidote as likable as I. I also wonder how many folks will pick up a bottle for themselves. However, I can already forsee it as a big holiday seller for Viktor & Rolf. This is the exact sort of fragrance men and women will buy for boyfriends or husbands as gifts. Why? It smells of snuggling on the couch to watch a movie, or to just enjoy each other’s company. That’s not to say it’s a remarkable acheivement in perfumery. But it sure passes the “smells good” test. I think that’s well enough, and wouldn’t be surprised if Antidote makes more than a few people’s personal Best of 2006 lists. It’ll be nice to see them introduce an auxillary line of shower/bath gels and lotions for it, as well.

It should be noted that Antidote ought to attract some female wearers, too. (Besides myself, that is.) Once you make it past the opening, there’s little in the way of antiquated gender cues left in the fragrance. It’s worth testing if you’re open minded about shopping at the men’s counter.

Which reminds me… next up on male fragrances BOTH men and women might consider sampling: Masaki Matsushima’s mat;male, which I will try to review sometime this week or this weekend.

Image from the Viktor & Rolf blog on Typepad. (And as a sidenote, theirs is an excellent example of what makes an official corporate blog compelling. Lots of little extras to be found there that show off the brand without coming off as stuffy or crass advertising copy. Nice. For example, you can listen to Rufus Wainwright’s (love that guy!) song composed for this perfume there, by clicking here.)


12 Responses to “Viktor & Rolf ~ Antidote”

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  1. Get a Gravatar!

    marchlion

    Said this on September 6th, 2006 at 7:01pm:

    Sold!!!! You got me with the incense drydown. I promise to wait patiently. You’re right, without your review I probably wouldn’t have bothered.

  2. Get a Gravatar!

    Scentzilla!

    Said this on September 6th, 2006 at 7:24pm:

    March, yeah, just wait it out. On me it was about 15 minutes or so, though I guess depending on the person and the weather it could be a bit longer. Once the Italian bergamot burns off, you’re left with something that is actually interesting. Which I can’t say about too many of the year’s releases I’ve tried so far. Weirdly, the two 2006 frags I’m most likely to buy bottles of are “masculine” : this one, and Terre d’Hermes. Quirky.

  3. Get a Gravatar!

    marchlion

    Said this on September 7th, 2006 at 4:59am:

    Have you smelled the new Prada PH? I think it’s beautiful.

  4. Get a Gravatar!

    Marina

    Said this on September 7th, 2006 at 5:21am:

    Cuddly without cloying your face off with sugar…sounds good to me!

  5. Get a Gravatar!

    Victoria O

    Said this on September 7th, 2006 at 10:02am:

    I love bergamot, but I doubt I’d have the patience for this one, but I’ll give it a try on your recommendation. :O)

  6. Get a Gravatar!

    Robin

    Said this on September 7th, 2006 at 11:56am:

    Oh, sounds very compelling K! Just my luck, it is probably exclusive to Saks and it will be forever before I get my hands on it…

  7. Get a Gravatar!

    Scentzilla!

    Said this on September 7th, 2006 at 4:27pm:

    March, no not yet… I’m so behind, really, with keeping up this year. Sigh.

    Marina, it’s definitely sweet for a men’s. Not sure if it’ll be up your alley or not, though, because I can kind of see you taking exception to the cornball opening notes.

    Victoria, well, worth a spray at the counter whenever it starts to spread out to all the stores.

    Robin, I think it IS still exclusive to Saks, but I’m sure it’s one of those things like with Fresh’s Cannabis Santal where it was “exclusive” for only a short while before you could shop for it at other places, too. I’d bet it’ll be like Flowerbomb, where it was tricky to located until enough word of mouth spread around that other retailers wanted to sell it, too.

  8. Get a Gravatar!

    ANTIDOTE

    Said this on September 10th, 2006 at 1:46am:

    Yes Antidote is exclusivly and only for Saks Now but be patient
    It’s very soon for Europe ( launched in Europe in October ) Maybye during the fashion week in paris …

    more information soon on http://viktoretrolf.typepad.com

    ANTIDOTE

  9. Get a Gravatar!

    marchlion

    Said this on September 14th, 2006 at 4:45am:

    Hey, K — I tried it! I love the bottle, that drippy thing is actually really cool up close. It smells a lot like the new Prada PH in my opinion, but more masculine (! — which gives you an idea how foofy the Prada is…)

    The drydown made me want to purr.

  10. Get a Gravatar!

    Scentzilla!

    Said this on September 17th, 2006 at 5:09pm:

    Yup, it’s ALL about that scrummy drydown. I am so glad you dug it! I was scared I’d be the only female who felt that way! Good to know I’m in good company about it. It is a bit masculine because of the opening, but I strongly feel like upon the middle and drydown it becomes socially acceptable to be worn by either gender.

  11. Get a Gravatar!

    Andy

    Said this on October 2nd, 2006 at 10:04pm:

    Interestingly enough, I tried this today at Nordstrom. If any of you have been to the Venetian in Vegas, this scent smells a lot like the scent that they pump into the Casino. I know that sounds strange, but I love it! It brings back memories of vacation!

  12. Get a Gravatar!

    Scentzilla!

    Said this on October 3rd, 2006 at 8:01pm:

    Dang, now I want to stay at the Venetian! How curious!


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KatieHi, I’m Katie, the dork behind Scentzilla. I live in the Pacific Northwest, near Portland, Oregon. This is my personal site documenting my profound addiction to fragrance.