Scentzilla!

I’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.)