Antidote (2006)
by Viktor & Rolf

Antidote by Viktor & Rolf - One is immediately treated to a fresh and cooling, citrus opening, furnished by the zesty grapefruit, nectarous mandarin and tart bergamot, with a twist of sharp mint. Tumbling to the flush middle, the sweet florals of fruity freesia, green geranium, earthy violet, light lavender and citrusy orange bloosom are nicely encased by the warm and pleasant spices of nutmeg and cinnamon. This lovely, strong heart meanders to the robust base. Here, a pastiche of evocative leather, lively incense, creamy amber, sweet vanilla, murky vetiver, resinous labdanum, clean treemoss, smoky guaiacwood, carroty iris, dry white cedar, bright sandalwood, powdery tonka beans, herbaceous patchouli and soapy white musk bombard you with scents you have experienced a thousand times before. Remarkably, this motley assault leads to an entertaining and intriguing drydown. This high-quality enterprise is very versatile in light of its kaleidoscopic heads, and can be worn any time and any season. A one-stop wonder, this amalgamated composition has excellent longevity and good projection.

16th December, 2011.

Excellent fragrance - and so truly unique!! A lot going on here, as pointed out from many other reviews. I have really liked Antidote since first purchasing it and feel it is both remarkable and special - not an everyday fragrance, yet it could be as it is so inoffensive and provoking. The freshness is astounding - I get a wonderful crisp mint with citrus (mandarin and grapefuit prevalent) along with a dash of cardamom that gives an immediate clean with an earthy and spicy edge, yet remaining a light, airy freshness rarely found. Awesome! After a while, it wams on my skin and brings out a baking spice (nutmeg/ground cinnamon) and violet middle that is so intoxicating - probably my favorite phase is during the entire experience. I don't get a lot of lavender, but a hint of geranium and freesia (yet remaining a nice warm minty note even now). The mint never leaves - it just warms up. The stages blend together seamlessly. In the drydown, I don't get a heady incense, but one that is refined (a nice quality stick of fresh and unburned sandalwood as opposed to a heavy lit/smoking scent) along with a nice white cedar/white musk and iris (with a hint of tonka bean) - while still retaining (amazingly) a sense of freshness from the top through the middle. Antidote shines as a truly well-concocted potion of perfumery - astounding is a good adjective. A full palate is displayed - but no one one color is too loud. The "tree" of olfactory notes sounds like there is almost too much going on and one would think it could be muddled - but that is where I find my fondness and true love for Antidote. Antidote was masterfully blended with a pinch of this, a hint of that, a sprinkle of something else and a dash of absolute brilliance! I find that this love potion will wear different depending upon climate, skin chemistry and even mood, you could get something different almost every time (but something always impressive). It is so amazing in all its subtleties, yet is noticeable and draws attention (very positive)!. I wore it today with the After Shave Balm and didn't feel it was a particularly strong scent - in fact, I sprayed a few extra shots being that it is a cold, crisp day and wanted it to last. I encountered a college-aged girl on the way to an afternoon occassion. She was never closer than 5 feet away from me and she said, "You smell so good!" I said thank you and returned a nice warm smile. I got several more compliments even hours later. Fantastic stuff and definitely a top-shelf choice from Viktor & Rolf...kudos! This is modern perfumery done incredibly well - magical! I give 4.5/5 stars and two thumbs up.

5th December, 2011.

I'm poisoned and I'm going to die soon!
Please. Bring me antidote!
………………….
Oh, thank you. I feel much better now!
OK guys, that’s enough!
Before saying anything, let me tell you something. If you don't like Dior Homme because of lipstick scent, don't go for Antidote!
There are many similarities between them specially in the dry down.
Start fresh with great balanced citrus notes but also synthetic! After a few minutes things changes and warms up.
Dry down smell like lipstick because of Iris note. I don't know about you guys but I like it!
It's synthetic, yes. but pleasant and lovely.
Longevity is good and also the projection.
I get 6-8 hours from this fragrance and it's OK.
It's a high versatile fragrance but I think It's not a good choice for summer days.
The bottle is very beautiful and classic and the name reminds me of a great video game called Resident Evil! ;)

12nd November, 2011. (Last Edited: 14th January, 2012.)

This fragrance is one of my favorites. It can be worn in a lot of different situations and it lasts for almost the entire day (it wares off at around 9 p.m if it was applied at 7 a.m). In my opinion, it stands out without choking every passerby. The situations i normally use it for are: a day in the city, some quieter parties, and winter evenings.

If you need to know the scent before buying (and the wide variety of notes aren't enough), I would say it's a nice warm scent that goes great with sweaters.

8th November, 2011.

Gets a big thumbs up for presentation. Beautiful bottle and packaging. The scent itself is something of a question mark. Smells like an incense version of Egoiste most of the time. Different notes come out in different seasons. Indoors I get more of the incense. In the summer heat I get more of the top and heart notes which becomes more of a spicy and sweet fragrance. When it's cooler it's more of the base with the tonka bean. Very unique and versatile fragrance that seems to get a bad rap for being boring. Boring? Are you kidding me? Thumbs up!

7th September, 2011.

Huge pyramid-medium scent. Antidote it's not bad but far from being unique or particularly interesting. It has that kind of "familiar vibe" that makes me think of other designer's perfumes I smelled in the past 10 years, but not specifically one, more like a bunch of them blended together. Don't get me wrong, Antidote it's not bad at all, but maybe a bit cacophonic.

An average quality oriental composition of moderate interest.

20th May, 2011.