Antidote (2006)
by Viktor & Rolf

Antidote’s top notes are a standard issue citrus/aromatic blend, cooler and sweeter than most, and happily free of the overused “fresh” ozonic or calone components, if still a bit chemical in their demeanor. Powdery lavender, discreet white flower notes, vanillic amber, and an array of sweet spices, including nutmeg, cinnamon, and cardamom, fill out Antidote’s central accord and establish a plush, spicy-sweet structure that hovers somewhere between a fougère and an oriental for a while. The amber and spices outlast the aromatics, so that after an hour’s wear, Antidote has settled firmly into the oriental style.

Antidote’s drydown is much less weighty, nuanced, or complex than the pyramid given above would lead me to expect. A middle-weight woody oriental is how I would describe it, with a somewhat sanitized, bland, generic character, especially for something that’s supposed to contain labdanum, moss, and leather. There is an appealing peppery quality to Antidote’s woody base notes, an effect I attribute to guaiac wood, but its accent is not sufficient to offset the overall flatness I perceive in the drydown. Antidote projects well enough to make itself known, but does not wear heavily. It also endures for several hours, a trait I would appreciate more if its drydown were less “utilitarian.” An adequate scent, but nothing to get my pulse up over.

Smells like a mish-mash of industrial chemicals and melted plastic. I think this is in the bottom 5 of the worst fragrances I have ever had the displeasure of smelling. I hated the sample but bought a bottle because it was such a great deal. It is a cool bottle too. Thankfully I didn't spend near retail for it.

This is a gorgeous fragrance.

I normally wear Chanel Antaeus, so Antidote is a kind of culture shock for me. I’m used to wearing a fragrance that is rooted in the earth, but Antidote is engaged in a slow burn to overcome gravity and retain its vantage point above the ground.

The accords between individual ingredients are so well managed that I can never smell less than three things at a time. The top notes are more like a citrus orchard than citrus fruit, and they merge seamlessly into a luscious night time garden of middle notes. The base notes are there to sustain the relationship between Antidote and the ground, and the ripples of smell act like thrust to keep Antidote aloft.

* Several Months Later *

Too many notes; too little progression/direction; too short lived.

Rating changed from thumbs up to neutral.

I was so excited about the whole Antidote launch. I even bought it unsiffed on ebay 2 months before its official release. What a deception! I learned my lesson since.

Indeed, way to many ingredients leading no where. Oh! It's fresh, no... it's spicy, wait it's an oriental. Oh! No it's fresh again! Very tiring in the first 15min for a rather boring finale result.

I'm a bit hard. I can't say it's not pleasant to wear, but it's so much more mainstream than what I was expecting. And like with most mainstream colognes, the few times I wore it I got compliments...

Watered down Gucci Envy for Men. Get the real thing for full effect.

I always had (more) sillage and (less) longevity problems with fragrances. But not with this one. Antidote runs 18+ hrs on my (normal to dry) skin with really strong sillage!

On the other hand, it is very hard for me to define what this fragrance smells like, but just take a glance on the structure! One of the most complicated descriptions on the whole site...

Therefore - you have to try. It is kinda oriental, but not so cloying as an oriental can be. I have not "matched" with the notes of Antidote and I am very sorry about this :( but I could wear him (except summer). However, my wife had almost headache being near me... :(((

In my opinion - neutral, but can be someone's signature very easy, as well as someone's cause of headache (as I already saw...)