Reviews of Antidote (2006)
by Viktor & Rolf

I’ll grant that this is a complex, distinctive scent. I agree with assessments that it has a slightly strange, synthetic character. And, like others, I find that the “everything-but-the-kitchen-sink” ingredient list is daunting. This scent doesn’t work on me, and I don’t like it. All these elements (many potentially quite interesting) combine on my skin into a sweet-sharp, powdery, leather-patchouli combo that is quite irritating. Filter those through its synthetic prism and Antidote really does nothing for me. I don’t even think I’d like to smell it on anyone else. It gives me a headache.

Oops, did I say ROFL instead of Rolf? I think I did. The reason is because I laugh at this scent, which seems to have a split personality. Given the jaw-dropping list of ingredients that would fill up a short story with ease, it's safe to assume right off the bat that Antidote will run into some troubles with itself. Here's a perfect example; mint and grapefruit don't play well together; the menthol voids the citrus notes, and you end up with a flat, Kool-Aid type of sugar-scent. What's worse is mandarin and bergamot; when they both compete for top-dog of the top-notes, it ends up smelling like decomposing matter, aka feces, because our oranges don't take kindly to flat spices (I say flat in the sense that bergamot cannot stand on its own without the aid of other notes) that overpower notes that are meant to smooth out an opening. With the right proportions, the top could have been exquisite; V&R, if you're reading this, please lay off the bergamot and let the orange provide a silky-smooth carpet for the grapefruit to waltz on, while the mint touches it every now and then.

Okay, so not a good start for our top notes. Hopefully our heart notes won't be as chock-full of "whatever" ingr-- nevermind, they are. Even in the heart, the ingredients are so sharp and so powerful, that it takes two of each family to get the message across - lavender and violet are BOTH used, while nutmeg AND cinnamon are both noticeable. I'm not saying that using nutmeg and cinnamon together is a bad combination; given the right styling, they can do amazingly well together, but V&R have different plans. You can assume that our base will be the same; there are more notes here than the middle or the top. The entire scent, right down the base, is uncoordinated and awkward. There is too much power in this scent, and not enough focus on empowering the qualities of each note. It's a slur of mintleavesitalianbergamotmandaringrapefruitguatema lancardamomfrenchlavendergeraniumnutmegcinnamonbar kfreesiaorangeblossomvioletamberindonesianpatchoul icistuslabdanumvanillairissandalwoodtexanwhiteceda rguaiacumwoodtreemossleatherwhitemuskandtonkabeans .

Apparently, Viktor and Rolf are two people working on one fragrance without telling each other what they're putting in. Split the fragrance in half; take out the strongest and weakest top, heart, and base notes and you have something worthy of a basenoters collection. Really now, imagine an Antidote with grapefruit, subtle mint, violet, orange blossom, patchouli, musk, and a slight vanilla accord; and another Antidote with bountiful orange, a hint of bergamot, a dash of cardamom, nutmeg, peachy-light lavender, amber, white cedar, and tonka bean. Sounds appealing, yes? It does to this nose at least; but what isn't appealing is a mixture of two like-scents, which cancel out the beauties of the ingredients they possess.

King: "Urgh! Someone, help me, I've been poisoned!"

Mystrious guest: "I have just the thing, Your Majesty! Wait one moment...here we are! I have an Antidote..."

King: "Hurry up, give it a spray!"

*thump* The King falls to the ground, and the Royal Physician proclaims death by Antidote...

Ok, I admitt, that was a hoplessly lame anecdote...

But honestly, when the sales assistant sprayed this all over my arm, I sneezed and coughed and spluttered as if I was being poisoned.

Indeed, there's a certain note in this that reminds me of rat-poison! It has a poisonous presence to it...Not too nice...

Yes, I know I went over-board, but it proved my point, didn't it? Well I hope so, other wise, I have wasted 5 minutes on a cologne that reeks of synthetic-ness AND generic-ness!

This is the Antidote to what? Smells like a million other colognes. It's not bad but come on, after Flowerbomb you would have thought they would come up with something equally unique. Very disappointed.

Not impressed unfortunately.
After the launch of Flowerbomb for women, I had high expectations of Viktor & Rolf's first male fragrance. The bottle looked promising, and the toxic green juice a lot of fun... however, after a ghost-like hint of citrus, this scent became transparent almost instantly, and I found myself huffing and puffing at my wrist for an hour until some interesting incense-like accords emerged.
Curious, even whimsical -but grossly lacking the character I would search for in order to commit.

Nothin' new here. Familiar fruit-tingles opening that dies a quick death, becoming pretty much nothing in seconds. Could not detect any spice whatsoever - no complexity here, despite the crowded pyramid. Maybe all those notes just cancel each other out?