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.

i really enjoy the top notes...enough to give it a thumbs up...but i must agree that it winds doen into a strange white musk that is somewhat unappealing. I find also that i have to spray a lot on my body and one spray on each arm to get a full benefit from this frag.

On top i smell heavy cinnamon and guaic wood but after that i dont get much...great bottle by the way

The is a very pleasant fragrance. Kudos to the nose that can get all of these notes to play well together. However, just because it's nice doesn't mean it's good. There's no personality here. I get soapy, sweet, fresh, clean, dirty, earthy, leathery, spicy, woody all at the same time. It's not that it's overwhelming, it just is. Antidote is a solid fragrance that's good anywhere, but for all of the well blended notes, you won't stand out a bit.

Had this fantastic fragrance twice now, once in a 75ml which was a gift & now i have a 125ml bottle simply because it's a gorgeous smell & it has great staying power. When first applied it's quite strong but it does mellow into a brilliant scent, i like it, nice.

I find Antidote a very enjoyable fragrance. To my nose, everything centers on the woods of the base. The woods are present from the opening: woods highlighted by citrus, mint, pepper, and spices. The citruses are gone quite quickly, even for citruses – probably because they are so easily overcome by the stronger wood and spice notes. The spices –cinnamon and nutmeg – hold the middle for a very long time while the florals stay undifferentiated in the background. There is an abundance of notes in the base and the cedar, sandalwood, and guaiacum join with the patchouli and labdanum to provide a rich, woody, incensy ambiance. The wood, patchouli, and amber of the base have been with the fragrance from the start, but they come to full force in the base, which is filled out with tonka, and leather. I don’t get any vanilla or iris. Antidote is not really a unique fragrance, but it’s a excellently made one. It doesn’t throw a lot of sillage, and I am happy about that because I like keeping the richness close to me and not broadcasting it. Antidote also has excellent longevity: It is a subtle, rich, warm, and elegant masculine fragrance.

I wore Antidote several times and while I liked it, I was puzzled by this dense, complex fragrance. I certainly didn't feel capable of commenting on it. Then I smelled it on someone else, my youngest son (who loves it, I might add), was thoroughly impressed and most importantly it helped me develop a framework. I would characterize it as heavy, with a harsh edge, strongly masculine, sweet and having a barbershop character. Luca Turin, in the book "Perfumes: The Guide" uses the term "mutant lavender" to describe Antidote. He is focusing on one of the prominent synthetic armomachemicals, sclarene, which provides a long-lasting, airy, lavender-like scent. Turin critiques the use of sclarene here, because it doesn't match the heaviness of the scent (at least that is my interpretation of his comment). And I do agree in part. There are clashing elements in Antidote. For me, I find them puzzling to comprehend easily, but still I find Antidote to be enjoyable and stimulating. So I give it a thumbs up. I have a mini bottle and I am sure it will be adequate for infrequent use in the years to come.

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.

Oh Antidote...how I want to love you, but your muskiness makes it impossible. The top notes and middle notes were a piece of heaven, but a mere 6 hours later all I can smell is that horrible white musk that (imo) has ruined so many fragrances for me. Thankfully, I was lucky enough to stumble upon a mini of you and will keep you around for bragging rights.

Whoa whoa whoa.... why'd I read the note pyramid before smelling this? I think the scent went away on my card before I got to the end of the pyramid! More notes in here than a Philip Glass piece. Let's try again. Ah, there we go. A abrasive scent but in a good way. I think it wakes you up; actives your neural pathways. A very stalwart and salient synthetic that doesn't fail to please. This isn't my style of fragrance, however but it's good.

Gorgeous frag -- really what Prada for Men wanted to be and/or should have been. Sweet amber lovers, beware though -- this is seriously sweet territory here.

Balanced, complex dry-down that's vaguely reminiscent of Egoiste and Prada alike, but with a powdery note (the iris, perhaps?) that makes me keep smelling my wrist all evening, long after the spicy heart notes have died down.

I've read that this is Rufus Wainwright's signature scent, and that makes me like this little puppy all the more.

the bottle is great, and the scent is mysterious. I dont believe that it is a scent for everyone but I believe that it is definately a good scent with descent longevity. It may be a "safe" scent but there is something that I find about the scent to be very intriguing. A definate must try in my book.

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.

Perhaps I'm the exception here but I find this lasts very well.

Flowerbomb is very nice, but Antidote leaves me wondering, "What's the point?" V&R's fashion is classy, reserved, but with a hint of zest and quirk. Antidote is classy, warm, and a little gourmandish/creamy, but where's the quirk? Where's the playfulness?

It's also a little hard to make out what's going on, but looking at the scent pyramid, it's easy to see why. There's just TOO MUCH going on here, and as I've said of some other scents that seem to have too much going on, it's almost as if the parfumeurs decided that "if five classic notes together are good, then fifty will be great!"

Sometimes, that's the case, but I'm not so sure it is with this one. Something that I'd put in the same universe, but that does the classy/mysterious vibe a lot better, would be L'instant de Guerlain PH. Save the extra $$$ and go with the Guerlain.

I tried it just because the advertisement looked funny, like a fragrance used to invocate a "delicate" ghost or the reincarnation of an austrian pianist from the 17th century. Surprisingly, it smelled very traditional and masculine.

It had a classic start with citric bergamot, mandarines and grapefruit, a bit of mint and something like anise. At middle notes some green notes appeared, some soft cardamom notes and traces of lavender... at this point the anise disappears. At base notes it had classical woody notes, sandalwood, cedar and patchouli.

The fragrance was made following a "fair-play" style, avoiding to break rules or defining new schemas, and tends to be another classical cologne. The start was nice but the last notes were traditional ones. For daytime or office use, maybe it should be unnoticeable at evening use. Fresh and spicy notes works fine at summer and winter. Range of age between 25 and 45 years old men.

This scent begins with a wooded impression, creamy, with a spicy undertone, full and almost incense like. Then is settles to more discreet floral notes, lavender and violet seems to dominate, and the geranium keeps it light and airy. As complex as the basenotes are listed here, you catch mostly the cedar, patchouli, and musk, airy and not heavy as you would expect an oriental. Classic notes, but modern composition and weight.

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.

Classic and elegant. Not very original but good nontheless. Considering all the ingredients in this one it should have better strengt. Maybe its my skinchemistry who is the problem. If you want a alternative to allure, pour une homme and the likes of them use this one. And dont be afraid of overspraying. It is needed. Neutral due to the lack of strength.
benb

It's an evening scent, but doesn't smell warm. It's sharp and mysterious, but as other ppl have said, it's not very easily detected. The bottle is nice (that's usually how I decide on which cologne to buy lol).

antidote is a good scent.but the problem is that it stays too close to the skin so after half an hour of application no one smells it on u.the pyramid is overcrowded with notes but i cannot detect most of them.I'm neutral about antidote especially it has a high price.Not worth the money.

A pleasant scent for all occasions. I can't imagine anyone seriously disliking this. Perhaps someone may even fall in love with it. Reminds of Le Mâle - is it the mint? I've got a 1.5ml sample. A decant purchase might be in order some day but I'm not likely to ever own a bottle. Antidote is definitely worth trying for anyone who is looking for a smooth and refreshing fragrance with a hint of sexiness thrown in.

Do you have a 'stand-by' fragrance, one that when you may be undecided in what to wear you can always rely upon? This is how I see Antidote in a male fragrance wardrobe. It is not earth shatteringly new or different - it smells reliable and trustworthy to me. A little sweet, could be romantic, could be business, could be partying or even worn to church...worth a try in my opinion.

I had an OD of this antidote...
the bottle is amazingly creative and literal..
i believe the color of green adds to the effect of mystery and complexity of the scent...and ties the whole antidote theme
i was at bloomingdales the other day and they had chocolates in the shape of their wax seal...tasted like crappy white chocolate that fell into a vat of Antidote...haha
yeah...i love the highlights of sweetness within the juxtaposition of dark and sweet...a must buy

Bought this for my BF, but I like to spritz it on sometimes... It goes on quite fresh, with the citrus and slight whisper of mint, then quickly warms up to a slightly sweet spice: I get mostly the cinnamon and nutmeg, very well countered by the lavender and orange blossom. The drydown, despite all of those notes, is rather muted, and just, well, 'nice', nothing extraordinary. I imagine this would be wearable on almost anyone's skin.

I can definately smell a hint of the mint leaves, and some mandarin.
This fragrance is very light, but still amazing in its complexity. Ive gotten many compliments so far from Antidote...if it were only a bit heavier and longer lasting.

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?

easy use fragrance,vanilla-amber base make it sweet and smooth.

I like this but can't love it just yet. Its very complex--but not overwhelming or clashing--in composure and you've got to try it more than once to form some solid opinion. Definately 7+ on a 10-scale, just dont know where it would go from there.
Must try...more than once

The top notes of antidote reminds vaguely of Eternity for men, but that is where the similarities end. The fragrance successively slides into a discrete vanilla-amber base with a hint of patchouli through the journey of mandarin, grapefruit and orange blossom notes. Although not that ground breaking, it is a very well crafted and balanced scent despite the expected fragrance-note chaos. The scent does not project much and wears close to the skin, although I have been able to detect it 24 hours after application. The biggest “flaw” the Dutch duo are accountable for is dubbing their scent ”the antidote to the boredom of men’ fragrances” when in fact they are simply adhering to the current designer trend of fresh-oriental men’s fragrances. In conclusion, Antidote makes for a nice versatile well-balanced citrus-vanilla fragrance, with a difficult-to-motivate “exclusive” price level. Did I forget to mention the compliments from the opposite sex?