Antidote Viktor & Rolf (2006)Eau de Toilette

Antidote (Eau de Toilette) by Viktor & Rolf

Bottle Design Fabien Baron

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Antidote (Eau de Toilette) (Viktor & Rolf)

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7.7 / 10 173 Ratings

Antidote (Eau de Toilette) is a popular perfume by Viktor & Rolf for men and was released in 2006. The scent is spicy-sweet. The production was apparently discontinued.

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Perfumers

Pierre Wargnye, Aliénor Massenet

Fragrance Notes

Top Notes	Bergamot, Grapefruit, Cardamom, Mandarin, Mint
Heart Notes	Freesia, Geranium, Lavender, Nutmeg, Orange blossom, Violet, Cinnamon
Base Notes	Amber, Oakmoss, Gaiac wood, Iris, Labdanum, Leather, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Tonka bean, Vanilla, White musk, Cedar

Ratings

Scent

7.7 (173 Ratings)

Longevity

6.7 (114 Ratings)

Sillage

6.3 (102 Ratings)

Bottle

8.1 (119 Ratings)

Submitted by DonVanVliet, last update on 11.02.2020.

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Reviews

02/11/2020

8.0 6.0 7.0 7.5/10

Smellavision
36 Reviews

Smellavision

A complex puzzle...

So I finally got to test the famous and now discontinued Antidote.
I must say I had high hopes, given the praise it receives in the community. At first try, I was disappointed - it's complex and hard to point out the single notes, but seemed slightly generic.
At second try, a picture started emerging painted on a peppery sandalwood canvas. Please note that I am not too fond of pepper, but this was discrete.
From the third try and on, lovely notes of lavender, cinnamon and incense are peeking through on top of the sandalwood/amber/pepper background and I've grown to like it.

From the outside, it smells like a quite simple familiar barbershop scent with some spiciness thrown in, but it appears there are several layers hiding and every time you catch a whiff of it, the top notes are a little different. Also has a little more "gothic" vibe when you work your way into the composition, which suits the bottle design quite well.
I really like it, but still have a gnawing feeling that if it were still in production, it wouldn't be hyped so much.

My opinion : if you can get it for a reasonable price ($80 or less) give a shot - if more expensive, don't buy without trying. I believe you can get better perfumes for your bucks at this price.

12/17/2019

7.5 7.0 7.0 8.0/10

Taurus1967
3 Reviews

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Taurus1967

Very helpful Review 9

Antithesis

Probably I mentioned sometime in one of my comments that I don't really like the color green styling, but I appreciate fragrances with greenish content. The same applies to Berliner Weiße with shots in green and generally for woodruff of any kind.

It was similar with antidote back then. It did not contain a woodruff, but in addition to this almost poisonous green colour it also contained a fascination between pleasant cuddliness and spicy sweetness.

The marginal citric top notes were quickly swallowed by some spices, especially cardamom and nutmeg, and could not hold their own against the sweet wall of lavender and violet.

From that phase on, the association with chewing gum came immediately, especially with regard to cinnamon in connection with the said cardamom. But there was so much more in it, which made Antidote absolutely pleasant.

Especially the soft aftertaste with vanilla and amber was convincing and let a great feeling of recognition germinate between the exotic sweet background and the woody spicy Envy of Gucci, as if one had mixed both green scents. What Antidote is about is this complex, refined sweetness with spicy, warm to oriental, aromatic notes.

I remember very well that when I looked at the interesting bottle with the black sealing wax design, I often thought of buying it. But something in the mix seemed to bother me or prevent me from getting it after all.

A few years ago a good friend had given me a mini of it, which can still unfold all its power and makes me wonder why I was so reserved at that time. Just as puzzling is the fact that Viktor&Rolf have discontinued the entire production, because he should still be in keeping with the spirit of the times in all respects. After all, juicy prices are being called up on eBay for them, which will probably make willing buyers fall into shock rigidity.

The only way to counter this is to revive this original or to give birth to an identical twin fragrance with a long life expectancy.

PS: I just noticed that this is my 750th perfume commentary. Maybe I could have chosen a more exotic fragrance or a supadupa 10 point masterpiece. But it doesn't matter - I thank all the eager Parfumo readers as well as the other readers out there for their attention and wish you a Merry Christmas!

8 Replies

02/23/2019

9.0 8.0 8.0 8.5/10

Komplize
0 Reviews

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Komplize

Helpful Review 8

Memories!

It was the beginning of 2007 when I met a beautiful woman in a club in Heidelberg.
She was very elegantly very well dressed..a woman with style!
And your perfume was stunning!
After a little bit of small talk, I asked you what a scent that was...that she was wearing.
She answers with a smile...Flowerbomb by Viktor and Rolf.
I never heard that before!
But the smell was like the woman was really a bomb < br /> I thought there must be something for men there... from V&R
And lo and behold...Antidot so to speak the antidote!
Unfortunately I am not the one who smells exactly when the coriander leaves the tonka bean, I think you know what I mean.
For me it must smell good...and also be durable, and above all portable.
And that was Antidotte, a beautiful fragrance that I liked right away.
Yes, that with the woman was after a few months history...the club does not exist also any more, exactly the same as
Antidotte!
But I still have a bottle of it, I'll keep it like the memory in honor

11/10/2018

8.0 6.0 7.0 9.0/10

Farneon
0 Reviews

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Farneon

Best of both worlds

A very nice fragrance, which was completely under my radar until now, and of which I was lucky to get a cheap bottle. It is once again sad to see that even not so old fragrances are suddenly discontinued, although this one could also be from the early 90s, as I think. But the sales figures no longer coincide with the marketing goals, are no longer produced in a highly competitive industry and instead are thrown one flanker after the other of the supposedly best horse in the stable onto the market. The fact that real lovers don't get their money's worth is just as unimportant in the executive floors of the fashion and cosmetics companies as the fact that the offshoots often enough come along completely lovelessly and quickly.

But now to "Antidote". So far I only became aware of "Speicebomb" by Viktor & Rolf, a fragrance that might be good, but around which I have always balked because of the hand grenade bottle, its omnipresence and also the name. That in any case is marketing that doesn't win me over as a target group. But now really to "Antidote"! ;-) I don't know why the fragrance here is described as sweet-spicy, for me it is clearly fresh-spicy - in a way that old-fashioned and modern, Barber shop ambience and street credibility enter into a perfect symbiosis here.

Even though "Antidote" doesn't quite come close to the legendary "Background" of Jil Sander and certainly isn't a clone of it, I hear a similar fragrance DNA here. It doesn't always need mainly citric notes to create freshness (even if they are present here). Mint, cardamom and lavender provide a more ethereal note. A few subliminal flowers are added, while the base is so varied that it is difficult to emphasise a special scent character. Maybe that's exactly the secret of "Antidote"!? In any case, it never smells as if you've just mixed all kinds of things together here. Rather "Antidote" reaches by the successful combination of numerous ingredients a completely own personality, which is clear and determined, without being obtrusive.

The elegant green bottle goes very well with the fragrance, which in eminent eyes can be a perfectly motivating and invigorating element in everyday office life. Because "Antidote" for me is undoubtedly a very clean fragrance, which is not necessarily suitable as a Womanizer or Party Crasher, but absolutely to the "Best Buddy" with a sovereign and calm radiance.

2 Replies

03/01/2013

5.0 5.0 5.0 7.0/10

Miaw2
339 Reviews

Miaw2

Helpful Review 2

Complex

Complex and unique, Antidote beats some niche fragrances easily.

I smell woods, florals and incense at the same time. The base is composed of incense and other resins mixed with herbs.

It has a beautiful drydown and good lasting power.

Sillage is average and projection medium. Definetely thumbs up!

Updated January 2014

12/31/2012

7.5 5.0 5.0 5.0/10

Missk
1165 Reviews

Missk

A bit of a dissapointment

I tested Antidote shortly after testing Spicebomb, and I must say that this fragrance is more on the masculine side of things. It actually struck me as being quite fresh and green, a lot less spicy than I thought it would be.

Although fresh, it's not really summery. It has a very typical cologne feel to it, which is slightly more rich and intense than a straight-up citrus splash. The scent pyramid suggests a rather unique and complex blend, however in reality Antidote keeps it simple. Actually, in all honesty, I think the scent pyramid is a bit of an exaggeration.

Perhaps Antidote smells different to everyone, but to my nose it's fresh, herbal and a little sharp. I also found it to wear differently on others, depending solely on chemistry. For me personally, the incense, leather and spice accords were difficult to detect.

As a woman, I feel a little ridiculous wearing Antidote, so I'd probably only suggest it to men. I'm not overly thrilled by the composition, but I don't mind its masculinity. It's a nice change to smell something a little less sweet from Viktor & Rolf.

For some reason, Antidote reminds me of Hugo for Men. I think the mint, geranium and lavender accords are to blame for this. Seeing that I didn't enjoy Hugo, I should have known that Antidote would guarantee a similar reaction. Thank goodness I didn't buy this one blind.

I don't mind Viktor & Rolf as a brand, as I find their scents quite interesting and easy to wear. The only thing I dislike about this brand is their relatively expensive price tags. I'd never agree to buying something so pricey. I don't think Antidote is all that it is cracked up to be.

09/02/2012

10.0 5.0 5.0 6.0/10

Ysbrand
84 Reviews

Ysbrand

Helpful Review 2

All purpose antidote for not too deadly poisons

I really wanted to like Antidote. First of all, i remember, back in the time, i liked the marketing campaign´s visuals a lot: the bottle rising from a mess of loose chains, like a houdini that released himself, the green light, implying with that name some sort of toxicity, and this blurry, doble faced albine young model appearing in a mist, like some sort of ghost... it was way more complex and mysterious than the most men´s launches in the last years (which are simplistic and boring most of the times)

Second reason is, i really love the bottle.

But i remember i tried it, in a time when i still didnt give a lot of thought to fragances, and dissapointed with the misleading campaign,i discarded it very fast. Being not a mainstream brand i was expecting something way less... mainstream. Classic, phew.

Six years after, god, time flies, i am back to it. It starts as i remember: clean fresh blast of austere citrus, in the company of some green herbs and aromatic notes... I get a chypre feeling on the paper, not so mossy on my skin. I see here Mint is listed; it must be some sweet type of it, spearmint, or i thought it was basil. I cling to the aromatic note because otherwise Antidote has nothing so far that awakens any interest, indeed i find hard to pay attention to the fragance. In the paper it smells notably different!

Then slowly and subtlely, some changes occur under the bright different citrus. A very thin warmth form the core of the fragance (tonka and vanilla) comes to counterbalance the aromatic notes (i notice a dark lavender and a more dominant geranium), creating a well tempered accord.

Once the citric top notes are (finally) gone (or the cells inside my nose are already numb and burnt ) the fougere gets greener and sweeter, thanks to a pinch of cinnamon and the flowers: you smell, sure enough, a peppery freesia, and i would say sweet-pea flowers, and a bit of lily (more yellow than white if that makes any sense) but is all too soft and a bit ozonic: I wish Antidote had focused in this mid-phase and made it more obvious, because it is lovely.

As it dries down, a mossy, earthy, very clean base reveals, with a bitter greeness of labdanum and then a non-descript warm woods .

Six years after i appreciate Antidote, even if it doesnt keep up with the mystic of the campaign. It is well done, is elegant, and it is not completely pointless, but plays too safe and you can find many similar smelling scents (not with such a nice bottle though)

Sillage is just ok (specially the loud citric notes and not so much the aromatic, herbaceous...etc, that lack projection), and the lasting power is not groundbreaking.