Spicebomb Viktor & Rolf (2012)

Flacon Design: Fabien Baron

Compare Prices

7.6 / 10 557 Ratings

Spicebomb is a popular perfume by Viktor & Rolf for men and was released in 2012. The scent is spicy-sweet. It is being marketed by L'Oréal.

Search on

Perfumer

Olivier Polge

Fragrance Notes

Top Notes	Bergamot, Grapefruit, Pink pepper
Heart Notes	Chili, Saffron, Cinnamon
Base Notes	Leather, Tobacco, Vetiver

Ratings

Scent

7.6 (557 Ratings)

Longevity

7.2 (360 Ratings)

Sillage

7.1 (363 Ratings)

Bottle

7.3 (385 Ratings)

View Video of Spicebomb (YouTube)

View Video of Spicebomb (Vimeo)

Submitted by Kankuro, last update on 26.06.2017

Interesting Facts

The face of the advertising campaign is US-american model Sean O'Pry, photographed by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.

Rate
Collection
Souk
Classify
Notes

Reviews

11/24/2015

ColinM

Helpful Review 3

Computer says no

I don’t have a problem with sweet fragrances, but Spicebomb is just really too much for me. It’s pure, crude, nondescript plastic sweetness which I have a hard time considering a grown man’s fragrance. Or actually a “person’s fragrance”, of any kind. Again, sweetness is not the issue, neither the “generic” factor, which I’m very fine with most of the times. The problem is that Spicebomb smells like if they accidentally switched the nozzles with a barrel of something meant for a candy factory, and bottled that, and sold it. Leather? Saffron? Elegance? This is a juvenile, sticky bubblegum cascade of cinnamon, vanilla, musk, nonsense synthetic gummy bear stuff all wrapped in a bare “masculine” frame of woody musk and spicy amber. All in the worse quality you can imagine – flat, cheap, extremely linear synthetic stuff as in any drugstore shower gel, with no qualities whatsoever except the ability of making you feel in a time machine ready to throw you right into Justin Bieber’s arms in 2005. I’d choose lifetime chastity over any woman complimenting this abomination.

3/10

1 Replies

11/16/2015

5.0/10

7.5/10

8.0/10

Brace yourself for winter with the most gorgeous weapon: Spicebomb!

If you care for compliments, get this with no doubt. This is absolutely a gorgeous spicy cinnamon yummy fragrance that goes for both women and men.

Oliver Polge has releases his spicy pinnacle after his father's Égoïste which is a cinnamon masterpiece. Spicebomb is rounder and sweeter with less animalic nuances and more tobacco and pepper. A touch of leather and vetiver prepare the throne for this divine sweet warmth.

It reminds me Burberry London in a way but not exactly overlapping with each other. Spicebomb has strong longevity and powerful projection.
8.5/10

05/13/2014

10.0/10

5.0/10

10.0/10

Prosperonlin

Comfort Bomb

My initial fear was Spicebomb being too strong and really for clubbing. But once I got a full bottle blinded I had a wonderful surprise. Spicebomb is not all that that hype talks about. It is sweet, but not too much. Reminds me of MKors for Men but nicer and more uptodate. The tabacco note resembles others like EdB, J Bogart pH, but again nicer and friendier and smoothier. There are some florals but very subdue and not feminine at all. Cinnamon and woods feel like DsQ2 Potion in the final phase. It is never loud, never too this, never too that. And most of all it is a comfortable scent. All seasons, too. Perhaps not for the hottest of days during daytime in the high Summer. But as the sprayer releases a sort of mist, it can be controlled enough to wear in the Summer, too. All in all, I couldn't be happier. And I will make a lot of use from my 150ml bottle.

To those who say it smells artificial, I desagree immensely. The quality of Spicebomb is what really puts it apart from all the other smell-alikes. Also, it is so classy I can't imagine it in a night club. Sorry.

03/02/2013

10.0/10

5.0/10

7.5/10

5.0/10

Miaw2

Not a bomb neither spicy...

Lots of cinnamon and tobacco leaves.

Sweet and powerful, it has the same vibe of 1 Million, 212 Sexy... powerful sweet scents.

Not as unique as Antidote.

Reminds me of Versace Dreamer and CK Shock.

Sillage, lasting power and projection are high.

Not spicy neither a bomb, just a good sweet scent.

Updated January 2014

12/30/2012

7.5/10

5.0/10

7.5/10

7.0/10

Missk

Helpful Review 3

A fragrance that women can wear too

When trying Spicebomb in the department store, I was surprised by a sales assistant that suddenly appeared around the corner, and immediately asked, "are you looking for a perfume for yourself?" At this point I replied with a yes, expecting a long spiel about how Spicebomb is a men's fragrance, and that Flowerbomb would be more 'me'. Instead the sales assistant nodded her head and continued by saying that Spicebomb had many female fans, and that they bought it for themselves rather than for their loved ones.

As I sit here and inhale deeply, I somewhat agree with Spicebomb's feminine tendencies. This fragrance is indeed quite spicy, however it also has a rather sweet and gourmand edge. In this respect, it smells quite beautiful, like something a woman could wear with ease.

The opening was when Spicebomb was at its most sweet, with cinnamon, candied citrus and a dash of pink pepper. The blend is smooth and sensual on the skin. I must admit that on the right man, Spicebomb could smell very alluring to the opposite sex.

Do not fret manly men, because fortunately the sweetness does dissipate over time, becoming increasingly more masculine towards the drydown. Tobacco and subtle leather accords balance out the composition, providing a somewhat masculine touch. I found the drydown very different from the initial stages of Spicebomb. It was almost an entirely different scent, which brings me to conclude that it's a rather complex blend overall.

Spicebomb is pleasantly soft and inoffensive, which was a really nice surprise seeming that I was expecting a literal 'bomb' in terms of sillage. The longevity is good too, which I suppose makes up for the rather high price tag. I'm impressed, but admittedly not blown away by Spicebomb.

12/26/2012

7.5/10

8.0/10

MemoryOScent

Flowerbomb for Him

The last mass market release that I remember enjoying was L’Agent by Agent Provocateur. Most of what I have tried was not only boring but at times made me mad because I could see the disrespect for the market in the composition. I could see marketing specialists behind one way mirror glass looking at the reactions of testers with no particular interest in fragrance (“if we can get them to notice we expand the market”). The problem is that perfumes hitting the market this way could be very nice laundry detergent scents, chewing gum flavours, room fragrances but they definitely are not engaging, emotional or even intelligent.

Viktor & Rolf (or their marketing specialists) have actually created a scent that feels like a natural development of what they have done till today. Nothing irritates me more than a “for her” and a “for him” scent with the same name and nothing in common in the end result. Although Spicebomb is not named Flowerbomb for Him it definitely is. It opens with a very clear note of pink pepper that makes a somersault in the topnotes and before I can blink is covered by a sweet citrus scent, mandarin I think, and a bit of bitter almond/tonka. Development however is fast. It is like peeling away layers of an onion. In the middle stage of its development it feels bittersweet, creamy and vanillic and reminds me quite a lot of Antidote. It is like they took the creamy, shaving cream-like middle of Antidote, removed the jasmine from the composition and added a vague spicy substitute. Cinnamon mostly but not very clearly delineated. Spicebomb at this stage is sweet. There is a maraschino note, the combination of cherry and almond, but very well done and restrained. I do not find Spicebomb to be a clear-cut masculine scent. It is definitely a unisex scent and many of the women who like Flowerbomb in any of its versions, especially the eau de parfum, will definitely appreciate it for their significant others but will also steel some for themselves. The sweet middle phase lasts a lot but in the transition from to the drydown a dry powdery note appears. It reminds me of coffee but looking at the official note listing I notice paprika and it does ring a bell. A little bitter, a little tangy, a little woody. There is also a hint of tobacco but I feel like it is a composite of other notes interacting and not a direct tobacco accord added expressly in there. Some of Antidote’s jasmine adds a floral layer in the late middle development and I like this continuity. I like the fact that they didn’t call this Antidote Extreme or Hot Antidote or Antidote 911. It is a no-brainer of course that they preferred the name association with the much more successful Flowerbomb but it is nice to see that they did not renounce the heritage of their first masculine release. Even though it wasn’t a hit, I loved it.

After all the layers have been peeled back the deep drydown is a peppery, powdery patchouli base with a coffee note that I like very much. First of all it is surprisingly dry. All the previous sweetness has been harnessed. It is almost identical to the patchouli-hazelnut base that I smell in Flowerbomb. I cannot say that I can pick up a serious leather note and the tobacco note is more of the cherry pipe flavoured variety of Chergui and less the real deal of Fumerie Turque or Fougere Bengale. To put things straight, tobacco does not smell like cherry! It only does if it is flavoured.

I thoroughly enjoyed Spicebomb. I like its complexity, the overtly sweet middle stage, the references to Antidote and the warm patchouli base that they have transplanted straight from Flowerbomb. It does not feel like a committee decision or I should say it feels like a decision taken by a very intelligent committee that was targeting Viktor & Rolf clients and not World Fragrance Market Domination.

09/20/2012

6.0/10

PBullFriend

Helpful Review 4

the most demure bomb I've smelled

As far as I'm concerned, winter is incomplete without large doses of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, saffron, and other spices. In our bitter cold winters, I pull myself through with big cups of spicy chai tea and generous spritzes of PG Un Crime Exotique, Kenzo Amour Holi, and L'Artisan Tea for Two, among others.

So I was quite excited when Spicebomb came out. Who would love a bomb made of spice more than I do? I thought it might be too much for me, though. The advertisement states: "Infusing the codes of masculine perfumery with olfactory dynamite, Viktor & Rolf Spicebomb is an explosive cocktail of virility that transforms you into a powerful, intense and daring man."

No such luck. The polite hints of ginger and chili here are undetectable even a few inches away on first application. It does last well, but only if you put your nose on it. It most reminds me of Tea for Two, but without all the delicious smoked tea. It does cost less than niche ($95 USD for 90 ml). I'd recommend, though, that someone who wants powerful spice try Mugler A*Men Gout du Parfum instead. It's packed with coffee and chili peppers, costs $90 USD for 100 ml, and comes in one of the gorgeous Mugler rubber flasks. (Or you could haunt eBay for the sadly discontinued Tea for Two.)

1 Replies