V&R Antidote – Sovereign Specific
One of the more ubiquitous sights on Basenotes is a thread to the effect of “Given what I already have, what else do you all recommend I get?”  I just commented on one of them a few minutes ago, and I’m responsible for three or four of them myself. One of them had several people suggest Antidote by Viktor & Rolf, the same perfumers that make the ladies’ hit Flowerbomb. Now, these recommendations were from members whose opinions I value quite highly, so I took it to heart and committed the name to memory in case I wandered into a sample of it.
And wander I did, into Von Maur at Louisville’s Oxmoor Center, where they had a display of Antidote, and that beautiful bottle. It is seriously one of the most stylish bottles I’ve got, pictured to the right. But a pretty bottle is only part of what Antidote offers.
The opening blast is big and strong, a host of woods and spices. It’s full, lush, even sparkling is a term I’d use to describe it, as it definitely has a sort of effervescent sensation to the nose. The main players throughout are sandalwood, cinnamon, and vanilla. Despite the massive note pyramid, I think these three are the great majority of the scent. It is sweet yet robust all at once, and remains so for about six hours when a base of amber becomes more prominent. This is also when the fragrance becomes slightly less masculine, but still an excellent evening wear fragrance.
The closest thing out of my wardrobe to this one is Original Santal by Creed, lovingly referred to as “The Bombay Flamethrower.” The best thing I’ve found to layer with this is, unsurprisingly to serial readers, Aramis Havana. What I find with this “Havantidote” is that it blends the boisterous, effusive qualities of Havana and sweetens the whole thing up with another shot of sandalwood and amber. Really worth trying at least once if you’re fortunate enough to have both.
So where do I put Antidote? Out of 36 fragrances rated on Basenotes it’s one of only five that I gave a full five stars to. Myself and a few other Basenoters scored tester bottles for well below retail. It is definitely worth sampling, but if you can’t find it and Creed’s more accessible, Original Santal is similar enough to put you in the ballpark. A very worthy fragrance, and one that’s still under the radar for a great many people.
