Joe Brummell #39 – Spicebomb

We love Viktor & Rolf here at Notion, and who could blame us? The Dutch duo, better known as Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren have been tearing up the runways with their unique avant garde designs since the early 90’s, like a latter day Gilbert and George of the fashion world. Of course there were ten years of ground breaking womenswear collections before us guys got a look in, when the Monsieur range launched in 2003. Since then there has been plenty to celebrate - star-studded presentations featuring Tilda Swinton, Tori Amos and Rufus Wainwright, not to mention retrospective gallery shows in Paris and London and a sell out H&M collaboration in 2006. A controlling stake in the duo’s label was bought by Renzo Rosso, the owner of Diesel in 2008, and that allowed Victor & Rolf to expand their fashion empire into the world of fragrances, something we’re very grateful for.

The latest addition to Victor & Rolf’s ever expanding empire is Spicebomb the second men’s fragrance from the duo after Antidote, released in 2006. But where Antidote was a light citrus affair with bright notes of Jasmine and amber, Spicebomb packs a lot more punch. If the hand grenade shaped bottle didn’t give it away Spicebomb is an explosive scent, not for the faint hearted. Pull out the Victor and Rolf hand grenade pin (in the shape of their signature wax seal logo) and the first notes you’ll smell are the incandescent spices that give the scent its name. Base notes of chilli and saffron provide a backdrop to the ultra masculine middle notes of leather and tobacco and my personal favourite, vetiver. Sounds pretty macho already right? It gets even better – the top notes are an explosive combination fusing fresh, zesty bergamot and grapefruit, balancing out the robust base notes and leaving you with a perfect scent for summer, masculine and modern it’s typically Victor & Rolf. This is a fragrance for real men, but then anyone who goes for a bottle shaped like a hand grenade really means business.

http://www.viktor-rolf-parfums.com/en_WW/

-Warren Beckett