Spice Bomb - 211

No. 211 is The Essence Vault's interpretation of Viktor & Rolf's Spicebomb, the grenade-shaped bottle that defined loud, spicy masculines. It opens with a sharp citrus rush of bergamot and grapefruit before the saffron and pink pepper detonate, echoing the original's fiery opening reasonably well. Where it falls short is the base: Spicebomb's smoky tobacco and vetiver depth is thinned out here into a simpler leather-tobacco accord that reads louder but shallower, more two-dimensional than the layered original. Projection is strong for the first couple of hours, then the whole thing collapses into a soft skin scent much sooner than the original's all-night performance. Still, for the price it delivers a recognisably spicy, confident opening that works well for evenings out.