Tobacco Grenade (Scent Review: Viktor & Rolf Spicebomb)

What do you do when you cannot afford Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille or Serge Lutens Fumerie Turque? Well, you go for the next best thing: Viktor & Rolf's Spicebomb. This fragrance is the house's answer to their hugely successful Flowerbomb. But instead of floral notes, they amped the spice notes for this men' release. (I had previously liked their first men's scent, Antidote) On paper, there is an explosion of notes: cinammon, saffron, pimento, red pepper, pink pepper, ginger. And it's all there, some broefly, some staying. But on me, the tobacco quickly emerges and it's an addictive one - like those honeyed ones you used to smell. I remember there was a tobacco store near Grand Central Station that had such a distinct smell, and this scent captures it, refines it even by edging it out with the leather and vanilla. I can't get enough of this, and I always make sure when I wear it that I spritz it on my shirt so I can sniff it throughout the day. This has been getting almost unanimous raves from the perfume community and it deserves it. It has fantastic projection and massive longevity. It's perfect for these colder days - the tobacco makes you smell sensual, expensive, more character driven. I like the grenade bottle, but it was a little troublesome for me when I was traveling in Europe this summer because in an airport, a officer pulled it out and inspected it. But all in all, the perfume is so perfect for the V & R house aesthetic: edgy and beautiful. Oh, and I love its ad campaign, focused on the handsome Sean O Pry - perfection!