Dark Rebel Rider

Lit headlights, the roar of motorbikes, and the heavy smell of worn leather clothing are vivid images, sounds and smells, and easily imagined together. In our fantasy, they can reflect the image of an urban cowboy, motorised on two wheels, totally masculine, and breaking any female heart, however prudish. Because this is a text about perfumes, the leathery scent that is associated with this image is particularly important. Of course, I'm not talking about our traditional perfumed cosmetic leather reference or the relatively odourless anonymity of duty-free leather goods. Instead, I'm imagining the scenario of a perfume that clings to a leather jacket that I wear daily along with my favourite jeans. The recipe to achieve this aromatic perfection is simple: I just have to wear that leather jacket wherever I go and for at least 2 years in a row. I also have to avoid showers, and sweat as much as possible. Important warning: I must never clean it! Never! I have to sleep with it, eat with it, drink with it, smoke with it, mess with my car and motorbike with it, go to rock concerts with it... In short, I have to do everything with this leather jacket all the time. Only once in a while, maybe, I can afford to use cheap patchouli to "mask" any unwanted smell it might acquire. In a couple of years, the smell of my leather jacket will finally approach the dark smell of a pure, hard biker's leather jacket. Fortunately, there are some perfumes that can conveniently and instantly solve these olfactory dilemmas without targeting a crowd of users. Dark Rebel Rider smells like the leather jackets worn by die-hard bikers, both in terms of its aroma as well as the visual appearance of the bottle. The opening is discreetly citrusy but somewhat unusual. The fleeting citrus notes are tempered with herbaceous and camphorous notes, opening a path to a singular floral accord composed of an intense, dark violet mixed with iris. Balsamic chords of smoke, resins and dark leather then invade our senses. We have reached the core of the fragrance. We feel a dark, dense atmosphere around us. The intensity of the scent totally captures our attention and that of those around us. I loved this perfume from the first moment I tried it, but I recognise that it is far from universally pleasing. It's one of those perfumes that you either love or hate. I really believe that this perfume, being real nectar for my nose, can be uncomfortable for other people. During drying, the pungency of the dark, resinous leather fades little by little, and some sweet nuances become more noticeable. This stage gains more general acceptance, although I prefer the pungency found in the dark, smoky and somewhat animalistic base. My only disappointment is its performance. I cannot even rate it as acceptable. A scent so heavenly to me should last another couple of hours as a minimum. My opinion: This is a perfume that I consider truly unique for those who are looking for a leathery, dark, balsamic and smoky scent. If that's the case for you, you shouldn't miss this fragrance by John Varvatos... in the style of James Dean or a young Marlon Brando wearing a leather biker jacket. Music: Steppenwolf - Born To Be Wild

First, smell some marjoram. If you hate it then I wouldn't blind buy this one. If you love it and you like "dirty" fragrances, this is likely for you. Initially it's like some dried marjoram leaf was thrown into a vat with some industrial substances, but not unpleasant ones. Think of things like tar and motor oil. Other impressions (2 sprays to the chest about an hour ago): It's not like vintage M7 (I haven't tried later formulations), and I haven't tried TF's Tobacco Oud (the TF's I've tried have been a lot stronger than DRR). No aroma chemical overloads (I don't detect any iso e super). Nothing "barbershop," no detectable lavender. No detectable oud ("Western" or otherwise). "Bitter dark cocoa powder" never "came forward." Not in any way smoky, other than perhaps a "clean" musk, and not like TF's Extreme for Men. It does not smell like "cedar and birch tar," and I've worked with wood essential oils too. A touch of sweetness but not a sweet scent, though I am a gourmand fan. Not similar to what's in my vintage bottle of Dirty English. It is on the weak side, in terms of projection, so I probably do need to spray more, as others have said. There isn't much note separation/clarity here, and the base is weak. Layering with something like Molinard's Patchouli might be the way to go. The drydown is nice but smells like one accord (I do understand the comments that there's a touch of Shalimar here), the idea here seems to have been balance and discretion, but of course the name and bottle suggest otherwise. Verdict: I can't say I regret the blind buy, as I got the 125 ml tester for about $20.50 total. If I have to spray more than usual, that would be acceptable here. On the other hand, I would likely swap it and keep 10 ml for myself, if I could get something I knew would be more defined, stronger, but along these same lines. UPDATE: Over five hours after application I can still smell it clearly but the projection isn't good. I get more of the cocoa now, as the other notes have receded more, so it's a kind of "dirty" gourmand. I think it's worthy trying to layer in order to make it stronger, perhaps just a touch of vintage Leather Oud by Dior might be the answer! Further update: I went ahead with layering DRR with Leather Oud and I think this is a great combination, but I can't be sure because just a little of LO largely overwhelmed the DDR, though I can tinker with it and see if I can get it just right. Yet another update: After a few wearings, I think this is strong enough and definitely unique. However, I also find it quite pleasant; otherwise I don't wear a fragrance becausee it is "artistic." I think of it as one of the best inexpensive releases of the last decade or so.

Just like its brother Dark Rebel, this fragrance is a case of loving/hating a scent at the first sniff. Dark, dirty, smoky, boozy, dark cacau, black leather, rubbery vibes and some oud and tobacco although they are not on the listed notes; very manly scent... This fragrance will have a flanker called VERY DARK SUPER REBEL RIDER EDP INTENSE EXTREME that will double the current performance and it will be the best gents fragrance ever. Performance does not suck but it's average at the most, just a bit better than Dark Rebel. You get an enormous projection for 15 minutes and 6 feet sillage; then you get average projection with 3 feet sillage for one hour. After 2.5 hours you get a skin scent and with 3 or 4 inches sillage. It does not get much better if you apply on clothes, unless you apply it on your leather jacket. On leather the performance is 50% bigger in every aspect. Let's see the maths for John Varvatos Dark Rebel: - Scent: 9.5 (fantastic - my judgement) - Longevity: 6.5 (under average for the existing notes - less than 6 hours) - Sillage: 6.0 (6 feet at its peak with 3 sprays; projects for less than 2 hours) - Uniqueness: 9.0 (preetty unique, considering the existing fragrances that I am aware of; But you get strong vibes from other scents like Pure Leather or Parfums de Cuir) - Wearability: 7.0 (Winter of course but also colder Spring or Autumn days; with its mild sillage you could even try it in cold summer days but performance will become relly lowsy with hot weather. It's clearly - or should I say "darkly" - a night fragrance) - Versatility: 6.5 (everyhere where you can use a dark fragrance, but it's probably the best fragrance for clubbing while wearing jeans and a leather jacket); You may share it with your wife if she wheights more than 250 pounds, 6.2 feet high, wear a beard and has a hairy chest. - Quality: 9.0 (my judgement; it's not a 10 due to de mild performance) - Presentation: 10.0 (simple but very bautifull and effective) - Price: 10.0 (100 ml tester for 22 Euros + VAT) Average: 8.17 Will I buy it again?... yes - because the scent is fantastic. Turnarounds for the mild performance: 1st trick - 3 sprays above ears (yes, do wet your hair). 1 spray in the back and another in your chest. 2 sprays in your leather jacket. Result = 50% more performance. 2nd trick - Apply a bit of almond oil or vaseline on your skin (neck and chest) and then apply 4~5 sprays. No scent change and you almost double the performance.

Having never seen this on the shelf of a department store, I just blind-bought this at Marshall's. I looked up the notes on Fragrantica and figured, "I like leather, resins, and chocolate; for $20 I'll take a chance on it." Flores-Roux is an excellent perfumer so I had faith. Now that I've taken it out of the box and sprayed it onto my skin, I can tell you that I would've happily paid $120 for this. It opens with a clean citrus bite that quickly fades into a sweet, earthy black leather jacket accord and a smoked woodsy note in the background. I have Hawthorne's Woody and Leather and that's the only fragrance I've smelled that reminded me of this JV offering. My problem with Hawthorne's leather offering is it's devoid of sweetness; it's just strong animalistic leather and smoked wood throughout. It's not unpleasant, per se, but I just cannot imagine most folks would want to smell like that. This JV leather fragrance, by contrast, strikes a wonderful balance between the potent, masculine Russian leather note and the chocolate, vanilla, and citrus accords lurking in the background. The bottle's presentation is opulent; it is heavy glass sheathed in a leather "jacket" with two sturdy metal zippers. It's 70 degrees outside right now. While I acknowledge this will probably be more wearable in the cold winter months, this isn't so powerful that it registers to my nose as "cloying" right now. I give it a thumbs up for springtime, provided you're conservative with your sprays. Like several John Varvatos offerings, this stuff has a fairly soft sillage but it lasts about 6-8 hours. Overall this is a beautiful fragrance. Very nicely done, Flores-Roux. UPDATE: I've since added this to my top 5 list of fragrances. It's so beautifully blended. It's also the best leather-based scent I've ever had my nose on, including the Tom Ford offerings. It beats Tuscan Leather with its delicate balance of notes, and it decimates Ombre Leather in complexity and ease-of-wear. As a warning, I'll caution you that this is not a scent you wear to impress women; it's far too daring and intriguing and many girls will find the leather note off-putting. This is a scent you wear for yourself.

Danger. Danger. (My immediate thought after spraying Dark Rebel Rider for the first time.) I love this stuff, but you'll really have to watch where you wear it. What I said about MAC Velvet Teddy and then some; you could definitely attract the wrong sort of person(s) wearing this. Have a fabulous time, but it would be very wrong. There can be no excuse of innocence here, no naivete; wear this and you're signaling you're on the prowl. Undoubtedly, using the term on the prowl identifies me as very old, and I am. I'm also a woman, one who wears some mens scents. I'm sure I'm not the only woman who would consider wearing this, but no way is this unisex. it's definitely masculine. Perception is such a huge part of attracting perfume buyers, and the zippered leather bottle is certainly compelling. I keep wondering if you put Dark Rebel Rider juice in a more traditional bottle, say like the Chanel Coco Noir black bottle, called it a floral oriental or some such term, and hyped it as being edgy if women would buy it. Maybe; but I doubt it guys, I think you're safe here. Not from me though. I would never have seen this if I didn't read reviews on Fragrantica. But I saw saffron, black violet, Russian Leather, orris, olibanum, cacao, cedar, patchouli and gee, what's not to love. So I threw caution to the forewinds (its proper location) and headed for the very reasonable bottles on eBay. My bottle came today. I had been a little worried the bitter orange would muck up an otherwise dark and sexy fragrance, but fortunately I don't smell any of that. It's aldehydes and saffron right away, leading to heart notes rather quickly. And they're glorious; the sort of fragrance if properly advertised you'd drop $200 on without any guilt at all. The first two or three hours are pretty intense, and gradually it levels out to a warm, dark woody fragrance. So far it's lasted 6 hours. And in the words of the punch line to a 20+ year old joke (about how used up your body will be at the end of life if you have overdone everything), "wahoo, what I ride."

I like this fragrance a lot ...it’s very masculine and different...smoke and leather up front The only issue with it is some of the notes like the middle that make it interesting and complex can only be noticed at very close range and that’s a shame because they are wonderful to me. It’s spicy, leathery, a bit of citrus and that frankincense note...yummy! The dry down is sweet, soft and masculine-leathery. Most people can only smell it for about an hour or so after loading it on, and that’s in a room in proximity. I’ll keep it and spray, spray spray. It just smells good. BTW, my wife likes it a lot so I got that going for me. She really finds most of the current crop of men’s fragrances too sweet. Revisiting this one to say that it has quickly jumped into my “top five” for cold weather wear. You do have to overspray it a bit. Then, the secondary notes are more noticeable and are really good and different ...albeit not for everyone. This is so enjoyable on a personal level, it makes mr not care about the reactions of others, pro or con. I honestly believe that had the perfumer formulated this stronger, it would have been too much. Those reviewers that say you don’t get smokey, leathery and chocolatey out of this need to have their nasal passages cleared. I don’t get the “burnt rubber” thing either. No offense intended. The Cacao note in this will also remind you of what Mugler does with his cold weather frags. I can still smell it on my skin after 12 hours. I guess it agrees with me. BTW, the final dry down on this is really nice. I would also disregard the ultra negative reviews. I usually do. It’s a cold weather evening Bomb! Scent 8.75 Sillage 7 Performance 7 Longevity 7.5

JV note breakdowns astonish me. For a start I think if you piled ‘em up you’d end up with an ACTUAL PYRAMID there’s so many of ‘em. Then there’s that to this day I ain’t sure if I can make out a single bloody one. That ain’t a knock. I think this house don’t want ya to sit there with ya thinkin’ cap on goin’, “Oh this mid is awash with [INSERT FLOWERY BOLLOCKS HERE].” They want ya to appreciate the overall BLEND an’ the journey it goes on as a WHOLE. Take THIS Tate Modern installation for example. It’s conceptual. It’s meant to make ya think of a new leather jacket. An’ when I sniff it, that’s EXACTLY what I get. But the thing is, I dunno if I’m gettin’ leather because there’s leather IN IT or if they just blended a million soddin’ things together until they got that scent character. I get the feelin’ I might be stood in the presence of ACTUAL ALCHEMY. Some wizard threw a bunch of random stuff into a pot an’ made A COW. An’ can I just say that gettin’ a full-blown conceptual fragrance from a designer house blows my mind? In the year 2017 we’re trippin’ over indie houses tryin’ to convince us it’s a good idea to smell like Rasputin’s anus but comin’ from somewhere with stocks an’ shareholders an’ shirts they’d quite like ya to buy is somethin’ else. An’ it WORKS. It ain’t somethin’ you keep in a bottle on ya shelf an’ pull out when you’re pissed and got the lads round an’ think it’d be funny to show ‘em somebody somewhere thought someone’d want to walk around smellin’ like a pig pen. You can wear it out IN THE WORLD an’ not feel like a parody. It’s AMAZIN’. It might be my favourite pick-up of the year.

This house has some of the best smelling fragrances in the designer realm... Daring, bold, unique... Then to be squandered by mediocre performance. At least with this one, that isn't the case in my experience. As with 95% of Varvatos offerings, bad ass bottle. Just looks cool. Sprayer is great as well. Strong first blast of smokey leather and a quick snap of citrus/aldehyde. They literally disappear before you can sniff them out. Not even sure why they're there really. It dries down a little spicier, resinous, retaining that smokey leather in the mid. Rose and violet breaking up the unrelenting masculinity ever so slightly. The leather and spices never relent, mixing with the cacao, vanilla and patchouli in the base sweetening it up a bit. Some smoldering woods. This is about as masculine as a modern scent could be. Smells of quality as well. This one is going to be polarizing. Certainly cold weather/winter/fall scent. Of course, you could always give it a shot but if you don't have the gravitas of a very masculine man, it will come off extremely different from your style. Almost niche-like as it definitely fits a certain style and demeanor. Older crowd, 30+. Formal or fancier casual, possibly biker like scent if not formal. This one is odd to fit into any sort of category. Performance, on me, is much better than any other Varvatos. I get about 8 hours of longevity but the sillage leaves much to be desired. Maybe an hour. Still super nice though if you like smoke or leather type fragrances.

I was extremely lucky to find a bottle of this on sale for about $40 bucks. I’ll be honest, I was expecting crappy performance due to John Varvatos Dark Rebels poor performance on my skin. So, like a dummy I oversprayed my first wearing of this stuff...BIG fucking mistake, I mean I only put in 8 sprays but damn man, I became that guy who’s considered “that cologne guy” and stunk up rooms wherever I went. Luckily for me and others I was around, this smell is intoxicating and is just gorgeous. I also wore it in the wrong season and the wrong clothes too. To me this is definitely for the colder weather. And the performance was a huge step up from Dark Rebel. I put this stuff on around 10am and went about my day, it’s about 8 pm and I’m still radiating with this smell. This is over 10 hours of performance. It turns out my bottle was an unsold bottle from its launch in 2016, so I can speak for any reformulations since now that we’re in 2021. It’s a sweet leathery amber smoky vibe that has an animalic mind of vibe to it.In some ways it has a Tom Ford ombré leather type feel, but way more wearable in my opinion. If I’m being honest, I actually prefer Dark Rebel the original over this in terms of smell, but still though, this is almost as good as that one, but the performance makes me more appreciative between the two bottles. I still give this a 9/10, it’s got so many great things going for it to rate it any lower, the smell, presentation, and longevity are A+.

When this arrived home I knew I was onto something. Packaging is perfect, with that leather jacket on the front, with some nice shiny details. The bottle itself is amazing. As you can see in the pictures it is the legendary Varvatos design with a "leather jacket" on, which totally sets the mood for this little gem. The juice itself is pure leather. You feel like you were in a Moroccan market walking around, since it is kind of an incensey leather, but very pleasant. I also feel a hint of caramel, something extremely sweet. I think this could be wearable in every season, except for summer. The drydown is the best part. Absolutely manly and enigmatic. I find myself smelling my hand all the time, trying to catch some whiffs here and there. Unlike people here, I don't think this has any similarities with Dark Rebel. If so, they share the same rock n roll manly vibe, but that's about it. I tend to prefer this one over Dark Rebel, because I think it gives a more mysterious vibe, which I'm all for. It's definitely more oriental, and more directed towards a younger audiences, though anybody could pull this off with the right attitude. Performance is good. I get around 5 hours, which is alright by my standards. I'd like maybe a bit more sillage, but for that price there's not much you could ask for. HIGHLY recommended. 8.4/10.

So this reminds someone of a feminine fragrance by Brittany Spears?.Umm okay, to each their own I suppose. In my experiences and many others in my world, this is one of the most masculine fragrances on the market today. I've gotten dozens of unsolicited comments over the last few years I wore this and not once did a woman say she'll wear/buy it for herself. But many women and a gay man has asked me the name of it so they can buy it for their husband/boyfriend. So I would say 99% of people find this masculine. Having that said, a few of my friends/co-workers did not like this one at all. One was totally appalled. Another women said it smells like a dirty biker smoking a cigar. Although I don't get that I can see people getting that vibe. Out of all the comments I got I'd say about 90% was positive. My wife loves this one on me as well as the original Dark Rebel. I like wearing it with my leather jacket and leather Ivy cap. It's like a perfect match IMHO. But keep in mind, it's certainly not an office scent or a formal scent. But that's just me, you can wear it anywhere you want. Most people find this is a bad ass uber-masculine fragrance - bottom line! Performance about average. Score 8/10.

I smelt this one at the mall and eventually sprayed it on my wrist. It smells very much like leather, more than the original Dark Rebel. This one is much more resinous with the amber. The amber is similar to the kind used in perfume oils like Auric blends or Kuumba Made. It's very nice but sadly didn't last long on my skin at all and the projection was gone after an hour. This was a first impression on the skin so I'll give it another wearing to be sure. I did work a full shift and sprayed it on after that so maybe on fresher skin it would be better. So far I like it a lot. Definitely not as sweet as the original Dark Rebel so that's a plus although that one lasted a while on my skin. Try it out for yourself. I work at the fragrance counter and customers don't really take to it very much due to the strong leather accord. The bottle is very much a representation of what's inside, and not every man is the leather jacket, motorcycle, or bad boy type. I would say if you like the original Polo but want something more modern and light, in a sense of not knocking out everyone by walking in the room, then give this a try. Gives off the same masculine/big cojones vibe

I totally agree with the Tom Ford comments below. I'd say it 90+% similar. Personally, I love this frag. From the first time I tried it. It works beautifully with my body chemistry. Total compliment getter. Smooth and sexy. Turns into a low projection scent on me after about 4 hours, but oddly I still get random but consistent whiffs of it even at 7-8+ hours. Maybe I just have the right skin. On clothing it easily lasts 8+. In fact it's moderate projection (great for close spaces when you want to be noticed in a good way, but not offend) is 4 hours...then Low projection 4-7...skin scent 8-10. Sweat or water seem to reactivate it as well even at the 6-7 hour mark. In any case....it's oud...which I love...soft smooth and smokey...a little booze/whiskey note, touch of sweetness....not too sweet....to the point of feminine. Feels very masculine...(which is a must for me)..so just a touch of sweetness. It says I'm all man...and I'm kind of a bad boy/rockstar...but your still safe with me. Love it.

I saw that this personal favourite was compared to Bentley Intense, at first I scoffed at the thought...then started thinking about it a bit more, and yes they share similarities. I think if given a choice Dark Rebel Ryder wins, it has a bit more character overall. I have never found performance on this to be an issue, and unlike Bentley Intense, this is not a mature scent profile. I really enjoy many of the John Varvatos line, and have so many back ups of each that going heavy on the trigger resolves the issues. This was fine when I could get testers for $40.00 or less, but it appears now that apart from being difficult to find, the prices have gone up quite a bit. If you have a chance to pick this up, I highly recommend you do before they completely disappear. Ryder has some sweet notes, but is heavy on resin and leather, any age really but has a bad ass vibe, great for fall and early spring most suited for the shadows of night. Cheers

I think both Dark Rebel and Dark Rebel Rider are a little deceptive with regard to the performance. The first time I tried (a 5ml decant) Dark Rebel I liked the scent very much but thought the performance was terrible and so not worth buying. I had the remains of quite a few decants that I had tried and decided to take them in to work for the lads to try. Dark rebel was tried and as usual after about 20 minuets I couldn't smell it. After a bit of fun every one went back to work. About four hours later I went back into the canteen, and the only thing I could smell was Dark Rebel, and still quite strong.So I decided to get a full bottle. I think I just go nose blind to these really quickly. Half an hour to an hour and they are gone, but I know they're not. If I spray them on my clothes its not long before I can't smell them but the next day I can. I cant say how good the performance is but it is much better than I first thought.

I really want to love this frag because it starts out totally awesome- boozy, leathery, a little smoke, some coffee and chocolate emerging ten minutes later. An hour later I can not smell it. I stepped into my closet and kept sniffing. Nothing. I could still smell the fragrances I put on earler in the day Dolce The One , A Men Pure Havane, but no Dark Rebel Rider. Now I have given the fragrance a very fair try. Its my third bottle. All the Varvatos frags smell great on the opening. They all seem to have a little leather too- but they are so evanescent. They depart too soon. I have to give the longevity 1/5. silliage 0/5. projection initially 2/5. I have to give the scent 3/5 for its initial scent. I rate it down to 1/5 for longevity. Its very masculine and would be a 5 if it lasted 3 or more hours.

very unique and pleasant scent for strong confident guy both Dark Rebel & Dark Rebel Rider share same the DNA Tobacco, sugar, and love in a bottle opens with Rum , Cardamon then dry down with Tobacco , Leather and Wood notes Dark Rebel Rider more smoky & darker with same DNA with added a touch of Saffron in opening & Vanilla in dry down Longevity : Dark Rebel : 2 to 3 hours Dark Rebel Rider : 3 to 5 hours Projection & Sillage : Dark Rebel : almost skin scent , zero projection & sillage Dark Rebel Rider : low projection & sillage for 1 hour which one I prefer ? of course Dark Rebel Rider will I buy it again ? yes for Dark Rebel Rider because I loved the very unique sugary scent , no for Dark Rebel Note: if this fragrance has an average longevity & sillage it will be one of best fragrance in market

Dark Rebel rider is self explanatory! Revlon couldn't of given it a better name. At first spray the aroma of leather is so genuine I could bath in it. There's a "spicy" vib coming from resin and frankincense takes this cologne to a top notch level. The cocoa and wood notes softened while balancing the overall aroma. There's a smig of sweetness from the orris and vanilla but not enough to throw off the manly vib while I'm wearing it. I have to put this after the orginal John Varvatos. Longevity and Sillage is better than moderate on my skin. Excellent during the fall/winter season, perfect for evening..maybe slightly heavy during the day. This juice is a definite keeper for me and plan to wear it often during the eve this fall into the cold weather. 9/10 definite!

For starters the bottle zipped in a leather jacket is pretty smart. You'd think it had been done before. Anything after this is copying. The scent burst is more oud like creating a saffron bubble. Less leather like than Dark Rebel, Supreme Leather, or CH Prive. Resins give the floral notes depth, aromatic but not powdery. Gets down to skin scent in about 3 hours if you are out and about. It gives about double if you remain in the same indoor environment. Leaves nice scent trail through cold like an oud. Up to 2 hours if you were in a store aisle within 20 minutes of the opening. They don't cheat you on the dry down vanilla. Its real. Kind of smoky i assume that is the effect of the cedar wood. Still not the longest lasting but real stages.

As a woman, it’s another male fragrance I own. Why oh why did they discontinue this?! This stunning masculine fragrance is for the man who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. He works on his Harley Davidson (or Indian or Triumph - whichever you prefer) in his garage. He isn’t Wall Street. He is blue collar working class. He is strong, silent and might be a bit of a bad boy. He shuns suits and ties. He wouldn’t be caught dead waxing his eyebrows before hitting the clubs. If you loved Sons of Anarchy and ever imagined what Jax smelled like: This is it. Only a few male fragrances intoxicate me this is one of them. Much better than Dark Rebel which smells of air pollution, auto exhaust and cigarettes.

Just got this today on the mail and all I can say is: WOW! It's a great concoction, leather, woods, a bit sweet, fruity. An amazing combination, very manly. Reminds a lot of Bentley Intense and somehow some Gucci Guilty Absolute, another masterpiece which I totally revere. Duration on me is moderate to long 6-8 hrs, sillage is moderate but I capture whiffs from it every now and then, but i'm not cautious about spraying it. I do 6-9 sprays in average, including chest and forearms, so I get it after some time from under my clothes when I move. Fragrance wise it's a 9/10, maybe a 10 if it was a bit less sweet for my taste. A bit more woodyness would have given this a 10 hands down.

My husband bought this as a blind buy. Upon spraying it has a resinous leathery scent that is very masculine and mysterious at the same time. Definitely don’t sniff straight from the bottle as it is quite strong and can be off-putting but on the skin it gives off that wonderful leather scent that just smells really good!! Not sure with longevity as my husband hasn’t worn it long enough to see but so far a great scent for colder weather. Update: This has monster projection! When my husband sprays it on I could smell the fragrance 3 metres away and it polarises the room. The longevity is quite good with over 6 hours and the sweet leathery scent is as strong as ever. A great buy!

I'm liking Dark Rebel Rider. I get leather, some resinous incense notes and a whole lot of oud. I've only sampled JV Oud once so far but didn't get any oud in that, go figure. It smells like some others already in my collection (Lalique Encre Noire A L'Extreme, YSL M7, etc) so it's a bit redundant and unnecessary but I found it for a good price and you gotta love that it comes with its own leather jacket. I still see complaints about longevity but this one, along with JV Vintage, is pretty beastly for me. I get 12+ hours with it and pretty strong projection with 3 sprays or so. I think the smell of Dark Rebel is more interesting and unique but I like this one a lot too.

Have given this some time so now I'm ready to review ;) Dark Rebel Rider.... A great name (some may find it tacky, I think it suits rather nicely) Love that bottle! What a great concept!! The opening reminds me of Dark Rebel right away. Only darker, more oomph, nice for sure. I do prefer the "lighter" DR but this is really good. I get better longevity from DR, this DR Rider just doesn't last as long (on my skin) So yeah, if you want a light leather frag go for Dark Rebel. Go with Dark Rebel Rider if you want something a bit darker (but still really good and easy to wear) Fragrance 7/10 Longevity 5/10 Bottle Design 10/10 That bottle is just awesome!!!

This is a nice, ultra masculine scent. It performs better than Dark Rebel as in it lasts longer. The Sillage is moderate. It doesnt have a lot of striking power. If it had a little more range, this would probably be celebrated as a great club scent. I get Whiskey, Tobbacco, Cedar and Leather. I know those are not the notes listed but that is what it smells like to me. At the top I get whiskey and leather that fades into a beautiful tobacco scent. Because it is not overpowering, it is extremely versatile. You could wear this to the office or on those days where you dont feel like shaving. It is similar to Commodity leather but much more masculine.

Herbal rosey freshness contrasting to a smooth ambery woody base which is very intriguing and inviting, promising start, obviously different in a nice way. Big projection but lacks staying power/not as dense. While it projects, flowers wears out and the ambery leather shines through. A ‘cold’ leather, or rather, thin layered leather, than oily warm sensual leather like Aqua Di Parma Leather. Then it quickly evolves to a smoky labdanum amber base, quite niche smelling like something Serge Lutens would produce. Later dry down is a less smoky and semi sweet amber base, no good lasting power, it’d be excellent if swap the base with Chambre Noire.

i got the most beautifully sweetened, lightly powdery/floral dirty leather from this. i didn't get to test longevity on this yet, but it truly worked wonders on my chemistry; nice projection too. probably my fav designer release of 2016, great improvement on smoothing the harsh edges off dark rebel. totally loving this. edit: i sprayed it from a sample today and it wore off within an hour, totally disappointing. i'll blame it on sample syndrome (i got a particularly cheap SA with the samples). when i sprayed it on my hand from the bottle it wore strong for 3 hours or so. projection was closer to the skin both times, so thats consistent.

rich, sweet, fresh musky black leather i swear it must contain a strong Oudh.... i really thought it did. reminds me of the powdery medicinal leather notes in Narciso Rodriguez Poudre. the milky looking bottle which i highly recommend. This is like the men's version of that. Black leather jacket, yes it's a bit kitchy. longevity may be an issue, but you can try layering it on some lotion or vaseline. the scent is quite delicious and well done otherwise. Dries down fruity.. and i think it's the Osmanthus, which has a vague honey like vibe. Scent: Awesome! Sillage: good Longevity: lacking :c

I finally managed to get a bottle of this today and I'm super happy with it, it's exactly my sort of thing. Sweet and boozy smokey leather opening, then dries down to a spicy smoke with some bitter orange. I didn't get any vanilla or rose from it - it's not at all like the Tom Ford leathers if you are familiar with them, it's a much smokier darker scent. It's not for everyone, the smokiness needs a strong rocker look in my opinion to pull it off and I could see a lot of people not liking it. Sillage seems good, I kept catching the smell from my wrist and being reminded how much I like it.

This is dark. Leathery, sweet, delicious and smoky, all in one bottle. The opening in this one is rich and solid with saffron, aldehydes, bitter orange, hyssop, and marjoram while the heart is made up of the orris, resin, olibanum, rock rose, tolu balsam, black violet, and osmanthus. The dry down is so good with the cacao, Russian leather, vanilla, woody notes, patchouli, and atlas cedar. It suits perfectly for winter or even fall and cold nights of the spring maybe. I really like this one as it lasted on my skin for more than 8 hours and the silage was strong too.

A beautiful blast of incense and saffron for the first 30-45 minutes, then an almost cherry, balsamic drydown that fades off to a skin scent. Imo this is much more sophisticated than just being a leathery cologne, but more on the niche side of ME fragrances with its complexities and nuances. For me this is a 10/10 that I wish projected farther and lasted longer. Overall, I am happy to wear it occasionally and enjoy going off on a long journey, even if it is only in my mind.

Picked this up today at a very decent price. I have to say it’s quite nice. I get the rose and woody notes, it feels like an Oudy leather fragrance. It’s a clean/dirty fragrance. The bottle is kinda weird with its zipper jacket but the smell is quite nice. Spillage is ok at first but it’s def a softer fragranc, as with most JV frags. Do about 5 sprays and enjoy. Pleasing and good if you can get it for less than retail. Reminds me of a leathery Versace oud.

This scent legit smells like the bottle looks. It's similar to Dark rebel but still has its own unique characteristics. Smokey leather jacket bad boy. Longevity isn't as good as Dark Rebel but still enough to enjoy. This is such a great unique fragrance especially for those into rock, metal, industrial etc and want to smell like a rock star. This is the embodiment of that feeling in a bottle. Cannot love the Dark rebels enough. Highly recommended forever.

I love this! This also reminds me of middle eastern perfumes a bit. I mostly get a nice, spicy citrus (I usually hate citrus honestly but the saffron and other notes probably create the exception here for me), plus darker notes (resins perhaps), and later leather of course. While I was in an area with only a department store for a while, I sniffed every men’s scent there and this was the only one I liked haha! It’s especially good on clothing!

Wanna make your wife wet? Rebel Rider is a rugged dude wearing his worn out leather jacket that got some resin on it from working on his motorcycle. Inside the jacket's chest pocket is a dark wrapper cocoa flavor hand rolled Domincan or Cuban cigar. TIP: Rebel Rider is the fragrance you wear when you take your lady for a ride and you want her wet and ready. YMMV TIP 2: If your lady is a "Karen" just wear something unisex

Well, this is not for everybody! Man only !If you like black clothes and dark leather fragrances, than you should give this one a try. Blind buy?not quite....you should try this before. For me this is a love/hate fragrance...i hate the oppening, someone said it smells like burning tyres, and that's true....but i simply love the drydown (rich, sweet and mysterious). Sillage and longevity moderate!

My husband is wearing this today in 62F weather. It is gorgeous. The leather was prominent in the first few hours then Varvatos Rebel Rider settles down to become a resinous, smoky, dark cocoa scent flavored with slight Indian spices. It is gorgeous. On my husband, Rebel Rider lasted for greater than 6 hours until bedtime. No problem with longevity here. He likes it a lot.

Extremely similar to Tiziana Terenzi's Laudano Nero, though this one lacks the strong boozy cognac opening of Laudano Nero (which is a positive for me). The longevity is better than other Varvatos frags, but leaves much to be desired in this regard. If you like this scent, you might try getting a sample of laudano Nero for the excellent longevity.

@Greg258 1st trick - 3 sprays above ears (yes, do wet your hair/beard). 1 spray in the back and another in your chest. 2 sprays in your leather jacket. Result = 50% more performance. 2nd trick - Apply a bit of a moisture oil or vaseline on your skin (neck and chest) and then apply 4~5 sprays. No scent change and you almost double the performance.

I have been wearing this one for a while now. And I get that it is a highly commercial fragrance, but I just really like it. As the reviewer said below, yes I do feel like it is familiar and have smelled it before, but that doesn't take away from the fact that I just really like it. It is almost a love.

Either my skin accentuates leather fragrances like this to the extreme, or my nose is just keen on picking up leather in fragrances, but I have to say that the longevity and sillage are beast on this one. I like this fragrance but it can be off putting and polarizing to some. Understandably so.

I managed to find a brand new sealed bottle in the UK for less than £40 this week and oh my god it's the best fragrance purchase i've ever made. This smells so expensive, leather and cocoa perfectly blended together. Someone needs to make a dupe because these are increasingly becoming so rare

I have on a black leather jacket as Im writing this review. Nothing beats this with black leather. I stepped into the casino elevator and heard a woman tell her man how good I smelled. I prefer this over TF Tuscan leather especially for the money. It performs and projects well too. Love it !

This is a perfume to use when you are wearing jeans and a leather jacket. Paul Newman and James Dean would probably use it in their youth if it was available. Clint Eastwood probably uses it. It's manly, a bit dark and drives crazy the gentle sex. My wife loves it on me. Astonishing bottle.

Previous reviewers described it perfectly. Fabulous sweet, leather, smoke. The house of John Varvatos is just wonderful. Just want to add that I bought this and wore it in the summertime and was put off. Now in the cold 55F autumn, this is warm, leathery, intriguing. This stuff is good!!

This continues to get better each and ever wearing. It's a dark leather, with a hint of smoke. I think alot of people put this off as a hard blind buy, and I disagree. This smells wonderful, warm and sexy. It lasts on my skin for 6 plus hours. Amazing stuff. Try it.

A smoky, resinous leather with a hint of sweetness. I get the comparison to Bentley for Men Absolute. They could be cousins. Scent is enjoyable to me but may not be a mass-appealing scent. Projection seems a bit weak, so you may want to go heavy on the trigger.

This is the most realistic leather smelling fragrance I've owned. La Yuqawam Homme compared to this one smells like really toned down leather with little sweet notes, while this is Leather from the begining to the end. Smell 9/10 Longevity 4/10 Sillage 4,5/10

I've had Dark Rebel Rider and Dark Rebel since my FragHead beginnings and have always liked the two about the same. But Dark Rebel Rider has forged ahead. And it will be my Scent of the Night this Halloween. There is something very addicting about DRR.

Great black leather jacket frag. Tom Ford quality at a fraction of the cost. I think this is a more wearable Tuscan Leather. I wore this last night and could still smell it when I woke up this morning. I have rebel and rebel rider I highly recommend.