Description
Viva Rock by John Richmond is a Floral Woody Musk fragrance for women. This is a new fragrance, Viva Rock was launched in 2011. Top notes are mandarin orange, carambola (star fruit) and cactus; middle notes are jasmine and rose; base notes are musk, iris and amber.
“The juice opens on the sparkling and energizing blend of star fruit and Sicilian mandarin with unexpected touch of cactus flower. The heart reveals refined and feminine floral notes of Damascena rose, watery jasmine and delicate cherry blossom. The dry down seals a sophisticated rock’n’roll felinity enveloped by delicate musks, sensual ambergris and elegant orris. For a voluptuous and sensual trail.” Press
derdiok – :
I tested this quite a few years ago but decided not to buy it then. Recently Notino had the 100ml bottle on sale so I ordered it.
Either my tastes have changed or my memory is so bad: I remember this as being very fruity, sparkling and slightly sweet.
This is a very light,fresh scent. The combination of rose, jasmine and cherry is so delicate. The fruity notes are not very strong but I smell something fresh, perhaps the cactus flower or starfruit. I do not sense the mandarin orange or any citrus notes. After a while it smells a little soapy and slightly musky.
It is a nice skin scent but sillage is poor.
I once bought L’Amour by Lalique and it smells very similar to me. That I gave to my daughter and that is why I think this one would also be suitable for young women.
I wish it were a little stronger and sweeter.
I now layer it with Giorgio Armani Code Luna which is citrusy sweet with a light vanilla drydown. When I wear either of them alone I feel something is missing. Together they make for a wonderful combination and that makes me happy!
Bulben – :
Mild and slightly nostalgic baroque rock (pop?) this is. No grudge and no grunge here.
Powdered musk dominates, clean, sudsy and flowery kind. Fruits are rather humble here, barely noticeable but they are there to provide a touch of sparkle.
For people who like Essence (Eau de Musc), Versus of or even the discontinued L’eau Cheap and Chic or Ferre this might be just right. Lighter than any of these though.
Versatile, smart casual and low key happy scent.
slaan – :
There’s just such astounding cognitive dissonance between the bottle and the scent. How could this scent come out of that bottle? How? How?
At first sniff, the rose dominates, and it’s one of the most realistic roses I’ve ever smelled. Like, there are roses that don’t smell as rose-like. It recedes into the background as the musk and what I think must be orris take over. More of a musky floral than anything fruity.
If you’re searching for sweet fruit, this is not the perfume you’re looking for. If you’re looking for a fresh musk, which in my experience is very hard to find, this is a good place to start.
Firemanandruxa123 – :
fantastic !
what a lovely scent !
the musk is so clean
the whole scent is green and fresh
but with the mature musk and rose on the background
it doesn’t seem so girlish and young
however, perfect for summer days
i’ve made it my signature summer scent now
long lasting and comforting
amazing bottle too
wia992speagoessenda – :
It’s the first day of wearing Viva rock and it’s such a lovely one
It’s bottle looks childish but it’s wearable for adults
It opens fresh,juicy,fruity and crisp but I can’t call it a fruity scent.yes star fruit is detectable for a long time giving the scent a unique freshness but florals and powder play the main role
Rose is the main floral note but it doesn’t overwhelm other notes,I can also smell other flowers here and iris root,light,soft and nice flower scent but as time passes,it becomes more about musk and powder.
Viva rock is a powdery,soapy scent.it’s a blend of clean musk,powdery flowers and soapy rose while a hint of star fruit and cactus make it even more refreshing and prevent this powdery blast from getting too dry
I agree that it smells similar to essence line of NR.I’m comparing it to essence eau de musk which is the one I have and while they share lot of similarities and I like them both,I find viva rock more interesting maybe that’s it’s fruit notes,or various florals which make it more complex.it also seems to project more than essence eau de musk which was a skin scent
It’s a safe fragrance in case one likes clean,soapy muskyflorals.I’ve always appreciated a refreshing,clean perfume for spring and summer day wear so I’m glad to find one which is both pleasant and cheap.a 3.4oz can be found for 20 bucks in sales
afrasiyab – :
To be honest, I was very surprised by Viva Rock. I have seen it was on discount in the perfume store, so I gave it a try. I expected either something girly, teenage appropriate scent (based on the packaging), or a patchouli bomb (based on the name). Oh, how wrong I was! Viva Rock is almost identical to Narciso Rodriguez Essence, which I know very well since I have it in my wardrobe for years. If you’re not familiar with that one, it is a musky, tiny bit fresh spicy, cold luxury soapy scent.
Viva Rock is definitely the younger sister of NR Essence, and still beautiful and unique. It has a great staying power, just like Essence – they both last on me during a whole day, but they are those kind of scents, that seemingly disappear after a couple of hours, and then suddenly you get a whiff of them even at the end of the day.
Viva Rock surprised me in a very good way, both with the quality and the performance, not to mention the affordable price. I really like it, I think I will replace Essence with this one when I ran out.
ps: why is it classified as fruity is beyond me
Dgavdet – :
What a strange and surprising scent … In a word, only soap and flowers.
Jasmine, carambola, cactus and ambra give some strange mix. The smell is intoxicating and nauseating with a touch of sharp freshness.
It may be harsh and suffocating for the environment.
For me (surprise!) the smell is not bad, and even passable. From time to time I wear with pleasure, especially in spring. I don’t know why it quite reminds me Chopard Wish Pink Diamond.
The smell (like all fragrances on me) remains short and close to the skin.
Mariah_fromAF – :
Likeable fruity floral with a tropical hint. It’s very familiar for some reason. I know lily of the valley isn’t listed in the notes, but I sense it somehow. It’s not bad though.
I like it, it’s quite nice!
Carl Wheezer – :
I love it – brought it on sale for the office. Nice soapy musky smell touch of sweetness. Only early days as I have just tested it but will see how it grows on me
michaelscofield – :
Love it when I feel tired and out. It smells like vitamins and fruits! Full of energy and colour!
energetikas – :
I quite like it, but I’m not crazy about.
I was given a sample and tried it without expectations.
The concept is already seen and much in the line of pink-rock-chic Juicy Couture, but here it is rendered in a less tacky way.
The first seconds of the jus on my skin are “modern opening”. Sorry, I cannot find a different word for it.
It usually involves fruity notes with preference for new raw material. Here we have Star Fruit and Cactus, how cute, does anyone know what they smell like?
I smell a vague similarity with Lancome Miracle’s opening.
Then Viva Rock becomes a close to the skin fruity floral.
I guess many cannot smell musk here but it has musk indeed, of the soapy kind. Many people are anosmic to musk.
NR Essence comes to mind but not the only one.
If I wanted a floral-musky scent I would rather go for NR black bottle or Idylle, because they are rounder and floral notes are well done.
For a heavy musk I would go for Koublai Khan, or Kiehls but that’s not my kind of scent at all.
If you want a musk which is not real musk go for Viva Rock. Once I wrote that NR Essence is like a laundry hysterical diva. Viva Rock is less hysterical.
In this class of mild musky tones, I much prefer the soft musky edge in the bottom of L’Occitane Rose 4 Reines.
starojil68 – :
Well, that’s a musky one for sure! If you like soapy and musky fragrances, you may want to give it a try. If it works with your chemistry, the way it works with mine you just might get what you need!
The opening is quite mild and refreshing with fruity and citrusy notes accompanied by lovely strong musk. But then the exotic sweet fruit dissappear and something very soapy emerges. It’s definitely the rose, but it usually isn’t that soapy on it’s own so I am guessing that it’s the musk combining with rose and cherry blossom that creates this impression.
Usually I am not a big fan of jasmine, but I kind of regret that it isn’t a bit stronger in here, as I think that it’s sweetness would balance off the unfortunate soapiness (‘unfortunate’ for me obviously, as soapy fragrances make me feel a bit weird in the stomach ;-)). Maybe it’s just my chemistry. Don’t know.
I also agree that this quite mature scent doesn’t suit the playful advertising. More for an old school rocker rather than one of the ‘modern types’, if you know what I mean. Or whatever the age, definitely not the cheerful, flirty type who thinks that putting on stronger make up and making a few angry or ‘seductive’ faces makes them rock queens 😉 Certain attitude is needed here and majority of modern wannabe rock queens just don’t have it.
Not very original, but I quite like it. It’s just one of those that I like, but cannot wear. Shame…
Not bad longevity and sillage for an EDT. A single spray on my wrist was all I needed to catch strong whiffs of it for the next 6 hours. Then it quite suddenly lost intensity and turned into a skin scent, but I didn’t have to try too hard to find it on my skin.
Overall… Not bad Mr Richmond. Not bad at all… Although not great either.
Ромео – :
Viva Rock is an example when a sophisticated fragrance doesn’t suit a girly concept. The fragrance is extremely similar to soapy musky Narciso Rodriguez Essence, maybe a bit lighter. Of course you can’t find here any cherries or carambola or other fruits. A very beautiful soapy-powdery smell. I’m fond of Essence so I think Viva Rock is a worthy and cheaper alternative.
androidmark – :
…
I take back my words.
Although there isn’t really something that ROCKS about this scent, after wearing it for a couple of days I got amazed by the drydown and even thought – where is this smell coming from?
What a nice surprise! Crisp powdery note appears and begins to wander around once the top notes settled. It comes out to be more sophisticated than predicted.
If you try it – plese, give it a chance till the drydown.
sergey15 – :
Viva *Rock*? There’s nothing rock n’roll going on here.
Not that it is unpleasant, but this delicate everyday aquatic floral has nothing new to say, nothing edgy nor at least interesting. Unoffensive, it can be used in perfume-sensitive environments.
Low sillage & medium staying power, 4-5 hours.
Could be suitable for young girly girls.
Seems to me a very very cheap and watered down version of the otherwise superclassy essence by Narciso Rodriguez.
Azeke – :
Mediocre. Smells artificial and plastic-like.
I only liked the beginning: tart, crisp carambola and lovely sweet mandarine on rose water.
Later on it became very ordinary and boring rose-cherry blossom fragrance.
It reminds me too much of the concept of Juicy Couture / Ma Dame / Lady Rebel.
No sillage, staying power of about 4 hours.