Dark Rebel by John Varvatos Cologne Review

Another sample that I’ve had lying around the house, is a 2015 release from John Varvatos: Dark Rebel. Both the name and the description of the fragrance interested me, which made me think that is one I’d definitely want to try out. After wearing it for a while, does Dark Rebel actually meet expectations? What does this cologne smell like? How does it perform? is it worth a buy?

What does Dark Rebel Smell Like?

Notes include: tobacco, rum, fir, leather, vanilla, black pepper, cardamom, sugar cane, sage, nutmeg

Click here to try: John Varvatos Dark Rebel Eau de Toilette Spray, 4.2 fl. Oz. mens cologne

My Full Wear Review

Before we get started into my review, let’s see how John Varvatos describes Dark Rebel: is a blend of sweet tobacco leaves, intoxicating spirits, and warm sensual woods.

The opening of Dark Rebel is a harsh blast of pepper, rum, and tobacco. Immediately, this cologne brings to mind, Man in Black by Bvlgari; in terms of how it smells. These two colognes have extremely similar ingredients, however, the arrangement and intensity of their commonalities are different. You get a similar smell, just with a different blend.

Dark Rebel has that intense black pepper smell for about ten minutes at the start versus Man in Black having a boozier and less intense cinnamon from the jump. Both have rum and leather, but Dark Rebel has a greater use of tobacco throughout.

Anyway, after about ten minutes, you begin to get deeper into the composition of this John Varvatos scent. I start to get way more sweet tobacco and a slight sugary vanilla, after the pepper has been pushed out. It smells much better to me, at this point versus the hyper-peppery opening.

Even further along, the fragrance is mostly composed of the leather and tobacco and the slight spiced rum. But, there is also an added woody and herbal element. Fir, sage, and cardamom are playing in the background and giving Dark Rebel a smooth outdoorsy appeal.

I really enjoy the way that this smells. Obviously, it overlaps so much with another fragrance that I own, but it’s unique spots are still enjoyable.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, the sillage on this is moderate. The first ten minutes are strong, then a few hours at moderate, and finally it is light for the remainder of the wear. It really tapers off rather quickly.

In total, I get about four hours from it, before it is too faint for me to notice. The performance is pretty disappointing, as I have even sprayed this on a shirt, that is a few feet away from me and hours after…I don’t even catch whiffs.

Seasonally, strictly cold weather, just like Man in Black. It can be worn casually or on a night out. Obviously, the style is that leather jacket clad man, who is stylish without giving it much effort. It’s a sexy fragrance and one that women will probably enjoy, as they have done so while I’ve worn the Bvlgari out for the past year plus.

It’s light enough to wear on other occasions, so, I wouldn’t expect it to offend anyone. It really depends if you can personally get any performance out of Dark Rebel

Overall Impressions of Dark Rebel

Overall, do I like Dark Rebel by John Varvatos? I mean, I do like it. However, I don’t like it as much as I like Man in Black. That one just has a better overall composition, in my mind, and also has better performance (though, it isn’t great either).

So, ultimately, I have no need for Dark Rebel because it fits the same mold as another scent I already use. If you want more tobacco, leather, and wood rather than the heavier rum, leather, and spices found in Man in Black; then, this might be the better option.

There’s still tons of overlap, so, the cheaper option might decide between them. I think that this may have been discontinued, as such it probably won’t be cheap for very long, in the online stores.

Best Men's Colognes

Best Men’s Colognes started back in 2013, as a way to share my learning experiences with different fragrances, as I dove head first into the hobby. Since then, I have written hundreds of reviews and other pages about perfumes and colognes.