Rebelle Rihanna 2012 Eau de Parfum

I'm considering using this as a diet supplement - wearing it is like having had a caramalised, slightly toffee'd, glistening praline confection with caffe latte (just a little, strong coffee with heaps of creme de la creme) or a strong turkish coffee with whipped cream & a fine sprinkling of grated chocolate. Or blow-torched buttery creme caramel with burnt butterscotch sauce. There's definitely a burnt toffee smell I can almost taste it that fades out after a few hours to faint, smoky incense. That burnt toffee smell is the only reservation I have yet about this. Of course, there's deep red heavily scented roses on the dining table with lightly scented coconut and liquorice (think Wish, Lolita Lempicka LL) candles burning at the other end of the room. Huge projection and lasts easily until the next meal. Similar to Fancy by Jessica Simpson

I’ve been wearing Rebelle by Rihanna for a few weeks trying to get a handle on this perfume. I had sampled it at a perfume counter and after I returned home hours later, found it to be a warm and inviting scent. It was one of those perfumes that haunted me. I had to return to the store to purchase it.
But because I had sampled it at the store, I only actually smelled the top notes and the bottom notes. I missed the middle points of this perfume and really hadn’t been able to fully appreciate what Rebelle entailed in its’ fullest capacity. This became an important point in my reviewing it, since after I purchased it, I discovered notes that were quite different from any other perfume I owned. I wasn’t so sure I did like it, after all.
Why? Because there were scents in the middle that I was unaccustomed to and didn’t own. Notes that I didn’t own and notes that I had to muddle through to see if I really did appreciate this perfume. This one, Rebelle, definitely is a buyer beware fragrance. For me, that note was coffee. Coffee shouldn’t be such a big deal, except that I’m not a coffee drinker. I’m a tea imbiber and have tasted coffee only once in my life and spit it out with disgust. Therein lies the problem with Rebelle for me.
Unless you’re a coffee lover, Rebelle’s opening might put you off. The coffee begins strong, dark and bubbly and within the first hour, the pot just gets stronger. It does allow other notes to enter the picture. But the coffee notes still predominate in Rebelle. For me, it appeared crisp and straight-forward. and then the metamorphosis in this perfume began.
Then Rebelle gets a little bitter, a little musky and some ginger mixes in with the coffee. This is one strange perfume. It’s not one I’d wear around anyone, really. It’s a perfume I wear only for myself. It’s very different. It’s quite unique. It’s a perfume that must be sampled before you buy.
It’s not for bedtime. It’s for the day. It’s more of an uplifting fragrance. Springtime, summertime are good seasons for it. It’s sharp and bitter, and not soft at all.
As for the bottle, it’s ridiculous. You can’t hold it easily and spray it at the same time. The bottom is large and almost impossible to hold if you want to put your finger on the sprayer at the top which is extremely slim-necked. I have to balance it on my knee just to angle it correctly to spray it. Bad design. The mini is a splash and much easier to dab on.
I’m glad I purchased it since I now own a coffee perfume. To be honest, it was on a clearance rack for half-price with the body lotion, shower gel and EdP all in one package. For that price at $12.50, it was worth it. If I payed anymore, I might have been disappointed.
Rebelle was launched as a fruity-floral with gourmand notes. I didn’t get any of the florals from it at all. It’s an interesting perfume that draws you in the more you wear it, I will say that. And I should say that it should definitely be on your sample list if you enjoy gourmands. It's radiates pretty strongly and lasts for quite a few hours, which for the few bucks I spent, was well worth it.

I find this scent really interesting scent although I don't like it that much. I did not like it at all when I first tried it, but after a couple of wearings it's kind of growing on me.

A sweet, but deep and almost edible scent. It's funny - I get a strong blast of herbal anise or fennel before the fruity beginning comes out. I get the coffee and chocolate with a clean undercurrent of something else almost soapy. Like walking into a large size Starbucks caramel chocolate coffee latte with swirly whipped cream on top. It mellows down very nicely to mocha richness.

This would be a great scent for apres-ski time when you are sitting around the ski lodge after an afternoon on the slopes drinking your hot mulled wine. Definitely a cold weather winter scent.

Rebelle by Rihanna is quite a daring composition if you think about it. Not many celebrities have dared to put their name to something so polarising.

I first heard of Rebelle through a friend. She told me in great detail how she disliked it because it was too sweet. Through her description, I had imagined Rebelle to be quite candied, sort of like Aquolina's Pink Sugar. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that it smelt strongly of coffee, cocoa and patchouli. It was sweet indeed, but in a very different way.

Thierry Mugler is known for having made coffee and chocolate notes popular in perfume. It's obvious that Rihanna is trying to cash in by creating a similar gourmand blend.

There are times when I thoroughly enjoy wearing Rebelle, but for the most part, I find Rebelle an odd fragrance, to the point of not knowing how to describe it. I'm not a huge fan of the fruity nuances. The plum and juicy strawberry blend just doesn't seem right when blended with the coffee and cocoa.

It's a Winter, night-time fragrance for sure. Rebelle is also on the heavy side of things, so I would go easy on the sprays. I think it's important to like the scent of coffee in order to enjoy Rebelle. I love coffee myself, so this fragrance did appeal to me, however I realise there are some people out there that detest the scent of roasted coffee beans. Proceed with caution, is all I'll say on the matter.

Original review written: April 2013.

A warm earthy chocolate patchouli somewhat akin to Angel Muse if you dumped a bunch of coffee beans and a bucket of movie theater popcorn butter on it. There's something very decadent and edible about Rebelle.

Interestingly, I had two bottles of Rebelle. One was a quite old (2013ish) purse spray, the other was the big flute shaped bottle bought new in 2024. The new bottle had a very strong glossy strawberry and much less richness, more playful. The older travel bottle was much more buttery, sweet, earthy, and somehow almost coconut-y. Both versions were delightful.