I don’t think I can remember the last time the fragrance community were so split down the middle with what is now classed as a ‘controversial fragrance’ such as Space Rage by Byredo in collaboration with Travis Scott… Let’s start shall we?

BYREDO - SPACE RAGE TRAVX

Top Notes: Cosmic Dust, Antimatter Particles
Middle Notes: Starlight, The Scent Of Supernova
Base Notes: Atmospheric Vapour, Dark Nebulae

I was busy working when an email came through from Byredo with a brand new drop in collaboration with American rapper; Travis Scott in the form of fragrance - Space Rage. As soon as I saw the bottle, well, that was me sold! I went onto the website and I saw that the fragrance itself had sold out almost within minutes but, I saw the option of the Space Rage candle so I got my hopes up and thought it’s better than nothing right? That too, sold out.

Now, when the hype wore off a little and I first read the notes of Space Rage I was a little taken aback because I didn’t know if it was to be taken as a joke or if there were more details to come with the actual notes, but nothing. Anyway, I resigned myself to the fact I had missed out on Space Rage until… A month or so later and I received another email notifying that it was back in stock and honestly? I must’ve checked out and bought within seconds! Due to the current COVID-19 and Brexit restrictions, it did state that there was no specific delivery date when purchasing this, but I was happy to wait and happy that I had finally got my hands on Space Rage and was keen to see what the hype was all about.

Space Rage arrived around 3 weeks after the purchase and both the packaging and bottle were immediate winners. The handwriting font with the gradient of blue mixed with purple? Stunning. Anyway, I’m rambling and I appreciate that you’ve not come here to find out about the packaging! I sprayed Space Rage on my wrist and my first thought was ‘Omg, I’ve smelt this before!’ No, it wasn’t that other fragrance, it was ‘Carrousel’! Carrousel is a candle by Byredo and one of which I have purchased 4 times and it is my favourite Byredo candle by far so, when I smelt Space Rage, I was initially made up as this was essentially my favourite candle now in a ‘wearable’ fragrance form!

Later that day I was rummaging through my fragrance samples collection and came across a sample of Pulp. Now, for those of you who aren’t aware, many have complained and said that Space Rage is effectively a repackaged version of Pulp and as a Byredo fan myself, I didn’t read too much into it because you can’t always please everyone, but, I decided to see what the fuss was and I sprayed Pulp onto my other wrist and I have to say, I couldn’t tell them apart. With that being said, I will review Space Rage for what it is.

The opening of Space Rage is very fruity which initially feels quite light but as the dry-down begins, there’s a muskier, almost deeper twist on the fruit notes which reminds me of how the candle Carrousel burns. It has a punchiness of Earth undertones to it and I would imagine in the warmer, Spring/Summer weather that this will settle nicely on the skin. In terms of sillage, I’d class this as light to medium and its longevity was a little disappointing as this only lasted on my skin between 3-4 hours.

With that being said, perhaps I am a little biased as I do like Space Rage as for me, it’s a ‘wearable’ fragrance version of Carrousel! However, I almost feel a little cheated as this does feel very, very similar to Pulp. But hey, if this gets another restock then be quick to try it out for yourself as I imagine this will fly out again!

Have you smelt Space Rage yet? What did you think? Do you think it does smell like Pulp, or is this a standalone fragrance in itself? I would love to know your thoughts so leave me a comment below to carry on the conversation.