Ex Idolo Ryder Eau de Parfum is a mix of smoke, spice, and resinous sweetness; it was heavy on the incense, aromatic with woods, and had rich, golden amber throughout. There was a slightly fruity, almost pungent, quality that came through for about an hour to hour and a half, before it went back to its opening notes.

Ryder Notes

It is described as being inspired by the “history of the members clubs of St James and Mayfair” and is a “juxtaposition of sweet tobacco and aromatic esters against a warm woody-amber accord.”

The brand has their list of notes titled “linear notes” and lists: sweet pipe tobacco, aromatic esters, resinous amber, dark woods, jasmine, and Omani frankincense.

What does Ryder Like?

It opened with an intense, spiced, dark amber and slightly smoky, aromatic woods. It was like a concoction of the richest, darkest amber, woody incense, and opulent woods one could imagine. There was no booziness to it, but it had the headiness and depth of a boozy note. For all of its decadent opening, though, it fizzled out within 30 minutes and wore closer to the skin and lost a lot of its spice and smokiness.

Instead, the composition turned animalic, almost pungent like oud was in there, slightly fruity but overripened and more pungent, which were likely the esters. I noticed that following that, through the next hour, the spice of incense and amber re-emerged, as if they were dueling with the animalic note before finally the incense and amber duo became prominent once again by the end of the second hour.

From the third hour and onward, it regained its spiced, smoky incense and amber qualities that were then paired with subtle tobacco and woody undertones. It remained that way through the drydown, which seemed slightly more resinous overall, at the six-hour mark.

Longevity

It lasted for seven hours until it was a skin-scent and about 12 hours before it was quite difficult to detect on my skin. The sillage and projection were moderate with the sillage dropping faster than the projection within the first hour of wear.

Personal Notes

The majority of the fragrance reminded me a lot of Tom Ford’s Amber Absolute, which I adore, except the fruity esters that show up for about an hour or so. Those I didn’t enjoy so much, unfortunately! Since I have Amber Absolute, I will stick with that one.

These are more subjective feelings based on what I like (or don’t like) in a perfume as well as considering the fragrance against other perfumes I own and love.

Testing Methodology

For testing, I used 1/3 of a 0.7ml sample vial dabbed to the underside and topside of my wrist area. I used an unscented moisturizer prior to applying the scent as I found scent did not hold well here otherwise.

I purchased my sample in January 2022; fragrances are known to be reformulated over their lifetime, so be mindful of when a review was made, e.g. a review from 2010 may not reflect what the same-named perfume smells like in 2022.

Availability

Ryder is available for $125/30ml.

If possible, I highly recommend trying a fragrance before purchasing a full bottle because fragrance can wear differently just because of skin chemistry. Skin chemistry can effect not just the longevity of a fragrance but also what notes are prominent or hidden.

Ryder Samples

We recommend the following retailers for purchasing decanted samples (typically 0.7ml to 2ml in size). This is a fuller list, so individual availability may depend on inventory.

Where to Buy