I'll be honest...I totally impulse bought this fragrance and now I'm not 100% sure about it? John Varvatos is a brand rarely seen in the UK until now, ironic that a week after I come back from the states (where I saw this stuff all over & didn't sample) I end up buying a JV fragrance at home. Anyway I knew nothing about the brand except for mixed reviews on here and have managed to aquire 5 (4 mini's) and this one due to the fact I quite liked the lot. Dark Rebel seemed at first to be a very interesting, dark, smokey scent with a slightly mysterious edge if not a bit of a silly name. The opening is of uber dark ebony woods, tobacco, leather and styrax to my nose made this very appealing. An raw animal quality shrouded in spiced rum and a strong cinnamon note which dies down quickly into a heart of familiar mainstream fodder. I have to admit this is a classic case of a really mediocre fragrance masquerading as something quite unique and special for the opening 10 minutes. Shame really because I genuinely sat up and noticed Dark Rebel. It's not doom and gloom though the skin scent this dies down to is a sugary, Captain Morgan which is there throughout but somehow smells slightly cheap as apposed to that chaotic opening. In summary 'Niche opening, designer dry down.' Performance is average bordering more on the poor side but you know what??? I'm not disheartened because this fragrance takes you on a journey, all be it a short and slightly disappointing one ...but a journey nonetheless.