Paco Rabanne

8 Best Smelling Paco Rabanne Perfumes for Her

by

I have already done a list of the top men’s fragrances by Paco Rabanne and as such, I thought that it was time to take on the ladies perfumes from this house.

1 Million and now Invictus are two of the highly popular and best selling scents from Paco Rabanne but the women’s line also has some popular choices as well as some hidden gems. Including, Lady Million.

I’ve been continually updating this page for years, as new releases that are worthy of a try, come out. As of now, these are what I think are the best Rabanne perfumes.

Favorite Paco Rabanne Fragrances for Ladies

Dark, Sweet, with some Spice

Paco Rabanne Black Xs By Paco Rabanne For Women. Eau De Toilette Spray 2.7-Ounces
Very fresh and sexy scent with floral and gourmand notes such as cacao and vanilla. It’s somewhat sweet, but not candy-like with fruity cranberry notes.

It also is centered by a hint of spice and a dry woodsy heart. It opens up with the tart cranberry and patchouli, before it is pulled together with cacao and rose. However, as it moves along, Black XS does indeed get darker.

The rose note dissipates and the cranberry begins to get superseded by the other ingredients. The drydown is cacao, vanilla, patchouli, pink pepper, and some musk. Black XS develops quite nicely and features a solid performance.   Black XS Review

Best Winter Wear

Olympea Intense– This one is an offering for the wintertime and is pretty simple in its presentation. However, Olympea Intense is quite charming and one of the better perfumes from Paco Rabanne.

This scent kicks off with a blend of vanilla and salt, giving it a sort of toffee aroma at first.

This is joined by the very nice orange blossom note, along with a warm amber heart. The amber feels thick and enveloping while wearing. That’s pretty much what most of this fragrance is a vanilla/floral combination with amber and additional saltiness.

Olympea Intense is very much in the Black Opium or Bon Bon vein of ladies’ perfumes. It is a powerful fragrance, so it won’t let you down in that department. Plus, I got 10 hours-plus on my skin during testing. Olympea Intense Review

The Fame I Like

Fame Parfum– The original Fame, I thought was pretty good. Fame Parfum is better. I still don’t think it’s the greatest, but I still think that it deserves a spot on the list.

Sweet and spicy in the opening act, Fame Parfum gives you a stronger and longer lasting mango note, than the original. Pink pepper is there, but I really start to pick up the jasmine note and patchouli, especially once the mango tones down.

It’s a stronger scent, but not an absolute monster, just a fragrance that gives you a good performance.

Nice overall, clean and a warm tropical aroma, that dries down with jasmine and sandalwood. Fame Parfum review

Clean Floral Scent

Paco Rabanne Ultraviolet Eau De Parfum Spray for Women, 2.7 Ounce– A floral/exotic fragrance that is highlighted by, as the name suggests, violet. It’s a soft to moderate blend with a unique sweet/spicy profile that lasts for a long time.

The opening can be a bit intense with the spice, as you get a few different peppers and coriander, coming through. Definitely interesting, though not for everyone.

However, it’s not all spice in the beginning, as there is a nice apricot and some vanilla to help calm things. Obviously, the star of the show comes more apparent in the dry down. You get a fresh, fairly sweet, and powdery violet with some dry undertones.

Most Popular/Best Seller

Lady Million by Paco Rabanne Eau De Parfum Spray for Women, 2.70 Ounce– 1 Million is an insanely popular men’s cologne, and its female counterpart, is also quite the bestseller in its own right. Lady Million has more of a feminine floral sweetness along with raspberry and honey.

The floral notes open with a strong gardenia, light orange blossom, and some jasmine. As it moves along, the situation reverses, and jasmine becomes the dominant floral note. While jasmine leads the floral aspect, the main attraction is the honey, which takes over for the nice raspberry note after about 30 minutes.

It’s sweet and floral with a nice amber base. This is a good choice for daily wear, definitely not as bold an enveloping, as the men’s version. Nonetheless, a very pleasant fragrance.   Lady Million Review

Classic Style Rabanne

Calandre By Paco Rabanne For Women. Eau De Toilette Spray 3.4 Oz.– A very old fragrance which dates back to the late 1960s. Calandre is another floral but one that is paired with soft green and woodsy notes. A more refined and classical offering.

You will get a nice bit of rose up top, which will later pair with lily of the valley. It also has some of that classic vetiver aroma, which gives Calandre a somewhat soapy quality. It is very balanced and has a bright and clean character.

Later on, it does have a bit of powder to it, not super heavy but orris and jasmine are coming into play with the other floral notes. Again, it does shift into more of a woody/green dry down. Calandre flies under the radar and is quite different from the others here.

Top Bold/Unique Paco Perfume

Black Xs L exces by Paco Rabanne 2.7 oz Eau De Parfum Spray for Women– A dark sweetness that is paired with vanilla and other floral notes. There is a whiff of fruitiness to it, but L’exces is definitely a perfume with an edge.

L’Exces opens with a peppery bouquet of floral notes led by neroli and hints of jasmine or rose. The pepper note is intense, but it simply works well with the sweetness of vanilla, and the neroli. L’Exces really has a multiple sides to it. At times, it’s very pepper and bold.

Then, sweet and creamy. Then, floral. Ultimately, you get a vanilla and pepper blend sitting on cashmere wood and surrounded by flowers. At the very least, it’ll be something different than you’re probably used to, but in a good way.

Legend Gourmand

Olympea Legend– This one is a beast with a super plum note up top, syrupy sweetness, and a salty near aquatic aroma at times also. Just from that alone, you should probably gather that this is another perfume, which won’t be for everyone.

That plum is joined by an apricot, that will pretty quickly fade. Then, the vanilla and amber finish, which the Olympea series is known for.

It’s a heavy, sweet, and long-lasting fragrance. Olympea Legend is a gourmand that is near tropical with how the fruits can come across, but finishes with more of a creamy baked goods scent.

Fame Parfum by Paco Rabanne

by

Fame Parfum is the follow up to the original Fame release from Paco Rabanne. This one was released in 2023. I got a hold of a sample of this newer perfume, in order to test it out, and review it for the site. How does it smell? Does Fame Parfum last long? Is it worth a try?

What does Fame Parfum Smell Like?

Notes include: mango, jasmine incense, musk, pink pepper, bergamot, patchouli, sandalwood, benzoin

Click here to try: Fame Parfum

My Full Review

Fame Parfum definitely does smell quite a lot like the original. One of the main differences that I notice, is an amped up mango note at the start.

The one in the original was short lived. Here, is sticks around for longer, and this Parfum version is a bit of a heavier scent. Still, I don’t find it to be completely enveloping.

Early, it’s a blend of sweet and spicy, with the tropical fruity influence having the upper hand. Then, things will shift and I start to get more patchouli and jasmine on my skin.

The pink pepper is still there a bit, the mango will also hang around. However, neither has the same level on influence for the rest of the wear.

For me, the dry down is mostly about the jasmine and sandalwood notes. There’s still a light fruitiness, some incense hanging about, and fuzziness from musk and benzoin.

Feels like a warmer and clean kind of perfume, with some different weightings versus the original Fame. This is sort of a Polo Black style, but for women. Lots of overlap in the notes between those two.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Fame Parfum does have slightly heavier profile than the original, which was pretty moderate. However, the projection here is much better and sticks around at this higher level for a longer bout of time.

Not massive with how it’ll go across a room, but still above average and it’ll take a good while before it starts to degrade into a skin scent.

The longevity here is really good and indeed better than the original. On my skin, it’ll last somewhere in 8.5 hour range. On clothes, it’ll go into the double digit range pretty easily.

The good thing about this fragrance, is that it can basically be worn in all seasons. The tropical nature of the smell is great for warmer days in spring and summer. While, it has enough substance with its heavier notes to do well in the cold.

I’d probably stay away from the extreme heat with it, but Fame Parfum does walk the line, and manages not to turn terrible in most climates.

Like its forerunner, Parfum is more of a pretty daytime wear. Not a formal fragrance, but it could work for just about anything else you’d want to wear it for during the warmest days. It’s attractive without being super sexy, a romantic, or nightlife wear.

fame parfum review

My Overall Impressions of Fame Parfum

Overall, do I like Fame Parfum? I think that this is an improvement versus the original (which was decent). Though, it’s not far and away better than the previous incarnation.

It’s clean and tropical, with a great use of the mango note, early on. After that, it becomes much more of a floral and fruity blend with a good amount of sandalwood coming up from the base.

This Fame line has a similar style to the Mugler Goddess entries. This one is about equal to the EDP of that, but I prefer Goddess Intense to any of them. Again, they’re only similar and not the same.

All around, I think this is good and worth checking out if you like the original or anything of this sort. It’s not amazing, but Parfum does everything well and has no obvious weak points.

Fame by Paco Rabanne

by

Fame is a sample that I got from Paco Rabanne, when I ordered 1 Million Royal. It’d been a while since I have put out a new review from their women’s line, so, I was interested to see what this one was all about. It was released in 2022. How does it smell? Does it last long? Is Fame worth a buy?

What does Fame by Paco Rabanne Smell like?

Notes include: mango, jasmine, incense, vanilla, sandalwood

Click here to try: Fame EDP

My Full Review

Here’s how Paco Rabanne describes it: Fame pays tribute to a new era of femininity. Playful. Sensual. Empowered. The quintessence of avant-garde luxury…

So, with the opening of this fragrance, the main comparison that I can make is Alien Goddess. They’re not the same, though they have some of the same notes, It’s really about a similar style to one another in the beginning. That’s the sort of perfume that we’re working with here.

Personally, I like Goddess more after testing Fame out.

The similarities extend to the tropical feeling that each perfume provides. However, with the Paco Rabanne that vibe comes from a mango note, with perhaps a touch of sour bergamot. The coconut water isn’t here and after the start, the comparison is essentially over.

Actually, when I saw that this one was going to be a mango and vanilla-centered fragrance, I thought of Cruz del Sur II. Nope. That’s a much juicier mango note, a sharper sourness, and very milky finish.

With Fame, the mango feels more subdued and part of the mix. I do think that it is pretty and sets a nice tone at the start. But, a lot of the beachy or tropical feeling doesn’t stick around all that long.

The mango is quickly wrapped up in the jasmine, light incense, and vanilla which will grow stronger.

After 15-20 minutes, the jasmine note is totally in the top spot. Kind of fresh, with the fruity sweetness still lurking in the back. The mango does take an hour or two to really burn off, on my skin at least.

Jasmine, mango, vanilla that will shift more into a creamy jasmine with sweetness and a little bit of sandalwood. Nothing all that complex. The end is basically jasmine and vanilla with a vague hint of the former tropical smell.

It’s nice and never gave me any strange smells in the dry down. But, pretty basic stuff.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

The sillage is moderate for an hour or so, before turning lighter. It wasn’t a skin scent until deep into the wear, though.

With full bottle sprays, you’d get a nice scent trail going. Spraying this on clothes, I was able to pick Fame up from the 4-7 foot range, but not much beyond that.

On my skin, Fame stuck around for 6-6.5 hours. Really, not all that great. I certainly would expect a few hours more, if I were paying full price for a bottle.

Seasonally, the tropical and floral aroma of this works well in the spring and summer time. It’s not a heavy scent, even with the vanilla creaminess, I never thought it was cloying or getting me bogged down in a cloud of sugary sweetness.

It’s more of a pretty daytime wear. Not a formal fragrance, but it could work for just about anything else you’d want to wear it for during the warmest days. It’s attractive without being super sexy, a romantic, or nightlife wear.

You could, but there are better options than Fame.

Overall Impressions of Fame EDP

Overall, do I like Fame? Yes, it’s a nice enough fragrance, that should have some mass appeal. I like it more with some distance. Like, if I press my nose to the skin where I sprayed, this one feels messy. Put some space in between and it is a pretty floral with a sweet creaminess.

I do wish the mango note would’ve gotten some more time to shine on its own. It kind of gets consumed by the vanilla and jasmine. Still works well, I just was expecting more from that note.

Fame EDP isn’t all that complicated. If you like jasmine and vanilla as a combination, this one should be a nice pick up, as that’s a lot of the dry down. It’s good for the warmer days, has some versatility, and is basically pleasant.

I don’t think it hits the ‘avant-garde luxury’, that the ad copy was talking about. Plus, the performance could be better.

I think that Fame is at least worth a try. Maybe not a blind buy at full price, but with a solid discount, it probably wouldn’t be a complete disappointment. Fame didn’t break any new ground for me, but it is a perfume that I found enjoyable for the most part.

Black XS for Her by Paco Rabanne

by

Making my way through even more boxes of fragrance samples, I have another one for the ladies, even if it has been out a long time: Black XS for Her EDT by Paco Rabanne. This has been a fairly popular scent since its release in the mid-2000s, but does it actually live up to its reputation? In this post, I’m going to explore how it smells, performs, when it should be worn, and if this eau de toilette is even worth a buy?

What does Black Xs for Her EDT Smell Like?

Notes include: cacao, cranberry, rose, musk, vanilla, patchouli, pink pepper, wood, violet

Click here to try: Paco Rabanne Black Xs By Paco Rabanne For Women. Eau De Toilette Spray 2.7-Ounces

My Full Review

Upon first sniff, the opening of Black XS for Her, really reminded me of the men’s version. Fruity and patchouli. The difference? The women’s version is so much better and toned down the patchouli to a more tolerable level.

Also, they use cranberry in this one in lieu of lemon. I was having a hard time distinguishing the cranberry note, until it struck me that the opening had elements of another men’s fragrance, Polo Red.

Make no mistake, however, Black XS for her is a wholly feminine perfume and it starts off hard. That cranberry note is tart and delicious. It’s joined by the aforementioned patchouli, rose, and that semi-sweet cacao.

These are the notes which dominated this eau de toilette for the first 30 minutes or so. It’s funny, I don’t really smell the rose at all after this point, and it’s usually one that hangs around for the long haul.

I definitely like the pink pepper note here, that comes along later in the wear. It really does a great job at playing off of the cranberry note and adding a layer of warm spice with the mus

k. Also, I guess this has tamarind as an ingredient also. But, I’m not really familiar with exactly how that note smells. A bit spicy, I believe.

As it dries down, I get more of that raw cacao aroma, musk, and patchouli.

The cranberry becomes less prevalent and Black XS takes on a different kind of vibe. It’s sweeter and less tart, cacao and vanilla will do that to a perfume.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, the early phase is pretty strong. At least it feels that way, because of the cranberry note. Again, it changes as it moves along and feels much more moderate to my nose.

So, at the start it can feel as if it’s been over-sprayed. Unless you really did pour it on, this perfume will settle down.

The longevity was actually good on my skin, I got at least seven hours out of Black XS, maybe a tad more. For what this is, that’s not bad at all. Since it’s really not a daily wear fragrance, you probably won’t need it to go 10+ hours in almost any scenario.

Seasonally, this is built for winter, or late autumn. Cold weather all the way. It would seemingly be a mess in any conditions that are too warm.

This isn’t an office kind of scent either. Black XS is great for the nightlife. It is youthful (not total teenager but twenties) and actually smells really sexy and appealing.

As a guy, I would love smelling this on a woman. It’s so sweet and has that gourmand edible quality to it. This Paco Rabanne perfume isn’t some complicated masterpiece, but it sure strikes a chord.

Overall Impressions of Black Xs for Her

Overall, would I recommend trying Black XS for her? Yes. That is of course, provided you enjoy berry-laden, warm, sweet, and chocolatey fragrances. It’s not really going to be an everyday wear, since it doesn’t fit into all of those situations.

However, for nights out? Yep! This stuff hangs beautifully in the wintertime and again for sure has sex appeal. Give it a look.

The performance is above average and the aroma is really darn attractive. A bottle is usually not too expensive either, so it can find a spot in one’s rotation, without having to shell out the cash.

This is much better to me than the men’s version. The cranberry and cacao are actually quite nice up top. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy that as much as I did, but the patchouli and vanilla come in and really provide great support.

It’s a mix of sweet gourmand and earthy light spice. The rose note doesn’t really do much on my skin, but maybe other people will get more of that note.