Paco Rabanne Lady Million : Fragrance Review

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PacoRabanneLady Million

Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

I always think of Paco Rabanne as a rather avant-garde perfume house, with audacious fragrances like Calandre and Black XS making up its portfolio. In fact, it seemed surprising that it did not offer any commercial fruity-florals (Ultraviolet notwithstanding, since it is closer to the oriental family.) Well, Lady Million fits that gap for sure—it is a quintessentially commercial composition that hits all of the marks: a big fruity-berry note, a petally, white floral accord and a gourmand musky-woody base.

Lady Million will be not opening new vistas of olfactive experience as all its elements are familiar, tried-and-true combinations. The effervescent top note of a delightfully juicy orange is reminiscent of Cacharel Amor Amor, the combination of rose-peony with citrus and amber recalls Stella McCartney, the jasmine sambac allayed to a woody musk Cashmeran suggests Thierry Mugler Alien. Familiar and commercial though it may, Lady Million is quite well-made. Every facet of the composition blends into a complete whole, offering a very uplifting, brightly hued modern fruity-floral.

While the fruity accent is strong, the fragrance nonetheless does not take a teeny-bopper tone. The rich floral accord that runs through the composition—orange flower, jasmine, rose, peony—is surprisingly luscious and elegant. Moreover, a strong woody note in the base makes for a nice counterpoint to the sweetness of vanilla. Its lasting power is commendable, and its sillage is amazingly strong. Niche fragrance lovers will no doubt find Lady Million too clean and predictable, but if one enjoys the contemporary genre of fruity-florals, this is one of the better choices.

Lady Million includes notes of lemon, orange raspberry, neroli, orange flower, jasmine, gardenia, musk, patchouli and honey. It launches in Sephora this month.

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10 Comments

  • HealthyFragrance: So many scents to keep up with these days. It seems more and more are launched everyday. This sounds like it is something different from Paco Rabanne. I always did like the smell of Black XS. October 7, 2010 at 8:53am Reply

  • Robin: Hey you! Long time no see, hope you are well. October 7, 2010 at 6:48pm Reply

  • moi: I sniffed this at Sephora yesterday and was utterly unimpressed. THIS from a house that brought us the divine and unfortunately discontinued Calandre? With such a tacky ad to boot? If that lithium-pouted gal with her disastrous bed head and veal cutlet cleavage is the epitome of a million dollar lady, I’ll drink my Shalimar. I supposed it’s too much to ask that it’s all a great big joke . . . October 8, 2010 at 6:14pm Reply

  • sweetlife: “It’s sillage is amazingly strong.” Ha! The bottle is a good match, then… (yikes!) October 8, 2010 at 5:49pm Reply

  • Boisdejasmin: Healthyfragrance, Black XS is one of my favorites too! October 9, 2010 at 8:56am Reply

  • Boisdejasmin: R, we definitely need to catch up! 🙂 October 9, 2010 at 8:56am Reply

  • Boisdejasmin: The bottle is actually quite nicely done. Granted, its aesthetics are completely alien to me. October 9, 2010 at 8:58am Reply

  • Boisdejasmin: Moi, Calandre is not discontinued and is still available. Sure, Lady Million is no Calandre, but I simply do not expect it anymore from big houses. October 9, 2010 at 9:05am Reply

  • minette: i’m sorry, but my review of this one is one word: boring. i’d hoped to like it, after reading some other positive reviews, but it really did not grab my attention in the least.

    of course, here i sit drenched (not really) in francis kurkdjian’s absolue pour le soir, which smells to me of sex and comfort, so maybe this rabanne is simply not my taste.

    i do have le soir de paco rabanne, which everyone claims is hyper-animalic, and it’s a lovely kitten to me, just like MKK. October 12, 2010 at 2:28pm Reply

  • Boisdejasmin: Minette, I agree, it is not the most exciting fragrance out there, but I still stand by my opinion that in comparison to so many others of its ilk (commercial, prestige launches), it is quite well-crafted. It would certainly lose in comparison to FK’s fragrance. It is like comparing a French New Wave film to a Hollywood blockbuster. 🙂 October 12, 2010 at 4:07pm Reply

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