Paradox Blue (1988)
by Jacomo

The bottle I tried recently just said Paradox (no blue). The bottle itself and the packaging (in a clear lucite box) was nice. The juice was another story- I got no fruity melon notes- that would have been an improvement. On my skin it was a cheap cleaning liquid scent all the way from top to bottom. The Jacomo brand is hit or miss on me, but I usually perceive quality in the products even if ithe notes don't thrill. Not this time. Keep me away from this Paradox.

31st May, 2011.

I haven't found many reviews of the older Jacomo women's scents, so I bought a few samples and will share my thoughts.

Paradox (blue) is an EDT and behaves like one. It lasts about four hours, maximum, though it has good sillage throughout.

The fragrance opens with a burst of juicy melon, very similar to Angel or New West. I went through an Angel phase several years ago, and I'm no longer a fan of the over-to-top melon aroma. Fortunately, the melon dissipates after 15 minutes or so.

I own four full bottles of Jacomo fragrances and have sampled another four, including this one. I've come to realize that Jacomo fragrances are all about the dry-down, and Paradox is no exception. What follows those fruity melon notes is something completely different and much more wearable. Paradox evolves to a soft spicy floral and holds this pattern for the next four hours. I detect some similarities in the drydown of Paradox, Aura and Anthracite. Anthracite was discontinued awhile ago, but it seems the company was enamored of it dry-down and used it for a couple later perfumes, with a few tweaks each time.

All in all, it's a very strong "like" but not love. Those loud melon top notes are probably the deal-breaker for me.

14th September, 2010.

Jacomo’s Paradox is a liquid fruit salad with notes of blackcurrant, melons, tangerine, melons, an ozonic note, melons, rose, melons, cardamom . . . and melons. Do you see a pattern here? Bingo. Paradox is what happens when you accidentally tumble into an oversized melon salad and can’t escape. Oh, I love melons, at least for eatin’. Not sure I want to smell this melon-ish, though, throughout the day. Like most frags that don’t agree with me, Paradox only gets stronger and stronger with my chemistry and almost refuses to budge when soap and towel hit it. There are some fragrances I don’t care for on myself but enjoy on others (such as Bal a Versailles); however, I’m not sure I would want to work next to someone who was wearing this one. The times I’ve worn Paradox it tends to grow sweeter and becomes cloying. This isn’t a terrible fragrance (like Halloween or the dreaded Chic by Herrera), but it’s not something I can wear, either. I’ll give it a “meh.”

9th August, 2005.