Paname (2002)
by Keiko Mecheri

A smooth vanilla and licorice. It's like cake icing smooth. The licorice is very upfront in telling you it's there. The vanilla is still smooth as silk even after 5 hours. If it weren't for the anise note, I'd love this.

Yes. It is quite similar to Lutens’ Douce Amère. This is the Keiko Mecheri version—a half-strength version that is actually—probably—a bit more wearable than Douce Amère. Paname is anise and vanilla and a touch of absinthe in a translucency that is not characteristic of the better-known Lutens creation. After the strong opening of absinthe, the fragrance settles down to its basic vanilla / anise accord, which stays very close to the skin. I agree that as a sillage maker, it has poor longevity but as a skin scent it holds its own for an acceptable four plus hours on my skin. I find Paname a bit too powdery and a bit too feminine for me; and, just like Douce Amère, Paname does not have enough of edge to it—it’s too unremarkable.

Paname does smell a lot like Douce Amere by Serge Lutens. They are both sweet, anise-based scents with a creamy finish. Paname is not quite as sweet or creamy, though, and in that sense is more something I might actually wear and less an amusing novelty.

Unfortunately, Paname's longevity is absolutely terrible, so there's not a lot of point in wearing it.

Paname is a sweet fragrance, and very umcomplicatedly sweet if you discount the lash of licorice whip you get from the absinthe. It starts out with a heavy dose of medicinally-tinged sweet - think liqueur (that's the absinthe - or wormwood - of course, or, on the tamer side, something like ouzo or sambuca) rather than candy - and that licorice/anise punch. That's all quite pungent and strong, but then it calms down into an unexpectedly mellow, almost skin-scent sweet, which is where the vanilla and "powder musk" come into play. All in all, it's a sexy scent and could go unisex, though I think it's a bit more feminine in its slightly dangerous, femme fatale, "try me on if you dare" way. For those who like to compare, this does bear some similarity to Serge Lutens' Douce Amere, another licorice fragrance.

I enjoy KM's Santal very much, but this has more gusto. Deep absinthe, spices, vanilla and musk break down and blend in like silk. Suffice to say, it has my undivided attention.

Keiko Mecheri's Paname is described as "A sweet and bitter composition of absinthe, rare spices, Comores vanilla flower, and powdery musk." To me is smells like a powdery, creamy, orange and vanilla fragrance. The bitter accord, which I assume is the absinthe, hides in the background and really doesn't interact much with the predominantly sweet and musky notes. It smells a lot like Roma Uomo only Paname is much more well blended and balanced making it much less cloying than Roma Uomo. Some have called Paname a masculine scent but I think it is more feminine than masculine, but still unisex. It really is very nice.