Paco Rabanne 1 Million

Am I the only one that thinks the gold bouillon shaped bottle looks tacky?

You're not the only one, so count me in.

I'm with you!

I think it looks tacky - but I also so really like it - does that make me a bad person? lol.

Not any more or less tacky than the guy posing behind it

I look forward to try this.

Anyone noticed the connection? Cdg's 888, gold ,made by Puig
Paco Rabanne new one ,gold, made by Puig

That bottle is too ugly for me.

and I love the gold Creed MI bottle.

Has this been released yet? If so, has anyone tried it?

I tried it at the Frankfort airport duty free. It's lovely. Smells like Creed's MI and Unforgetable, but much better IMO because it is finer/brighter than Unforgetable and (as opposed to MI) it does not turn "stuffy" in hot temperatures. Clean, watermelony-like. Still, I guess it suits winter/fall times more than summer (hence it may not well replace my beloved Eau Savage or replace the rather versatile ADP colonia).

They say it took them 1800 trials to end up with its combo.

Thanks, I've just emailed my friend the link.

He's a Goldbug and has a few gold bars. I'm sure he'll want a bottle or two of this stuff.

Nothing tacky about gold.
If they used silver instead, it would tarnish.
Renato

I,m with you,but magpie likes it.

Um...I'm think'n fragrance housed in a fake gold ingot is in fact pretty tacky. In fact, downright goofy. Looks like some Walgreen's Christmas edition of Lord knows what.

But, I'm a huge fan of Paco Rabanne...so I will probably succumb...

You are missing the point! This is so Paco Rabanne of the 70's who was into pop art tacky.

Great bottle!

Really?? Is that the point? Okay, thanks for the tip. All the more reason to investigate...

Do we know who will be carrying this in the States yet?

That's a good question. Black XS never officially made it here!

I was given samples of 1 Million and Infusion d'Homme today and I sprayed 1 Million just on.
1 Million's opening is very strong, I smell a fruity-citrus-mint combo (not very masculine) and it seems suited for fall/winter as it's very sweet.
Hmm, it's a bit headachy at the moment

20 minutes later, it's less headachy/a bit softened by the rose and cinnamon but it remains way too sweet for me, so sugary!
The weird thing to me is that the overall smell indeed has a hint of a coppery feeling.

Overall impression = new Axe -> strong, cheap, mass-marketed and more failures than winners; this one's a failure.

So based on the strength of a few positive comments, I had a buddy bring back the 50 ml (small) bottle from...you guessed it....Frankfurt International Airport.

The bottle is far from cheap looking or feeling. It's heavy, squat, with its in-your-face gold lingot facing. The spray mechanism is hidden away on the top of the lingot, and the actually nozzle is in the middle of it. Very nice, they got the design right. Not tacky at all, just lots of gold. Sits nicely on a counter top.

The fragrance: The initial spritz definitely has a Mont Blanc Individuel vibe to it. That same richness. Close up, you want to bite into the blood orange, it's so real. From a bit further away, the impression is one of taffy or butterscotch. A bit sweet, but not overally so. No more so than lots of others out there today (and yesterday).

Then the fun starts. A heavy, tobacco-ey note mixed with cinnamon and rose takes over and intensifies, turning dry and bitter - a 180º turnaround from that gorgeous fruity opening. Very masculine, and yet.....

And then, from then on, it oscillates between dry spice and that fruity opening. The finish has a noticeable patchouly base which I also enjoyed.

Overall, it's rich, I daresay opulent, very much what you'd expect from Paco Rabanne in 2008, and reflects its name nicely, 1 millioin. Maybe not for everybody, definitely not for hotter weather and if so, a modicum of it will do.

It's quite amazing what they can do with molecules. Oh, and it lasts and lasts and lasts......You'll certainly get your 1 million worth!

My score: 8.75, maybe up to 9.25 out of 10. A few more wearings will confirm which side of 9 I want to lean to.

Note to self: I have a feeling the cooler weather will bring out the richer and more faceted aspects of this...well....beauty.

Mario

WOW! I've been wanting this for months!!
I m going to london in September i'll definitely check it out!!

Is this scheduled for a North American release in 2008?

And yes, it does sound, er smell, interesting. There have been a half-dozen or so new releases in the last 2 months and I have tried to make a purchase, honestly.

My brother is going to Spain this month, so I am hoping to try it before then, so I'll know if I want a bottle or not.

If the bottle isn't as cheesy looking as it is in the picture, then I might change my mind, especially if the juice is nice.

Apparenty I just won a bottle by clicking on the banner ad at the top.
We will see if it arrives, or whether my junk mail just increases!

i tried at harrods... Damn was I disappointed! Its just way to harsh if you smell it right on your skin!!it made me dizzy still after 4 hours. It smells like a cheap perfume which is trying to hard to smell strong. Its Strong indeed but in an artificial way and this puts you off through out the day. The same happened to me with Armani diamonds! Will only buy because of the bottle its rocks!!tacky your ass I hold it in my hands. One of the best idea in design for a bottle!

Try Armani diamonds it goes in the same direction.
the scent is 100% masculine

I tried this just an hour or so ago whilst in town...

It opened rather unassumingly, - a bit wishy-washy, and "blah"... but within a half hour or so, it amplified in strength. Trouble is, I do'nt like it one bit. (Perhaps if they'd been a bit clever and incorporated the smell of money, or molten gold or something to tie it all together... but alas, no).

To me it reminds me of a cheap summer flanker of Ultraviolet, or similar.
I could probably give you 1 MILLION reasons not to buy....

I think it's a dreadful fragrance - one which the description exceeds by a country mile.

Avoid.

I didn't find it dreadful, but not my cup of tea, that's sure. I also find similarities with MI, but 1 million is much more harsh.

Mario Absolutely nailed the description of 1 Million - which is an instant classic. Great job.

Paco Robanne have always been up-to-date and this new offering is no different. A welcome change from all the bland fragrances that have just been released. Armani Diamonds indeed

There is nothing left to add except I hope they start producing 5ml miniatures of the gold bars so that I can buy 100 and use them to re-create the great train robbery with my Hornby Railway.

GOOD TIMES!!

Tried it today - isn't it veeeery similar to Cristobal Homme/Balenciaga?

Mic.

Do you mean Joop Homme have a new clone now?

Nope, it is nothing like Jooop!

Mic.

I like it, indeed and have been using it for a week till now. It's a great perfume for a fall/winter night out. Not too fresh, not too creamy. 100% masculine. I don't care for the bottle, just the Jus. and received compliments from a hot brunette in a crowded dance floor the very first time I used it. Do you want more from a mass-market fragrance?

No. I just hope the juice inside isn't as tacky as the bottle.

I have it on my arm at the moment. It's been there since 11am. At first spray, I found it a bit "much". This dry down is very enjoyable. Some of the sweetness is reminiscent of black xs and ultrared (a fantastic gourmand!). It's the bottle I dislike. But that can be hidden away.
I just asked my brother what he thinks and he wants a bottle. He's sprung from 1 fragrance last christmas (I got him black xs) to... 7. I've created a monster...

I would like to say after overexposure, I've completely U-turned here. I hate it. But I like the bottle. How odd of me.

I tried it for the first time today, not knowing what to expect from the torrent of negative comments it's had here, about what a weak, generic, disappointing scent it is.

Instead, I liked it heaps - probably because I'm a sucker for ambery scents, and that's mainly what I see it as, albeit somewhat on the sweet side.

Does anybody else here like it?
Renato

A friend of mine recently gave it to me as a gift and I find it clean and fresh. I was not disappointed.

Have just merged Renato's "Paco Rabanne 1 million" thread with this, the original of the same content and title.

Judging by the above opinions, it's a love-hate fragrance. I gotta try it!

I found it nice, but nothing great. Will give it a proper try in the near future, as it was only on a card. The bottle sure looks tacky though.

I haven't smelled it because:
I clicked on the banner ad at basenotes.
It said I had won a bottle.
I entered my name and address.
Nothing came.
I emailed Paco Rabanne.
They said they would get back to me.
They didn't.

I would strongly advise against anybody entering their details in this way again.

I got a bottle off of ebay with a credit balance I had in my paypal account - trust me its not going cheep on ebay!

Well my bottle arrived and I love tacky camp of the gold bar design - it's so Paco Rabanna pop art. I find the scent to be a powerhouse meaning too much on will clear a room.

A little odd the scent for it very fresh in the opening which reminds me of DKNY Men remember the one in the tall skyscraper bottle - it must be the orange/grapefruit notes they have in common.

The scent then smells like - and you all may disagree with me on this... Gauliter 2. A reworked version of Gauliter 2 with more of a citrus middle note but still contains that sweet sugar/amber notes.

This is very much for fall/winter and I have to say for a younger man twenties to early thirties and mostly for clubbing night life.

I just could not find myself wearing this to work daily - it would be too much like wearing Joop Homme everyday - you burn out from it.

I was on the mall yesterday.....I tried....not bad... but another marketing fragance......The SA offered a bag, another fragance and 2 things more.....I dislike that kind of things.....Pure marketing.

It's been nagging me all day what 1 Million reminded me of.
I think you've hit the nail on the head by referring to Gaultier 2.
I'd say it's sort of a Gaultier 2 meets Black XS kind of scent.

Curiously, I haven't seen this scent at the major retail stores, instead it has just come out directly at a discount chemist chain for A$76 - which is somewhat lower than the typical price for a newly released 100ml bottle.
Renato

The scent is as bad as the bottle and the advert.

The fussy Paco Rabanne announced the end of the world a few years ago.
This cologne is once again, a concentrate of ... bad taste.

I'm curious as to what leads you to your very negative assessment.
Is it that you just don't like amber, sweet scents or something else?
Regards,
Renato

No, I like amber very much and sweetness as well.

It's the impression of too many materials at once, a confused mix so similar to what your can find everywhere else.

Interesting, by implication can I gather you are picking out a lot of notes in the mix?
I have a hard time picking out individual notes in most scents, which may explain our different assessments.

I'm smelling it on my wrist as I type, and I still like it a lot.
Renato

Not my cup of tea. Smells like a million bubble gum ballons popping at the same time.

Nice scent, long lasting and good sillage

But i feel that if i get this scent, im gonna end up gettign sick of it after a few days because

Scentimus, you match my scentiments 100% lol '
I just could not find myself wearing this to work daily - it would be too much like wearing Joop Homme everyday - you burn out from it'

Test onto the skin for Renato :


Straight away, I can detect vanillin, menthol, rose, grapefruit, amber, cedar wood, musks and a big amount of fruits (a kind of apricot note mixed with a sweety, strawberry musk) and aldehydes. Much more too powerful and sweet for me. Grapefruit is overdosed (I don’t like this note). Strong kind of insecticide and chemical smell which I don’t like at all.

After an hour, rose, cedar, musks, vanillin and menthol are expressing themselves and nicely mixing together. The balance between rose/vanillin (hot) and menthol (cold) is fairly good.

After a few hours, Tonka bean is coming out, added to nice balsamic notes. Musks and rose (or geraniol ?) are beautiful to my nose and fairly attractive. It has fruity and coconut notes similar to Sicily (Dolce & Gabana) which mixes nicely with vanillin and menthol. There might be a hint of sandalwood as well. The cedar wood note is too strong for me.

The balance is nearly perfect. I must admit it has something really addictive event if it’s not my cup of tea.

I'd like a sample, this sounds very interesting especially if there's cedar.

I forgot to mention cinamon in top notes.

Your nose for these things is heaps better than mine.

My review would have been,
It's an oriental.
Starts off okay, gets better as time goes on, and lasts for a long time.
Renato