Paco Rabanne Pour Homme (1973)
by Paco Rabanne

I used to wear this scent in the late 70's (original formulation). Always received tons of compliments. Fast forward 40+ years and I found a vintage bottle of the EdT on Ebay. Picked it up. Sprayed this morning and what a flashback of wonderful memories. This is a timeless fougere, and the soapy top note is quite accurate. I do not concur with the comparison to Brut (own a couple vintage bottles), which MUCH sweeter. The PRPH is dry...very dry. About an hour later, the woody notes appear, but that soapy sage/greenness still resonates. IMO, some of the 70's scents simply did not age well. Pierre Cardin, YSL Pour Homme, Aramis, Grey Flannel, are some that come to mind, but Paco Rabanne Pour Homme is timeless. Excellent juice.

This 1973 game-changer refined the fougère as we know it. With a likely template that stemmed from 64’s Brut Fabergé, Paco Rabanne brought a newer fit to the genre with a soapy green to its laundry floral, along side a dirty, honeyed, mossy chest of musk, that was strictly tighter. Paco Rabanne was the adulated, the emulated, the simulated, and the hated standard for tobacco greens of the seventies, the indolic powerhouses of the eighties, and the status quo scent for men’s grooming for decades. Surely, it was the lynchpin, before the 90’s Cool Water age ushered a new kind of squeaky for a whole new conservative. Yet, it still trudges along like an aging kingpin in this century, remaining faithfully adored particularly within the barbershop realm and the wet-shaving flock. Described in a nutshell, this is a bottled mantra of ‘a cleanliness is next to godliness’ for that steamy butt-wiggling out of the shower feel. Anyone familiar with the Irish Spring advert way back, that featured a rugged, young buck in suds bathing in grassy pastures, sums up the gist and drift. Basically, a disco clean of green with a balsamic soul, Paco Rabanne pour Homme still resonates and remains the figurehead of its fougère class, despite being out of step. All power to it for just that!

Vintage scents, much like music, can transcend time and endure all the cultural shifts to become iconic and relevant to entirely different generations. I had never smelled Paco Rabanne PH and it did strike me as a scent that wasn't love at first sniff. If there ever was a 'soapy' dry-down/base, this was it. I want to profess that allowing myself a few wears before judging this legendary 1973 classic has turned this into a personal fave, a 'comfort scent' that is more for turning in to bed than to wear out and about. I will always have Paco Rabanne Pour Homme in my collection, and find it a happy surprise that the opening and amazing dry down are so addictive and craveable.

The cleanest dirty scent I own!

Bottle in reference is 2nd edition splash which puts it into the second half of the 80s.

Opens with a blast of barbershop and floral freshness that was unexpectedly loud. Bright is the best way to put it. Opening a new white bar of soap bright.

Once it’s moved on, you get the beginning of the legendary dry down. With an almost cumin like amber musk that adds the maucho-ness much described elsewhere. The soapy brightness is still the star of the show though, and it melds into a masterpiece battle between musky earthy amber and clean sparkling soap brightness. This constant indecisive theme carries on for hours and sillage I would describe as moderate to strong (this does not turn into a skin scent)

An interesting scent indeed! Two thumbs up. Worth snagging a Vintage bottle without question, an easy but strong wearing and very much complimented masculine classic!

The green feels an appropriate color choice. I haven’t smelled BRUT aftershave in years and year but I want to say this is a supremely nicer version with an orange peel oil spritz around the rim. That could be ...off though. People say soap and powder but I don’t think that’s right AT ALL. I find way less powder than an old spice type clean scent. This stuff goes beyond soap into Windex territory. That doesn’t mean I don’t like it. Air freshener purple flower but not floral. Ever notice rosemary smelling kinda like lemon? My Mom bought it for me and my Girlfriend loves it. So that’s two female votes in favor of this flavor but I think it's a "Dudes Only" scent unless you're a head-to-toe lemon woman. It could layer on one of those overly lemmoned ladies. You know who you are!

I have the small logo r bottle. Seems to last just fine and does make my skin sticky where it lands.