Paco Rabanne
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The blackberry and chilli assault arrives almost immediately, with the fruit's dark, slightly fermented character clashing deliciously against the chilli's sharp, almost metallic prickle. It's bracing and slightly unconventional, smelling nothing like what you might expect from a major fashion house fragrance.
The osmanthus and jasmine gradually soften the composition's sharp edges, introducing a honeyed floral sweetness that plays against the lingering chilli warmth—think of flowers experienced through a light haze of smoke. The powdery accords settle in, creating an almost velvety texture that smooths the transition towards the base.
The vanilla absolute and ambergris emerge as the primary players, with faint echoes of chilli and the darker fruits providing subtle spice against the creamy sweetness. What lingers is ultimately a soft, slightly powdery vanilla skin scent, though the composition never quite becomes conventionally comforting or warm.
Ultraviolet arrives as a startling collision of fruit and fire—blackberry's jammy darkness immediately threaded through with chilli's prickling heat. This isn't a gentle spiced fragrance; it's deliberately confrontational, the kind of opening that makes you pause and recalibrate your expectations. The chilli doesn't play supporting role here—it cuts through the fruit with genuine bite, creating an almost savoury quality that feels unexpectedly sophisticated for a 1999 release.
As the composition settles, Cavallier-Belletrud reveals his hand: osmanthus and jasmine emerge with an almost honeyed richness, their stone-fruit floral character complementing rather than fighting the spiced blackberry beneath. There's a powdery quality creeping in, lending the florals a softer, more abstract quality—less about photorealistic blooms and more about the memory of flowers, slightly dusty and dreamlike. The spice remains present throughout, refusing to be backgrounded, which gives the heart an unusual complexity: simultaneously sweet and peppery, floral yet edgy.
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3.8/5 (346)