1 Million Elixir
Paco Rabanne (2022)

1 Million Elixir by Paco Rabanne (2022) jumps on the “elixir trend” in the same way 1 Million Parfum by Paco Rabanne (2020) jumped on that particular trend. Up and away with higher and higher fictitious concentrations sold at ever-steeper up-charges, until we have something like a mega-elixir concentrate for $400 an ounce. I wish I were joking. Anyway, this one is not altogether unlike the parfum iteration, and has a similar floral structure, although tuberose has been replaced for the most part with osmanthus, making 1 Million Elixir a bit fruitier, as osmanthus tends to smell like apricot to most noses. The point of this I guess, is to be the ultimate luxurious rendition of the original 2008 scent, which I still find far superior to the bulk of flankers out there, save maybe the discontinued 1 Million Privé by Paco Rabanne (2016), which at one point stood in as the upscale entry of the line.

The opening is sweet apple with a surprising bit of musky, leathery davana in the mix. Rose and osmanthus provide a fruity floral core, which is accentuated with bits of the salty feel found in the Parfum iteration. Unfortunately, this is far sweeter than any other entry in the line so far, even sweeter than Paco Rabanne Phantom (2021), and that proves to be the deal breaker for many, including myself. The original 1 Million by Paco Rabanne (2008) already was pushing my limits on sweet, and has to be handled with a deft application to be enjoyed. This stuff is so tooth-achingly headache-inducing sweet with vanilla and ethyl maltol, that I just can’t stand to be around it once the drydown hits. The tonka doesn’t help matters, and netiher does the patchouli, although the whole thing moves into women’s market “fruitchouli” styles so cleverly that it might have some unisex potential for people who dig sharing things with a significant other.

Performance is gonzo of course, as it should be for the aggravating up charge you pay to buy the stuff. As the most luxurious entry into the 1 Million collection, my jury is still out for deliberation, and it looks like they’ll be out for lunch too, running for the border, smuggled into a non-extradition country in hopes of never having to come back and smell 1 Million Elixir again. This is without a doubt, one of the biggest sugar-bombs I have ever seen in perfume, both gendered and unisex, male or female, period. This stuff smells like when a bag of fountain soda syrup breaks by accident, and anyone who has worked at a 7-11 or McDonald’s at some point in their life knows exactly that syrupy-sweet overcharged smell. Don’t let me dissuade you though, as this might just actually be up your alley, I just hope that alley is several blocks away from me. Thumbs down

My carded sample says: "licorice rose, smoky cedarwood, vanilla absolute"

And in the opening it is really that simple. Even minus the woods. Kind of disappointingly simple. Very sweet too. And seems to be all about the vanilla only at first.

But then in the drydown they have some chemical magic going on. Because only in the drydown will you pick up on for example a woodsy accord that's popular with many brands right now. There's also tonka and some sort of accord that to me smells like a duo of tolu balm and apple. Actually I see apricot now in the notes pyramid here, yeah it's like an ethereal apple/apricot.

And after that drydown starts fading, the opening notes actually come back in from time to time, go figure.

I do feel however it's a dishonor to the OG scent, which is a much better concoction. It also does not have the likeable aspect of e.g. 1M Lucky. It doesn't stand out. But in the current market that as a lot of that sweet wood accord going on (e.g. Mont Blanc Legend Night and some of the Azzaro Wanted line I believe), it is one of the better alternatives. Still don't like it though.

It has an above average performance.

Paco Rabanne’s entry into the sticky sweet, toffee-rich scents like Azzaro The Most Wanted and Armani Stronger With You. It does have that rose twist from the original 1 million and it does work well with this scent profile. It’s very smooth and likable.

When comparing to Stronger With You, there's something in the notes of the Armani that is abrasive and harsh compared to 1 Million Elixir, but the Armani is more noticeable in the air. So it's not as loud as Stronger With You. Comparing to Azzaro The Most Wanted, the Azzaro is sweeter and has much more of the toffee while 1 Million ELixir is fresher, maybe even more masculine.

This type of fragrance tends to smell better in the air than up close, but unfortunately, this one doesn't smell good in either scenario. I detect a screechy ambroxan note throughout the entire drydown that clashes with the vanilla. It might be acceptable if you're new to fragrances, but I believe you'll quickly discover that there are much better alternatives available.

1 million in a multi car crash with eros, lemale and various others in the overly sweet mens fragrance category with no survivors , complete and utter waste of time, cloying and headache inducing only good thing about this its only just better then phantom but that isn't saying much in competition amongst jesters.