Sport de Paco Rabanne
Paco Rabanne (1986)

I was confident I would like this, but it's closer to a thumbs down than a thumbs up. The "green" aspect of this isn't working for me. There is some good stuff in the mix, but the main accord is not of interest to me.

Well isn't this a sporty spice...Sport de Paco Rabanne is the 80s approach to a sport fragrance, unlike the more insipid concepts of the 21st century. Yes, there is this citrus, soapy springtime freshness and an early generous use of dihydromyrcenol that would foreshadow its ubiquity through the 90s—BUT the heart is all 80s Epicene Gamma IFF glory.

Epicene Gamma IFF is a base that served as a crux for so many 70s-80s masculines (Hermes Equipage, Cacharel Pour Homme, Bijan Men; there's a great article here on Fragrantica that discusses it). In SPORT, its contrast with the "fresher" elements makes it meatier, more muscled, scrappy, like a sexy rugby scrum. There is a woody, leathery dry down as well; what a pleasant surprise. RIP Rosendo Mateu, perfumer of this striking composition.

Paco's green fougère lightened by an Italian cologne.
A wearable flanker that blends urbane poise with rustic simplicity.

Paco Rabanne Eau de Sport is for me a rare case of a flanker outdoing the original, it's that good. PR Pour Homme itself is an undeniably classic masculine that's still going strong, and whilst its ubiquity and connotations as a 'dad's' kind of fragrance remain, it's lamentable that a truly original and wonderful offshoot like PR Eau de Sport has long been discontinued.

Opens with a multitude of citruses which gives it a great freshness, masking a grassy (with no trace of galbanum) heart which is not overtly floral, drying down to a quintessential manly base of leather, woods and musk. Projects quite discreetly and longevity on my skin is over 7 hours.

A stunning blend which I can only hope and imagine being worn by the likes of a young Henri Leconte whilst drowning his sorrows in the nightclubs of Pigalle the night after losing the 1988 French Open men's singles tennis final.

Not a clubbing scent by any means of course, Ted Lapidus Pour Homme from the following year was a far better trailblazing example of that genre, but one to be worn after a tough few sets on the tennis court for sure. The overall impression is clean, virile and complex, the epitome of what a sports scent should be and nothing like the current representatives of that particularly olfactory group of fragrances.

Getting harder to find and online prices have been high for some time, but worth every penny for what is a masterpiece in my opinion.

I don't often think of sport fragrances as 'lovely,' but this really is. The bright, limey opening is delightful and the woody base smells more natural than I'm used to experiencing in this type of product. The white floral heart can come off as a little plasticky when sniffed up close but it's not really bad. All in all I think SdPR is a simple and fleeting but highly enjoyable thing.

"Laughing behind the mask..."

This one comes from an era when "sport" in a scent's name didn't mean that it lasts one hour max, or that people wouldn't be able to smell it even if you were trapped in an elevator with them five minutes after having sprayed ten good spritzes of it on you. No. This one comes from an era when "sport" in a scent's name simply meant that when you were trying to describe it you'd put only one or two exclamation marks after the word "Powerhouse" instead of the usual three to five, and perhaps sometimes "Powerhouse" was spelled with a lower case "p". Other than that, "sports" of this era were handsome beasts, with sillage and longevity that would rout easily most of today's "concentrées".
For some reason it was never associated with team sports in my mind, but rather with individual sportsmen. And not of the boxing, riding, racing or tennis kind. There were sport editions of Kouros, Boss, Santos and Lacoste respectively for all these nice gentlemen to wear. Paco Rabanne's take on the subject was always about fencing in my mind, and time has proven me right. Imagine a fearsome maniac grinning behind his mask, while delivering devastating blows with his sabre to the wuss wearing some "Eau de Sport Sensuelle for the bleeding hearts" who stands against him. All furious and yelling "Take petitgrain for starters! And lavender too! Fancy some tarragon? Well have some! And let's not forget juniper! And oakmoss! And cedar! And vetiver! How about some patchouli and leather? Huh? How about them? Oh, you're going down boy, you are going SO down!..."
It seems that old scents have their way of rewarding you sometimes, especially when they're not forgotten, but rather remembered with love and respect... I recently discovered two 125ml and one 250ml bottles of it, buried in the lower shelf of a little dusty shop. The price asked for them was pure urban legend material. "Have you ever heard the story of the guy who bought more than a solid pound of Paco Rabanne's Eau de Sport for 60 euros? It's said that from then on he stalks the night with a mesh mask and a sabre, terrorising everyone unlucky enough to have thought that wearing "Eau Légère de Mauviette" was a good idea for a night out..."
I think it's time to go and look for my old but not forsaken sabre now, which is waiting patiently somewhere, along with my bronze medal won in a national championship some 30 years ago...

H & R's Fragrance Guide classifies this as a "Citrus Fantasy" fragrance, although the listed notes are those of a classic chypre. My guess is that the oakmoss and patchouli in the base notes are so understated as to leave the dominant effect one of an enriched and enhanced citrus. It's wonderfully fresh and invigorating, but not in that bland 90's aquatic way --- Rabanne's Eau de Sport has plenty of distinctive personality. For those who lament its passing, I recommend Pierre Cardin's Insatiable, which has a very similar overall effect and many of the same ingredients. The listed notes are:

Top Notes: Lemon, mandarin, bergamot, petitgrain, lavender, green complex, artemisia
Mid Notes: Jasmine, juniper, estragon, rose, orris, carnation
Base Notes: Oakmoss, fir, cedar, patchouli, vetiver, musk, leather

I wont add a review as its 25+ years since i wore it , it is my alltime favourite scent and my only signature sent i ever had , the reason for writing is just to say ive recently tried Penhaligons "Juniper Sling" and i cant say they smell the same as its been so long , but the opening notes brought back memorys and reminded me so much of "Sport" , so if theres any sport lovers still out there , maybe give that a try :)

I wore this again for the first time in years. I generally dislike any scent with the word "sport" in it's title... This is probably the only scent that proves an exception to the rule. It starts off very bland, but quickly develops to a grassy green scent with a woody undertone. Very nice scent that while maybe not groundbreaking is still very wearable and distinctive at the same time. At last a sport scent that is actually worth wearing. I guess I may be using this more often. 3 to 3.5 stars out of 5.

Sport de Paco Rabanne is by no means some trifle to be discarded into the deepest recesses of ones ottoman, but it is flawed on a number of crucial levels.

The opening is undoubtedly an excellent creation, it's a zingy, refreshing citrus experience, complete with a comforting herbal accompaniment. Had the remaining phases of Sport been anywhere near as accomplished, I would have been in the presence of greatness - a true masterpiece.

Although my skin is as arid and unforgiving as the Mojave desert, I do expect a fragrance to put up a little bit of a fight. Sadly SdPR has exhaled for the last time within about three hours, and by that time it has ceased to exhibit anything like the intriguing presence that the opening has suggested.It sits close to the skin, its lively attributes are all but decapitated, and the resulting blend is distantly herbal, lightly powdered, and dare I say it, a little monotonous.

This has long since been discontinued, and I certainly am not sufficiently aroused to undertake an exhaustive search or pay the increasingly premium prices being demanded.

Now THIS, ladies and gentlemen, is what a "sport" fragrance is all about. Fresh, grassy, invigorating, zingy, all kinds of other things and totally pleasant. I dunno why Paco Rabanne got rid of this, but it's damn good. In fact, Sport de Paco Rabanne is now my favorite "sport" fragrance. It takes out everything I hated about the original and makes it pleasant and youthful; at the same time unique and refreshing. I get mainly some subtle fruity notes, zingy citrus, and smooth patchouli and vetiver. Sport de Paco Rabanne also lasts a while on me - up to 7 hours! That's an excellent lifespan for a "sport" fragrance, and for a fragrance like this to be released at the apex of the powerhouse era, I'm really not surprised!

Highly recommended.

I must admit, when I saw the "Sport" name I was completely prepared not to like this one. In the opening half hour, I rather smugly confirmed that this one is for college students and not for an older guy like me. But then....then....it started to evolve from the initial rush of citrus and became a creamy, woody, sandalwoody fragrance. I must say, it was a pleasant, surprising evolution. Excellent. Both sillage and longevity are also excellent. Sorry for unfairly prejudging you, Sport de Paco Rabanne.