Paco Rabanne
Parfum · Women's · 2023
Darker, smoky, intense floral-woody
woody · floral · incense · fruity · musky · patchouli
Top (first impression): Mango · Bergamot · Pink Pepper
Heart (the character): Jasmine · Frankincense · Patchouli
Base (the dry-down): Benzoin · Sandalwood · Musk · Helvetolide
Season: fall, winter, spring · Occasion: date night, special occasion, night out
Longevity: long (8-10h) · Sillage: moderate-strong
Where Fame EDP made accessibility and brightness its calling cards, the Fame Parfum released in 2023 takes a deliberate turn toward depth and maturity. Perfumers Alberto Morillas, Dora Baghriche, and Marie Salamagne — three of the four who created the original — retained the mango-bergamot-jasmine DNA but layered in pink pepper at the top and significantly elevated the frankincense, patchouli, and benzoin in the heart and base. The result is classified as a chypre-woody rather than the EDP's fruity-floral, and the muskier Helvetolide in the base gives the dry-down a distinctively skin-like, warm quality. The same distinctive robot bottle design from the EDP was retained but given darker gold tones to reflect the concentration's intensity. On Fragrantica, reviews are polarised in the way many incense-patchouli heavy compositions tend to be — ardent fans appreciate the darker character and genuinely long-lasting projection, while those who found Fame EDP just right often find the Parfum heavier than intended. At its best it reads as a sophisticated, cooler-weather version of the Fame woman: still recognisably fruity-floral in its opening, but with a resinous, candlelit finish.
A richer, darker take on Fame — an intense chypre-woody parfum where mango recedes and jasmine, incense, and patchouli take center stage.
Nose: Alberto Morillas, Dora Baghriche, Marie Salamagne
Rabanne Fame EDP · YSL Black Opium EDP