Fame in Love
Strawberry and incense in one bottle is not an obvious idea, and it is the reason Rabanne Fame in Love Parfum Elixir Gift Set is worth more than a passing glance. Green mandarin starts it, crisp and faintly bitter the way an underripe citrus is, with basil beside it adding a peppery herb bite that keeps the top from running straight into sweetness. Strawberry follows, handled as a jammy red fruit rather than a fresh one off the plant, soft and slightly sugared. Most fruit openings would simply stay there. This one turns instead. Jasmine widens the middle, incense comes up behind it with a dry smoky quality closer to a cold church than to a bonfire, and orris lays its cool powder over the top of both, dry and faintly earthy in the way that only a root material can be.
The set runs to the 80ml Eau de Parfum, a 100ml body lotion and a 10ml spray. Vanilla and patchouli close it. The vanilla is dense and sweet, the patchouli earthy enough to stop that sweetness spilling over, and between them the fruit from the opening is still just about visible hours later. As a parfum elixir this is a concentrated form, so it needs a lighter hand than an eau de parfum and it stays on clothes into the next day. Two sprays will do, and a third is usually a mistake. Boxed as a set, it suits a woman who already wears sweet fragrance and wants something with a shadow in it, and it is better suited to evenings and cold months than to a hot afternoon. As a present it says rather more thought went into the choosing than a plain fruity floral would.
The house is French and grew out of the couture work of Paco Rabanne, whose first collection was shown in 1966. Its perfumes have been made by the Spanish group Puig since that division was created in 1968, and Puig has owned the brand itself since 1987.
Please note: images are a guide only. Packaging and bottle design may occasionally differ from those shown due to manufacturer updates or promotions.
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