Phantom
Concentration is the point of the Rabanne Phantom Parfum Gift Set, and it is what separates this from a lighter reading of the same idea.
A parfum carries more oil, which in practice means slower evaporation, more weight on the skin and a longer life on clothing. It also means the eleven materials in the composition are given the time to show themselves properly. Cardamom, bergamot, lemon and rhubarb open it, aromatic and citric at once, with a sour pink streak coming from the rhubarb. Lavender, cedarwood, patchouli and geranium follow, cool and herbal and dry, with the geranium bringing green and a slightly metallic edge to the middle. Vanilla and tolu balsam sweeten and thicken the base, and then haitian vetiver dries the whole thing out again with roots and smoke.
In wear this is a fragrance for the evening and for cold months, and one spray is a decision rather than a gesture. Two will last from dinner to the following morning, and will still be faintly present on the shirt after that. Anybody who prefers to go unnoticed should look at something lighter.
As a present, a set makes sense here precisely because the fragrance itself is not an obvious or an easy one. Somebody receiving it gets the full weight of it to live with rather than a sample to make their mind up on, and the box does the work of making it look considered. Anne Flipo, Dominique Ropion and Juliette Karagueuzoglou are the three perfumers of record here.
The brand is French and came from fashion, the first collection having appeared in 1966. Puig, the Spanish group, built the perfume business from 1968 and bought the brand outright in 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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