Reviews of Paco Rabanne pour Homme (1973)
by Paco Rabanne

It doesn't smell awful just horribly dated. I mean, I'm sure I'm not the only one who has mental images of Burt Reynolds immediately after application...

With more than one spray, yes 1, this classic yields not only one of the most over the top openings but a cologne with a drydown that is for me a nauseating, depressing meltdown. Blame it on the rosemary? Remorse following pleasure seeking? This cologne easily boasts before the fact.

Sure, like so many other men, I have worn this cologne and felt "great" at certain points while wearing it, but the overall sensation was not that pleasing.

Trying it again just the other day with my lady at my side, I realized that while I could like it, even wear it again, it would require a one spray proviso and even then, in the back of my mind that sense that maybe things would turn bad.

Believe me, I "get it" when it comes to this classic and I have puchased it more than once, even in recent years, a kind of default purchase each time. But the last time I owned it, I thought maybe I had left it in my car too long in the heat or maybe the store was selling old stock.

I can smell the notes individually: lavender, moss, sage, all good but together it becomes a soapy linear scent. Well composed but too strong sometimes.

A marriage of top and middle notes form an aromatic, masculine scent. A powerful rosemary/sage top note is noted. Unfortunately, does not discriminate itself very much from the green deodorant in the dollar store: it is a a little more smooth than spicy but otherwise on me does not smell all that much more than if I took a shower with irish spring and then put generic green deodorant on. Cannot pickup the honey base note on me. Like the smell, do not find it refined, not sure if worth the price.

Well! For some reason it always smelled cheaply fresh and I could never get this fact out of my head...never had this feeling that I smell great and that, I beleive is the most important thing...doesn't matter if u get a complement or two. Exchanged it at the first opportunity and never felt at loss.

If this is a classic, then I had better get my nose fixed. There is no complexity here. As one reviewer noted, it's missing something - maybe a smoky incense note, or whatever's in Creed's Vintage Tabarome. That said, it's OK to wear to a football game; it's not unpleasant. I get the feeling that the perfumer got this fragrance to a point and said, "Time for lunch!"

Despite being distinctive and quite attractive, the original Paco, to me, is not a complete scent: It lacks a sobering note that would suggest it to a man whose energy, attitude, and approach to life are tempered by experience.
Stylish, but a wee bit deficient in substance.

I use to love this one. I dont know what happened.I guess i just changed my taste. This days I usually find it a bit to cloying when I try it.
benb

Like an alley kat sleeping in a discarded box of detergent. A counterintuitive mix of soapy and animalic, the latter bolstered by a rather pissy rendition of honey.

My initial reactions to Paco Rabanne were far from positive. I was shocked that a respected classic could be so sharp, overbearing, gaudy, and, yes, CHEAP. On my subsequent wearings, I made sure to clear the nozzle of the applicator first and then went a lot lighter on the trigger—like half a squirt. The results were much better. The top notes now were not that disgusting blast of green, but a quite likeable green containing a prominent, clean lavender. This lavender note stayed well into the powdery, honey, musky, mossy dry down. I’m still trying to decide how much I like this particular lavender note—I really suspect it will grow on me and that I will end up being a convert.

In it's day, this was probably a fantastic scent, but now, it smells a bit dated (albeit not bad)...sweet, energetic, and cool, but exceptionaly powdery, conjures up images of vacationing with new money stockbrokers in Aspen circa 1983, skiing along the fresh powder on your newly waxed rosignols, and at the end of the day, driving your Jag to a rustic cabin to enjoy a toddy and talk with your buddies about how much money you'll be making in the comming year...

I like this and I don't know why. It is a lot harsher than the type of fragrances I usually go for. I generally prefer fruitier blends, however the woody harshness of this just works although I'm not convinced it should. I find the EDT a bit too much so I prefer the splash-on. I leaves my face feeling fresh and smelling great.