Ultraviolet Man (2001)
by Paco Rabanne

such a disgusting scent.no creativity

This one is a guilty pleasure for me. As an earlier reviewer said, it is deliberately and wholly synthetic, which I normally detest. However, if you can get past its synthetic qualities, it can actually be a fun wear from time to time. UV Man is an oriental-gourmand fragrance, yet the synthetic nature of it must always be kept in mind and acknowledged. The fragrance opens with a 'liquid mint' note that some have accurately described as a menthol aroma or eucalyptus, and then settles into a heart of 'organic' vetiver and 'moss crystals' (wonder what those are!). The base is an entirely technological recreation/rendition of ambergris, purely synthetic and not smelling at all like the ambergris used famously by Creed. The fragrance is very sweet and it can be cloying if overapplied, but it is a fun one to me for some reason. I sort of associate it with a futuristic world (as silly as that sounds, and probably based on the original print ads for the fragrance). The bottle itself is very nifty, and suggests futuristic impulses. It is not one of the best fragrances ever made as it can get a bit overbearing and sickly sweet (think of those rubber alien toys some have mentioned, perhaps). It is nowhere near my personal favorite, but what it lacks in smell it makes up in ingenuity. It certainly is one of the more adventurous and creative releases in recent years so it gets my thumbs up for that, and although I will not repurchase it when I run out, I will definitely keep the intriguing bottle as a memory.

CRAYON! That's just about all I'm getting out of this. I've worn this when staying home as I do when I first test anything and I've been afraid to actually go out with it on. My days of smelling like a box of Crayola are long since gone. I just can't think anyone could smell this on me and not wonder if I've been staying within the lines.

Still though, I cannot give this a negative for one reason. It is unique. It's also not entirely unpleasant and very interesting which will keep you sniffing yourself after you've sprayed it.

I just don't really want to smell like crayons.

A very sweet yet spicy and slightly soapy. Wow this is intense. There is no development other than that but it still smells pretty good.

I give much love to Paco for creating such a sensual masterpiece!! I liken this Roma Uomo in some ways that I can't pinpoint. Women literally attck in clubs when I wear this scent around them. Guys... if you want some positive attention from the lovely ladies, look no further.

i've always dismissed this as something i might not like, but today i decided to get aquainted with ultra violet man.

At first i get a wash of sweet fruit, a juicy peachy note which is quite pleasant, underscored by a driving metallic/eucalyptus accord (the 'liquid mint' perhaps?) which stops the fruitiness being too feminine and lays the first stones of UVman's stark, synthetic olfactory experience. Then i start to detect what i think might be the 'gray (grey!) amber', which to me is piqued by the lingering pine-air-freshener (not unpleasant) into what i can only describe as being almost like savoury marzipan, almost almondy yet spiky and interestingly weird. From then on, the fragrance is indeed quite linear, mellowing from this to a more rounded 'gray amber', and what smells to me like cedar, or cedar-lite - all the while with a persistent metallic note evoking hard, shiny surfaces and neon light. it's a light fragrance which manages to persist on my skin, the 'moss crystals' in the drydown being yet another alien reproduction of a classic fragrance note, here a mossy softness which never quite feels real.

the overall feeling from ultraviolet is, it seems, quite deliberately wholly synthetic in concept and execution, as Milamber said it 'has a certain vibrancy to it that is almost teasing but monotonous. It fades very quickly but lingers for hours.' herein perhaps lies the ultimate failing of UVman perhaps - it's rapid fading. conceptually i think it's a very interesting and valid exercise, but all that wonderful weirdness and synthetic reality just isnt quite weird enough for long enough.
Nonetheless i think it provides a welcome occasional diversion from luxurious, beautiful 'real' scents into an outer space starkness that remains surprisingly sultry, utterly inorganic yet nevertheless vibrant with sexual energy. and so I think this defines its use - it's absolutely perfect for clubbing; pulsating strobe lights and filthy electronic music.

not perfect, but buy it. UV rave clothing optional.