Fame Eau de Parfum Gift Set

Somewhere between a fruit scent and a smoky one sits the Rabanne Fame Eau de Parfum Gift Set, which is why it is bought by people who normally say they dislike both.

The fruit is mango, ripe and faintly resinous rather than sharp, with bergamot giving it a bitter citrus edge so the opening does not go straight to sugar. The smoke is incense, dry and resinous, and it sits in the heart next to jasmine, which is broad, heady and slightly indolic. Sandalwood and vanilla finish underneath, creamy and sweet in roughly equal measure. Six materials, and the whole interest of the thing is that the fruit and the smoke are asked to share the same space rather than taking turns.

At eau de parfum strength it is a serious performer. Expect a couple of hours of real carry and then many more of it sitting on skin and sleeve, which means a light application and a bit of patience rather than topping up through the evening. Sprayed into hair or onto a coat it will still be there the next day.

Cold months and evenings are where it belongs, and a cold evening is where it is at its most convincing. As a gift it works best for somebody in their twenties or thirties who wears fragrance as a matter of course, and less well for somebody who wants a scent nobody can place. The boxed format is simply the tidier way to hand it over. Dora Baghriche, Marie Salamagne, Alberto Morillas and Fabrice Pellegrin are the four names on it.

Rabanne is French, grown out of a fashion house whose first collection appeared in 1966. Perfume under the name began in 1968 with the Spanish group Puig, which has owned the brand in full since 1987 and eventually shortened it to the surname.