Invictus Victory Elixir Eau de Parfum

Cool, dry and faintly medicinal lavender sets the character of Rabanne Invictus Victory Elixir Eau de Parfum, and it is nothing like the soft purple thing in a drawer sachet.

It opens with that lavender flanked by cardamom and black pepper, so the first few minutes are herbal and dry with a green spice prickle running through them. Cardamom is the interesting one of the three, aromatic and a touch camphorous, and it pushes the lavender towards the sharp end of its range. Incense follows and changes the mood completely, smoky and resinous and a little solemn, with patchouli beneath it adding earth and a faint bitterness. The end of it is sweet but not soft. Vanilla and tonka bean close the composition together, the vanilla restrained and smooth, the tonka carrying a dry sugared bitterness that reads more like the crust of a baked pudding than like a dessert itself. Against the incense and the patchouli that sweetness stays in proportion.

An elixir in this house means an eau de parfum with more oil behind it, and that is what you get in wear: moderate projection, considerable staying power, and a scent that sits a forearm away rather than filling a lift. It is a men's fragrance, it works best in cold weather, and it is the better choice of the Invictus Victory options for anyone who finds sweet scents tiring but wants the warmth anyway.

The house was founded in Paris by the designer Paco Rabanne, whose debut collection came in 1966. Perfume has been the Spanish group Puig's responsibility since 1968, when it created the division, and Puig has owned the whole operation since 1987. The Paco has gone from the name and the brand now trades as Rabanne.