Note Pyramid
Oud
Phantom Elixir
Two materials and no more: Rabanne Phantom Elixir Parfum Intense is oud and vanilla, with nothing else listed, which makes it the starkest thing in the range by a wide margin.
Oud is the dominant one and it is not a subtle material. Dry, medicinal and faintly animal, with a smoky, slightly leathery quality and a bitterness that lingers, it is the smell most people associate with expensive Middle Eastern perfumery, and it divides opinion more sharply than almost anything else used in fragrance. Vanilla is the counterweight. Handled dark rather than milky, it sweetens the oud just enough to make it wearable and softens the medicinal edge without hiding it.
That is the whole composition, and it behaves as you would expect from two materials: no evolution, no surprises, no third act. What you smell in the first minute is what you will smell four hours later, slightly quieter. For a scent this concentrated that is not a criticism, since both materials are strong enough to carry a wear on their own.
The parfum intense strength means a high oil load, and in practice that means serious longevity and a trail that stays near the body rather than filling a room. Two sprays is the maximum anyone needs. It is a men's fragrance, it belongs to cold weather and late evenings, and it is the Phantom to choose if you find the usual version too clean and too safe. Anyone who dislikes oud should avoid it entirely rather than hope it softens.
Rabanne began as a fashion label in Paris in 1966 and became a perfume house two years later, when Puig created its fragrance division. The Spanish group bought the company in 1987 and the designer's first name has since gone from the packaging.
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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