Fame Eau de Parfum 50ml

Rabanne Fame Eau de Parfum 50ml is the mid size bottle of a fragrance that arrived in 2022 and became very widely worn very quickly.

The reason for that is the pairing sitting at its centre. Jasmine and incense share the heart, the flower broad, heady and slightly indolic, the incense dry, smoky and resinous, and that combination is unusual enough to be the whole identity of the scent. Above it, mango opens ripe and faintly resinous, with bergamot cutting a bitter citrus line straight through the middle of it. Below, sandalwood is creamy and soft and vanilla is plainly sweet. Six materials, and the fruit at the top with the smoke in the middle is what makes it recognisable on somebody else at twenty paces.

At eau de parfum strength it has serious endurance. Expect genuine carry for the first hour or two and then a long close stay that will outlast an evening out, and expect one or two sprays to be the right amount from a bottle of this size. It is not a fragrance that needs any help.

Fifty millilitres is a sensible quantity for a fragrance as concentrated and as assertive as this one. It is enough to wear regularly through a winter without the bottle turning into an heirloom, and it is a far less daunting commitment than the largest size for somebody who has so far only tried it on a card in a shop. Dora Baghriche, Marie Salamagne, Alberto Morillas and Fabrice Pellegrin are the perfumers credited.

Rabanne is a French house born out of fashion, its founding designer's first collection having been shown in 1966. Puig of Spain established the perfume arm in 1968 and has owned the whole brand since 1987.