1 Million Royal is an Amber Woody fragrance for men released in 2023 by Paco Rabanne.
I'm looking at the note breakdown for this one, and it sounds pretty interesting.
You have cardamom, benzoin, a little bit of lavender, violet, clary sage, and tangerine, so it seems like it's going to be a little citrusy, quite warm in the dry down with the resins, also a bit aromatic in the heart with the lavender, clary sage, violet, and all these other things.
Two perfumers worked on this one, Quentin Bisch and Christophe Raynaud, both super accomplished perfumers.
What does 1 Million Royal smell like?
Let's first unveil the notes of the fragrance.
Top notes are Cardamom, Tangerine and Bergamot.
Middle notes are Lavender, Sage, and Violet Leaf.
Base notes are Benzoin, Cedar, and Patchouli.
Right in the opening of this fragrance, you are going to get that warm sweetness.
One thing that I think people often associate with 1 million fragrances is the fact that so many of them tend to be on the sweeter side of things.
What we've seen is that some of them have taken a bit of a darker direction, kind of like 1 Million Prive that went in an incense-y direction, and I love that one. I miss that so much; it's discontinued now.
Of course, we have 1 Million Elixir, which also took it in a dark, sweeter direction, and it's the one that smells similar to 1 Million Royal.
I looked it up online, and I do agree with the vast majority of the comparisons that are being made. People are saying this one smells very similar to ‘Stronger With You' by Emporio Armani.
I do kind of see this smelling like the original and perhaps also ‘Stronger With You Absolutely.'
One thing about the original is, that I know it kind of has this nutty vibe about it, and I get that from this too.
It's kind of like this warm, nutty, slightly sweet, vanillic, ambery type of fragrance.
And as far as the amber goes, there's benzoin in the note breakdown, so I am getting that.
Cardamom is listed in the opening. I'm not getting an overdose of cardamom. I'm getting enough of it that it's coming across rather pleasantly.
And in the heart, I am getting a little bit of that aromatic component.
I reviewed recently the brand new ‘Invictus Victory Elixir, That one smells much heavier, much sweeter, and almost has a little bit of this electronic fig, coconut thing happening in there, so that's not happening here.
So, I am getting the aromatic notes coming through quite noticeably.
So what I'm seeing happening in the industry is a lot of perfume brands, especially the mainstream designer ones, are creating that sweetness, but they're also creating this aromatic component in there to kind of offset the sweetness.
So that it's not as heavy. And I like the direction that perfumes are going in nowadays.
I think it does pretty well at satisfying both crowds. And what I mean by that is the ones that want that heavier, party, sweet, clubbing type of DNA but also the ones that want that refined, professional, elegant, office-friendly DNA.
So I think what we're seeing here is kind of like the hybrid, the mashup, or the fusion of those two worlds.
So you can call it the best of both worlds. It is a bit of a dichotomy, so it's a type of fragrance you have to try for yourself to see if you like it.
But pretty much what you're going to get from this is a warm citrus in the opening, very short-lived, enough cardamom but not too strong.
You are going to get some aromatic components. The lavender doesn't smell like a cleaning product.
You are going to get a clean violet as opposed to a petrol-based violet or one that smells like Dior Fahrenheit.
You are going to get that clary sage which smells very bright and youthful and clean professional.
In the dry down, you're going to get that Emporio Armani ‘Stronger With You' type of sweetness.
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My overall assessment:
So, first up, in terms of the uniqueness and the overall smell, like most designer fragrances nowadays, they're kind of following the trends, and I see this one following the trends of Emporio Armani ‘Stronger With You,' which has been around for several years now, but that type of sweetness is going rather strong.
I've seen it in Azzaro fragrances, I've seen it in Valentino fragrances.
So it seems like every major designer brand wants to put out their own version of that type of DNA.
And I do think that Christophe Raynaud and Quentin Bisch, the two perfumers who worked on this, are both geniuses, so this one does smell awesome.
How long does 1 Million Royal last?
In terms of longevity:
The longevity on this one is fantastic, we're talking 10 hours.
In terms of Projection:
The projection was really good for the first hour of application.
It radiated just a tad beyond an arm's length.
It became an elbow's length scent right around 5 or 6 hours.
A skin scent right around 9 or 10 hours.
When to Wear 1 Million Royal?
In terms of versatility:
I think this one is a bit masculine-leaning, great for the colder weather, and great for a night out, partying, or clubbing type of environment.
You can wear this one casually and dressed up, but I think it's more for like a flirtatious party or, a date-night kind of environment.
And I do see this one catering to the tastes and sensibilities of somebody who's a little bit younger, and I say that on account of the sweetness.
In Summary – 1 Million Royal
Paco Rabanne's “1 Million Royal” is a fresh, aromatic, slightly sweet fragrance that does bear resemblance to Emporio Armani's ‘Stronger With You Absolutely,'.
If that sounds great to you, check it out.
