Phantom Parfum Review: A Surprising Twist

Paco Rabanne Phantom Parfum is a fragrance for men released in 2023. Just by the name alone, you can kind of anticipate this to be a stronger version of the original Phantom, maybe deeper, maybe richer, warmer, more sensual. There certainly have been a few changes in the note breakdown.

And, of course, I have the original Phantom. I'm going, to be honest with you guys, I don't wear it that much.

There are a lot of wonderful fragrances by Paco Rabanne. Of course, the 1 Million series is very popular, the Invictus series is very popular as well. But the original Phantom, is this sort of lavender vanilla bomb, and the vanilla is very rich, smooth, creamy; it's on the sweeter side of things.

Here we have a fragrance that incorporates a lot of other ingredients. There's rhubarb, there's citrus, there's vetiver.

In addition to the vanilla, you have a little bit of tolu balsam, so it kind of makes it a little ambery in the dry down. There's geranium in the heart as well. It is an interesting improvement over the original, as far as my tastes are concerned.

What does Phantom Parfum smell like?

Let's first unveil Phantom Parfum notes:

Top notes: Cardamom, Rhubarb, Bergamot and Lemon.

Middle notes: Lavender, Patchouli, Geranium, and Cedarwood.

Base notes: Vanilla, Tolu Balsam, and Haitian Vetiver.

So, in the opening of this fragrance, you are certainly going to get the vanilla right. So this is supposed to be like your olfactory wingman. If you've seen the advertisement in the commercial for this fragrance, it's quite funny.

So here you have a fragrance that is vanilla forward, and the impression that I got from the original all along is that it's meant for partying and clubbing and just being extroverted and being in a very sort of public situation where there's a lot of people and you're looking to attract, and the vanilla can certainly do that.

I mean, vanilla is said to be an aphrodisiac after all, and there is vanilla in here, specifically ethylvanillin, and there's a very large dose of it. It smells nice.

Here you have a vanilla, lavender, geranium, and rhubarb fragrance.

Now, the rhubarb note in some fragrances, it can be a little bit on the vegetal side of things, a little herbaceous, a little culinary even, perhaps. I always found rhubarb to be fresh and almost have hints of strawberry to it, and you do get a little bit of that.

You have the Bergamot, and the citrus fruits in the opening, and that touch of rhubarb is nice. And I think the two other ingredients that work hand in hand are the lavender and the geranium. Those are the ingredients that kind of give this fragrance the vibe that is suited for a modern gentleman.

This is not as playful, I would say, as the original. The original Phantom is a little bit more flirtatious, so it's a little more youthful, I suppose.

This is a little more sophisticated, a little bit more dressed up, refined. And typically, that's what happens with a lot of these fragrances.

Even on the Christian Dior side of things, you had the original Sauvage, which kind of smells like a gym scent, if we're being honest with you—very bright, fresh, the Bergamot, black pepper, and so on.

And then the darker it gets, or the Parfum, and then Elixir, it smells more mature, more grown-up. And this is kind of what's happened with a lot of other fragrances, even from the house of Paco Rabanne.

The original 1 Million, people say it smells like bubble gum. And then you have 1 Million Elixir, 1 Million Royal, 1 Million Privé, and all these other flankers. But one thing is for certain: they get darker and darker. And as they get darker, they get more mysterious, more mature, more enigmatic, more sophisticated. All of the above can be attributed to this fragrance.

The thing that unites this flanker from the original is the vanilla. If you are a fan of the vanilla, if you like how sweet the original is, you're looking for some darker elements—I wouldn't say the vetiver does much in here, to be honest with you.

But if you're looking for some darker elements, the Parfum version has them. If you're looking for an increase in longevity, about 1 to 2 hours increase, so this one is going to give you about 8 or 9 hours, you got it. So check this one out.

If you like the way that the vanilla is being done and expressed and utilized in the original, here you're going to get a darker expression of that.

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Is this my favorite Paco Rabanne fragrance?

I don't think it is. There are a lot of Invictus flankers that I do enjoy. Invictus Victory Elixir is one that I do like. I also really enjoy a lot of the 1 Million flankers. And, of course, Paco Rabanne has some other great fragrances like Ultra Red, and so on.

My Overall Impressions of Phantom Parfum:

First up, in terms of the uniqueness and the overall smell, this is a fairly unique fragrance, all things considered.

It kind of goes in the vein of a lot of modern sweet men's fragrances; however, this does possess that vanilla DNA that the original has with the lavender, and so on.

So if you can imagine a darker, more mysterious, more grown-up version of the original, that's essentially what you're going to get here.

Overall smell:

very mass-appealing; you're not going to offend anybody, and this is a compliment-getter, as far as I'm concerned.

How long does Phantom Parfum last?

In terms of longevity, 8 to 9 hours; projection was great for the first hour of application.

It radiated within an arm's length. It became an elbow-length scent right around 6 hours, and a skin scent right around 8 or 9 hours.

When To Wear Phantom Parfum?

Perfect for the colder weather. You can wear this one casually or dressed up. 

In terms of an office environment, I would probably look for something where the sweetness is dialed back a little bit, so I probably wouldn't wear this to work or in an office setting. But partying, clubbing, going to the bar, and so on, I think it's perfect.

My Final Verdict:

I think it's solid. You just have to be a fan of the original. It's not my favorite release by Paco Rabanne.

I do think it's an improvement over the original, and I like how it took it in a darker, more mysterious, more grown-up, and more sophisticated direction while still retaining that level of sweetness that is to be found in the original.

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