1 Million

The chic-shock concept has its detractors: the house of Paco Rabanne is accused of using too much bling-bling or even of being misogynistic, yet all of this is nothing but lightness and self-mockery—one only has to smell the fragrance!

1 Million or the concept of “beautiful, rich and famous” taken to its extremes

In order to follow up the beautiful, very rock Black XS, it was necessary to create both an extraordinary masculine perfume and an olfactory and visual story that would match the fragrance note for note. One of the Paco Rabanne noses behind 1 Million, Christophe Raynaud, recounts that the Paco Rabanne brand, after ups and downs, was starting over with Black XS, and something special had to be made. One Million is a juice that has a sense of humor […]. Thus One Million, released in 2008, would gleefully and boldly ride on a totally bling-bling and deliberately exaggerated masculine image of the handsome, rich and famous man.

The visuals used, like the advertising spots, of course recall the gold bar shape of the bottle, not to mention the precious metal that has always inspired Paco Rabanne haute couture. As for the hero of the advertisements, he must of course be conceited and dazzlingly handsome, hence the choice of models such as Sean O’Pry in one of the recent campaigns.

However, One Million hardly needs a face of the campaign; it is rather the deliberately insolent attitude, or the famous magical finger snap, that takes center stage. The 1 Million man wants everything and possesses everything thanks to his precious perfume! This does not stop him from being funny, and above all from making an impression thanks to a communication device, the finger snap, which plays on masculine fantasies and on a deliberately provocative image of an outrageously rich man.

The perfume worth One Million dollars!

From the visuals to the bottle, everything is image, and the whole concept of gold and luxury works wonderfully. Thus the bottle, shaped like a gold bar, is stamped with a Far West typography recalling the famous gold rushes. Yet the fragrance aims to be far more original and bold than luxurious—perhaps the secret of masculine wealth lies in this very contrast.

One Million captures curious noses with top notes of juicy, gourmand mandarin and grapefruit, paired with powerful, delicately spicy aromatic notes of peppermint and lavender. The heart notes then open onto more powerful scents such as cinnamon, offering the unexpected through very sweet apple and rose absolute, departing at last from the classic and much (perhaps too much?) used geranium accord. Finally, the strong base notes create the sillage of a virile, open-minded man, using patchouli, white wood and vetiver combined with velvety leathery notes to leave an indelible mark behind him.

In 2008, One Million boldly and spiritedly marked Paco Rabanne’s great return among fine perfumery bestsellers. Moreover, the house described One Million as a strange perfume with good vibes, a strangeness tied to new codes that would certainly be one of the main recipes for its phenomenal success. One Million shakes up the overly smooth and overly clean world of masculine fougères to offer them a fulfilled, funny and insolent virility, while remaining a symbol of elegance.