Invictus

From the market point of view, there are several types of cologne’s users: those who little understand (or understand just the basics), seeking only a good scent, and the fragrance addicts, art scholars, who want to know the story behind each creation. Doing a comparison, in a more simplistic way, I would say it's the same thing that happens with consumers who buy a product by price or brand and those who give preference to environmentally friendly products, organic, etc. Within this context, before speaking about the fragrance itself, with its notes and impressions, it is important to speak of the concept and the marketing activity that exists behind this release. Because, since the launch of Ultraviolet for Men (1999) - with its bolder scent - and the sales success of Black XS (2005), the brand reached a completely different male audience than was usual until then, with the faithful users of the classic Paco Rabanne for Men (1973). As a result, the brand began to be envisioned by younger men, eager for more modern, nocturnal, and differentiated colognes. And the latest releases prove this: 1 Million, 1 Million Intense, Black XS L’exces, in addition to the full range of women's fragrances, which followed the same trend. Invictus hits the market to perform more than personal satisfaction. It comes with the responsibility of supporting personal projects of sportsmen from all over the world, involving internet users, in its Invictus Award. Basically, it is a competition in which were gathered seven athletes, from seven distinct nationalities, practitioners of different sports to experience challenges and persuade the internet users to vote for them, in pursuit of the prize of 50 thousand dollars, to be reversed in the realization of their social projects. The winner of the first season (Yes, there will be a second season!) was Ricardo Carpentieri, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor who lives in Milan for some years. Once you understand the story that exists behind this release, it becomes easier to understand the creation of the advertising campaign that brought, as a representative of this concept of "invincibility", the Australian sportsman Nick Youngquest, who helped guide the candidates during the whole competition, was their mentor, transmitted the values of sport, etc. Now, let's talk about the fragrance: forget any attempt to compare it with 1 Million! Invictus is a cologne of fresh and sensual aspects. I would put it into a fruity-woody classification, which is composed of notes of grapefruit peel, marine accord, and Bay leaves, balanced by notes of patchouli, ambergris, and guaiac wood. In time: some specialized websites list other notes, such as Mandarin orange (output), Jasmine (in the heart), and oakmoss (at the base). However, this information does not exist on the official website and therefore I think it is unfounded. The aroma of grapefruit peel and bay leaves is very rich in the first few minutes, while the marine accord gives a certain freshness that permeates throughout the evolution. After about 20 minutes, the fruity tone gives way to the sweet brilliance of ambergris, coupled with the creamy-smoky of the guaiac wood. It is worth mentioning that the sweet tone of ambergris is very synthetic, even because, it has been reproduced in the laboratory in recent years. Anyway, the fragrance can be quite versatile, thanks to its marine content. Finally, I couldn't let talking about the bottle. Although it seems to me that there is a movement to simplify the bottles of today, making them very straight, cylindrical and/or discolored, Paco Rabanne still believes in the legend (beyond true) that a large part of worldwide sales of perfumes is due to the beauty and creativity of their bottles, together with what the fragrance represents. And in this case, the bottle has everything to do with the topic, in addition to being much more beautiful closely than in the pictures in the media. Working with a median projection and lasting very well, Invictus is beautiful inside and out, which makes it a real trophy to your collection.

This one is a complete surprise to me. A pleasant one at that. I don't usually like a crowdpleaser, and tend to gravitate to something with a little more bite. Smokey, sharp, etc. Not necessarily challenging fragrances, but more interesting ones. I also know what I like and can usually judge based on notes how I'll feel about a fragrance, and based on these notes, this should be a hard no for me. I tend to really dislike patchouli. I view it as being like salt, as something that should be there in reasonable amounts to enhance and support other notes. I don't want to eat a big stinking bowl of salt. The issue there is that usually, even when other people can barely smell a patchouli note, it attacks me like a hobo's unwashed armpit. I'm not overly fond of Ambergris for the same reason, and find that oakmoss is also becoming one of these notes that is never used in moderation anymore, so I avoid all three usually, if I can. This one showed up as a free sample with some other samples I bought, and I couldn't believe it had any of those notes. It's clean, fresh, soapy without smelling like soap. It has this very 90s mens' product vibe to it, which I found pleasant but unimpressive when I sprayed it on. Cut to several hours later, and every time I move I get a little wave of the smell, and it's just addicting. It smells like you just showered, put on hair product or deodorant, and then threw on freshly laundered clothes, and yet there's this really appealing spice to it. It never gets powdery or cloying or heavy. It's just so bizarrely appealing. Performance is great for an EDT. Not sure how it would perform in cold weather, but on a very warm day down here by the border, it performed beautifully. It had gentle sillage but good lasting power, and as I moved I got whiffs throughout the day, even twelve hours later. It's definitely masculine but not obnoxiously so. I tend to like a masc-leaning unisex because men's fragrances can get a little cartoonishly "masculine" to the point of being stinky (nobody needs to smell like horse jizz, and I'll die on that hill), but I'd say this is solidly a mens' fragrance, and one that lives in that perfect sweet spot. Overall, super pleased with this one and ordered a decant of it. Will probably FB this one, if it proves versatile enough. Really loved this one. Highly recommend if you're after a reliable, inoffensive mens' freshy that remains interesting enough.

SUMMARY: 8/10 Sweet watery fragrance with a subtle woody/floral base that develops as it dries down. Basic but enjoyable beginner friendly everyday fragrance. Solid performance. RAMBLING THOUGHTS: The opening to Invictus is a fresh aquatic profile with a touch of citrus/fruitiness and a sweetness that some people can barely detect and others find to be very prominent. The sweetness does quickly start to take over as Invictus starts to settle, but it is a subtle and pleasant sweetness that is well mixed with the other notes and never becomes too cloying (though for some people who are sensitive to sweet fragrances, it can come close). As the fragrance continues to dry down, it starts to take on more of a subtle woody/floral profile that is very pleasant, in no small part because it mixes well with the sweetness that sticks around for the duration. The performance of this fragrance is great. It isn't really a loud room filler (unless you go really heavy on the sprays), but it creates a nice little bubble that stays around for ages, and sticks around on skin/clothes all day. Though it is a fragrance you can go "nose blind" to very easily. So while you may only capture occasion wafts of the fragrance, trust that anyone entering that bubble will be smelling it clearly for hours. This isn't the best fragrance, or the most creative fragrance, but it is a very safe and pleasant fragrance that deserves a spot in anyone's collection. Great everyday fragrance for beginners as well.

It's been out for 3 years and it's popularity is slowing down. All the more reason for people to revisit it. I liked it when I tested a while back and purchased a small bottle 2 weeks ago. The bottle is cheesy and Invictus is slightly over priced. It's funny reading all the negative reviews. These are the same people that wished One million didn't have a bubble gum smell, had a fresher summer citrus vibe for added versatility, and a mature woody aquatic note. Guess what? that's exactly what Invictus is and they still complain. Imo this fragrance ticks a lot of boxes and avoids pitfalls that would make girls dislike it. Musky smokey old man vibe? Nope. Thick cologny after shave stench? Nope. Pine smell like a cheap car freshner? Nope. Bad leather odor like old shoes? Nope. Toilette bowl mint smell like Versace Eros? Nope. Like many Paco Rabanne fragrances this is sweet, lasts a long time and girls love it. Score = 7/10 Invictus Aqua = 8 out of 10

Poor old Invictus catching so much hate now days. What so many newer and inexperienced people in this hobby don’t realize is you wouldn’t have a lot of the fragrances you know and love if it wasn’t for this pioneer of a fragrance. Yes Invictus paved a big part for the men’s fragrance industry and so many other designers have drawn tons of inspiration from this legendary fragrance. When this came out in 2013 there wasn’t anything else quite like it in men’s fragrance. It took the men’s olfactory by storm with that powerful rich, sweet masculine freshness. This stuff use to be one of a kind and a true original with its powerful intoxicating smell and sleek modern looking trophy bottle on top of its strong name. In todays standards Invictus gets trashed on like it’s trying to be something else or it’s played out when in fact Invictus is the reason a lot of the fragrances in the world exist now days.. A true pioneer fragrance indeed.