Invictus Victory Absolu

Unlike others I am getting an appreciable dose of dry black pepper. It's a dry sandalwood with black pepper...but the texture is very smooth. If you look at the ingredients list on the Rabanne website it helps flesh out what is really going on in the scent: alcohol denat., parfum (fragrance), aqua (water), tetramethyl acetyloctahydronaphthalenes, hexamethylindanopyran, benzyl salicylate, trimethylcyclopentenyl methylisopentenol, limonene, coumarin, vanillin, butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane, juniperus virginiana oil, citrus limon peel oil, pinene, pogostemon cablin oil, beta-caryophyllene, citronellol, santalol, rose ketones, terpinolene, terpineol, citral, There is a lot of coumarin (tonka) and vanilla, eastern red cedar (juniperus virginiana oil) patchouli (pogostemon cablin) a bit of citrus, a sandalwood note (santalol) along with some floralcy (rose ketones). It comes across more like a mix of the darkness of CdG Black or Montblanc Black Meisterstuck along with the smooth dry woodiness of the original Hero edt or something like CdG Wonderwood or Wonderoud. Dark. Dry and woody and yet somehow fairly light in texture and almost fresh. The floralcy is interesting because there is something like a hint of airy rose but what I really get more than that is a hint of lilac bush in the distance. It calls to mind the unique floralcy of Gucci Guilty Love Edition for him) but here it is an ethereal note that forever floats just on the edge of the scent bubble. Maybe this is what some pick up as coconut but it really reads more lilac to my nose, lilac and a hint of fog machine fog (incidentally that reminds me this has a connection to Azzaro Decibel, but this is much woodier). Interesting because it's dark and yet fresh and feels like it might radiate beautifully specifically in high heat scenarios, which would make this quite unique compared to most dark woody scents.

I got a little tester for this and it’s objectively a very nice and likeable scent which is very on point for Rabanne, mass appealing , polished , strong but not experimental. Very much so on the safer side of fragrances. But it is nice. There’s a strong resemblance of the modern air fresheners on a note here ... obviously this is much more polished but I do get that kind of vibe. Can be worn in many settings except for maybe formal. This is more of a sweet , young adult scent so I would say it’s for anything except like a tuxedo party or something like that. Pretty good! Hate the bottle design though and I would have never even looked at this if didn’t get a free sample. Lasts forever too! Very nice - as a disclaimer I have not tried any other Invictus except the OG EdT which is my least fav of all time. This is nothing like that. Edit - bought a travel size for this, the performance is quite honestly unreal, it lasts 14+ hours and if you get a drop of it on clothing it will reek for a week, its almost too much lol. It is very nice in terms of scent and an easy grab for most occasions. Recommend!

Invictus Victory Absolu is an excellent example of how to do a sweet masculine amber fragrance properly. It is bold and powerful, but still playful enough to not take itself too seriously. Honestly, if somebody forced me to only keep two fragrances for the next year, it would probably be this and Prada Paradigme. They complement each other unbelievably well despite feeling slightly different but very familiar to one another. They genuinely feel like opposite sides of the same coin. Prada Paradigme is the softer, brighter and more floral amber fragrance of the two, whereas Victory Absolu takes things in a darker, sweeter and more peppery direction with a much more masculine edge. They make an amazing day to night pairing. Prada Paradigme has that clean energetic daytime feel, then Victory Absolu comes in at night smelling warmer, darker and like it definitely listens to dramatic movie soundtracks on the drive home 😂 If you ever get the chance to smell them side by side, do it. The comparison makes way more sense once your nose catches it. Genuinely one of my favourite fragrance pairings right now.

Curious how many others don't resonate at all with the complaint that this is too sweet? Yes there's a sweetness present throughout but the pepper, dry and yet smooth sandalwood and frankincense notes are prominent to me and give this a beautiful dry woody, ever-so faintly smoky backbone. Maybe my nose is hyper sensitive to some of the woody notes or maybe others are anosmic to them...not sure, but it has to be one or the other. Would hate to think I smell spicy/woody and most people think I smell like sweet coconut. Edit. Fooled again by this one. First few hours are great then it becomes too thin and sweet. It's the lilac-esque sweetness of Guilty Love Edition which does have a coconut nuance. If this sweet floralcy was turned way down and the incense and sandalwood kept their strength this would be incredible. Alas, yes, a nice couple hours then just very average.

This stuff is freaking great!!! It takes the profile of Victory Elixir and improves upon each stage. The top notes are more lively, sparkling and effervescent. The black pepper is smooth and rounded. The mid is fuller, richer and creamier. The base is the most improved part. It's deeper, bolder and projects far better than the original Victory Elixir. It adds a blueberry like nuance to the creamy, coconut like accord that they have is in this fragrance and the original. They are both great fragrances for sure, but this one is definitely superior even though the original has the higher score of the two. If you like Victory Elixir then this is a safe blind buy, but there is a lot of overlap between the two. Just get your nose on it if possible because it's very good and much more mature than your typical PUIG release.

The opening is intoxicating, spicy, peppery, slightly sweet, but also smoky, incensy, which creates a great balance of sweet and somehow fresh at the same time. Definitely woody, even piny and maybe minty in places, and creamy ambery. This lasts for about an hour, and then just mellows out to a woody base. The opening and mid are my favourites. After the initial hour or so, it doesn’t project as much, making it a fairly safe scent to wear to many occasions, and the most appropriate from the Victory line to wear to office. Having had Invictus Parfum and Victory Elixir, Absolu is my favourite of the three. There is nothing that makes me dislike this scent profile, whereas there are notes in the other two I wish they didn’t have. It may be boring, but it’s a familiar profile perfected.

Made for the hero who always leaves his mark, INVICTUS Victory Absolu is an imposing, engaging, hypnotic fragrance: it captures the vigorous and impetuous clash of fresh ocean waves on hot and porous volcanic rock through a magnetic, contrasting woody, spicy and amber accord of rare beauty. The olfactory fusion of lively and fresh black pepper combined with the sensuality of amber and the enveloping note of sandalwood. Compelling, superlative, it gives him the supreme power to carve glorious victory in lava stone, while securing final victory. Undoubtedly a fragrance that leaves its mark.

Absolutely fantastic and addictive. it has the fresh dna from invictus parfum and the warmness of victory elixir which both i love, when I smelled it for the first time I thought that it has vanilla the same vanilla in elixir but I surprised it doesn't has vanilla in the notes. I can wear it any time during the summer or winter that how good it's, but I would be dial back the sprays in the summer or hot days. Definitely on of the few that when you smell it you will come back for more. I saw some saying it has incense like not in the drydown, not incense but smoky ambry i believe. 10/10

Actually pretty good! My favorite from the Invictus lineup. I'm a Rabanne fan so of course I have a few from the one million line as well as phantom. This would be the first Invictus that I like enough to buy. If you've ever smelled JPG Scandal Absolu, this is what that JPG should have smelled like. It's refined, a touch less sweet and it has that smooth smooth base that Rabanne is known for. JPG Scandal Absolu was nice, but too sweet and the top notes were nauseating - this takes the best things about that and calms them down and smooths it out. Awesome fragrance

I absolutely love this fragrance. First off i dont have it as a bottle but as a tester and i cant believe what a good performer it was . It lasted a whole 8 hours of school, Gave me 2 compliments (From Women 😁) and even with a small little hit at the gym it still performed well . Idk why but some people also use it for Date nights but i personally think that its for both its a very good release from Robanne its a strong and great compliment getter too .

Dark, masculine but its sweet so it smells playful but also serious??? If you are looking for attention and compliments then yes! Wear this one at night / colder days/ going out This one gets too sweet and messy in the heat. Because of the pepper and sandalwood this perfume gives me oriental vibes idk how to explain it and it smells a little unique you won't smell like the ones wearing eros... sauvage... 1milion etc.👍👍🔥

I smelled it, its really good It has a freshness and the sexy sweet scent profi I love to smell like this It will actually make the heads turn It was so similar to my armaf’s mandarin sky elixir , it was too close or i must say it was much better If you want to smell like a sexy masculine men then try it

Right away you get a rich amber that feels woody and warm, with a touch of spice from the black pepper that gives it a bold, confident character. It becomes darker from the woody notes and also slightly more powdery, with a subtle balsamic depth that makes it feel polished and sensual.

I agree with Pvura , elixir wasn’t for me at all but this one here , wow just amazing. Yah might not be very unique but it’s definitely something I would like to wear during colder seasons on daily basis. The only invictus that I liked from the whole line believe it or not.

Fire in my opinion. Was in nordstrom for 45 minutes smelling EVERYTHING and this was the only one that finally caught my attention, bought it immediately. if youre not a fragrance snob and genuinely just wanna smell good this is a 9/10

asad zanzibar ruined the black pepper note for me, but this fragrance gives me faith. consistent mature amber scent that lasts on clothes for days. i don't own a bottle yet but this is the first fragrance i go to when i'm at the mall.

I have this since I have access to things not released in the US yet, amazing how there's reviews on something that very few have smelled. I am picky and this is actually very nice. As for flankers... doesn't EVERY brand do that.

Amazing clean seductive strong and unique smell, very strong tempting and sofisticated at firt hours, clean baby like smell after 12+ hours. Lasts on my skin more then 48 hours, defenatly one of the best scents.

This is the ultimate designer fragrance and a gem. You want something that will last long and smell good, this is it. For date nights, I would say spray it an hour early it will get the ladies knees twirling.

Currently after months of release, it's still my favorite fragrance ever. My rating is an absolute 10/10! Literally not glazing, i love and enjoy wearing it so so much.