Lady Million Prive

In 2010, Paco Rabanne launched Lady Million to make pair with 1 Million, which became absolute success in the market. The concept was kept and to accompany the golden ingot, its bottle came in the form of a diamond. Again, the brand achieved success. In 2012, it was the turn of the Eau de Toilette and Absolutely Gold versions. In 2014, the company released the Eau My Gold version, to replace the Eau de Toilette version, which would be discontinued. In 2016, a new duo was released, with the surname Privé. This time, the successful couple, who gets everything with the snap of their fingers, shows their criminal side. They are normal, during the day, and completely different, at night. The perfumer was Anne Flipo, again. She gave life to an intense, floral and gourmand fragrance. And who has already used some famous websites, to get the notes before making videos on youtube, may not know, but they are listed in a wrong way. Just go to the official website of the brand, either in French or English, to see that the raspberry note heads the composition along with the heliotrope note, contrary to what is disclosed here and there, arguing that both would be in the body of the fragrance. That said, here goes the olfactory pyramid: raspberry, heliotrope, woody accord and orange blossom, on top. Then, the heart brings the vanilla flower, which is a type of orchid. The base is intoxicating and combines notes of cocoa, honey and patchouli. Lady Million Privé is sweet and carries that raspberry sour, since the beginning. And the heliotrope, by itself, is already reminiscent of vanilla. That is, we have a vanilla fragrance ahead. The luminous part comes from the orange blossom, but the secret of this opulent creation is undoubtedly at its base. The patchouli is chocolate-type and mixes with the nuances of cacao, which are bitterer and, in a way, powdery. The honey falls on top and does not let the cocoa powder rise, sealing the perfume on the skin, bitter and sweet, all at the same time. I read something about Black Orchid, but I compared the two and saw no resemblance. Then, I realized that the facet of the patchouli was not strange to me: I look here, I try there and I realize that La Vie Est Belle has this sweet-chocolate patchouli. You can notice, in those moments when the patchouli and the vanilla decide to appear more than the rest. Even so, it is a passing feeling. But something was still missing, which I could hardly remember. “That cocoa base has already been on my skin”, I thought to myself. After some tests and some research, the answer appeared: niche perfumery. So I was able to identify the same cocoa from Xocoatl (Fueguia 1833) and Santal Majuscule (Serge Lutens). We have then a fragrance by Paco Rabanne, which plays niche and was made for the mass market. I take this opportunity to leave a tip: if you do not like the base of this perfume, you will have great chances of not liking any of the others mentioned. Lady Million Privé does not disappoint in projection, much less in longevity. It is one of those bombs, which are perfect on colder days or in special moments full of sensuality. Its bottle remains the same, but the gold turned bronze and the fragrance gained a liqueur appearance. Worth knowing!

Finished my 50ml bottle today, which I bought on the 16th of Febuary 2019. I bought this bottle together with a 50ml of Si Intense (black bottle) and Lovestory Sensuelle. When I was out for shopping I remember very clearly seeing an ad for the Umbrella Academy Season 1 outside the window of the perfume shop that day. Which I ended up binging that evening, love that show. I also remember very well when I bought it, the store clerk was suprised that I like Lady Million Prive. ''It doesnt sell well, barely anybody likes it'' she said. Which might also be the reason why this perfume has been discontinued since. Its a shame, because Lady Million Prive is a lovely scent: it reminds me of Black Orchid by tom Ford, but a stripped down and less challening version. Lady Million Prive smells to me like raw cacao powder and patchouli with a hint of some sweetness and woodyness in the background. It stays pretty linear from the first spray till the drydown, so if the first spray is offputting to you then thats not gonna change. I however, very appriciate the scent and it unsuprising that about 6 months later I bought a bottle of Black Orchid because I wanted some more of this scent but then pumped up to 11. Lady Million Prive is very easy to overspray and if you do that it smells like you dropped a bag of raw cacao powder on yourself. So spray with somewaht of a caution. On my skin it always lasted a good 8+ hours. Its does project very well, you can easily smell this from across a crowded room. Overall I would summarize it as Black Orchids younger sister who goes to the club with a fake ID (provided by Black Orchid), but would rather have spend the night at home drinking some hot cocao. Its cozy, yet outgoing and slightly wild. Perfect for the colder weather (Autumn/Winter), wearing it in hotter weather will make it too potent to enjoy with even a single spray. I also want to point out that earlier this year I had less then half of my bottle left, but due the shape of the Lady Million bottles I could not get any liquid out of it. So I had to perform ''a 5 hours long surgery'' to get the remaining 20 or so ml out of the bottle. Opening a Lady Million bottle is awfull, the non glass parts of the bottle are all made from layers of some hard plastic that is nearly impossible to cut through and there was dried up superglue all under the cap. It looked so cheap and unhealthy. I put the remianing perfume in a cheap travel spray and used that till today when I sprayed the last bit of Lady Million. Since I also have the original Lady Million (50ml) and Lady Million Lucky (80ml) I will be sure in for another treat of a surgery whenI wanna open those bottle up. Sigh. This is the 5th and final bottle I finished this year after my 50mls of Si Intense, Sky di Gioia, Air di Gioia and a 100ml of Gucci Bloom. I always feel a bit sad whenever I finish a bottle, because it feels like saying goodbye to an old friend. But on the other hand, it feels even better to finish a bottle and bring some new perfumes in my seasonal rotations.

I first picked this up in the sticky depths of a humid August, and rolled in it for a month straight asking myself what it reminded me of. Couldn't get enough. The summer heat really brought out the florals, the chocolate and the patchouli did not go tangy, nor the honey too sweet, and the drydown was spectacularly spicy and gorgeous. Plus, it was a great price! Before too long... half the bottle was gone! Did I become anosmic to it, sweat it all off, or was I just loving it too much? It had to get shelved, awaiting cooler weather to see how it would shine, and after a dusting of snow and subzero temperatures, today seemed a perfect day to revisit it. This is such a womanly perfume, a bit on the mysterious side, complex - even if there aren't many notes, they are very well blended. It's the drydown that really captivates me... I keep sniffing my wrist trying to place it, like chasing a carrot. It's more cozy than sexy, but it is both strangely cozy and elusively sexy. Not 'warm sweater' cozy. 'Warm body', someone snuggled up close to you, intimately talking cozy. That could just be some nostalgia for me - where and whenever I smelled it was a good place and time, and it brought me a good feeling. Now that bottle - sorry, the chocolate diamond craze didn't appeal to me - it is easy to hold and spray, and sits pretty, but it is sooo chintzy. Lady Million is nice, too, but the bottle put me off ever buying it. Prive is so much nicer than the original, and easier to wear, in my opinion. Upon first testing, and it was a blind buy (thanks again, Fragrantica and Fragranticaticians!) it struck a chord within my olfactory soul's core so hard that I didn't care that the bottle looked like a big brown root beer Ring Pop from the eighties. It could come in a rubber boot for all I care, as long as the composition remains the same. This will always be a part of my wardrobe for the familiar comfort that it brings, and will be perfect for the upcoming season and all the hugs that go around. If you like sophisticated, mature gourmands that are more sex than candy while keeping it classy and comfy, this is definitely worth owning. UGH - that bottle though, LOL!

Perfect fall or nighttime scent. Light florals are upfront with cacao(acting like dry cocoa powder) and honey playing close backup. And behind those are the raspberry, patchouli and woods(and yes the patch and woods give off a slightly earthy vibe). The other notes are more faint but they all come together to make a warm sweet amber floral gourmand leaning(but not quite there) perfume. Longevity is not the best but I'd say it makes it to moderate(4-6hrs...sometimes a little more). Unfortunately I don't think this projects that far either. It's more a arm distance away scent. I like it a lot but because of those factors not sure I'd repurchase. 8.5/10 rating Update: As this scent ages it gets better. Longevity is pretty good now(6-8hrs). And projection is better also. Not huge but better. I might get this again. #2 update: It's definitely a baby sister to Black Orchid.. If I ran out of BO/both I'd just opt for Lady Million Prive I think. It's more easy going and wearable.

As some other reviewers already mentioned - the opening of Prive is more "Black Orchid for beginners" than Lady Million. That is because the cocoa note of LMP and the chocolate note of BO are very similar: Dry and dark, not sweet like milk chocolate. In general I find the topnotes of Lady Million Prive quite interesting, they are very woody, not sweet and the patchouli is already noticeable. Raspberry then makes everything a bit lighter and more girly, and contrary to the usual developement of frangrances, I find the fruity notes stronger as the perfume dries down a bit. The base is a lovely, slightly sweet and very cozy mix of creamy woods, cocoa powder and honey. The vanilla is no more than a supporting note here. I still get wafts of raspberry here and there after a long time. I like this flanker much more than the regular Lady Million. Prive is more mature, has a more natural scent and is very warm and comforting. I would wear it.