Ultrared Man

This stuff is great! Definitely the best, and perhaps only designer summer gourmand that money can buy, and by FAR the very best release from the house of Paco Rabanne. On top you are initially greeted with a very pleasant, yet unlisted anise note, and then just minutes later, sweet, juicy, delicious blood orange joins the party which is then followed by a very well done caramelized, nutty, praline accord and a small dose of (also unlisted) sandalwood as well. Although there is a bit of vanilla present in the opening, it doesn't begin to truly assert itself and combine with the everlasting blood orange note until after about an hour or so, creating a heavenly creamsicle vibe that smells wonderful and persists throughout. There is definitely some semblance to Lolita Lempicka Au Masculin in this fragrance because of the praline, anise, and vanilla combination, however, this time, the sharp, synthetic licorice of that fragrance is welcomely absent, replaced instead by the juicy, unique, summery citrus scent of blood orange. Although this IS a sweet fragrance (it's a gourmand!), it's "sweetness" is balanced perfectly by a very subliminal sandalwood and the scent itself never becomes too heavy, nor will it become cloying in sweltering heat or overcrowded rooms. This is a light, meticulously well-crafted designer gourmand, making "Ultrared" is THE quintessential summer scent for any gourmand fan out there. If you love these edible types of fragrances (as many women do, guys!), and want something that smells sweetly sublime, yet doesn't repulse in the oppressive heat of summer, look no further than PR's, Ultrared. This fragrance will makes Hanae Mori's "HM" EDP", another citrus-gourmand, smell almost rank in a side-by-side, summer, comparison. Save that scent for the winter, guys. That's when it was MEANT to be worn. Yes, it does smell like mint and candied lemons off the top, but that DOES NOT MEAN it was meant for summer! Paco Rabanne's yummy and sadly discontinued, "Ultrared", is. EDIT: I get about 6-7 hours of projection and about 9 or so of longevity on this pup, both of which are very respectable. It's a fantastic, delicious, scent, it just isn't the most refined. OVERALL: 8/10.

I'm not always loving the vanilla frags because often they are too sweet and this has the modern note of praline so I bought on a gut feeling - hesitantly. But man this is simply exquisitely balanced. Masterpiece comes to mind. Fresh and youthful just how I like them. Bridging the summer vibe with solid autumn or winter wearability. Casual and laidback personality. Reminds me slightly of Facconable Legacy, but better and more likeable. Both Ultraviolet and Ultrared are sooooo good. I like this one the most but thinking of buying Ultraviolet too now. They certainly do not make mens frag like this anymore. This style of freshness is nowhere on the scene now. This is 2008, a true Segway between the old style and modern frags. The packaging and bottle is outstanding on this one. Solidifying the satisfaction of the buy. Found it easily online and didn't pay a third of a common designer frags that lack this uniqueness. New possible signature for me and I don't say that often. If it only performs decently I will not complain on any single thing. I'm 40 and will not hesitate to wear. Silly to say only teenager can smell this good and that with age you have to let go of the magic? And no this is not le male exilir, where exilir is obnoxiously sweet and jumbled with too much going on, this strikes a finer line of the right amount of vanilla to citrus. Patchouli for that solid green backbone that makes the dry down stay outdoorsy instead of makeup powder. This is youthful yes but not plain, smells like a vibrant playful man with positive attitude and a sense of fashion to me. But if you hate frags like Hugo Boss and Abercrombie maybe not for you. I get some real Armani Code (the OG strong one) mixed with Fahrenheit in the dry stage. So that would be tonka/vanilla doing that and I suspect a unlisted violet hidden in the heart. 5/5. What a jackpot, just blind buy this.

Just bought 2 bottles because if the price drop. (10$ a 1.7 bottle!) and it was on my want list as im interested in gourmands lately (since my Lolita Lempicka Au Masculin adventure) As LLAM has this liquorice high pinch here it is in the top by blood orange. Its fantastic! its simple and its mesmerizing because what I SMELL is what i SEE in the top-mid and basenotes. Its plain THAT simple and thats why i like this also. Starts blood-orange zesty for 2-4 mins. Then evolving in a rapid tempo to a warm vanilla-praline combo! where vannila is in the background coming up and i think the tonka holds its sweetness up. Im not sure about the longevity because maybe my dry skin absorbds all these days in winter time. The praline is never cloying! its well behaved and never too sweet. It should named Ultra-Eatable and i think (me disliking Ultraviolet) its a shame this one is sparingly available and almost out of stock. I always ignored Ultrared because of the same botte design as Ultraviolet giving me the idea these scents where in the same line but dont understand me wrong! Ultrared is a whole other league (sniffs my arm for the 24th time now and the vaniila is kicking more in but in a slow tempo as if the vannila is together with an army of strawberries) I think this is gonna be the new Yohji Homme because its rareness in the next 10 years to come. Watch my words this one will be spoken all over basenotes and Fragrantica and will be expensive on ebay! Ultrared is an Exotic,Erotic and Estatic gourmand not to miss!! I call it UltraRE,E&ED :-) Classic,timeless

The new bottles have a lighter smoother scent than the original back in 2008. My old bottle was a praline bomb. The new one is soft and doesn't last long, at least in cold weather. This is definitely a summer scent now for those buying the new and lower priced bottles. I'm not sure if Paco Rabanne re-released this or what, but I know for sure this isn't the beast it used to be. I will say that the newer scent is very pleasant and well blended. I like it more than the older version for that reason. If you are buying this to fulfill your need for the unicorn like hype of years past, don't bother. It isn't what it used to be. The old one was really loud and sometimes annoying to me. The old one fits into the strong gourmand love it or hate realm for sure. The new version(or whatever it is) is more of a pleasant everyone scent. But again, the new bottles are not strong at all. Maybe in summertime this will unfold into something better, but if you are In a place that is cold right now, don't expect to wear this without bringing it with you wherever you go to reapply every couple hours. Lastly, I what to stress that the new scent has a much better transition between all the notes. There isn't a single note listed that I don't smell at some point in wearing this. And for those that had it before (like myself and just want a pleasant reminder of a great scent), but like to wear something more subtle now, this is for you. Note: a good praline bomb that still holds up pretty well would be Jacomo de Jacomo Rouge. Think minty Le Male with praline.

I have to say that Paco Rabanne Ultrared is one of my most successful blind buys this year, and it is also a blind buy that I instantly loved at the first sniff. It has a beautiful, mouth-watering combination of praline (that has some kind of sweet chocolate vibe to me), blood orange, vanilla, and patchouli. It is sweet, fresh, invigorating, effervescent, very gourmand, and really smooth. I was kinda impressed by the quality of this juice the first time I smelt it. I can barely smell the tonka bean though. It does have some kind of resemblance to some Thierry Mugler/Mugler fragrances from the A*Men line, like Kryptomint and Pure Tonka (haven't tried Ultra Zest yet), but to me, Ultrared is much smoother on the edges as those Muglers can be quite strong and pungent in the opening. This is one of a few fragrances in my collection that is gourmand, yet not sickly sweet to be worn in a high heat. Even though most people said it is much more suitable for spring and fall, I think Paco Rabanne Ultrared is also perfectly suitable for summer and winter. It has enough sweetness and richness to work well in a colder weather, but it has enough freshness, fizziness, and effervescence to work magnificently in a hotter weather. The performance is very good on my skin, and could last for days on clothes. This is my SOTD today, and more than 8 hours in, I still can smell it when I'm moving (the sillage is beautiful). It projects very well for the first 3 to 4 hours too. This is a blind buy worthy fragrance, especially if you love gourmands.