PACO RABANNE
PHANTOM INTENSE

2024

PERFUMER
Juliette Karagueuzoglou
Dominique Ropion
Anne Flipo
Paul Guerlain

lemon
orange blossom
lavender

clary sage
cardamom

cedarwood
moss
rum absolute
vanilla

‘Phantom Intense is a fragrance that evokes the hypnotic emotion of twilight, when the Parisian sky turns a deep blue and the city lights up with a mysterious glow. The bottle reflects this transition, with a nuanced design that changes from black to blue, symbolizing the power and allure of the Phantom man. The scent is a fresh and aromatic interpretation of the Phantom DNA, with a blend of exceptional ingredients by world-renowned perfumers Paul Guerlain, Juliette Karagueuzoglou, Anne Flipo and Dominque Ropion. Phantom Intense defines a new facet of powerful masculinity, with a creamy and magnetic combination of vivid lavender and vanilla, enhanced by woody and masculine notes. A touch of frosted orange blossom adds an exquisite uniqueness and a sensation of ultra-freshness, while a sparkling lemon, a warm and spicy trail of cardamom and clary sage oil, and a tempting Rum Absolute give the fragrance an exciting quality. Cedarwood oil and modern moss bring new warm, woody and earthy depths of sensuality.’ – Paco Rabanne

So far, Phantom has to be among my least favorite DNA’s on the market. I don’t remember Phantom EDT that well, although I remember not liking it one bit. Phantom Parfum I reviewed last year and will be more comparable from memory, but I couldn’t enjoy that either. Phantom Intense is my favorite of the 3, by a margin, although it’s still not a fragrance that I would enjoy wearing personally.

What Intense instantly does better than the Parfum is the brightness in the opening. A much more pronounced citrussy opening. Smelling everything but natural, but not unpleasant. The sort of mix of green, mossy, citrussy and sweetness that you get from the sweeter Aventus-DNA/clones. This Intense keeps it more citrus and less ‘other fruits’ I got from the nearly unbearable rhubarb accord in the Parfum.

In the opening, I found it less aromatic, which was a plus for me. However, after about an hour, when the citrus has faded, this still goes in that Le Male-esque aromatic-lavender-vanilla direction, but more plasticy. The sweetness smells very artificial and generic. The more it leans into vanilla the better, but you can’t get away from the candied, every so slightly bubblegummy, Sephora-essence that’s all over it.

The brand’s description randomly mixes the term ‘ultra-fresh’ in with several mentions of ‘warm’. And I guess that is what you get. A fresher, aromatic, citrussy side and a creamy vanillic, I’d say almost gourmand-leaning side. With the citrus, I get a orange blossom-sorbet like blend that is quite enjoyable, but the moment it loses that, it becomes a generic sweet-aromatic designer that I couldn’t care for.

As a man who wears and likes a lot of feminine leaning fragrances, it does strike me as odd that there seems to be a trend of including sweet orange blossom in masculine leaning scent profiles that are marketed very purposely as masculine by the brands. It wears a bit conflicting and takes me mentally to the YSL Libre DNA; we saw this in YSL MYSLF & Parfums de Marly Althair recently, and now again in Phantom Intense.

As usual, my problem with these mainstream designer releases, is that nothing stands out particularly well, especially also in texture. The spices aren’t punchy and sharp, the lemon (despite its description by the brand) doesn’t sparkle, the moss is flat. I can’t say that I get a real rum or boozy scent upon first wearing, but it probably adds to the sweeter, smoother vibe.

Perhaps because of the vanillic take and creamier texture as it dries, I find it pretty wearable, given my very low expectations. Definitely an upgrade over Phantom EDT and Parfum, but this combination of notes still doesn’t work for me. It’s the same experience I have with the Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male DNA, which I know a lot of people love, but it clashes in my opinion. Phantom Intense leans so far into the sweetness that it almost overcomes it, but it still manages to annoy me slightly.