Invictus Victory by Paco Rabanne is an Amber fragrance for men launched in 2021. The fragrance was released as an Eau de Parfum.
Invictus Victory is part of Paco Rabanne’s Invictus Collection. It’s a flanker to the original Invictus fragrance. It’s been quite a popular scent ever since its release in 2021.
The keynotes of this Amber fragrance are Pink Pepper, Lavender, Olibanum, and Vanilla.
A description by the brand:
The new Invictus Victory extreme Eau de Parfum seizes with its power and seduces with its freshness. Instantly, citric lemon notes flow. The woody fragrance of incense strengthens the composition whilst the sensual vanilla wraps itself around a fiery Tonka bean. An Eau de Parfum that subtly celebrates modern masculinity.
| Perfume Name | Invictus Victory |
| Brand | Paco Rabanne |
| Year Released | 2021 |
| Concentration | Eau de Parfum |
| Scent Family | Amber |
| Gender | men |
I recently got a sample of Invictus Victory from my local stockist. These are my thoughts on this relatively new release by Paco Rabanne.
What does Invictus Victory by Paco Rabanne smell like?
Invictus Victory is a sweet-smelling, almost gourmand scent with some smokiness and a little bit of lemon in the opening. It smells warm and inviting.
Although Invictus Victory is a flanker of the original Invictus, in some ways, it feels a bit like the cousin of the Pure XS line. At the same time, it bears some resemblance to a scent like Code Profumo.
I actually think this fragrance would work really well if it were layered with something boozy. I tried it with Angels’ Share by Kilian, and it was absolutely delicious. Of course, Angels’ share is far too expensive to use for layering, but a similar boozy scent really adds a bit of complexity to Invictus Victory that I feel it’s missing at times.
| Top Notes | Pink Pepper and Lemon |
| Middle Notes | Lavender and Olibanum |
| Base Notes | Vanilla, Tonka Bean and Amber |
My Experience
The opening of this fragrance gives me a beautiful dose of lemon and a nice peppery kick. It’s definitely a nice and warm opening, but the pink pepper note isn’t overwhelming by any means. I’ve had it with other scents in the past that the pepper in the opening is a vicious blast almost, and fortunately, that’s not the case here.
The lemon note in the opening disappears quite quickly, which I actually think is quite a shame. At this point, I also pick up a bit of smokiness from the Olibanum.
As the scent dries down, it’s really the amber and the vanilla that takes center stage. The combination actually gives it a bit of a chocolate vibe, but more raw cacao rather than milk chocolate. This note is complemented by the lavender that starts making its appearance at this point.
Every time I’ve worn Invictus Victory so far, I get hints of tonka bean, but it’s never really a dominant note, and sometimes it’s hard even to pick up. It’s really the vanilla that overshadows it.
Sillage & Projection
In terms of sillage and projection, the scent performs well overall. Although it starts out very strong, it becomes more moderate for most of the duration of the wear. It leaves a nice scent trail without being too in your face.
Longevity & Versatility
The longevity with this scent is really solid, and I get around 9 hours of wear on average. I find that it sticks around even longer on my clothes. This is primarily a scent for the colder months. So I’d wear it in the fall and winter, although on other colder days in the spring for example, it would also work well.
It’s a great all-rounder scent that you can wear on almost any occasion, from work to a date. It’s not a super sexy scent per se. However, it’s still very well-balanced and delicious overall,
Closing thoughts
This is a pretty safe fragrance to blind-buy, and given the fragrance’s overall performance, you’ll absolutely get your money’s worth with it. If you like warmer notes and something a bit sweet that’s almost a bit on the gourmand side, then this is absolutely worth a try.
Like most of the Invictus scents, it’s geared toward a bit of a younger crowd. If this is a fragrance that appeals to you, it’s full bottle worthy. It’s definitely a crowd-pleaser, and it will get the wearer compliments, but it’s not super unique, either.
If you layer it with a boozy fragrance, it definitely amps up the uniqueness factor, and it could be more appealing to a bit of an older group of men.