Paco Rabanne turns up the heat on its XS franchise. It certainly lends itself to being turned up and turned on! The original XS launched in 1993 with the scent of sexual desire. Then came the rock star Black XS. Today, Pure XS steams in with an erotic aroma. The advertising campaign storyline focuses on the cultured, handsome ‘heir’ with a bevy of gorgeous girls totally attracted to this seemingly unattainable guy.
All this smouldering stuff set the scene for the media launch in Sydney prior to going on counter pre-Christmas. Hosted by Peter Playford – Country Manager, Puig Oceania, media experienced the fragrance through gorgeous male models spray sampling guests. No complaints heard!
The fragrance is described as ‘fresh smouldering oriental’. The two perfumers are Anne Flipo, creator of the Lady Million fragrance, and Caroline Dumur, both working at IFF. The challenge was to convey the sensation of skin shivering with desire and burning with pleasure in an olfactory expression. This idea of a “smouldering shiver” guided the perfumers to achieve a composition with two accords that contrast and harmonise with each other. The fragrance also had to call on all of the senses. Smell, of course, but also taste and touch, like a sensory trap.
To capture fantasised eroticism in a bottle, the designer juxtaposed power and restraint to convey excess in its animality and purity at the same time. With a solid base and thick, chiselled glass, the bottle opens with a flirty snap for a masculine gesture.
Paco Rabanne Pure XS RRP $97.00 (50ml) RRP $129.00 (100ml) available at Myer and David Jones stores nationally now.