1 Million (Eau de Toilette) by Rabanne
Bottle Design:
Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance
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1 Million 2008 Eau de Toilette

6.8 / 10 3288 Ratings
A perfume by Rabanne for men, released in 2008. The scent is sweet-spicy. It is being marketed by Puig.
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Main accords

Sweet
Spicy
Oriental
Synthetic
Fruity

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
Red mandarin orangeRed mandarin orange PeppermintPeppermint
Heart Notes Heart Notes
CinnamonCinnamon Rose absoluteRose absolute
Base Notes Base Notes
AmberketalAmberketal LeatherLeather

Perfumers

Videos
Ratings
Scent
6.83288 Ratings
Longevity
7.82883 Ratings
Sillage
7.82819 Ratings
Bottle
6.62865 Ratings
Value for money
7.21901 Ratings
Submitted by DonVanVliet · last update on 12/12/2025.
Source-backed & verified
Interesting Facts
The fragrance was awarded the "Fragrance Hall of Fame" prize by the Fragrance Foundation in 2025.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to
1 Million Absolutely Gold by Rabanne
1 Million Absolutely Gold
Cash for Men (Eau de Toilette) by La Rive
Cash for Men Eau de Toilette
G. Bellini - N°1 by Lidl
G. Bellini - N°1
Intense Gold by Câline
Intense Gold
1 Million Intense by Rabanne
1 Million Intense
P.U.R.E. Million Men by Giorgio Valenti
P.U.R.E. Million Men

Reviews

209 in-depth fragrance descriptions
HugoMontez

81 Reviews
HugoMontez
HugoMontez
Very helpful Review 9  
Everything Looks Better From A Distance
One of the most hyped and then hated fragrances of the last 20 years. 1 Million by Paco Rabanne.
A fragrance that started a line of ultra sweet clubing scents for men. Of course we already have Joop (another one understimated) or even Le Mâle. But 1 Million changed the fragrance world and was a huge influence for more recent releases also from PR but also from many other brands actually, including niche ones.

Many people wore this fragrance and many people hated this one, also. Youtubers started to make fragrance videos and hyped this back in the days. But 2 or 3 years later, people started to get bored of it and sick of it and then it become a nightmare for fragrance lovers. One of the rules to be a prestigious fragrance lover was hating 1 Million.

I was, also, included in that group of people, and for a long time i didn't care for it. I even made fun of it.
So now, in 2021, nobody wears 1 Million. Nobody likes 1 Million, i don't see anyone wearing it or talking about it.

For that reason, and because i'm a sucker for non talked about fragrances and a anti current "niche" brands, i decided to get a sample and revisited this one.

I'm surprised. The opening is still great and addictive! Mandarin orange and cinnamon with hint of fresh rose petals. For people that don't like sweetness, go away, but if you like some sweetness but not the chemical-synthetic mess that they use nowadays (including many niche fragrances), this one is great. Yes, i know, everybody says that this is very synthetic, but comparing to nowadays standards, this is very "natural".

The drydown adds a leather note which is not a classic leather base that we find in masterpieces like Knize Ten or Moschino pour homme or even the great BelAmi but more like the leather that we find in more contemporary releases such as Tuscan Leather (Tom Ford) or Cuir Intense (Guerlain).

The performance is great although, it was reformulated and now is a little more subtle that before. Personally, i think it's better this way.

I find this one really good for night outs or casual events in winter time. Specially outside. It's very unique and still relevant, in my opinion. It's far from being a masterpiece or a timeless masculine but it's very decent and the best from the line. The rating system in Parfumo it's not accurate, again. I see many classics of decent fragrances ranked below 7/10 and i don't understand why. This is better that many niche fragrances out there that so many people rave about and give ridiculous ratings here.

Don't be snob and try this one out. A decent and unique sweet clubing fragrance for the ones that like those kinda scents.

3/5
0 Comments
ColinM

516 Reviews
ColinM
ColinM
Helpful Review 5  
You know what...
1 Million is a contemporary, synthetic, cheap and conventional “trendy leather scent”, quite plastic and light too, which is anyway overall honestly better than I expected by reading the reviews. It’s basically a sort of “all-rounder” scent which tries – and actually manages – to smell good for everything: fresh enough for the gym, safe enough for the office, trendy enough for the club, generic enough for the Post Office, and so on. Most of all, nice enough for the target it’s clearly aimed at – which is surely not the most refined gentlemen on Earth. The composition is quite simple: citrus head notes, a suederal base recreating a light, mellow suedeish note – clean and generically “modern” like in dozens of other contemporary leather scents – some canonical floral counterparts (violet, or rose), woods and patchouli to enhance the “darker” and drier side of leather, spices. As I said, all smelling quite dull, trendy and plain, with the texture and the quality of a car freshener. Still... well, I can’t really hate this. Mostly because it’s clearly, openly, and *honestly* aimed at a precise target, which *likes* and wants this kind of scents – a type of audience which basically wants a decent-smelling thing good for any situation, and possibly generic enough to look cool and à-la-page (which for some people, means “conform to and like what other people like”).
With so much pretentious niche that smells like this and costs three times this, pretending to be “luxury” or “sophisticated” ... you know what? That is what I hate – the pretentiousness, the fraud. While as much crap it may be, 1 Million’s fine for me, because at least it does not look pretentious (I mean, look at that hideous bottle... it’s so kitsch I want to hug it!). I always try to consider scents both “per se” and in perspective relating them to pretenses, price, target and so on. And while per se 1 Million is undoubtedly far below good (although – crucify me – it smells nice to me) if we relate to its actual raison d’etre, this is a respectable product which is aimed at the right targets – people whom you wouldn’t suggest to wear Monsieur de Givenchy or Guerlain’s Derby to. As much as you wouldn’t suggest a bespoke Corneliani suit to people which wear Topman sweaters (and you surely don’t blame Topman for not being so quality and class as Corneliani). For me, the problem of perfumery is not Rabanne or other hundreds of crap scents which, in a way, clearly “look” crap even from the bottle – the problem is the intolerable pretentiousness of brands pretending to look better than they are, and people feeding them by paying ridiculous amount of money for this same quality of Rabanne. 1 Million is so openly, unambiguously, honestly tacky I can’t really blame it for nothing (plus, as I said – crucify me again – it smells better than expected). And I’m fine with that (not that anyone should care).

6/10
0 Comments
StinkSultan

58 Reviews
StinkSultan
StinkSultan
Helpful Review 5  
The Million Dollar Question...
What makes a fragrance successful? A distinct, innovative, never-smelled-before blend? Maybe pure mass-appeal? Excellent marketing? Immaculate timing? Or is it a combination of all of these? I'm no product manager, but it seems that 1 Million Eau de Toilette made use of all the aforementioned qualities to reach the status it reached... back then.

Up first, apart from a clear synthetic undertone which follows you for most of the wearing, a honeyed citrus with a candy-like sweetness greets you, paired with a mild cool peppermint, reminding more of a medicinal mentholated throat candy rather than actual refreshing peppermint. Nevertheless, right from the start, 1 Million Eau de Toilette is easily recognizable.

As that Red mandarin orange and peppermint combo fade, the cinnamon takes center stage with a warm embrace of spice and sweetness. The rose doesn't push through as much, but it still adds a little of that floral powdery-sweet aroma.

The base doesn't really do much worth of praise. It basically tries to bring leather in to make this rather youthful-smelling composition a little more 'mature'. But in the end, as expected, there's just subtle hints of warm leather thrown in, all sitting below cinnamon, slightly woody amber, and some light muskiness. All in all, even for someone with little experience in perfumery, this is a hard scent to forget. At least back in 2008 when it was released, there wasn't really anything else that smelled like this, and given its more youthful yet addictive nature, I'm not impressed it found that $1 million milestone rather quickly. Now, is it the best blended fragrance? No, not at all. Feels like it lacks some balance, not to forget about that synthetic tinge, which to be honest isn't as bad as on some of its peers. But who cared back then? It smelled good and addictive, so people were leaving millions of spots on the shelves empty.

Now, in terms of performance, on my skin I didn't get anything impressive. Maybe a bad sample? Regardless, it lasted for about 5 hours, with projection looking very promising the first hour, leaving a very solid trail behind and projecting for more than 2 feet easily. But soon after it would calm down, and it became a skin scent right around hour 3. I'll assume there's either something wrong with my sample or my skin (I'd vouch for the latter), as I see rather great ratings from most others around.

There's no need to say much about versatility, apart from the fact that this became the signature scent of millions worldwide. So I think that says enough about its versatility. Clubbing, partying, dates, leisure, even the office? Everyone wore it everywhere.

I can see why 1 Million Eau de Toilette was so popular back then. It combined just the right about of distinctiveness with the right amount of originality with spot-on timing and a bang on marketing strategy (and, well, the unmissable gold bar-shaped bottle). All those ingredients made 1 Million Eau de Toilette the icon it is today, even if nowadays barely anyone looks at it anymore. And it's definitely not really worth the money anymore, unless you want that nostalgia of back when you were a teenager just looking for trouble. With tons of "better" flankers available now, 1 Million Eau de Toilette has mostly entered the 'Hall of Fame' in perfumery as one of the most successful fragrances in history. Designer fumes nowadays could never reach these heights.

Overall Rating: 4.3/10
0 Comments
JSpines

177 Reviews
JSpines
JSpines
Helpful Review 4  
1 Million
Many people think that this cologne is overrated. I am not one of those people. I believe it lives up to it's hype. Yes, a lot of men use it but that doesn't stop me from using it as well. I love it's warmth, soft sweetness and comforting manner. I really enjoy wearing it, especially on a nice, crisp autumn day. This scent really shines during the cooler seasons. I was lucky enough to find a 100 ml. bottle of this on clearance for 30 dollars just because the corner of it's box was smashed in. The bottle inside was perfect and I was thrilled to buy it at such a bargain price. I believe it's one of the best men's scents around. Better than most of the other designer fare offered these days for men. It's popular for a reason!
0 Comments
GothicHeart

133 Reviews
GothicHeart
GothicHeart
Helpful Review 4  
A scent of authority...
It could perfectly replace flash/stun grenades in the hands of riot police! Imagine a bottle of this shattering in the middle of a bunch of tight packed people... All of them flashed/stunned and above all marked for the next 12 hours therefore sooo easy to be identified and arrested! Need more proof that this WTF brew CANNOT be used for any good?
0 Comments
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Statements

499 short views on the fragrance
5
Sweet, strong, hell yeah! Wearing it to bed a lot. People hate this because it's cool to hate it...
0 Comments
4
Once it was a beast in performance.... But now its just skin scent that simply doens't last.
0 Comments
4
Everyone talk bad about this perfume, but I smelled a sample and I liked it a lot. I now understand because it is a bestseller.
0 Comments
3
Intensive blood mandarin, a touch of cinnamon sweetness and spiciness, and an amber + some faint leather finisher. Youthful and playful.
0 Comments
2 years ago
3
I dont like it now but its A scent we all had. Hated on for no reason by people who want to feel different / superior.
0 Comments
2 years ago
3
One of the ugliest bottles for one of the most alright perfumes. It's synthetic and basic, but not a bad starting point for a perfume.
0 Comments
2 years ago
3
1
This is not good. Synthetic headache. It's difficult to find a redeeming quality here. For the price, this is especially bad.
1 Comment
3
This has, unfortunately, been reformulated so many times it isnt even worth buying now. Performance is pitiful (2-3 hours), scent is so airy
0 Comments
2 years ago
3
I think the scores are a bit harsh, it was a revolutionary perfume at it's realease, even if it has been overused. Sweet and charming.
0 Comments
3
Fresh, spicy and sweet. Spearmint chewing gum mixed with cinnamon. Everybody has smelled it, but it is still a good scent!
0 Comments
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