Black Gold Project

Oud for Greatness Initio 2018 Eau de Parfum

Oud for Greatness (Eau de Parfum) by Initio

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Ranked 28 in Unisex Perfume

8.2 / 10 2851 Ratings

A popular perfume by Initio for women and men, released in 2018. The scent is woody-spicy. Projection and longevity are above-average. It is still in production.
Pronunciation

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Main accords

Woody

Spicy

Oriental

Sweet

Smoky

Fragrance Notes

Saffron

Nutmeg

Oud

Musk

Patchouli

Lavender

Ratings

Scent

8.22851 Ratings

Longevity

8.92710 Ratings

Sillage

8.62705 Ratings

Bottle

8.72608 Ratings

Value for money

6.82199 Ratings

Submitted by Taamii, last update on 07/30/2025.

Interesting Facts

The fragrance is part of the "Black Gold Project" collection.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Oud for Glory

Haltane

Supremacy in Oud

Oud for Greatness Neo

Muscat

Greatest

Reviews

100 in-depth fragrance descriptions

01/06/2025

3
Pricing 8
Sillage 8
Longevity 9
Scent

Smirky
450 Reviews

Smirky

Helpful Review 4

Very nice oud with minimal animalic accord

This is a joint review of Initio Oud for Greatness and its Lattafa clone, Oud for Glory, which I tested on consecutive days and compared directly at the same time. I'll start out by saying that to me, the two fragrances are about 95% identical in the final dry down (about 30 minutes after applying). Oud for Greatness opens with what I'm assuming is a saffron + nutmeg scent and shortly followed by a mild oud-y barnyard stink. That quickly disappears (maybe 5 minutes) and it continues to evolve with the woody oud scent (without the stink) becoming a bit more prominent.

Oud for Glory, OTOH, opens up straight woody and a bit peppery. There was absolutely no barnyard stink either. As it dried down, the patch became more prominent. However, after about 30 minutes, both fragrances pretty much converge and were almost identical. I'd say Oud for Greatness has a bit more emphasis on the saffron and nutmeg while Oud for Glory emphasizes the patch. In both, the woody oud scent is primary. Both fragrances are very masculine with excellent performance. In my testing, Oud for Glory's performance had a very slight edge over Oud for Greatness.

I also compared both Oud for Greatness and Oud for Glory to wrist sprays of Amouage's Opus XIII Silver Oud and Armaf's Special Amber Oud (which is a clone of Roja's Amber Aoud). There was no expectation in my mind that these latter two fragrances would be similar to either OfG; they aren't. I just wanted to see where they fit into the Oud picture. I'd put Silver Oud all the way at the right. It's got a strong animalic woody oud scent. The two OfG's are in the middle with a milder woody oud scent and not really animalic. Special Amber Oud is at the left with stronger amber & leather notes along with some sweeter vanilla. I like all four; they just scratch a different itch. None of them struck me as synthetic or screeching smelling.

Regarding Oud for Greatness and Oud for Glory, I actually preferred the clone, Oud for Glory, over the real thing when doing a direct A/B comparison, so that's the one I'm going with. To be honest, if I hadn't compared them directly, I probably would not have noticed a difference - they are so close.

05/18/2020

7
Pricing 9
Bottle 8
Sillage 8
Longevity 9
Scent

BertolucciK
12 Reviews

BertolucciK

Helpful Review 4

Mysterious Seduction

It is a balanced, "round" fragrance. While it is possible to clearly distinguish all the ingredients, none overlap the others. You can feel the oud from the start, but it's never too animalistic. The saffron and nutmeg make it addicting and I spent the day smelling my arm. It's a scent that made me want to wear a black shirt and go out at night to play the role of a mysterious man. It has that musk at the base and a sweetness that makes it very alluring. The performance is great, after several hours the scent is still very present. Regarding the bottle ... it is magnificent.

11/22/2021

4
Pricing 10
Bottle 7
Sillage 10
Longevity 8.5
Scent

Aromato
4 Reviews

Aromato

Helpful Review 2

Oud for Overrate

I've tested a sample for some days. its pretty sweet and i dont get that much oud darkness (which is good for some people that are afraid of it). pretty wearable and a pleasant scent. i get a sugary cola vibe in the dry down it has a effervescence to it.
performance wise its so overrated..! yeah i agree that longevity is eternal .. +12 hrs on skin and days on cloth .. but projection is pretty moderate. I've worn it (pretty heavily) to the office it didn't fill the room and when i asked coworkers about the scent, they had to come really close to smell it. but everyone liked the smell. sadly i get much more projection (and thus compliments) from my cheap designer fragrances like : YSL Y EDP, Azzaro Wanted by Night, Rasasi Hawas etc.

05/16/2025

9
Sillage 10
Longevity 10
Scent

DevilJuice
75 Reviews

DevilJuice

Helpful Review 2

Take me to another world. My all time favorites

This is a masterpiece. But its not a crowd pleaser and more of an acquired taste

It's the definition of Addictive Woodsy & Earthy. Like you're one of those tribesman from the movie Avatar and you walked into one of those fresh untouched forests from another planet. Glowing plants, fresh soil and exotic woods touch the air and you smell this.

This and Haltane are 10/10 fragrances for sure. Oud for greatness is BEAST MODE and more woody so its a little harder to wear. I find it funny ppl call OFG more unisex and Haltane more masculine when OFG is the one thats less sweet lmao. But both are still fragrances Ill love forever and cant live without

12/22/2024

7
Pricing 7
Sillage 8
Longevity 7.5
Scent

Maksy
19 Reviews

Maksy

2

Oud For Greatness, but I wish you were greater.

Well, I finally have gotten around to comparing the two: Haltane and this, Oud For Greatness. Two sides of the same coin, from two sister houses.
I’ll just save time by saying: I like Haltane more.
I like OfG, but this scent dries so shockingly flat on my skin that I was kinda surprised. The opening is punchy, nutmeg and a semi-rubbery saffron/oud accord greets my nose. But after that, this scent seemingly becomes quite one-dimensional with no real interesting development? And while I can appreciate linear constructions, they have to have some interesting development in the depth or accords of the profile – this does not happen here in Oud for Greatness.
I can see this profile maybe appealing to those that find the sweetness of Haltane too much? And while I don’t mind the lack of sweetness/praline in OfG at all, I find the lack of complexity quite dissatisfying for its price tag.
So despite all this negativity, what are some positives I can praise this scent for?
Well, for one I like the nutmeg & Oud, it’s spicy and has that signature patchouli Oud aroma. I really wish Haltane had nutmeg somewhere in the mix, it really would add a nice aroma to its construction.
Quality ingredients throughout, nothing screams “bad quality” to me, so you’re definitely getting a niche aroma.
I love-love the opening! I wish it lasted longer.

I find I get better longevity than sillage from this profile, which is fine. 9-10hrs longevity with just over arms length sillage for the first 3hrs, down to arms length for the next 5-6, then just above skin until gone.
I don’t hate this scent, I just find it disappointing for its price tag – and while I’m no PdM fanboy or anything, I’d rather pay the price for Haltane over this.

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