Black Gold Project

Oud for Greatness Neo Initio 2024

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8.0 / 10 179 Ratings

A new perfume by Initio for women and men, released in 2024. The scent is spicy-oriental. The longevity is above-average. It is still in production.

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Main accords

Spicy

Oriental

Woody

Green

Fresh

Fragrance Notes

Musk

Fir balsam Oud

Oud

Saffron

Bergamot

Lavender Orpur®

Ratings

Scent

8.0179 Ratings

Longevity

8.1165 Ratings

Sillage

7.9163 Ratings

Bottle

8.6167 Ratings

Value for money

6.3153 Ratings

Submitted by multiple users, last update on 07/17/2025.

Interesting Facts

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

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Oud for Greatness Eau de Parfum

Haltane

Oud for Glory

Layton Exclusif

Song of Oud

Reviews

5 in-depth fragrance descriptions

06/20/2024

4
Pricing 9
Bottle 5
Sillage 5
Longevity 7.5
Scent

NicheOnly
85 Reviews

NicheOnly

4

It's just Torino22...

The Harrods exclusivity month is long gone and Oud for Greatness Neo is now available. That definitely doesn't mean you should go out and buy it though as the product has nothing to offer that is worthy of your time.

In the opening Oud for Greatness Neo definitely has some qualities from the original "Oud for Greatness | Initio", but the scent smells more like a light-aromatic version of it. It's almost as if you crossed a standard sweet-aromatic masculine fragrance into the profile like PDM's Layton. Due the lack of darker tones, the saffron that is reminiscent of the Baccarat Rouge 540 Eau de Parfum class of fragrances feels more prevalent.

When smelling the fragrance up-close, the aforementioned sweet-aromatic-fresh qualities from scents such as Layton, DesirToxic, Papilefiko and others are even more clear. At first it really felt close to DesirToxic, but as the drydown progresses, the fresh qualities here from what I believe to be the lavender and fir combine to offer a minty feel which at first I was associating with a fragrance like Enclave before the ultimate comparison fragrance came to mind: Xerjoff's "Torino22 | XerJoff". The contrast between the sweet-airy saffron and the minty-aromatic style flank accords offer a huge accord overlap in the ultimate drydown of Oud for Greatness Neo.

In the end, Neo was nothing more than a typical Harrods cash-grab attempt. It doesn't do the original Oud for Greatness any justice because as a flanker, it does so little. Within the last 6 months we have seen how brands can make significant changes with flankers to produce effectively a completely different fragrance as was the case with Silky Woods Elixir, but it appears Initio had no aspirations to even try. I get dead-average longevity of say 6 hours on an average sillage, aided by the saffron performing well in hot environments. "Torino22 | XerJoff" retails at €195/50ml vs. Neo's €315/90ml, so the value here is below average as well. I am not expecting more releases from Initio in 2024 and after they released Paragon in November 2022, I don't think they've hit either of these last 2 releases particularly well.

05/23/2024

8
Pricing 8
Bottle 9
Sillage 8
Longevity 10
Scent

Aikj55
10 Reviews

Aikj55

1

My fav from 2020-2022

This fragrance was absolutely fantastic back in the day, such a massive sillage & a big crowd pleaser (in u are into crowd pleasing). The blend from the oud to the saffron, come together very & leave the wearer very cheery & the people around asking what it is.

However, the recent iterations seem to be a lot lighter & lack the previous boom & longevity from the earlier batches, its still a good enough fragrance to wear regardless.

06/25/2025

Demond
1 Review

Demond

1

Fresher, more versatile

Top note: It begins with a slightly fresh note of masculine lavender and a citrusy note of bergamot; it smells more modern and contemporary than the OG.
Development: It's a combination of a classic, sweet, and aromatic masculine fragrance, with the Layton profile, with a light touch of Dextertic Toxic, a minty note reminiscent of an Amouage enclave.
Yes, it smells very similar to the OG, but more elegant and less aggressive.
Use: It aims to become a year-round perfume, a very versatile scent, ideal for the office. It could even become a signature fragrance.

Summary: It's a much more versatile perfume, very tasty, and this should garner compliments.
Compared to its predecessor, a lighter, more wearable, and more citrusy version, the green and spicy notes are rounder and less pungent.

06/05/2024

7
Pricing 9
Bottle 8
Sillage 8
Longevity 8
Scent

Segel
6 Reviews

Translated Show original

Segel

Very helpful Review 25

Oud for Half-Greatness

When the original "Oud for Greatness | Initio" came onto the market, I wasn't even born yet (here on Parfumo). I only had the opportunity to smell it last year in the Wigger perfumery in Dortmund. The first time I sprayed it, I was totally shocked, but I took the fragrance home with me. I kept sniffing it on the way home. By the time I got home, I was so in love that I bought the "Oud for Greatness | Initio" here straight away.

The original "Oud for Greatness | Initio" is pure greatness. I won't say much about it here, as many of you know it (and probably like it - I certainly do). I associate it with a young, mid-20s, energetic "me", a "me" who always wants to party, always wants to be in the spotlight. For me, the original has the same energy of, for example, Ombre Nomades.

Between the original and Neo, 6 years passed quickly - the "me" got a bit older, calmer. He works and likes to look for an everyday fragrance, perhaps a signature fragrance, one that is not so loud (disturbing), but which nevertheless does not lack that "quelque chose". This is where the Oud for Greatness Neo comes into play. Not every flanker is as good as the original. And it's about the same here. The magic is half gone here. The beautiful nutmeg opening is gone. But wasn't that what made "Oud for Greatness | Initio" so special? Instead, a citric note, here called bergamot, is perceptible at the beginning, paired with a masculine lavender. I continue to smell the lavender over the next 2-3 hours, with an oud in the background. In the middle I smell a saffron, but not a strong one like in BR540, rather shy, well blended between the other notes. The whole combination is extremely masculine, well balanced between fresh and sweet. Very elegant, serious, I dare say even sexy.
Later, I smell a warm mochus and the fir balsam.
If I were to organize the fragrance notes, it would be like this: Top notes: Bergamot, lavender; heart notes: Lavender, saffron, oud; Base notes: Fir balsam, mochus.

Performance, eternal comparison to the original.
The sweet, spicy, gourmand notes are "always" stronger than the fresh notes. This is also the case here, so the Oud for Greatness Neo loses out from the start. The lavender-saffron-oud combination is somewhat weaker than the nutmeg-saffron-oud. And I noticed it in the sillage. Good at the beginning, but not as loud, it wears off quite quickly. The longevity is there, comparable to the original. You can still feel it on my skin for hours after spraying.
(Helpful info: the initial "Oud for Greatness | Initio" had an alcohol content of 77%, nowadays it is marketed at 80%. The new Oud for Greatness Neo has 78% alcohol content.)

The Oud for Greatness Neo is trying, in my opinion, to become all-season. While I would rather wear the original in the evening, when going out or on colder days, I can also imagine wearing the Neo on warmer days and at work. I think it's ideal for the office. It could even become a signature fragrance.

I'm totally in love with the original. I gave it a solid 9. I would give the Neo an 8. The longevity is comparable for both, maybe 0.5 points less for the Neo. Sillage also 1 point less for the Neo.

Price/performance - buy/do not buy, yes/no/maybe.
Here I would give the Neo a 7. Good fragrance, but the price cannot be explained.
It currently costs 315€. The original can be found at around 200€. Given the performance, I personally wouldn't buy it (yet). Maybe at half the price.

Here is a paranthesis about the P/L:
many fragrances are rated as 10 and 9 for the fragrance-sillage, then get a 6, 7 as P/L ratio. Wrong, I think. If I find a 9 to 10 fragrance that is really very good, lasts a long time and radiates strongly, then it is completely worth the price for me. Even if it would cost €2-3, even €400.

Thanks for your patience! It would be nice to read several opinions about the new Oud for Greatness Neo here.

Greetings, Segel

11/07/2024

5
Pricing 9
Bottle 8
Sillage 8
Longevity 7.5
Scent

Cimi
323 Reviews

Translated Show original

Cimi

11

Oud for Greatness Neo I The Office and Daily Version of the OG I Brief Comparison

I was finally able to test the Oud for Greatness Neo these days. Since I have known the Oud for Greatness Eau de Parfum - the OG - for years, I was excited about this flanker. Anyone who knows the OG knows that it is good at one thing: shooting. Oud for Greatness Eau de Parfum is very linear, performant and it was difficult for me to find situations for it in everyday life. The sister company, PDM, has already announced a good alternative with Haltane, which closes precisely this gap.

Of course, it's better to cash in twice and bag some much-needed cash at both houses :) In this respect, let's get into Oud for Greatness Neo :

- In contrast to the OG, the Oud for Greatness Neo starts with a slightly fresh lavender-bergamot note; smells more modern and contemporary than the OG and also more revitalizing. It's a bit of a rip-off from the success of Haltane. Yep, it's clear that this fragrance is now effectively designed to make it far more suitable for everyday wear.

- Even though the OfG-typical saffron oud DNA comes into play fairly quickly, this less room-filling fresh basic DNA remains for a very long time, giving the fragrance a certain lightness and everyday practicality. Yes, it smells very similar to OG, but more elegant and less aggressive. In the drydown, there is a little difference to the OG, but also to Haltane, because here there is a little more warmth and calm in the fragrance, due to the balsamic accord of fir balsam and the gentle musk.

- The H/S is of course milder than the OG, but let's be honest, it is still good and above average. You are well noticed and the fragrance also projects well.

Overall, the Oud for Greatness Neo was designed to be far more elegant, more suitable for everyday use than the Oud for Greatness Eau de Parfum, with a certain freshness at the beginning that is more similar to the Haltane. In the drydown, a little balsamic character has been added, which distinguishes the fragrance slightly from Oud for Greatness Eau de Parfum and Haltane at this stage.

For whom is the fragrance worthwhile then? - People who love the OG but can't wear it in everyday life because it's too loud
- Absolute Initio fans who have not or not yet switched to Haltane
- People who like these conspiracy theorist bottles :)
- People who are not put off by the price (pretty good markup)