Ambrox
Musk
White blossoms
Magnolia
Osmanthus
White rose
Black pepper
Cedarwood
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112 Reviews
NicheOnly
Helpful Review
4
Among Initio's least inspiring products
I commonly hear people falsely extend criticisms applicable to Parfums de Marly onto Initio and among those criticisms is product unoriginality. However, to me, that criticism has always been a weak one for Initio as the catalogue at large doesn't produce copycats. In many cases, the critics even intentionally act obtuse as is the case for comparisons between Baccarat Rouge 540 Eau de Parfum and Oud for Greatness Eau de Parfum. However, with Power Self, the latest addition to the Hedonist collection, those inspirations are more evident.
Power Self has a fresh-floral opening where the white rose appears to be the leading note, reminding me of the hibiscus in Maison Crivelli's Hibiscus Mahajád. Given the Crivelli is primarily compared to Delina Exclusif, an accurate comparison at that, it shouldn't be a surprise that the comparison between Power Self and Hibiscus Mahajád is not 100%. Power Self is built on a structure of ambroxan and musk which leads to the key difference between the Initio and the Crivelli: the lack of overbearing vanilla. In terms of structure, Power Self doesn't feature any overlap with Initio's other Hedonist release with nothing that reminds me of Paragon or Musk Therapy Extrait de Parfum. The listed osmanthus isn't bringing any fruity tones and the musk used here comes off different to the one in Musk Therapy. I find the dry-down to be very floral forward, but due to the freshness of the profile, that is a driving force behind the comparisons to Delina La Rosée.
As it relates to the other aspects of Power Self, I get average longevity in the 7 hour range with sillage pretty standard as well. The scent doesn't come off synthetic to me, even with the base being a combination of ambroxan & musk. The value is predictably underwhelming, even more-so now in 2025 when Initio has hiked the Hedonist prices to €280/90ml. These price hikes are also a driving force behind why Initio introduced 50ml bottles as the brand is slowly going out of affordability. But what Power Self signals the most is that the gap between Initio and Parfums de Marly might be shrinking with originality on a decline and the need to drive revenue through generic product on a rise.
Power Self has a fresh-floral opening where the white rose appears to be the leading note, reminding me of the hibiscus in Maison Crivelli's Hibiscus Mahajád. Given the Crivelli is primarily compared to Delina Exclusif, an accurate comparison at that, it shouldn't be a surprise that the comparison between Power Self and Hibiscus Mahajád is not 100%. Power Self is built on a structure of ambroxan and musk which leads to the key difference between the Initio and the Crivelli: the lack of overbearing vanilla. In terms of structure, Power Self doesn't feature any overlap with Initio's other Hedonist release with nothing that reminds me of Paragon or Musk Therapy Extrait de Parfum. The listed osmanthus isn't bringing any fruity tones and the musk used here comes off different to the one in Musk Therapy. I find the dry-down to be very floral forward, but due to the freshness of the profile, that is a driving force behind the comparisons to Delina La Rosée.
As it relates to the other aspects of Power Self, I get average longevity in the 7 hour range with sillage pretty standard as well. The scent doesn't come off synthetic to me, even with the base being a combination of ambroxan & musk. The value is predictably underwhelming, even more-so now in 2025 when Initio has hiked the Hedonist prices to €280/90ml. These price hikes are also a driving force behind why Initio introduced 50ml bottles as the brand is slowly going out of affordability. But what Power Self signals the most is that the gap between Initio and Parfums de Marly might be shrinking with originality on a decline and the need to drive revenue through generic product on a rise.
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