Kruemel952

Side Effect by Initio has quickly become one of my favorite perfumes, as the scent combines almost everything I enjoy in fragrances.

It starts with an alcoholic, “boozy” rum note. Not overly “spirity,” but rather delicious, cinnamon-spicy, and almost a bit fruity, like a dark cherry note. This is supported by a cozy vanilla accord. This vanilla accord has a pleasant sweetness ratio and is kept in check by a soft leather note (probably due to the saffron) that balances the sweetness. The vanilla accord does not claim absolute naturalness, but it never turns into a squeaky dessert vanilla; instead, it presents a sweet, totally pleasant creaminess.

The scent impression is held together and projected by Side Effect's secret weapon: Hedion. Similar to the secret weapon of, for example, Terre d'Hermes, which is ISO E Super, here it is Hedion.
According to a statement from an Initio employee, the fragrance oil content consists of 50-60% Hedion. Scientists from Ruhr University Bochum, led by Hanns Hatt, found in a 2015 study that Hedion activates the pheromone receptor VN1R1 in the human olfactory mucosa. This activation reportedly triggers a brain region involved in hormone regulation, with the effect in women being allegedly ten times stronger than in men. If there is a pantydropper scent, science indeed suggests that this could be one. This would also apply to other perfumes. Hedion is a very common ingredient, but here it is particularly high dosed, and I find that the rest of the scent fits perfectly with this olfactory substance and harmonizes very well.

You get a fragrance that can be wonderfully worn in cooler temperatures and lasts all day with a reasonable sillage. I suspect that Hedion is partly responsible for the scent projecting so well even after hours. By the way, in my experience, this also applies to the newly reformulated version with 80% alcohol. Admittedly, I have no experience with the old formulation.
Thanks to its popularity on social media, it is certainly no longer an absolute insider tip, but I can absolutely share the enthusiasm in this case.

The only thing I don't like is the bottle: The cap is nice and heavy, and the bottle looks visually cool. However, the sprayer is rather average, the frosted glass coating slightly beads off, and mine leaks a bit from the spray button. The latter seems to happen more often with Initio bottles, which I find very unfortunate for the high price. Therefore, the bottle only gets a 6 out of 10 from me, but the scent is still a 10 out of 10 in my nose.

There was a time in the early 2000s when it was very trendy to integrate various alcohol notes into designer perfumes. In my opinion, Originals pour Homme has taken it to the peak with the Curaçao note. Not to forget my beloved Pour Homme Eau de Toilette with its fantastic plum-rum combination. Unfortunately, both have been discontinued today. But Joop also rode this alcoholic wave. In this fragrance, it's vodka, while in Freigeist Eau de Toilette from 2010 it was gin, and later rum in Joop! Homme Wild. Rum notes can still be detected in current releases, but I personally haven't encountered vodka very often.

For me, this time is so far the golden age of designer releases. Certainly, partly because I first came into contact with the topic of perfume during this time and therefore have a stronger emotional connection to many releases from that period. But I believe that the creativity of perfumers during this time was simply more pronounced and, above all, more diverse. So many new designer releases these days are too heavily inspired by the massive success of Sauvage Eau de Toilette and Bleu de Chanel Eau de Toilette. However, Sophie Labbé, the perfumer of Joop Jump, stands out positively anyway - she has gifted us many above-average designer releases.

Joop Jump is, for me, a very well-balanced and pleasing fragrance. The grapefruit is zesty, the heliotrope accord in the heart is beautifully creamy and has that heliotrope-typical fluffiness, pleasantly sweetened by the tonka note. The vodka note gives it an interesting depth and a great twist! Joop Jump is not a classic "boozy" scent, like Bentley for Men Intense, Jazz Club, or even "higher-proof" niche representatives. The vodka accord is perfectly integrated here, making the fragrance more interesting without taking away its pleasing quality. I would wish for such unusual twists (it doesn't always have to be alcohol) much more often in current designer releases.

The price-performance ratio is at a fantastic level. You can often get 100ml for just €20, in a bottle that absolutely fulfills its purpose well.

Sillage and longevity are at a medium level, but with the lower price, that doesn't matter.

A great release that we hope will remain with us for a long time!

"Your bag smells like a swimming pool" is a song by the Hamburg indie pop band Tonbandgerät. Even though I don't have a special connection to the song, I found the title simply catchy. - And this bottle smells like a swimming pool to me!

In the top note, particularly cool cologne citrus notes. In the heart "aromatic notes" --> a lot of soapy-clean neroli, with a sweet aquatic accord in the background. Clean, bright wood and musk in the base. Everything is a bit "chilly" with synthetics, without appearing overtly synthetic or losing its classic character.

Imagine visiting an outdoor pool on a beautiful summer day with clear, cold, but heavily chlorinated water. You take a dip and then sunbathe on a wooden bench. Your skin smells of chlorine, the bench in the sun slightly of wood. - That's what Sedona Blue smells like.
Pleasant association! :)

The performance is still great in the first half hour, the citrus notes really push. After that, it becomes "okay," and after a few hours, unfortunately, the scent turns into a skin scent. This fits the swimming pool skin impression quite well, but it becomes a bit too sluggish to wear. Just like the beginning with its cologne accord, which is fresh but also somewhat sluggish and uninspired, coming off a bit too "toilet cleaner."
Nevertheless: Fire Island by Bond No. 9 offers sunscreen, Sel Marin by Heeley saltwater at the beach, Epice Marine by Hermes a ship on the high seas, and Sedona Blue chlorinated swimming pool. Why not?
For the swimming pool association, the scent definitely gets points in my book! Sedona "Blue" rightly carries its "Blue" in the name and fortunately offers more than undefined Calone aquatic regarding this attribute.

In this sense: This bottle smells like a swimming pool!

1990. - For me, the release date of Active Bodies feels like quite a while ago, as my personal "release date" was still a whole 5 years away. The early 90s are a time I only know from history books and not from my own experiences or memories. And yet, I can almost feel the nostalgia that emanates from this fragrance and the spirit of the time it represents.
In my opinion, it absolutely deserves its place in the drugstore hall of fame.

The extensive fragrance pyramid already promises complexity, and indeed, this is the case here. An unusually high-quality, contrasted composition for an Adidas perfume, which is versatile enough to be worn and appreciated for almost any occasion, event, or weather condition.
Not a trivial shower gel aquatic, quite the opposite! With an excellent longevity of almost 10 hours and a refined yet distinctly noticeable projection, it offers a masculine mix of spicy, balsamic-lemony freshness with a resinous-green backbone, providing great value for money. And the best signature scent qualities!

So why only 70%?
Despite all its quality, the fragrance feels too serious and rigid to me over time with its harsh overall impression. The emotion it conveys feels too grown-up, too "mature."
I enjoy wearing it occasionally, but I don't find it modern or timeless. The early 90s association just won't leave my mind. But that, in fact, is also part of the appeal of Active Bodies for me.

For a long time, I was only passively active when it came to comments, always just reading along, gathering experiences, but never throwing myself into the fray.
Today, that will change!

It is no coincidence that I dedicate my first comment to this perfume. It was one of the very first perfumes I wore myself. Back then, the scent was fresh on the market and I was still fresh.
It’s been 6 years - I was 12 then... And I probably would not have guessed that perfume, alongside music, would become one of my greatest hobbies.
But Joop! Go is also partly responsible for that.
So, Go! - Let’s go!

How does Joop! Go smell?
For me, the top note is the most beautiful part of Joop! Go. Right after spraying, you are energized by an intense cloud of blood orange and a sharp chili note. The two notes are filled out by a rhubarb patch, which brings the notes together nicely. Joop! advertises this rhubarb note as "frozen," and I can definitely recognize this characteristic.
Therefore, I find the top note to be so energizing. - The heat of the chili and the cold of the "frozen" rhubarb feel like alternating between a cold and warm shower. This characteristic is bought by Go through a noticeably perceptible synthetic quality. The frozen note restricts the transparency of the scent, but it also makes it appear broader.
The citrus note of the blood orange colors the entire olfactory experience green. Even though blood orange is actually red, it doesn't really appear red for long within this perfume, which is not only due to the frog-green bottle but also to the heart that follows.

Because now it gets floral. The lovely violet underlines the pronounced... Well, "greenness" of this scent. We are about half an hour after application, and the heart presents itself. We have recovered a bit from the green morning alternating shower and are now making our way into the greenery.
There, alongside the violet, which fills the heart well and gives it substance, we encounter the geranium. The latter continues with the cold where the icy synthetic quality of the "frozen rhubarb" has stopped. Anyone who has smelled Geranium pour Monsieur by Frederic Malle knows that geranium is presented here in a distinctly icy, almost toothpaste-like manner. A similar effect can also be recognized here with careful sniffing in the heart. To ensure that it doesn't get too "dark green" at this point and that the frog-green water continues to do justice to its color, the cypress supports the two flowers with its sweet, light scent impression. The cypress picks up on the "olfactory frequency" where the violet stops, while the geranium adds its coldness above the cypress. Thus, violet, cypress, and geranium form a harmonious triad from bottom to top.
The heart is just as beautifully broad and well-filled as the top note.

After a walk in this beautiful olfactorily light green floral world, we slowly come from the meadow into the adjacent coniferous forest. The chili from the top note still comes through occasionally and has condensed the last morning dew from the violet. It is now noon, the sun is high in the sky, and the scent world we are in is becoming increasingly dry. This is not least due to the many balsam firs that surround us now.
It is now indeed getting quite woody, almost needly, and the scent is slowly becoming drier and scratchier.
We notice: a musk deer has been here in the forest, and it seems to be mating season. - The musk that is slowly joining the base is becoming increasingly noticeable, and this is also reflected in the perceived temperature of the scent.
Don't worry, this musk that we perceive here is not "dirty" and "real" like, for example, in Musc Ravageur... It is more the typical designer fragrance base musk, a "white musk." This still fits quite well with the light green theme of the scent. - The scent remains relatively clean.
However, the initial energy and drive have now also escaped the scent after a few hours have passed and we have left our excursion into the greenery behind.
Because slowly, the light green impressions are coming to an end.
The gentle musk veil that remains on our skin at the end of the scent feels a bit powerless and tired.
We could of course counter this fatigue by reapplying the scent. Then the alternating shower and the energy of the top note would wake us up again, and the journey would start all over.

When is Joop! Go best to wear?
For me, the answer is quite clear: In spring. Spring and Go simply fit together exceptionally well. Just as spring announces summer and proclaims the "Go!" of nature, so well does the green water complement this season.
For many, Joop! Go is an absolute summer scent. There are some notes in Go that are simply too hot for summer for me. The chili in the top note is far too hot for some warm summer days; the frozen rhubarb and the geranium note can't compete with that. On warm summer days, I wish for a cold shower! Not an alternating shower!
Furthermore, the base is too heavy and musky for 30 degrees in the shade.
In autumn, it is also wearable, but it doesn't fit the scent mood as well as in spring.
And in winter, it is simply too light. - Too light green. It doesn't have enough power for cold winter days, and its spring day mood doesn't really match bare trees, snow, and icy temperatures.

Who can wear Joop! Go?
Joop! Go is marketed towards the younger male generation. I think that’s right. For old geezers, the top note is too explosive, the scent impression too bright.
However, the scent can be worn by anyone who longs for an olfactory energy kick. I certainly do not want to set an age limit here. The scent is very easy to wear, and anyone who feels young and dynamic enough will be a suitable wearer of this fragrance.
The blood orange, the chili, the violet, and the woody note of the balsam fir convey in my perception a scent impression that is more "masculine" according to current trends.
However, any female wearer who does not shy away from an alternating shower and can find something enjoyable in a walk in the light green can also wear the scent well, in my opinion. The sweet cypress and the musk would, in my opinion, suit a female wearer quite well.


Sophie Labbé has created a fragrance with Go that meets the current zeitgeist of the younger generation. The scent does feel somewhat synthetic at times, especially the transition from heart to base feels quite scratchy, and the violet does not always seem entirely natural.
But elements like frozen rhubarb and chili give the scent a modern kick that does justice to the exclamation mark of the bottle.
The theme of the successful green bottle is implemented very consistently, resulting in a fragrance that, in my nose, has the potential to become a classic and, in my perception, has significantly more imagination and creativity than other creations by Sophie Labbé, such as "Freigeist."
Joop! Go also has a very fair retail price and is definitely worth recommending!