Leimbacher

Asabi has quite rightly made a name for itself and has a number of smashing perfumes in its range. Their "No. 3" also has its fans. However, this caramel scent does not suit me. Although I'm actually still partial to sweet fragrances, there's something about this one that just doesn't sit right with me. And I've reached my limits... without having to start a rant right away.

"No. 3 Intense" is a caramelized sugar snout before the Lord. Without question, a rather niche and high-quality fragrance experience. And yet sweeter than three fairground visits in a row. Including candy floss and candied apple. But above all caramel. Lots and lots of caramel. Lots and lots of caramel. Too much caramel for me. I only have a greater aversion to marzipan. But even caramel in this overstimulating form doesn't always have a pleasant effect on me. It's exhausting. It's still a long way from vanilla pudding or other cheap comparisons. But I just don't like it (well enough). Luxury can also be off-putting. It's all a question of personal taste, experience and associations. And this Asabi gets on my nerves rather than delighting me. As bitter as that may be. Rather feminine, not too complex. A golden bubblegum. A hairspray hurricane. A love-or-hate glam girl. Material swirl.

Flacon: thick glass, little impact
Sillage: very, very intrusive
Longevity: barely disappears from my skin... 13 hours? Really now?!

Conclusion: a very aggressive and irritating caramel fragrance. Not cardboardy or cheap, but somehow annoying. At a high level. If you like it - I'm happy for you!

I now test my samples that are still "open for review" more or less blindly. Without looking again at the fragrance pyramid, manufacturer or other reviews. And it was worth it with "Camouflage" - because at first sniff I would only have associated it with "rose oud" combos to a very limited extent, probably not at all. Which is to be interpreted as a total pro!

"Camouflage" is very soapy and resinous. Almost in the chypre range. An unusual combination - especially considering what you might expect. The oud-rose heart only emerges late in the fragrance. Before that, it hardly reveals anything of its true identity. Very good. Very wearable. Very pleasant. Rather in the masculine spectrum, but what does that mean (nowadays). Perhaps I also like it better than most due to its above-average appealing vetiver note. I like "Camouflage". It fits between us. It even has signature skills. Green, daring, you don't have to struggle with it. A benefactor with no desire to show off. Freshly washed twice a day and yet with desert blood. Clean and not pure. Shimmering on the surface and yet with enough depth. Quiet and yet always saying enough. Light at first glance, darker and full of character at second glance. Definitely try it - but if you like vetivers rather than rose ouds!

Flacon: unspectacular
Sillage: a subtle "I'm here"
Longevity: 7-8 hours and more - quality piece of work!

Conclusion: let someone say again that the "Oud-Rose" combo cannot be given any new facets... Andreoli has succeeded in creating a very soapy, pleasing and almost office-suitable (!) interpretation here. Absolutely fine.

You probably know the meme where Vince McMahon slides further and further into his chair in rapture. I felt the same way about "Side Effect". What. A. Mega. Perfume! A culmination of delicacies. A sin pool of juicy sensations. A fragrance that doesn't seem to come from this Milky Way. Very, very great. We can only endorse and support the enormously high average rating. An Initio lesson, nothing less! Worth its extremely high price.

Tipsy vanilla. Very sweet, but never sticky. Quite the opposite. High quality without end. Complex enough. Room-filling. Broad chest. A humid tobacco room. The air shimmers, the dishes clink. Sexy redefined. To bite into. This could have been Jean-Baptiste Grenouille's perfume. For "Side Effect": use at your own risk! Attraction through the ceiling. Christmassy in a way, but also rings bells all year round. Delirious turns. Sweaty pillow talk. A velvety cocktail. Certainly a little "Hypnotic Poison" - but poisonous in a different way. Even more seductive. Even denser. Even nobler. An enjoyable limit break. A daring shadow play. A shisha for a lottery win. The madam of all angels. And brats.

Flacon: dark purple fits
Sillage: you can't go around it
Longevity: double digits is never double-edged

Conclusion: one of the most delicious and seductive fragrances ever created. A hypnotic-erotic marvel of modern niche perfumery! It could hardly be better.

The question often comes up: "Mario, can you tell me some fragrances that will teach me what oud smells like?". Then I always have to pull a few simple "beginner's ouds" out of my fingers, as it is quite difficult to clearly define the versatile and yet for me always clearly identifiable eagle wood through a few fragrances. But Initio's "Oud For Greatness" will help me and the questioners in the future. Because this spicy-juicy oud all-timer is such a well-rounded and self-confident thing that it nonchalantly forbids alternatives out of natural authority...

"Oud For Greatness" deserves its grandiose name. One oud to subjugate them all, or something like that. Crackling power. Soft. Warm. Spicy. Already oriental and rather autumnal/evening, but also an all-rounder. Perhaps not necessarily for the open-plan office. But already versatile. Woody, brownish, flattering. Like a huge scarf, a comfortable blanket, a protective cloak of inner peace. A cheat code for self-confidence. A hug with 46 upper arms. An oasis of meditation from the Middle East to Berlin Mitte. Grinning darkly. Beast of attraction. An oud through and through, clear and powerful. But so well rounded and seasoned - especially with patch, saffron and nutmeg - that it is a masterful blend, almost on a par with Tom Ford's "Oud Wood". Highest praise therefore. Dangerously pleasing.

Flacon: angular and only ornate in terms of lettering
Sillage: potent and clearly perceptible
Longevity: nothing to complain about at all - 10 hours and more!

Conclusion: a more than solid oud. Much more of a modern oud classic. Round, delicious thing!

"Ocean of a Midnight Moon" is such a special, dark and multi-layered oceanic that you could almost think at first sniff that this is not an aquatic at all. At first, my nose even thought it was in the desert sand and suggested sandalwood or even incense as an anchor. But this thing is much more complex than you could pin down to a few key points. You have to use your head and nose. The lovely saleswoman told me that, according to the perfumer, over 60 different ingredients are balanced to form a unity and a journey - and I can't and don't want to contradict her...

"Ocean of a Midnight Swim" has similarities to designer hits with the sound of the sea and coastal spray. But it is still so much more, so much deeper, so much more characterful. High quality without end. A refreshment in the glow of the moon, a stalactite cave full of luminescence. You first have to achieve such a texture as "Aquate". And the many different nuances really blend together, they don't bite each other and don't stand out. Quite the opposite. It's muscular, it's powerful without being a beast. A gooseberry roche. An apocalyptic wave that washes over deserts and mountains. Above all, once again a real oak moss extremity. The drydown has steam and pressure, is timeless and old-school, earthy and massively green. Not necessarily natural, more on the synthetic side. But that doesn't rule out greatness. Calcified, never old. A splash of Orient, my first impression certainly doesn't cloud my judgment. But really just a few spices. High facade, lots behind it. Berry and seafood. Maritime and intimate. Salty and slightly malty. Bitter mint, fresh breeze, no crisis, makes you Poseidon's Prinze'.

Flacon: black and serious
Sillage: potent af
Longevity: 8 hours upwards, up to a bombastic 12 hours

Conclusion: no chaos, no cacophony, no cesspool. "Ocean of a Midnight Moon" lives up to its poetic name and enchants with a deep black sea(le) with a green shimmer, quietly resting and deeply touching!