Paragon

Beautifully creamy and woody fragrance with sweet fruits. Yes, it could be plum, but I wouldn't classify it as clearly recognizable. That doesn't matter though, as it is a very beautiful and pleasant scent. The oud is very subtle. You can also recognize the Initio DNA here. Good sillage and longevity.

The scent smells very creamy-woody with great fruity, sweet notes. It smells very soft and fruity. I find it very nice for summer and spring.

Initio Paragon was unfortunately a fragrance for me where the individual components sound much more exciting on paper than how they develop on my skin. The opening with bergamot, lavender, and sage certainly has something fresh and aromatic. At the same time, Paragon has a very clean, almost 'white' aura for me. Not necessarily fresh in the classic sense, but rather bright, dry, and almost sterile. This certainly gives the fragrance an interesting and independent character. Unfortunately, a pungent note develops quite quickly on my skin and accompanies me for long stretches. Together with palo santo and the woody, slightly smoky facets, this creates an association for me that I simply cannot shake: vestry and incense. Dry wood, smoke, bright walls - somehow church-like and almost sacred. Certainly exciting, but simply not at all what I personally want to smell like. While the plum provides a certain fruitiness and sweetness, it cannot sufficiently cushion this dry, pungent effect on me. Sandalwood and oud additionally give Paragon depth and warmth in the base. Especially in the drydown, this makes it somewhat softer and more pleasing, but the basic characteristic remains for my nose. Qualitativ I cannot fault Paragon much. It feels high quality, extraordinary, and definitely has recognition value. The mixture of clean freshness, fruitfulness, and darker woods is also interesting - it just unfortunately does not work at all on my skin. In summary: Not a bad fragrance, but simply one where skin chemistry and personal taste rather clearly say 'no' to me. Anyone who likes dry, woody, and slightly sacred fragrances with an unusually clean aura should still definitely test Paragon.