Upside Down

Goodness gracious...this is amazing!!! Just received my 30ml bottle and I'm blown away! The mix of Rum, tobacco, cinnamon and vanilla is EXACTLY what I have been looking for!!! Beastly projection, sillage trail a block long, smoother than silk and twice as soft as velvet. This is one of the most amazing fragrance compositions I've ever had the honor of smelling thus far. I'll be ordering a large bottle this Friday and another at the next holiday sale...this is a fragrance that I don't want to be...CANNOT be without!! (Especially since nothing I've built with aromachemicals rivals this!!) Damn...this might actually be my new signature scent. EDIT: This smells kinda like "Lattafa - Oud For Glory" in the opening...interesting. The drydown is something completely different though...amazing! EDIT: Got complimented on it this morning picking up coffee! And from a woman that's never said a word to me over the past year or more of seeing her almost every morning. EDIT: Wow...the next day, A FULL FRIGGIN DAY LATER....my shirt STILL smells like I'm about 6 hours into a wear of this! Ooooh yeah...this is "THE ONE". Saving up for a few full-size bottles, the is one I have to ALWAYS have. EDIT: Just did the math for a fantasy baseline 100ml purchase between these two below... "Alexandria Fragrances" charges $120 for 100ml of their "Upside Down" after shipping. Comparatively... "Fragrance Warehouse" charges $62 for 100ml of their "After Effect" with no fee for shipping on Ebay. Breaks down to: A.F. $1.20 per ml -VS- F.W. $0.62 per ml I'll be going with the Fragrance Warehouse version. If it is the same strength and projection....WIN! If not, I'll be going back to AF.

I think this smells pretty good. Overall, it's a predominantly boozy vanilla but it's not a super sweet vanilla. I always struggle to pick out anything beyond the major notes in a fragrance until I've worn it for a loooong time so I can't say I pick up much cinnamon or tobacco. I personally would have liked a bit more tobacco. Yet they must be there because if they weren't, this, according to the dominant notes, should smell like one of my favs, Perry Ellis Black Vanilla Absolute. It doesn't so those other notes definitely change the scent and the result is enjoyable. One downside is I do pick up a plastic, synthetic type smell occasionally. Sometimes it's there, other times it's not. Still, I find it to be a winner. This IMO has massive sillage. It's a single spray or start choking. Easy on that sprayer! Longevity is very good in cooler weather. This would be almost perfect in my book if it weren't for that occasional plastic type smell. Still glad I got it and nothing in my collection smells quite like this.

the difference is technically large. because if you only use natural ingredients, a very natural scent. but this also has positive qualities. a perfume that mainly consists of synthetic components has a much better longevity and projecton. this and the price make this a great fragrance. this fragrance smells in a synthetic way exactly smels like initio side effect. and the longevety is over 12 hours with super projection. in the air it smells exactly the same. I fell in love with the scent when I first smelled it at a skins store in the Netherlands. and 220 euros is a bit too pricey for my starting salary. Alexandria helped me a lot with that. this is a 10 out of 10

WOW!!......VERY close to side effect in the dry down. I've now tried samples of Black Panther, 1981x, Hafez 1984, Hafez intense, 007, No Apologies, Royal Equestrian and a few others and with Hafez Intense, I would say Upside down is the most long lasting...rum, cherry tobacco, cinnamon and vanilla are the big players. I also have side effect and I really wouldnt bother buying the Initio fragrance after trying this...half the price and not alot of difference to the original...9/10

Another AF Hit! I'm beginning to get the idea that AF is so good at "besting" the originals, their presenting "our version is better" and the prices are beginning to reflect that level of quality. I think AF has transcended the "clone" mark.

Finished my 30ml bottle of "Upside Down" this morning. Moving on to "Fragrance World - After Effect" as it provides the same fragrance at a fraction of the cost.

This is really close to the original and so addicting.

For some reason I get a considerable blast of cherry in the opening. (not a complaint because it doesn't go couch-syrup cherry like cheap clones of Tobacco Red Mancera do, for example). This fruity note seems to linger around for the life of the fragrance, although it is no where near as prominent as it is in the top-note blast. This reminds me somewhat of PDM Carlisle, and other cherry/fruity/wine/tobacco fragrances. Once the cherry subsides a little, the vanilla and other sweet molecules come out, but it's not syrupy sweet. There is something delicious underneath the vanilla and cherry note, a cookie. Has really good projection for the first hour, at least on my skin. Then settles closer to the skin. Surprisingly, even in the tropical climate where I live, it is pretty stable. I'd say on skin and in the extremely high heat, someone would get 5-6 hours out of this, pretty easily. That is saying a lot because I get about 2-3 hours out of most scents in the hot tropical climate. I think in cold climates, without a chance to evaporate quickly, this stuff would be full on beast. I'd say only 2 sprays on the shirt (stomach/chest) and you'd be good to go for 7-9 hours. This isn't necessarily my style of fragrance, and my only complain is, even though it is obviously high-quality juice, there isn't a great complex interplay of notes and it's very linear. Overall, a fantastic fragrance in my opinion.

I have Side Effect on one wrist and Upside Down on the other. They smell almost identical, if I had to find a difference I’d say Upside Down seems a little stronger, though they’re both absolute powerhouses, so much so that I was initially nose blind to both on first spraying. Apart from that I can’t tell them apart, it’s a note perfect copy, those notes being generous measures of tobacco, rum, vanilla and cinnamon. Lovers of boozy tobacco frags will love this, it really packs a punch. The biggest difference between SE and UD isn’t the scent profile but the performance - Upside Down projects more and lasts longer. Alexandria Fragrances do excellent dupes of Initio frags, they currently have four (SE, OFG, OFH and PL). I strongly recommend Initio fans to check them out.

This was rough when I sprayed it when it first arrived, a week later, a completely different fragrance, it’s really gorgeous now. I’m surprised just how much difference a week has made to all my AF samples...I’m excited to smell them in a few months! This is a really interesting one, it’s unisex but definitely male leaning for me. Reminds me of MM by the fireplace, and also of AF plum lucky. I’m not getting much vanilla, but I’m getting a lot of tobacco(a pouch of port royal...), rum, raisins, and also some balsamic notes too. Like others have said, the longevity is pretty spectacular although I’m not getting any serious sillage from any of my AF fragrances so far. I’m hoping that comes in time with maceration.

I recently bought it, based on a youtuber, but it kind of has a synthetic smell, I'll wait a few days and update.. Update: So I waited a week to see if it changed, thought it was a synthetic smell, turns out it’s just super boozy! Definitely Rum dominant. It's growing on me. Long lasting for sure, didn't spray on my shirt and a week later still smelled like it...

This is quite synthetic. You can smell the vanilla, cinnamon, rum and tobacco in the background. It has a medicinal cherry smell to it, like kids cough syrup. Too synthetix and cloying for me.

Edited Review: After wearing several times, and comparing side by side with initio side effect, I now feel that this is an abysmal copy. Inferior to the original in every way except the performance. Let's put it this way: Side effect is an inviting, warm, cozy and sexy Fragrance. Upside down is an unpleasant chemical odor. (The reviewer below who said it smelt like nail polish is spot on.) No vanilla or tobacco that I can detect here. The fact that it projects like a monster and lasts forever isn't a point in its favour.

context of this review: I have a generous, oily application of Side Effect on my left hand, and Upside down on my right hand. Upside Down by Alexandria Fragrances is a fantastic rum, tobacco, vanilla & cinnamon fragrance. The rum is persistent and is beside a very sweet & floral vanilla note. There is a candy-like cinnamon as well that reminds me of Halloween For Men by Jesus Del Pozo. The tobacco is more of the dark, cherry variety. It's pleasant, projects decently and has longevity thanks to the extrait concentration. The same applies to Side Effect though, it isn't as concentrated and it has been weakened by reformulation. Scent-wise...without the almost leather accord from the saffron, the refreshing floral-greenness from the Hedione and the, largely present, smooth yet dusty sandalwood base it doesn't evolve into what makes Side Effect what it is. Which for me is not a bad thing. They're similar, probably 85-87% but if you want the entire experience you will not be getting it with this clone. The rum has higher quality in Side Effect, that should be noted as well.. For some this is simply a decision of whether you want Side Effect's sandalwood or Upside Down's vanilla. I would say if you want a sweeter, more concentrated and more vague scent profile then you'll appreciate Upside Down. If you're a collector, someone with a niche nose, or attempting to replace the original I would say this will not be for you, as you might just smell another addition to the sweet-spicy-tobacco wheelhouse. (Spicebomb Extreme, etc)

Just bought this on Mercari. I LOVE Alexandria extraits... sometimes more than the originals because they are so potent & long lasting. I’m swapping a 55ml that’s 35 full. I’m swapping it ONLY because I have too many Tobacco perfumes & I like masc uni’s but this is definitely more masc than their dupe of Vanille Fatale (Fatal de Vanille). Open to any & all suggestions. I’m in the Alexandria Facebook group- Michelle Horton

Okay this is my most challenging fragrance so far. Super boozy! It’s hard to detect the sweetness because I smell like I soaked myself in top shelf rum. If that’s what you’re looking for, by all means this fragrance is for you!

I tried to let this one sit for a while. awful. synthetic still. sour smelling. do not recommend, there's better alex frags out there!

Smells like nail polish, side effect by Initio is one of my favourites, super disappointed.