Blessed Baraka

Initio Fatigue is a thing. I'd qualify that by saying that that I own six of theirs and have one more on order, and that they are one of my all time favourite houses. For me, they are about as close to blind buy safe as any house could ever be; if they release it, I will likely enjoy it. I wear more Initio than any other house apart from LV, but unlike LV there is no fresh and easy daily wearer in Initio's lineup. Even so, Initio's releases tend to have quite a tightly grouped profile of spice, richness and sweetness set against a backdrop of florals and/or musk, again quite sweet and hedonistic. So if you're looking for something that isnt rich, sweet, indulgent and so on, Initio may not be the reach. So if you're a bit over it all, Blessed Baraka is one of the more individual fragrances in their lineup. Its the one I find myself reaching for most often of the releases I own, alongside the equally underrated and slept-on Mystic Experience. At first I thought it was adjacent to a sweeter and more ambery take on Oud Wood by Tom Ford, and it is in that ballpark. So imagine if you deleted the spices, replaced the tonka beans and benzoin in Oud Wood with a soft musky blanket, and melded these in its heart with a fabulously creamy, satin soft amber that dominates more than the wood, but retains the wood richness and wearability you'd be not far off. Baraka is sweeter, creamier and almost lactonic in the way it wears but the drydown is absolutely sensational. There is no date accord but it has that deep sweetness. There is a dark bitterness in the woody accords that starts to creep through the musky mist after about an hour like the fingerlike tendrils of wood smoke. It is gorgeous. The very fine amber in it is very close to the one you get running through the middle of Clive Christian's Blonde Amber and I would say I prefer the Baraka version. I've always thought Initio are a house that are more about what their fragrances feel like and what they make you feel like, than what they actually contain and in that, Blessed Baraka is very consistent with what they do. The cleverness here is that with this profile and these notes, especially the cashmere soft musk and very powerful amber, this never feels cloying or sticky and gets lighter and easier to wear as it dries. It is very much your classic, sweet and complex amber and sandalwood musk in the classic unisex-but-leaning-slightly-feminine Initio style, and it makes you feel great when you wear it in the way their fragrances all do. It is a bit more understated than your usual Initios. The drydown is what makes this so good. It doesnt leap off you in flamboyant waves like Atomic Rose or Side Effect do, but it settles against the skin in a really personal, sexy way and the comparisons here with Oud Wood (especially the Parfum version) are well made in the way it sits on the skin. It isn't ostentatious. You can overspray this one with confidence. Blessed Baraka is a very refined antidote to Initio fatigue whilst remaining very much of their classic feel and DNA. If you haven't tried this one, you really should. Three Word Summary: Ambery Wood Musk. Scent - 9/10 Drydown - 10/10 Sillage - 6/10 Bottle/packaging - 8/10 Performance - 7/10 40/50

Although there’s only a few notes listed here you’d think there’s more. Very high quality and very well blended. The musk is similar to what you’d find in Musc Ravaguer and the sandalwood adds just a pinch of tartness to offset the sweetness from the warm amber. On opening spray I pick up on a sweet dark berry note, like a dried cranberry or something, I really like it. This dried fruit accord sticks around for a while as it enters the mids, gradually blending in to the more prominent amber and woods. There’s a slight “waxiness” to the composition and there must be some spices and white florals because the color white generally comes to mind. It’s also balanced quite nicely... it’s not too sweet or heavy, in fact there’s a bit of an airy-ness to it but don’t get me wrong, this is highly concentrated. It’s an amber sweetened woody fragrance with musk... very smooth and almost mouthwatering. The overall composition is somewhat dark, extremely seductive and alluring, best suited for date nights but can be worn casually throughout the day if you’re looking to portray a more mysterious or sensual vibe. I don’t find this very playful or youthful... certainly not your Versace Eros or Ultra Male, this is a more mature scent, something you’d more likely smell on someone a bit more cultured, perhaps while traveling through Prague or Milan, a lounge in NYC or Montreal, or even at a concert or opera, whether you are the spectator or on the stage. Point being, this comes off as one for the more “seasoned” but of course, this is just my opinion and how I view it, certainly anyone can wear this anywhere, given the proper setting. I will say, though this is quite luxurious and could easily be worn to a black-tie event or gala, it doesn’t come off quite as opulent or upscale as something like MFK Grand Soir... As much as I like Grand Soir I have a hard time finding the right setting to wear it, I’m certainly not gonna pull it out to go bowling with the boys on a Friday night, but I may wear Blessed Baraka if I’m feeling the urge to do so, and I’ll be the best smelling guy at the lanes! Fragrances from my collection that I find similar or at least give me a similar vibe are; Casamorati 1888 Issey Miyake Pulse of the Night PDM Oajan FM Musc Ravaguer Guerlain L’homme Ideal EDP Bvlgari Man In Black Side Effect Performance is excellent. It lasts forever and radiates a magical scent cloud for at least a few hours (depending on how many sprays). I also believe this to be a 3 season scent, perhaps even cool summer nights. Aside from possibly adding some incense or myrrh, I wouldn’t change a thing about this fragrance. Of the 4 I own from the house, this is my favorite. Super high quality stuff. Most times I’ve worn this it’s reacted differently on my skin and I find something else I like about it... that’s a win in my book. Another brilliant piece of work from the man himself, Alberto Marillas 💯

Blessed Baraka starts off nice and ambery. It’s got a nice sweetnes ms with sown sandlewood mixed in. The first whiff of it I was like damn this smalls great. But it does remind me of the same wheel house of blonde Amber. It has that same style Amber DNA off the first rip but it’s not completely the same. This one has some added musk sandlewood white florals and vanilla. Blonde amber is Amber tonka dried fruits tabac florals biter orange and tubarose. So some notes are similar but as you can see they go in different directions. This one I feel sits closer to the skin along with many of Initio brands scents seem to be. But that’s not a bad thing. This scent profile is addictive and will make someone want to get closer to you to get whiffs of this. It’s creating a nice scent bubble around me that I’m able to constantly pick up. I’m currently at the 3 hour mark with the wear . Over all I’m very happy with the Scent profile and would highly recommend people getting their nose on it for the cold weather. And I don’t think it’s redundant complety if you own Blonde amber. But I will say the Amber accord smells like blonde Amber off first spray to my nose so if you have either I would get your nose on the other before blind buying the other to make sure you feel the same way as I do. I could see some saying it’s not worth having both. And not wanting two of the “same “ style scents in your collection.

Damn. Where do I even begin with this fragrance. I wanted to get into Initio fragrances and tested out some of them. This one stood out the most to me with narcotic delight. I ended up purchasing this one. The opening has some white florals and a dried raisin/cherry fruity aspect that is soo addictive. After a while some vanilla and boozy ambers come out and oh my god it's insane. The musk is slightly powdery and in that classic Initio style. Sandalwood is apparant throughout the fragrance and it adds this creamy a little woody and spicy aspect to the fragrance. It's more suited for colder weather but if you go light on the sprays I think it could be used in hotter days. The performance is great. It lasts over 12 hours on my skin with strong projection in the first 4-5 hours. Easily the best from the brand. 10/10

A simple but very well crafted composition by Alberto Morillas. The White Flowers are most prominent during the first hour, and they imprint sweet, Cherry/Red Berry nuances, probably coming from Heliotrope and Freesia. After the first hour, the floral accords take a back seat, and the rest of the notes (Amber, Musk, Sandalwood and Vanilla) become more discernible. The Amber accord is very resinous. From this point on, the fragrance is quite linear, but I don't see this as a drawback. Although this is a Fall/Winter fragrance, I would wear it all year round, since I spend most of my time working in AC environments. It's masculine leaning, long lasting and noticeable, but not cloying or overwhelming if you're careful with the number of sprays. Test it, if you like oriental, spicy and woody fragrances.