Paragon

Looking at the reviews listed, I think it would be fair to say that many find this fragrance quite polarizing. Some people think it smells like heaven, and others find it repellant; I can understand both of these opinions. Firstly, let me say that I'm someone who thinks the bottle a fragrance comes in, should give the person smelling it a small preview of what they're about to experience. The saying goes "don't judge a book by its cover," but when fragrances come in white bottles, they automatically make me think of a fresh and clean scent i.e. spring/summer; Paragon is not this. Paragon is hard to definitively put into one category, but I wouldn't call it "fresh and clean." Upon the first spray, you get a strong, fruity smell, which is no doubt the plum note. Plum isn't an overly-popular fruity note (like cherry or strawberry), so it's quite possible that before Paragon, you may have never smelled it before. I find plum has an incredibly sweet, almost candy-like quality; it's very thick, and saturates throughout all the stages of Paragon. I think it's this aspect that may be polarizing to some. If you don't like the heavy sweetness that plum notes have, this won't be for you. It is somewhat reminiscent of Jean Paul Gaultier's Le Male, but nowhere near as adolescent and bubblegum-like. However, if you do like that scent, Paragon promises to take you on a beautiful journey through soft, pleasing, meadow-like smells. The plum is enveloped in a floral embrace by the lavender note, which is a pleasing contrast to the overt-sweetness. The woody-notes prove themselves to be an all-star lineup, here. The sandalwood adds a sophistication and maturity to Paragon that is appreciated, however, the oud note is very faint, almost undetectable. So, if you're put off by the very strong, pungent scent that is associated with oud, this doesn't have it. You really only get to smell it about 3 hours into the fragrance, once all the sweet/floral notes have faded, and Paragon becomes woody/peppery. The Palo Santo makes this smell very rich and luxurious; this is Initio after all. But for me, the key-player in this fragrance is the black pepper note; it's what makes Paragon unisex. It provides a distinct sharpness and warmth that only black pepper can. It stops Paragon from being this floral-fruity scent, to something more interesting and complex. I will admit that I wasn't a fan of Paragon at first; something about the initial smell reminded me of an old attic, with dusty boxes and mothballs. But something kept calling me back to it, like I was missing something special; I'm glad I listened to my instincts. When you let this fragrance sit on your skin and hit the outside air, you get to feel the heaven-like magic that is captured in this white bottle. It's calming, it's soothing, it's euphoric. The drawbacks of Paragon are that the sillage and projection aren't great for the price you're paying, however, it lasts from the start of your day, until you fall asleep at night. It also tends to transfer onto other people, like if you're hugging them. You will definitely get a compliment if people get close enough to you, to smell you. Some people have said this is great for spring weather, however I think it fits autumn perfectly. Plum is a late-summer/autumn fruit, and the woody/pepperiness of it is perfectly suited for colder weather. Would I call this scent a masterpiece? No. But it doesn't have to be; it simply is what it is.

I like Initio quite a lot, but I don't love them. I've spent a month with their sampler set, and can say that many are underwhelming to me. Rehab is nice, but I've never clicked with Side Effect. Atomic Rose is a wonderful crushed-petal rose which I value quite highly, and I think there's a definite magic to Addictive Vibration, the kind of herbal after-the-rain dust-and-soil floral with a bold sparkling honey. They range, across the board, from just alright to very good - but never great. Until Paragon, which blows past the great barrier into completely glorious. This is an all-time precious treasure to me, and it all rides on its heavenly use of black pepper. Without the black pepper - considering only the plum, palo, and palette - it would still be a delightful fragrance. Clean and creamy, fruity without being cloying, a truly delightful take on plum that begins with an in-your-face fruity splash but quickly fades to a security-blanket consistency. The strong sage and slight lavender make it feel fluffy, the touch of bergamot brings a clarity and confidence, and as a whole it would be a noble, meditative, sacred feeling - it definitely succeeds at that side of its theming. Without the black pepper, this would be great, a temple scent, a priestess scent, casual and sweet. The black pepper turns it into Joan of Arc. It brings this toughness - like ashes, like steel, this bold and confident and fighting greyness. Chainmail, crusader's sword. I definitely understand why people say the pepper ruins it for them - it could feel discordant if you're not a fan - but to me it's half the scent, and what pushes it into both thematic and olfactory excellence. It is a perfect counterpoint to everything soft and sweet in this scent, turning it into a battle hymn, and deepening its complexity by an order of magnitude if you ask me. This makes me feel ten feet tall and angelic - the kind of angel that carries a burning sword. If that polished grit appeals to you, especially as a woman, I can't recommend this more highly. However, if you are looking for something that is only delicate, the pepper specifically may disappoint you. Again, in my opinion, the pepper is the key to the entire appeal, and makes a well-considered base into a true masterpiece. [Edit] - A word of warning! After upgrading from a sample size to a full bottle, I almost thought I had gotten scammed and my bottle somehow replaced with a dupe fragrance. With time, I realized this was wrong and I was jumping to conclusions - but my misunderstanding was entirely my fault. Many perfumes behave differently between the smaller spritz of a sample vial and the more solid spray of a full bottle - Paragon is the most dramatic difference I've ever seen. I was overspraying this for a while after the upgrade and it was turning sickly, overly woody, sour, staying on clothes through several washes and turning to pure ambroxan. Use with caution! With the average perfume I'll usually go for three to five spritzes - but Paragon must be kept at just a single spray for me, and as long as I stick to that it remains heavenly and all the best that I remember of it. Essentially, if this fragrance if turning you off - try a lighter touch with it. You might have a drastically different experience. My previous review still completely stands, and if anything I have even more respect for it haha - a single spray really does suffice, and I can't say that for anything else I own.

This is my first full bottle niche fragrance in my collection. 7/4/2026 I’ve been so lucky to receive this as a gift for my birthday, from my beloved boyfriend. To me, this is a very fresh, clean, aromatic, calming, meditative scent. Kinda like a zen spa or a luxurious hotel lobby/products maybe. Very wellness-like. On Fragrantica it lists a plum note, which isn’t stated on the official website of Initio. However, I do feel like there is also kind of a darker, fruity, boozy layer to it that is indeed reminiscent of plum. It’s prominent, but not overpowering at all to me, it goes very well like hand in hand with the clean and aromatic spa vibe, and adds a little warmth to the scent. And that’s what also makes this such a well balanced scent. I just love smelling it and it’s almost kinda like an addiction where I wanna get my perfume fix I just spray it on me. The sillage and longevity are both really good. Sometimes, I don’t really smell it anymore, but my boyfriend said he could still smell it very well at the end of the day. So I think it could be possible that you can become noseblind, so don’t go overspraying this. This is also an Extrait, so with 1-2 sprays you can smell it verrry good. I also heard that if you don’t smell it after a while, but others can, it means the scent blends well with your skin chemistry, or something like that. Don’t know if that’s really true throughout. My parents also really like this one by the way, which is a really good thing haha! Especially with my dad who’s a little picky about scents. Lastly I wanna say that I think it can be worn anyday, I think it’s fitting in the spring season weather, but I don’t see why not in other seasons as well. I can’t really say, because I just got it. I don’t know how it performs in summer or high heat, I should see then but I don’t have a feeling right now that it would be very cloying. By the way, I know there’s also an oud note in it and black pepper, but I don’t really get those, or any heaviness or sharpness that you may expect from them. Unlike the plum-like note that’s not officially listed. It makes more sense to me that the plum is listed instead of the others I mentioned Anyways, I recommend you to try this one. I love it, I think it’s sooo addictive and it’s the perfect fresh, clean scent that’s not too light/watery/citrusy/laundry-like with amazing quality, longevity and sillage

Got a bottle of this masterpiece from initio at HBroma literally 3 days ago and this was an instant hit to my nose. something about is is sexy. Where do i begin, i dont want to glaze this too much because i know its not the best perfume in the world but to me this is a whole another level of fruitiness delightness. Immediately after spraying this on my skin, i just fell in lovvveee believe me when i say this but i am not a fruity guy when it comes to perfumery unless if you can pull it off well enough then you caught my nose.Thats what exactly happened when i had a beautiful whiff of this juicy fruity smooth and herbal freshness. The moment i smelt this i got a juicy fruitiness and its powerful but fresh because it literally smells like fully ripe sweet fat plumbs that you take a bite out of from a plumb tree. Its just so good. But thats not all because not long after i prayed this it eligentally blended with this beautiful woody smoothness with a hint of vanillic smell supported by the fresh spices of lavender and sage. I seriously cannot get my nose off of this sexy juice it so well blended its just a perfect fruity perfume. After around 3 hours you can still smell the plumb note infact its there for ages but after time goes on, the fruitiness is little bit more suttle and then the woodiness from the Palo Santo and Sandal wood kick in and omd its just so good. Then the final note is the suttle oud in the background with the Palo Santo and the Sandal wood thats just so well blended its like the smoothness of butter. For my personal opinion i highly recommend this perfume from initio its just perfection in a bottle haha no honestly its astonishing how incredibly well blended all the notes are. I give this a 10/10 for its freshness at the start, the flexibility to wear it in any occasions and how well its blended over all. I seriously cant get enough of this its just so amazing ( ive glazed this so hard but its my personal opinion) :)

This is the fragrance that started it all for me. Paragon was given to me by someone who, at one point in my life, meant a lot to me. Because of that, I think this scent will always carry something personal with it. But even without the memory attached, this is still one of the most beautiful and wearable fragrances I have ever smelled. The opening is smooth, clean and quietly aromatic. I get a soft herbal freshness from the lavender and sage, but it never feels medicinal or too green. There is a gentle sweetness underneath it all, not fruity to my nose, but enough to make the fragrance feel rounded and calm. When it dries down on my skin, Paragon becomes warmer and more woody. It has this calm, almost meditative quality to it, while still being incredibly easy to wear. The pepper gives it just enough edge so it does not become too boring. One of the things I appreciate most about Paragon is how flexible it is. It has become one of those fragrances I reach for when I do not want to overthink it. It works in most situations without feeling boring or generic, and it has enough character to still feel special. For me, it is a reliable easy grab that always makes me feel a little more put together. It is not loud in an obnoxious way, but it has a presence. On my skin it stays balanced throughout the wear, fresh and aromatic in the beginning, then softer, woodier and more comforting as the hours pass. That can also be its drawback, because at times it almost feels like multiple scents in one. Paragon is calming, elegant, sensual and addictive. It feels like a signature scent without being boring. For me, it is not just a perfume I like, it is the perfume that made me fall properly into this hobby, from a sample that was given to me with a lot of love. A true favourite, and probably one I will always want in my collection.