I’m the type of guy that will get poison ivy if I just LOOK at it. If I touch it, well, it’s all over. We’re talking “borderline-admitted-to-the-hospital-so-no-touchie” level of deathly allergic. What does this have to do with Neo by Initio Parfums? Well, nothing really, I do have a point though, but I’ll get to it later...I promise.
I’ve worn the original Oud for Greatness, and I gave it a rating of 9/10. I only gave two fragrances in that Mega Review a 9/10 and the other one was Paragon (you can read that mega review here). So, from where I sit, Neo has some big shoes to fill.
The notes of this fragrance is saffron, fir, agarwood, lavender and bergamot. The opening, mid, and dry down are all pretty much the same but it’s a scent that is really fresh yet still has the dark properties of the original. I’m here to tell you that this fragrance is absolutely amazing in both scent profile AND performance. Allow me to wow you with my experiences. Seriously prepare to be amaaaaazed. I'll stop now I swear.
I ordered my decant from Decant House and once that package came in, I immediately ripped the package open and looked for my sample bottle of Neo. I was headed out for the evening for work, and I had already sprayed my SoTD (scent of the day) on my skin and clothes, so I found a spot on my arm where it was clean and sprayed two sprays. Only two. This is important information.
Immediately I was met with that familiar DNA from the original Oud for Greatness, but it was twisted. That dark, rich oud that you find in the original was somehow brighter, cleaner, and fresher. I was drawn to the scent and somehow my SoTD had all but disappeared under the blanket of this new contender that I sprayed on. It was like as if the original Oud for Greatness had taken the blue pill and this new fragrance had taken the red pill looking to learn all the truth that lied within the Matrix (sorry, I just had to).
Ok, so, here I am, headed out for the evening doing some work and when I got home, I took a shower and went to bed. In the morning, I had woken up and went to the gym and did a full hour-long workout and then went home. AFTER all of this, just about 24 hours after my initial two sprays…I could still smell Neo on my arm. I figured it was a fluke, so I waited a few days and tested again. I mean, what could possibly be better than working all night, showering, sweating at the gym and STILL being able to smell it? Just wait my friend.
For my next trick, I had once again sprayed my arm twice with Neo before I had to go outside and do some yardwork in my back yard. I had some long grass and some overgrowth that was really bugging me, so I went at it with my weedwacker and finally won that battle. But…going back to my intro, I was surrounded by those three leaved vines called poison ivy and knew I had to shower once I got in the house. Now, there’s a product that exists out there called Tecnu Extreme Poison Ivy Scrub, and it's really good at removing the oils that Poison Ivy leaves behind (highly recommend if you're allergic like me). I jumped in the shower, grabbed the Tecnu and scrubbed my arms and legs to get any poison ivy oils off my skin, including the arm that I had previously sprayed with Neo. I’m kinda rambling, but trust me, I have a point.
Guys, this stuff is made to scrub poison ivy oils off your skin, and it DOES really work. I’ve fallen in a pit of ivy before and showered within an hour and never got the itch. So, the point I’m trying to make is, after an hour of taking that shower and scrubbing my arm to remove potentially dangerous oils…Neo was STILL there. I’m flabbergasted. Awestruck even. I cannot believe that this fragrance has remained on my skin through all of these trials and tests. This one is seriously a fragrance you need to try. It could honestly pass as a blue fragrance in my opinion and work for just about any situation, date, time, season, holiday, etc. Solid fragrance by Initio. Absolutely well done, now I just need a full bottle and I'm happy.
Final Thoughts
So, all of this begs the question – “How would I rate this fragrance in the Initio Mega Review?”. Well, if I gave the original Oud for Greatness a 9/10, I would definitely feel confident in giving Oud for Greatness Neo a solid 9.5/10. I don’t think I’ve ever given out a 10/10 on any fragrance but Neo is definitely the best Initio Parfums fragrance by far for me. A 10/10 must buy!
There you have my review of Oud for Greatness Neo! Have you tried it yet? Do you agree with my rating? While I don’t recommend rolling around in poison ivy and buying Tecnu just to mimic my testing, I will recommend you try your own variations. Maybe spray it on, allow it to settle and maybe try Gojo and see if that removes the fragrance smell? If you haven’t tried this fragrance yet…go, get some! Take care everyone and I’ll catch you in the next one!
