Initio Parfums Privés is younger than it looks. The house launched in 2015. Its founder, Julien Sprecher, is the same man who started Parfums de Marly in 2009.
That link explains a lot. Both houses take a modern niche formula, wrap it in old-world imagery, and price it high. Initio leans harder into one idea: power. The names say it out loud. Side Effect. Psychedelic Love. Absolute Aphrodisiac. Musk Therapy. The marketing talks about attraction and magnetism, and the bottles carry a skull-and-alchemy look to match.
The scents landed quickly. Side Effect arrived in 2016, a boozy cinnamon and vanilla built for a night out. Psychedelic Love followed in 2017, a sweet rose and patchouli. Then came the one that made the house a household name in fragrance circles.
Oud for Greatness launched in 2018. It pairs a clean synthetic oud with saffron and nutmeg over a bed of musk, loud and long-lasting, and it turned into one of the most copied niche scents of its decade. In 2023 the investment group Advent International took a majority stake in both Initio and Parfums de Marly, which tells you how well the model worked.
Here is the bit the marketing plays down. The "aphrodisiac" language is positioning, not chemistry. What you are actually buying is a well-made modern niche blend, heavy on musk and ambroxan, in a small bottle at niche prices. The performance is real. The magic spell is a label.
The price gap is why UK dupe houses exist. They are ranked and compared in Best UK Dupe Perfume Brands 2026: Ranked and Compared.
You do not need niche prices to smell like this. Our Oud Elite is our take on Oud for Greatness, and our Euphoria tracks Side Effect, both UK-made 35% Extrait sprays. Lasts 7+ hours, guaranteed. See the full Initio collection or read the best Initio dupes in the UK.
New in November 2026: Oud Gracia, our take on Initio Oud for Grace, the newest scent in the same Initio oud line as Oud for Greatness. It is sweeter and creamier, with praline and vanilla over the oud. 35% Extrait, £40 for 50ml.
