Initio Parfums Side Effect is from the Initio Parfums Prive French perfume company who uses perfumers like Alexandra Kosinski, Pierre-Constantin Guéros, Maurice Roucel, Alberto Morillas, Guillaume Flavigny and Hamid Merati-Kashani to create their fragrances. Side Effect is an amber fragrance released in 2016 and has notes of tobacco, vanilla, rum, sandalwood, hedione and cinnamon.
From the brand - "The Tobacco, Vanilla, Rum and Cinnamon harmony of this fragrance is spell binding. It tantalises the most discerning senses by playing off each of its facets - Leather, animal and the woody note of Vanilla - one by one. Recklessly bold... and stirring. Deeply buried emotions and passions take over. The fragrance lifts the veil on the unsayable.This passionate perfume has the power to plunge its wearer into that altered statewhere nothing is too daring because there are no risks left."
Fragrantica - "It is a sweet-tart leathery tobacco kind of rubbery thing that gives an unmistakable feeling of high class which takes the emphasis above the smell itself, you could dissect the fragrance and compare it to a cherry liquor but that would be doing yourself a disservice instead of enjoying the mysterious and relaxing vibe. I've got to admit Side effect will get you a little lightheaded at the initial sprays but it's a small price to pay for the promise of a good time that transports you to a place where a well-dressed crowd assembles for the beginning of a special show. The word nonchalant comes to mind, the base is similar to The One. Dryish, boozy, sweet, rich, dark, moderately indulgent, nuanced, non-linear, undeniably confident, intriguing and inviting what else do you want? It would not have crossed my mind that this is feminine had somebody not mentioned it."
Fragrantica - "Side Effect is a 10/10 fragrance. It's not the one and only, but if you've sampled and tried it and think that you'll be able to find better, more niche, lesser known rivals that beat it - trust me, you probably can't. It has its spot amongst the pantheon for a reason. I tried some more expensive or similarly priced fragrances, I tried fragrances that offered the same main accords and notes but nothing smells as good, as sweet, as boozy, lasts as long and projects as well as Side Effect. I just had to admit that I wasn't going to be that hipster guy who found the secret lesser known Side Effect Killer. So as far as boozy, sweet vanilla fragrances goes - Side Effect wins. And I'm glad to finally be an owner."
Fragrantica - "This is probably one of the best fragrance I have ever put my nose to. I first got a sample for side effect and got so addicted to it that I finished it within a week. I got so many other samples but this was completely different, addictive and beyond words. I am thinking of making it my signature scent. It is so so well balanced. There is boozy note, sweetness, woodiness but no single note coming out clearly which makes this a blended perfection. I cant live without this in my collection."
Fragrantica - "t's a rich and decadent dessert with a good pipe and a nightcap all rolled into one heady scent to satisfy multiple vices at once! I don't get any of the "cherry" or "leathery" notes that a lot of reviews mention- I just get the tobacco, rum, vanilla, and cinnamon that are listed, seemingly in fairly equal measure. As a woman who usually steers clear of masculine or even unisex scents, I don't find that Side Effect leans too masculine for me at all. It smells as expensive as it is, and does give back for that price tag in both longevity and projection (reviews that say otherwise have to be anosmic; there is no other explanation!), so it at least seems to be good quality for the money."
Fragrantica - "If you want to smell like an extremely attractive 400-year-old vampire who has many toxic traits/red flags, you can wear this."
