Initio Side Effect

Initio Side Effect is a boozy tobacco-and-vanilla fragrance, launched in 2016. Rum and cinnamon open it warm and sweet, then tobacco and saffron give the heart a dry, spicy structure. Vanilla, sandalwood and Hedione smooth the dry-down. Its main accords include warm spicy, tobacco and sweet.

Side Effect's lasting notes are tobacco, vanilla and sandalwood, dense, warm materials that hold on long after the rum's first boozy burst. The rum and cinnamon are most noticeable at the start; later it settles into a smooth tobacco-vanilla scent, with Hedione adding a little lift, and warm weather makes it feel heavier. Skin, application and weather all change how it wears; a decant lets you test Side Effect over several wears.

Side Effect fits cool-weather dinners, dates and evenings out. Rum, tobacco and vanilla make it a direction for warm boozy scents; test a light application for close settings.

Fragnatium lists Side Effect under For Him, while Initio sells it, like its whole range, as unisex, and Fragrantica lists it for women and men. Tobacco, rum and cinnamon give it a masculine, boozy-spiced character, but the vanilla is generous enough that women who like warm gourmands wear it too.

Yes. Fragnatium fills Initio Side Effect decants from an original fragrance bottle purchased from a fragrance retailer. The liquid is transferred into a smaller, labelled atomiser; it is not an imitation or a manufacturer-packaged miniature.

A decant is a measured portion of the original fragrance transferred into a smaller atomiser. Fragnatium offers Initio Side Effect in 2 ml, 5 ml and 10 ml decants. Choose 2 ml for an initial skin trial, 5 ml for repeat wears, or 10 ml when you already enjoy the scent or want a travel size. You receive the selected decant, not the full-size bottle pictured.