High Frequency
Initio (2016)

Initio High Frequency (2016) is a bit of a surprise in comparison to other Initio fragrances that I've tried, in that it doesn't focus so singularly on oriental themes, even if the same velveteen woody-amber base that tends to be borrowed part and parcel from sister brand Parfums de Marly is still there. A little more than that seems to be borrowed from Parfums de Marly too, as High Frequency seems to come across like a b-side to Parfums de Marly Pegasus (2011) in the same way Inito Blessed Baraka (2015) feels like it was an unused prototype for Parfums de Marly Carlisle (2015). In this case though, the DNA recycling results in something actually quite expanded from the source material, as High Frequency takes what Pegasus did well and adds to the concept with more floral complexity. Honestly, this is a bit more interesting and unique than Pegasus, which itself was heavily riffing on things like Gucci Rush for Men (1999) or Azzaro Visit (2003), but without the black pepper of the former or the nuttiness of the latter.

The opening of High Frequency comes out as a bloom of jasmine sambac, simple, beautiful, and natural. Take that with a grain of salt because barely anything from Initio smells natural, but the jasmine accord here really reminds me of Diptyque Olene (1988) in the best way, with extra white floral padding from ylang-ylang, magnolia, and heliotrope. Some of these white florals give me a bit of a salon shampoo vibe like Byredo Flowerhead (2014), but High Frequency dodges that bullet by moving into the "Pegasus phase" where everything but that scent's lavender begins to appear in the base. Almond, tonka, some form of synthetic sandalwood, vanilla, and musk constitute the smooth finish. No matter how much the sweet woody nutty base asserts itself, the floral component always remains noticeable, which is admirable. High Frequency is pleasant and long-lasting at 10+ hours, wearable by any gender in all seasons save maybe summer. Best use for me would be casual or going out somwhere that smelling like vanilla, jasmine, and sandalwood would fit the mood.

Obviously, the elephant in the room as is always with this brand, is the high price. You can get good jasmine perfumes and good vanilla orientals and layer them together if you're a MacGuyver type that doesn't need to have an exact 1 for 1 experience, but I can see someone really loving this and splurging on it because there aren't too many jasmine sandalwood almond cookie fragrances out there if any at all besides this one, and finding a floral gourmand combo that stays equally floral and don't devolve into ethyl maltol or benzoin sweetness overload is bound to be rare. If only more of Initio's offerings were truly as interesting and unique as this or Rehab (2018), the house might be seen as little more than the haute bourgeois step-up from Parfums de Marly that really just seems to be a dumping ground for misfit ideas, something I find funny because cast-offs are usually sold at discount. For my tastes and budget, $350+ dollars for 90ml is still a really hard sell, but I fully get the appeal and wouldn't be hard on anyone who decided tuning into this high frequency is worth the asking price. Thumbs up