Creed Samples

[vertigo12314]

Zeste Mandarine Pamplemousse

Top Notes: Bergamot, mandarin and grapefruit
Middle Notes: White flowers
Base Notes: Ambergris

This is a nice refreshing change of pace. If you don't like heavy strong scents this would be a good choice. To me this is a summer fragrance and unisex nudging on feminine. This would be awesome for very hot days. It smells nice with the grapefruit upfront sweetened by the mandarin and the bergamot just barely there. The white flowers kick in a little later and mix well with the citrus. It stays this way for a while and then the white flowers and ambergris show up more strongly. It's a light scent that may need 2 sprays instead of one. If you want a light fresh scent without too much complexity this is it. Enjoyable, inoffensive, and doesn't overstay it's welcome. I like this one. I could picture being at a picnic or barbecuing while wearing this in hot weather.

 

[vertigo12314]

Bois de Cedrat

Top Notes: Sicilian lemon
Middle Notes: Calabrian Mandarin
Base Notes: Cedarwood, ambergris

The Cedar mixed with orange and lemon give off a slight bugspray smell that dissipates quickly. After that the very realistic lemon shows up. After some time the Mandarin (very realistic) appears. The Cedarwood is very light and mixes with all of them. It smells very very good but the only problem is the sillage is non-existent and I had to bring my nose very close to the skin to get these notes. If I were to get this I would probably have to use 3 good sprays to get anything out of it otherwise I probably couldn't tell I was wearing any fragrance. Of course depending on your skin YMMV. It smells nice close up but I wouldn't pay the enormous price for this. The cedar in the Bois du Portugal was much more evocative. Though if you want a light fragrance this is about as light as you can get.

 

[vertigo12314]

I agree it's not for everyone, but I find this to be an incredible scent. I'm wearing it today to court and the office. It dries down nicely so that it's not overpowering IMHO. The women in my office have all complimented me on it being a very elegant yet manly scent...

I'm sure that because it's powerful to the wearer a person walking by will notice it more but because they aren't smelling it around you all the time it probably will seem very good as long as the wearer can tolerate it beating along for hours.

 

[vertigo12314]

Epicea

Top notes: Bergamot, lavender
Middle notes: Clove
Base notes: Russian pine

At first you can smell realistic high quality pine mixed with a light clove. This is probably the best winter scent I've smelled so far. Unfortunately the sillage against isn't so great. It's still more potent than Bois de Cedrat but not much so. I think this will smell wonderful in the wintertime. I'm pretty sure sweat in the summertime will diminish some of the scent. Definitely apply LOTS. It's definitely not a sillage monster like Royal Delight but very pleasant. The clove gives you a bit of a feeling of the holidays and the pine is nice and dry. The bergamot and lavender are barely there. A stronger pine smell would be found with Windsor.

 

[vertigo12314]

Neroli Sauvage

Top Notes: Grapefruit, bergamot
Middle Notes: Neroli, verbena
Base Notes: Ambergris

The Grapefruit and bergamot appear and disappear very quickly. The Neroli adds a sweet floral orangy scent and it's made more floral with the verbena. The sillage is better than most and is just less than Chevrefeuille. To me this is one of the best Creeds for spring and summer use. It's a more masculine floral scent that's clean and fresh. It doesn't cause any headaches and dries down to a nice ambergris. I really like this one but I prefer Chevrefeuille.

Added Note: I have to change some of my thoughts. I did end up getting a headache with this one. I enjoyed it for a few hours but then got sick of it. Of course YMMV.

 

[vertigo12314]

Baie de Genievre

Top notes: Bergamot, cinnamon leaves
Middle notes: Clove, juniper berry
Base notes: Vetiver, ambergris

This is definitely a unique pleasant scent. It starts out with a dry toasty berry smell (must be the dried juniper berry) and there is a spiciness I think can be attributed to the cinnamon leaves but the toasty berry smell dominates. The clove is less powerful but does help the berry scent. As it dries down the vetiver increases, and freshens things up along with the warmth of ambergris. I think vetiver fans will like this one and those who like the Bois du Portugal should try it. The sillage is good and longevity is typical of Creeds (about 4 hours).

 

[vertigo12314]

Royal Scottish Lavender

Top notes: Citrus, bergamot
Middle notes: Lavender
Base notes: Vanilla, sandalwood and spicy notes

I love this one. I'm not normally a lavender fan but this is by far the best one I've tried. The sillage is good and again the interplay of the notes makes this one of my favorites. This time bergamot shows up more strongly than other Creeds and mixes well with the citrus and lavender. Of course with notes like this you can tell it will be a nice relaxing scent. What is surprising is when the sandalwood is introduced it smells heavenly when mixed with vanilla and lavender. There is a little hint of the spiciness found in Acier Aluminum but less upfront. You could do worse if you blind bought this one. It's a great experience after some average to slightly above average scents so far. This is a keeper.

 

[StylinLA]

Royal Scottish Lavender

Top notes: Citrus, bergamot
Middle notes: Lavender
Base notes: Vanilla, sandalwood and spicy notes

I love this one. I'm not normally a lavender fan but this is by far the best one I've tried. The sillage is good and again the interplay of the notes makes this one of my favorites. This time bergamot shows up more strongly than other Creeds and mixes well with the citrus and lavender. Of course with notes like this you can tell it will be a nice relaxing scent. What is surprising is when the sandalwood is introduced it smells heavenly when mixed with vanilla and lavender. There is a little hint of the spiciness found in Acier Aluminum but less upfront. You could do worse if you blind bought this one. It's a great experience after some average to slightly above average scents so far. This is a keeper.

I do love it, but can't get it to last more than about 4 hours.

 

[vertigo12314]

I do love it, but can't get it to last more than about 4 hours.

The drydown is similar to Bois de Santal but the later is more long lived like other private collections fragrances. Still 4 hours is typical and you would be expected to use more scent throughout the day. The only creeds that seem to last longer are private collections. Though since the drydown is the same as Bois de Santal you can hit two birds with one stone with this fragrance.

 

[vertigo12314]

Royal Water

Top notes: Fresh citrus infusion with peppermint
Middle Notes: Juniper berry, basil
Base Notes: Musk, ambergris

This is a fabulous alternative to Millesime Imperial. Instead of a citrus focus there is more berry and is stronger than the comparable Silver Mountain Water. The citrus is upfront with nice peppermint but pretty quickly a berry note takes over and the basil keeps it from being too sweet. As the musk enters the picture the scent improves. I don't think I could get tired of this one. The longevity is similar to other creeds and the sillage is very good. I think this can be worn year round.

 

[vertigo12314]

Vetiver

Top notes: Citrus, bergamot
Middle notes: Ginger
Base notes: Vetiver, cedarwood, ambergris

The opening is very recognizable per Creed with that ambergris and bergamot. The ginger is very strong and mixes well with the cedarwood. The vetiver doesn't seem to appear much. It's a good scent but it resembles closer to Royal Delight (without the strength) but little Vetiver is detected. The sillage is good and the longevity typical. It's not great and it's not bad but it's hard to distinguish this from other better Creed scents.

 

[Obsessed]

Royal Scottish Lavender
. . .
You could do worse if you blind bought this one. . . .

Weird, wild stuff: you can get a 75 ml bottle of this from creedboutique.com for $175. Or, if you don't want to spring for a full bottle, you can get a 30 ml decant from The Perfumed Court for $201.99.

 

[vertigo12314]

Original Vetiver

Top Notes: Ginger, Mandarine, Italian Bergamot
Middle Notes: Vetiver from Haiti, Sandalwood from Mysore, Iris from Florence
Base Notes: Musk, Ambergris

Boy these Vetivers smell very different from L'Occitane Vetyver that I own. The vetiver I smell is more like a root smell whereas these Creed vetivers are more grassy. I find OV a little better than Creed Vetiver but I prefer the root smell of L'Occitane. There certainly is a little grassy smell mixed with the typical sandalwood (less pronounced) after the sweet ginger and mandarine wear off. The musk and ambergris is typical as of other creeds. These aren't bad scents but I'm a little underwhelmed. I don't think I'll buy this or the other one. I still have to test out Vetiver '48 (whenever that one arrives). The sillage and longevity of OV appear to be better than Creed Vetiver and a nice slightly soapy green grass scent. This is a good alternative to Cypres Musc if you can't find it but Cypres Musc is better and more evocative.

 

[vertigo12314]

Weird, wild stuff: you can get a 75 ml bottle of this from creedboutique.com for $175. Or, if you don't want to spring for a full bottle, you can get a 30 ml decant from The Perfumed Court for $201.99.

Yeah some of the Perfumed Court prices are out to lunch.

 

[vertigo12314]

Orange Spice

Top Notes: Bergamot, orange
Middle Notes: Neroli
Base Notes: Ambergris, spices

The bergamot is very strong here from the get go and melds well with the orange. The neroli adds a floral dimension to the orange and bergamot. The spices keep the fragrance from being too boring and sweet. I found this more pleasant than Neroli Sauvage (because it's not headache inducing) but if you can stand lots of neroli you may find Neroli Sauvage as flashier and more exciting. YMMV. The sillage and longevity is typical of other Creeds. If you love the smell of orange candy then this is for you. This fragrance would be good in hot weather.

 

[vertigo12314]

Santal Imperial

Top Notes: Bergamot, citrus
Middle Notes: Tonka bean
Base Notes: Ambergris and sandalwood

The citrus and bergamot start off well but the citrus is particularly nice and noticeable. A few minutes after top notes appear the tonka bean and sandalwood show up. The dry down is similar to Bois de Santal and Royal Scottish Lavender. If you like only sandalwood then choose Bois de Santal. If you like lavender etc, if you like citrus etc. then make your choice of these three. All these three are good in their own way. The sillage and longevity is typical of most Creeds (though Bois de Santal is even more potent). This can probably be worn anytime of the year because of its drydown.

 

[vertigo12314]

Citrus Bigarrade

Top Notes: Bergamot, citrus notes
Middle Notes: Neroli flower
Base Notes: Ambergris

The citrus comes out like a candy and very fresh with a delicious vegetation note that comes from the Neroli that melds with it. This is by far the citrusiest top note I’ve experienced so far. It stays with the Neroli for the length of it until the Ambergris comes in to warm it up a little. Typical of Creeds the sillage is decent for awhile and the longevity is about average for a Creed. This is probably the best citrus fragrance because it has better sillage and longevity than Bois de Cedrat which would be my favorite if it wasn’t for it’s disappointing faintness. This would be best for spring and summer.

 

[vertigo12314]

While I wait for Selection Verte & Vetiver 1948 to arrive here are the ones I want to own:

Bois du Portugal
Royal Scottish Lavender
Cypres Musc

the ones I like but don't love:

Baie de Genievre (Prefer Royal Water)
Bois de Cedrat (Prefer Bois du Portugal)
Bois de Santal (Prefer Royal Scottish Lavender)
Citrus Bigarrade (Prefer Millesime Imperial)
Epicea (Prefer Bois du Portugal and Royal English Leather)
Orange Spice (Prefer Millesime Imperial)
Original Vetiver (Prefer a "rooty" vetiver)
Royal Water (Prefer Millesime Imperial)
Santal Imperial (Prefer Royal Scottish Lavender)
Zeste Mandarine Pamplemousse (Prefer Millesime Imperial)

The samples I'll throw out and won't try again:

Royal Delight (So powerful it makes me sick. Prefer Green Irish Tweed)
Vetiver (boring prefer Original Vetiver or a rooty vetiver)
Neroli Sauvage (Prefer Millesime Imperial)

The ones I own are Green Irish Tweed and Millesime Imperial. I also love Chevrefeuille and Royal English Leather. I'll have to save some $$$$ over the years to get what I want.

 

[Featherweight]

Royal Scottish Lavender

I love this one. I'm not normally a lavender fan but this is by far the best one I've tried.

Really? Better than Pour un Homme de Caron?




..

 

[p.m.a.]

Many thanks for this second round of Creed reviews, vertigo12314! I really enjoy reading your impressions, and now have an idea of which ones I would like to try next.