Ambre Canelle (1949)
by Creed

This is what a musky, ambery Victorian soap smells like! The opening is heady, brash, and unrestrained so I suggest you hide in the bathroom for thirty minutes after application. The raucous opening quickly subsides leaving a faint, close to the skin powder redolent of jasmine, bay leaf, ambergris, musk, cinnamon leaf, and a dash of lavender. After you get past the opening, this is quite a delicate scent, but dare not over-apply.

Whoah! Quite the opening here: amber, very smooth, rounded cinnamon, and lots of soap. It's an entry that grabs me right away and then leaves me impatient to see where it will go next.

The soapy sensation might recall Cypres-Musc, but here the soap is balanced by a highly suggestive accord of indolic jasmine, rose, and amber. The whole thing smells like a self-contradiction, but in the most fascinating way. The constant tension between clean and "dirty," civilized and feral, builds tremendous suspense as to just which way the balance will eventually fall.

For a time the rose takes control and molds Ambre Canelle into a very bold, yet slightly austere floral scent. Yet the yeasty, "doughy" quality in some rose essences is brought forward by the amber, eventually erasing the last traces of soap. At this point, three or more hours into its development, Ambre Canelle falls onto a luxurious amber and indole soaked cushion, upon which it stretches languidly for the remainder of its stay.

A Creed that does not smell like any other, and which stands beside Angelique Encens, Royal English Leather, and Orange Spice as an exemplar in this old line.

I don't know if perhaps I've sampled too many fragrances today, or if the bottle at the Sak's Fifth Avenue in Pittsburgh was off (it wasn't there a month ago and was mostly full, so it probably wasn't), but this was nothing like what I expected it to be.

At first whiff, it seemed to lie somewhere in the generic continuum between Youth Dew and Chanel No. 5, full of powder with no discernible masculinity whatsoever. As the scent dried down, the most prominent note to my nose was rose, overlayed on delicate powder with traces of cinnamon. The ambergris and tonka are noticeable only by a vague smoothness and roundness in the base tying it all together.

I'm disappointed that it's not something I can wear.

But on the other hand, saying that it "lie[s] somewhere in the generic continuum between Youth Dew and Chanel No. 5" is no dig whatsoever- as both are stellar fragrances, and this one in particular lies above any other fragrances between the two. The rose note is beautifully rendered in the way only Creed can do florals, and the delicate, clean powder ties well into the subtle ambergris base. Overall, it's a stunning composition, but I'm afraid many won't take the time to appreciate its subtleties.

Pretty simple - a natural, slightly sweet, spicy cinnamon scent over ambergris. Very enjoyable on myself, but I don't think others would enjoy it as much as I do.

Like the other Creed's from back in the day, Ambre Canelle smells very dated and old-fashioned, but in an eccentric and nostalgic way. It also has the same great quality and blending the other older Creeds have. Like Royal Scottish Lavender, I can't really see myself wearing this, but I would love to smell this on an older person, (male or female), perhaps in the age range of 50+.

Overall, Ambre Cannelle is a simple, yet strange and very interesting fragrance worth trying for fragrance aficionados. I wouldn't suggest trying it though if you're looking for something modern and easily accessible.

7.25/10

Ambergris with a little bit of civet. Very strange. Very strong. More of an oriental barbershop than true ambergris. "Canelle" in Frehnch means "groove".

A very sweet amber and cinnamon scent. It has powerful sillage so do not over apply, or you might smell like an old lady at first. It isn't very masculine because of its sillage and sweetness but I love wearing this for that very reason - you are constantly reminded of what you are wearing and it is pleasant. However, I still prefer to wear this at home because it's not something I want others to smell on me.