Reviews of Angélique Encens (1933)
by Creed

I got this frag a week or so ago & i can honestly say it has a glowing almost warm scent to it. It has very good silage is not at all overpowering, a thumbs up for this creed.

This is one of the most elusive fragrances I have ever had the pleasure, privilege and frustration to wear. It is suave, soft, beautiful, masculine, feminine, angelic, spiritual and distant. Some scents are bold and "out there"; others are subtle; others are what they call "skin scents" in that they ride close to the skin; this is a soul scent. You can only smell it tangentially and by inference by looking into one's soul. Like an old church with no present incense wafting, but a lingering impression of incense that was once there but is now mostly gone. That is how I experience this most amazing fragrance. Angelique Encens Tangentiale, what is that? Is that my Angelique Encens? Maybe, maybe not; strange I thought it was, how nice it was. Too bad I really can't smell it. Best for those who fully understand Kierkegaard's "Being and Nothingess". The perfect scent for the equally elusive Greta Garbo. Unisex, but better for gals. Holy Subtle. I would get it if I could get it, but I don't really get it. My loss I guess.

the first non-millesime that i tried and im totally bowled over. creed doing and Incense and doing it wiht some finesse and class. intense, flowery, incense based scent which is quite sharp inits opening...a perfect rendition of Angelica for me...a note that i will ahev in mind as reference...for someone who hasnt sniffed Angelica(like me)..think of it as a white flower...from a distant family of jasmine..slighty heady a a tinge of bitterness..the combination of this and incense is just too sharp and interesting. quite modern in approach for the time it was released..matter of fact i cudnt have imagined it was released in 1933. the base is a musky, vanillic, ambery accord with hints of spices softening things up.

however, as pointed out by others...a 8.4 oz would be too much to take.

So if you are new to the world of perfume and you wonder what incense smells like in this case, imagine walking passed a new age store. That is how it smells like and it is wonderful and calming, but you do smell like an incense store. If you always liked the smell of incense when it is just laying in the room but not when you actually light it, then this is perfect for you.

I´m not sure if I would want to smell like a new age store often enough to buy a bottle but it is a really well done perfume and accomplishes what I think it wanted to do.

Again a very soothing perfume that could be perfect for the right person or activity.

Beautiful, smooth and calming. I wore this to bed calm my nerves and cure insomnia. I woke up a rested man. I need to get a candle of this if it's available.

Well, for me this was a disappointment. I love "churchy" incense scents; ones that are resinous, dry, and woody. They evoke a haunting, mysterious quality. The fact that this scent was revived for the occasion of Pope Benedict's visit to the USA led me to think AA might be something along the lines I've described above. But, as many have noted, this is a very sweet, musky, vanillan and floral scent. It has only a passing acquaintance with incense. Creed's Cypres-Musc is the sort of thing I had been expecting, and certainly Comme des Garcons' Incense line delivers the goods. This is another pot of incense, and not my style. Doesn't smell masculine to me at all. Thumbs down because what the promotion suggests, and what the product delivers, are two different things.

A classic, and deservedly so! Angelique Encens goes on very soapy, with an immediate and potent blast of sweetened angelica. This is followed by a vanilla note that sweetens the scent even further. Before it can become too syrupy-sweet, the incense of the title wells up to add a sobering dry foundation. A complex blend of spices (I smell mace, black pepper, and perhaps a touch of cumin) enters soon after, along with a gentle white flower note that nudges what started as a very "masculine" fragrance into the realm of unisex.

As the scent develops, the white flower note becomes dominant and begins to seem "perfumey" in a very old-fashioned way. Myself, I prefer my incense a bit less sweet and floral, as in Dzongkha and L'Homme Sage, but Angelique Encens reveals tremendous depth and complexity, with more than one happy surprise turn in its development. It endures quite well on the skin, with impressive sillage and projection right on through its sweet vanilla-ambery drydown. A wonderful scent, though not for me the "religious experience" some have described. I certainly don't need 8 ounces(!) of the stuff.

I wish Angélique Encens would stop at the beginning, when there's a perfect accord of vegetal angelica and (already) a noticeable presence of incense, with the bergamot providing a bit of freshness. However, as the drydown progresses it becomes headier and headier on my skin, reaching an almost headache-inducing intensity in the combined power of the florals and particularly the vanilla. At this point I come to agree with Caltha on the connotation of cheap perfume oil, which is a shame, knowing how fine a creation this is. But the overbearing vanilla inescapably conjures up olfactory images of $1.99 scented candles. The angelica and incense struggles to be heard in the background and they rebound somewhat, but ultimately I'll have to say that I could only wear this in deepest winter, in miniscule amounts. My 30% full apothecary bottle should thus last me well into the next century. This is a classic, "old-fashioned," perfume which needs to be tried on skin.

There’s not much I can say about this that hasn’t been said already, so I’ll basically repeat. Angelique Encens is an impossibly beautiful fragrance: It boasts a luxurious and elegant opening of Angelica, incense, and vanilla that is just plain ethereal. I love incense fragrances and the incense here is perhaps the most refined one I’ve encountered: Delicate and diaphanous, it gradually loses essence until it exists only as tiny wisps in final drydown. After the ethereal opening, the Angelica combines with heart accord’s jasmine and rose for a softer, but equally beautiful accord, while the incense floats in and out and the amber grows strong enough to enter the exchange. The Angelica then continues into the haunting ambergris base—by this time the vanilla has all but disappeared. The notes seem fragile but are not, and the scent gives me the feeling of peacefully rising above the madding crowd… Angelique Encens is truly contemplative. It has good longevity and an elegantly restrained sillage. This is one of the great ones.

It is a Creed masterpeiece. The well blended notes of angelica, vanilla, tuberose and incense is trully addictive. It is beautifully worn in the cold season, it has a gourmandy 'play-doh' note in the middle stage that is ethereal. Longevity is average and wears close to the skin in the last few hours but that is fine with me as I love spritzing it on carelessly as I have a whole 8.4 oz flacon to indulge myself in. My husband loves nozzling my neck when I wear this.

A thing of sublime beauty, I really cannot overstate my respect for this fragrance. It is dominated by the creed house Vanilla/Ambergris base (which is possibly in its best incarnation here) laced with a little smoky incense and an astoundingly good if subtle Angelica. This Angelica has similar herbal/floral characteristics to lavender (in a functional sense, it doesn't smell similar) and just adds a non-sweet piquancy to lift the blend.

Rather weird... It fells "vintage", yet it has a sweet, powdery, even plasticky vanilla note that feels very contemporary to me. The combination is truly original, I haven't smelled any perfume like it. But is it any good? To my nose, it smells quite cheap, like a cheap perfume oil. It's the vanilla that does it. Loads of vanilla over a dry, woody incense base. In the drydown I get a hint of white floral and the slightest whiff of animalic notes. Worthy of Marlene Dietrich? Hardly! Perhaps in some role where she's disguised as blond angel with a heart of gold in white furs...

definately smells like the old school perfumes.one little note in it reminds me of Tabu,don't know exactly what.i like it but i'm glad i didn't spend the big bucks for it.(bought a 10ml decant)it's nice but just doesn't make me go uuummm -like coco mademoiselle,j'adore or chanel # 5

I received a sample from a dear friend a few weeks ago. I wore this on a special occassion and I had a truly wonderful experience with this. Angélique Encens is beautifully done and like a fine piece of jewelry by Harry Winston. It is heavenly and it is a scent made for the goddess. First sniff on my skin seemed like a strong trail of amber incense mixed with face powder. It has an excellent staying power and lasted for at least 8 hours on my skin. I love every bits and all stages of this scent. It doesn't smell sweet or cloying and very well balanced. I have tried to compare AE with NU by YSL and Black Cashmere (2 famous incense scent). I personally think AE is a lot more classy, smoother and not as spicy as the others that I have mentioned. It screams vintage! Definately worth saving for a bottle of this gem.

Ethereal, mystical, deep, but in a strangely wide-eyed, transparent way. It is the soul of freshness, yet slightly earthy; clean, yet subtly sensuous. This is a gem from the 1930's. It seems to soft-pedal the distinctive Creed ambergris basenote, rendering it more diffuse, harder to pin down to the flesh; it even seems to float in and out after the first three hours or so. A haunting fragrance, eminently worthy of the magisterial House of Creed.

I received a sample of this and at first sniff straight up (I know, a big no-no!) I hated it. I dabbed a bit on, waited for a drydown, sniffed again and couldn't keep it on. Come to find out, after a 2nd chance days later and a lighter application and a longer wait period...I LOVE this. I find it to be completely delicious. It's rich and beautiful. I did like the middle notes and love the base. It's warm and melding and seductive.

This fragrance should be my HG. It has all the Piscean traits I love, BUT... I don't like it. Angelica is a complex essential oil that is transporting in the pure state, but I love it so much I only seem to want it straight up. I have never run across an Angelica-blend perfume I love yet. I have also come to another realization after trying this one off and on for a year - I'm not really a fan of incense fragrances. I don't mind them as a note but when they figure prominently, I seem to lose interest.
I want to have what other people describe with this fragrance, and was prepared to fall desperately in love, so it has been a disappointing experience. I will keep trying, and hopefully, one time I'll be transported to the Angelique Encens plane. My experience thus far has kept my feet on the ground.
For now, for much less than the cost of AE, I'll indulge myself in the pure essential oil, burn a stick of sandalwood incense, lay on the couch, and play "Sunlight Through A Vaulted Window" by Peter Davison, the music that evokes the mood AE lovers are describing, and pretend....

Notes: angelica, tuberose, amber, incense and vanilla

Part of the Creed Private Collection, Angelique Encens is a distinctive and elegant green incense fragrance.

As the name suggests, the two main notes on display here are the herbal flower Angelica, and incense. The incense note is noticeable from the top notes through the base. Smoky incense and the herbal overtones of Angelica are most evident during the unraveling of the top notes. The incense almost disappears during the middle notes where the angelica is joined by a muted yet refined note of tubeurose. The tubeurose provides a sweeter more floral depth to the angelica. The drydown introduces warm notes of ambery, vanilla, and incense; Angelique Encens ends with as much panache and grace as it started with. Lasting power is around 5-6 hours, with the fragrance keeping close to skin during the latter 1-2 hours.

Angelique Encens is one of the highlights of the venerable Creed Private Collection. A mysterious, elegantly composed fragrance, it ranks as one of the finest fragrances which showcase the note of incense.

Essence of bliss. The angelica is heavenly. Coupled with the vanilla, it presents a perfect amount of sweetness, long-lasting but expressed with a light hand. Creed lists tuberose as a note, but it is discreet--a difficult task to accomplish with this flower. There is a dusty frankincense hovering over all. Addictive, like the scent of Play-Doh. This is a smooth, sweet, skin smell that clings without being cloying. It becomes the wearer. Simple and appropriate in all situations, on all ages.

This is QUALITY. A gorgeous, sensuous perfume, definetly for winter. This is the reason I noticed "Coco" was slipping in quality, I think AE must have been the inspiration. To my nose they are so close they are distinhuished by little else but quality.

Very pricey, but I would spend it unblinkingly if I had it/ when I have it to spare. My sample vials are little treasures.

This scent evolved into a 'gamey' sort of baby powder on me...weird.

Vanilla and amber set against precious woods and soft florals. Beautiful in that vintage way. The highlight is the resinous musky ambergris note that warms the entire composition. A bit sweet for me, but I love to sniff the bottle now and then.

...finally found my holy grail: thy name is Angélique Encens!

Angelique Encens is beautiful and haunting. I find strong vanilla notes beneath the smoky incense and ambery elegance. This one has to be worn and experienced before it can be rated appropriately. Angelique Encens creates a mood in me and everyone who can smell me when I wear it. It has the odd yet tempting beauty of a run-down mansion on a bayou.

With my chemistry Angelique Encens is very similar to DSH's Gypsy. Unlike the DSH Gypsy this doesn't make me cough. This has the same type of incense note as DSH Gypsy as well. This is long lasting, but like the last reviewer said mannish. I honestly don't see what all the fuss is about with this one. Impeatrice Eugenie is much nicer with my chemistry.

Angelique Encens on me smells the way a big black panther would smell as it cools down from a long and sweaty chase. To me, AE is the quintessential le parfum fourrure, but not in a nice way. When I first smelled AE, my initial reaction was, “this is very mannish.” My second thought was, “this is very cattish.” My third thought was, “this is like getting an old fur coat out of mothballs.” So I was wryly amused when I was informed that Creed had developed this for Marlene Dietrich back in the ‘30s. Well, that would explain my first two reactions.!! There’s something repulsive about the way AE melds with my chemistry. It’s so repulsive I’m constantly smelling my wrists to figure out what in the world this note is that I find so off-putting. Is it ambergris? Whatever it is, it’s certainly compelling and repelling simultaneously. I will admit that at the end, hours and hours later, there is a faint trail of pure musk oil left behind. I actually like that part, but it takes too doggoned long to get there. Angelic incense, eh? Surely not the incense of heavenly seraphim or cherubim. Maybe the incense of those “other” angels, like the ones in Tartarus?

a juxtaposition of gentleness and powerful refinement.

This is not a scent one can smell from the bottle and even slightly predict how it's going to react on one's skin. I sniffed the bottle, thought "interesting," applied the fragrance, waited an hour, and SWOONED. Nothing I have ever smelled comes close to the mood of this one - completely takes my mind to other places...haunted, beautiful places. The vanilla/amber drydown is simply intoxicating, and sensual. I don't find this fragrance to be dark, but it is mysterious and hypnotic.

one of my all time favorites. As much as I like other scents, this is one I will never be able to live without. Truly hypnotic and unlike anything else. Mysterious, musty (in a good, 'antique' way) darkly floral, and with smoky incense weaving in and out of the composition. As Connoisseur said, it does go through 3 phases, which I was able to discern after repeated wearings and got to 'know' it. The first part - amazing. The second part I like a bit less, but that doesn't last too long - then it transforms yet again into something truly amazing, soft but powerful. Lasts a long time on my skin, thankfully.

For me Angelique Encens is a fragrance - an aroma - a scent - a world - of peace, of gentleness and kindness, of elegance, of grace, and of dignity. Angelique Encens speaks to me of an uncluttered life, and a world void of chaos and hatred, violence and suffering. To me it has a slight and subtle oriental/vanilla quality; somewhat spicy, lightly floral, lovely powdery drydown. An elegant and refined, most proper fragrance suitable, I think, for both men and women; I am so impressed with Angelique Encens that I've bought two bottles. If it had a voice it would be the angelic voice of Enya and it's song would be "Marble Halls." With so many fragrances on the market today that leave many of us wondering what their purpose is, Angelique Encens is different; a vintage fragrance, coming out of a time of chivalry and etiquette and romanticism, it makes clear its mission right from the start - to take us back again...

Violet, rose, amber, vanilla, incense, sandalwood and musk make up the delicious composition of Angelique Encens. The sandalwood note is dominant while the other notes dance playfully around it through the entire wearing. Angelique Encens is very woody, smoky and sweet with some lovely powdery floral notes. After about 20 minutes the amber note emerges and plays very nicely with the sandalwood, vanilla, incense and musk. After an hour it goes even darker as the vanilla becomes less and the amber completely takes over. At this point it goes from wow to incredible. It smells like something Serge Lutens would have made only better if you can imagine. I've heard it described as the smell of sex, but I would have to disagree and say that it is not the smell of sex but pure sexuality. Angelique Encens is very playful and extremely sexy. If you are into Serge Lutens or other borderline unisex fragrance this is one you must try. This is by far my favorite of the vintage Creed so far. Remember to give this one a good hour before you judge it completely because it makes 3 distinct changes as it dries down.

The gentleman whose initials appear as "JW" following reviews of many of Creed's fragrances must remember that Creed's legendary scents are, predominately, millesimes. This means that they are derived from pure extracts of essential oils and are blended to be less potent than perfume. All fragrances, universally, are created as cologne or eau de toilette, which have less essential extracts; eau de parfum or millesime, which have a slightly higher amount of essential extract; and parfum, which is the highest amount of pure, essential extract. Naturally, Angelique Encens, personal favorite of the late, great Marlene Dietrich, is not parfum. So, one cannot expect it to last as long as perfume. I caution anyone who judges this fragrance to be less lasting to remember that its composition is not that of pure parfum. Nonetheless, Angelique Encens delivers uncompromised floral hypnosis that helped me into memorable, romantic escapades more than once as I'm sure it must have for Marlene Dietrich.

An interesting herbal/floral that, I think, could easily be unisex. A typical Creed issue is lack of bold longevity, though is does reside nicely for long periods close to the skin. Worth a try, but NOT worth the price tag.