Reviews of Acier Aluminium (1973)
by Creed

Acier Aluminium is an interesting fragrance, and I wish I had ordered more than a 1 millilitre decant.

I often find it easy to write what notes I can smell in a fragrance, but with Acier Aluminium I can’t put my finger on specific notes. Rather than writing what I can smell, I only feel able to jot down my impressions, which feel like a representation (or resemblance) rather than any sort of clear guide.

Acier Aluminium opens with a metallic note that lasts for about thirty seconds on my skin. As this note fades out it is replaced by a sharp, intense aromatic accord, which reminds me of the opening accord in Caron’s Third Man less the lavender. This accord lasts for a few minutes and then begins to break down into three notes: bay, cinnamon, and olibanum. The bay and cinnamon remind me of the opening of Tauer’s Une Rose Chypree, and the olibanum is similar to the ball of resin in Montale’s Louban.

Just as I am wondering if this is really what I am smelling, a fruit note swells up and swallows these three notes. The cinnamon gives the fruit some warmth, and the olibanum gives the fruit a sharper focused base. After a few more minutes of fruit a peppery carnation note arrives, which along with the remains of the bay, keeps the fruit interesting. This combination lasts for about two hours on my skin, and is really nice to sniff.

The dry down begins with something like amber and vanilla, which draw the fruit toward a deeper and darker pitch. An animalic note stops the sweetness from becoming too sweet, and the olibanum settles as a resinous note at the very bottom of the base.

Acier Aluminium is all over within six hours on my skin, but oh what an interesting journey it is.

What some have identified as "metallic" in this scent's top notes seems to me a piercingly tart, even acidic note with a distinct "chemical" edge. There is also a sweet, fruity leather accord in the opening, and this sticks around after the sharp note’s quick fade. The heart is fruit, musk, quiet leather, and spices – ever so slightly reminiscent of Serge Lutens’s Daim Blond, but with more sweet spice and a somewhat animalic background. I have no idea what the actual notes are, but I get plenty of amber nutmeg and at least a trace of cinnamon.

The Creed millésime house accord emerges and moves toward the foreground as the scent evolves, but its character is greatly altered in the absence of the fresh green or marine notes that so often accompany it in other Creed scents like Green Irish Tweed, Silver Mountain Water, or Millésime Imperial. Acier Aluminium is much darker and “dirtier” than any of these other Creeds and hence, to my nose, more interesting.

Acier Aluminium's sweet amber eventually replaces the soft leather in the drydown, which this scent enters very quickly. That’s “quickly” as in 30 minutes. The drydown is the most conventional part of the development, and it is very pleasant. Happily, the base is enlivened by some of the spice notes that re-emerge in an olfactory game of hide-and-seek.

Acier Aluminium is ultimately distinguished enough to merit attention, but still safe enough to wear in almost any situation. It's originality is a tremendous advantage over most of the other Creeds I’ve tried. in. While some have commented that it's a winter scent, I find that it takes on a more challenging and gratifying animal aspect with a little heat and exertion. In the final analysis, it stands for me with Erolfa as one of the better modern Creed scents.

I do notice the metallic note in Acier Aluminium, and I actually quite like it. I get a tropical fruit vibe from this, with a slightly smoky sweet, incense-y dry down.

First I thought it was too early to write my review for Acier Aluminium, this is my first time trying it. I should give it a few chances, right? Wrong! I don't think I will ever want to smell it again. Too powerful, too powdery, like a kind of smell you get when you're on a overcrowded public bus, the air is stuffy, everybody is sweating and the person closest to you is reeking the smell of cheap-perfumed body talcum, yuck! Sickly sweet and cloying smell lingers in my nose forever after I washed it off. And I don't surprise to learned that many people associate AA with clean toilet smell. Oh, another thing came to my mind was the towelette you get after finished a meal in the Chinese restaurant, heavily perfumed, enough to mask the food odor.

Acier is certainly an interesting scent of whose likes I have not smelled before nor will likely smell again. It opens with a subdued blast of civet, citrus, and creamy florals such as lavender. After the rather unbearable opening, Acier dries down to a sweet musk and vanilla base. Certainly by no means a bad choice, but you could do better.

A girlie scent that's quite manly.

Say what?

This one opens up with amber and vanilla notes that are quite sweet--but then the musk and civet come forth like gangbusters.

( Is it real civet? Not unless Oliver's bribed the ASPCA--but let's let Creed's ' I'm so natural' hype slide and get back to the scent )

The male and female notes do a tango back and forth all the way to drydown.

What is this anyway? Jaipur crossed with MKK ??

Weird? Yes.
Decadent? Affirmative.
Sophisticated? Roger that.

Bottom line is that this is an evening scent for when you're too lazy to be dashing and bold, and so you leave Antaeus on the shelf, while you recline on the couch like a patrician Roman as nubile harem girls feed you grapes.
Not bad, huh?

oh god please have sex with me... bananas??? I don't typically think of the scent of bananas as "sexual"... but sugary carmelized bananas mixed with a bit of raspberry compote all diced with a stainless steel knife scratched across a metal surface = "I will lay down and you do whatever it is you want to me"
I have absolutely no idea why this is so seductive, as none of the notes would ever individually make my knees weak or the hairs on my neck stand up, but the composition is flawless, and makes me yearn for "private time" with my better half. I could say with all honesty that I would much rather smell this on a woman than a man, but that could be chalked up to my predisposition with preferring an "innie" to an "outie"... Aura sillage (three feet, enough to draw those that you want in your personal space even closer), ninja longevity (the moment you think your skin has soaked it all in a shift in airflow reminds you it's still there), and a drydown that, although is reminscent of many Creeds, retains enough of the inherent personality that you know exactly what you are wearing. This scent knows no season, no climate, and no preferred event... It is entirely unobtrusive, entirely original, and absolutely bottle worthy. I will give some Creeds a thumbs up, some a thumbs down, but for AA I will donate my thumbs to a purpose better suited for the blinds closed and a hotel door sign stating "Do Not Disturb"

This is as close to a Holy Grail fragrance as I've been able to find. I understand that there exists a palpable level of Creed revisionism within the community, but that matters not to me. This is rich, almost (or fully...) gourmand opulence. Like George Costanza draping himself in velvet, I would bathe in this juice "were it socially acceptable."

The bananavanilla-y (trademark pending) opening of fruits and spices seems to last forever on my skin, finally drying down to reveal the conventional Creed ambergris-tinged base. All the while, you are enveloped but not suffocated. This is a fragrance with presence that endures without becoming a nuisance.

Others have compared this to urinal cakes or bathroom fresheners. While I suppose I can see their point, my guess would be that the overwhelming majority of people would not make that association. It is certainly no Orange Spice in that regard. I have received my share of compliments while wearing this.

For those seeking a more budget-conscious (but by no means "cheap") and accessible approach to this fragrance theme, I would recommend Parfums de Nicolaï New York. It is similarly a fruity oriental with a powdery amber feel, only it ignores the whole metallic banana aesthetic that some find off-putting.

Amber and powder and incense and fruit and vanilla and civet -- who'd 'a thunk it would all ever work together? But it works. Yessirree, Bob, it works. Even the odd "metallic" note in the opening (and yes, it's there!) fits perfectly in this Creed classic.

Fruity, powdery, amber-y goodness here, with superb longevity and sillage.

This may be my favorite Creed. It is such a thing of it's time, I can't help but think of my father circa 1975 when I use this. Better longevity for me than most Creed's, slightly better sillage. Not a powerhouse by any means, but I have yet to find a Creed that I would describe that way. Fruity, spicy, incense. It's close between this, SMW and Himalaya as my favorite from this house. Because of the memories this one evokes, I currently favor this when I feel the need for a Creed.

This may be the best of the Creed line. The first 10 minutes say: "hot, hairy, 1970's porn....with a little bit of pee." This is probably the part that people give a thumbs-down to. Bananas & Cinnamon are also detected. After enduring these, and if you still can handle the uber-masculinity (I love everything about this stuff, but would not like it on a woman), a deliciously rich ambergris is detected, and stays for SEVERAL hours. I thank whoever it was that likened the odor to that of the EYES WIDE SHUT orgy scene; I would not have thought of that, but given that unforgettable imagery, I like to wear this (in the evening) even more so. I know I'm ranting & raving, but it is seldom that I find a scent that I love this much (especially one that came about in 1973).

my rating: 10/10

In a sentense:
Sex in a bottle...and not the good kind! The opening was awesome...but the drydown...Ouch!!! In my skin it smells like I just spent 12 hours in some low class club where sex happens in the dancefloor and I left with that very intimate smell (for lack of better words) all over. I can see that it could be appealing to some. Think stripclub perfume mixed with "something else" kind of aroma. It reminds me a lot of what my brother smelled like when he was a sex maniac. Not pleasant...very raw. One thing I will give it, it is very manly (I do like it for special and very few nights so I will not completely trash it).

There is a lot going on here: fruit, spice, incense lurking in the background, some sparkle, and a good dose of vanilla. It took several wearings to develop an appreciation for Acier Aluminium, as the warm spiciness contrasted with the ‘cool’ metallic note in the background (which I believe is from the incense that other reviewers have noted). I think it is a decent fragrance with a sensual character. Not one that I will buy for myself, but with definite merit and certainly unique.

Take some orange, add some vanilla, then add some metallic "clean bathroom smell" and urinal cakes. Surprisingly, its not as bad as it seems, and its pretty fascinating, however I just don’t “like” it. It doesn’t smell “good” and it doesn’t smell “bad.” Anyway, there's better stuff out there, and it feels a bit dated to me anyway. On second thought, maybe I’m being too open minded - this stuff can be pretty gross. My extreme fascination for it is slightly overpowered by the smell of urinal cakes and I’m starting to feel nauseous. Well, you might like it. Definitely worth trying, especially if you like to smell unique. After all, it may react completely differently on your skin.

9/10 for originality, 4/10 overall (for me)

I am not a Creed fan in a slightest bit, but of which I have tried, this is the one I like most.

Very unique and complex blend of fruits and amber with very distant spicynes. Quite subtle, wears close to skin but lasts a long time. I get the banana / Juicy Fruity thing at the beginning, but it soon dries down for an highly aromatic ambergris scent with hint of spices and vanilla. Fruits too still there, but in a most gentle amounts.
Overall, if the one wonders what might natural ambergris smell like, then this one is a worthy example of that and so definitely a must try.

Unisex scent, and the one and only Creed scent to this date I have ever even considered to be full bottle worthy.

New around here but know what I like and this one opens up smelling great and the different notes it hits to the dry down are great which to me make the dry down perfect.

SirSlarty is correct. This is full of bananas!

It smells like artificial banana candy with a slight spice to it, probably a cinnamon note.

Very potent, and not my type of scent!

Why all the negative reviews? I for one do not understand all the Creed haters, particularly those who hate the house merely because it does tend to air on the pretentious side. Whether you like it or not, all of their fragrances are unique and some of the finest ever produced in the history of perfumery. That being said, I will commence my review. I rank this as the third best ever created by Creed. The opening is sharp and metallic and explosive; in fact, I would not even venture to try and pick out notes for the first few minutes. For the heart notes, I detect a hint of plum, as well as several spices and maybe a hint of leather. The base is one of the most sensual that I have ever experienced; ambergris and vanilla absolute. The base is done so well in fact that it almost puts the wearer into a dream-like state, as if reality were a backdrop to some other dimensional plane. There is something unsettling and disturbing and mysterious and dark about this fragrance, but I love it! Someone once compared this fragrance to a particular scene in Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, and I am inclined to agree. It is decadent, ravishing, and sexual. It is classified as masculine, but I interpret it as unisex. I am sure that very few people own this, so you will certainly not smell like anyone else, and you are likely to receive innumerable compliments. I rarely utilize this for daytime wear, as it is quite strong and more suited to a refined or romantic evening venture. Longevity is amazing, probably close to 24 hours for just a couple of sprays on my skin. I will never be without a bottle of this; Acier Aluminium is multi-faceted to the utmost, and touches on all facets of the human condition. A true work of art.

I was not sure to expect here when I got my sample but I was intrigued. It is an oriental, that there is no doubt about. The opening is pretty "in your face" with a woody incense explosion with a helping of vanilla and something else I can't put my finger on.... It is a sparking note of some kind that really does not belong, it really throws the woodsy and vanilla notes for a loop, it's like they are all fighting for dominance.

After a few minutes the dry down occurs and not much changes in the notes other than they are not as potent as the initial blast. In fact throughout the scent life not much really changes which I actually like.

Longevity is very good for an oriental and silage is pretty good for a Creed which are all too well known for lying close to the skin and not projecting well. One thing I do like about this scent is it does not have the "Creed base" that the Millesime's do.

I have to say I don't like it however, but I am not a big oriental fan either. The notes just seem to be in a battle royal with each other to be the dominate leader in this scent rather than a tier supporting each other. Perhaps for some but not me.

It's an eccentric one. Like most of the Creeds I own it doesn't last properly. Therefore it doesn't satisfy completely - maybe just for two or three hours. Would it only had been denser, thicker... The drydown is so explicitly "creedish" (the infamous Creed base not) - it bores me. It is nice to wear it from time to time, but nothing one could rely on. Malevolently spoken: The whole pretentious "Creed thing" (marketing, 'reputation', list of celebrities etc.) has its incarnation in Acier Aluminium: It pretends to be art on a high level, but at its core it is only snobbish. Sad to say so!

This is my second try on it. Nose is a gentle apparatus and is affected by many variables; Being hungry or not, long exposure to certain smells (which may cause selective anosmia to them) etc. Now well fed and wore a woody scent all day, i can barely define you the perfect tin note in it. It is an motor oil can which is cleaned with gasoline and left under dripping gutter. Is it good? Yes, it is strange but note is tempting. It is extraordinary, manly and sophisticated.

In my first try i found it to be a very strong woody incense with sweet spice peaks, drying down to vanilla amber.

This time it is nearly impossible for me to smell the middle and base notes. If i did not have my own witnessing about the strength and longevity, i would deny.

You would probably not decide to wear it unless you are fond of extraordinary fragrances but it worths a try for enchantment or the weird experimentation that nature of the fragrance promises.

Bananas. We haven't done bananas! Right! How to create a fragrance with a banana. First you make is with some amber then you add the banana thus arming it... with a sweet and metallic accord that is on the verge of a fruity salsa. Really quite a jarring experience. Do not like this.

I’m new to this lark and this is my first review. I’ve tried several Creeds in the past (GIT is a daily standard) but this is certainly different from the standards. I got the high notes others have suggested, enjoyed them and just wished that they’d hung around for longer than 20 minutes. However, I found the dry down on me to be quite an unpleasant experience. Yes, I got the warm amber and spice (a hint of cinnamon’s in there), but I couldn’t shake off the peculiar sharpness that reminded me of Mitsouko gone sour. It’s like a ship’s head/toilet and I found it completely overwhelmed everything else. In fact I found it so nauseating that I had eventually (4 hrs later) to wash it off. Powerful stuff too – I only used two small tester vial drops. Maybe it’s my chemistry and maybe it’s a bad association with sailing holidays with my Dad (!) but this ‘un gets a thumbs down from me.

Oh Great -- lasts about 2 hours on me, which is par for this House (something should be said), but in this case I'm really pleased because it's a horrible mess -- case closed.

Kaern

I like this. Iit is a very warm alluring scent. It is a very interesting mixture of orange notes which provide an uplifting qulaity, metallic notes which give an edge, followed by a beautiful vanilla/ambergris dry down which to me is the most balanced natural smelling version of this creed signature, perhaps because the vanilla is more prominent.

A wonderful oriental scent, I find I can put this on in the evening after wearing a lighter orange based citrus during the day and it blends perfectly (I am not one to "layer" or mix scents as a rule).

Wow!, what a strange and complex cologne!
Much more complex than some of the other reviews give it credit for!

10% Joop.

20% GRANDMA's HOUSE YEA !!

20% Hospital Toilet.

20% Cheap 1950's Aftershave.

20% Armor All Dashboard Shine.

2.5% Mercury.

5% Astronaut Toilet.

2.5% Actual Aluminum.

=100% Bad

Eww.

I've spent quite some time trying to wrap my mind around this one. I really expected to like it, and it was the most anticipated of my recent Creed decant binge. I don't think I'll be able to like it though.

I get a dirty vibe from it, which I usually don't mind. But I get an inescapable connection to that blue juice that they use to flush airplane toilets. Weird, I know, but I can't help it. It's the sanitary nature of Kouros plus a bunch of fake-smelling fruit and spices. I don't get a whole lot of evolution out of it either, and the drydown is basically a bland version of the top. It does, however, last days. I'll give it that.

I had reservations about this one, especially after reading about the metallic note in other reviews. Now after trying a sample vial i'm immediately regretting spending my hard earned cash recently on a bottle of SMW. This is now my favourite creed and, alongside Baie De Genievre, is better than anything this house has produced in it's millesime range.

Old man in a bottle!

My newest purchase (and the happiest purchase I've made in a long time). I must confess my first thought was apple pie + metallic musk--yet quite pleasing. As it settled down, it evolved into one of the nicest, most distinct powdery drydowns I've experienced.

Another reviewer likened it to a Victorian boudoir. I smelled that quality and was (admittedly) enamored--at once very modern and old-fashioned, which translated to elegant.

A friend of mine who has a self-described "allergic" to scents (walking within ten miles of a sephora gives her a terrible headache) even complimented me.

Logevity was pretty good (better than I get for most EdP strength Creeds) and sillage was clearly effective.

One downside--when I got home at the end of the night (after 5hrs plus out) the nice dry-down had turned a bit sour smelling, but I can live with that if I get to take the ride that heads there.

At first I was very disappointed with this. With my usual one-half spray to the back of my hand I wasn’t getting civet, or lasciviousness, or decadence. What I smelled was lots of powder and amber—I smelled Victorian boudoir. It was a very charming and delicate scent, but it certainly didn’t seem to be the decadence that I was so looking forward to. So I gave three more full sprays to the back of my hand and…there it was: civet, decadence, and the orgy scene from Eyes Wide Shut. Lasciviousness with a cold bite. Now I understand the name—Steel Aluminum—there’s a chilly metallic note cutting through the spices, the powder, the pseudo civet, and warm raw amber. It does smell wonderfully sensual and decadent; and as Milamber says, the notes don’t seem to belong to a Creed scent. But it does seem Creed in one way—the great spice and metallic accord does not last nearly long enough…but the powdery amber lasts forever. All things considered, this is a very good fragrance.

Most of the previous reviewers have said it well enough - seductive, unique, underrated even plutonian. All are correct and may I add that this is the definition of a "night out" scent. Most women find this irresistible and few men wear it or know of it. Fantastic drydown. Try it - few do and this may be the best reason to.

Very unusual scent. I find it very hard to place what exactly is going on with this scent. I found that it has an initial somewhat sour/bitter note, which then drys into something more tolerable.

I'm not sure if this will be a scent if I purchase or not. It's unique to say the least.

I ran out of samples and finally purchased a bottle of this. Quite simply, this is one of the most distinctive male fragances around and it works on every level to the extent it is likely to become a signature fragrance for me. Hard to find, but well worth the effort!

One of Creeds most complex, outstanding and under-rated fragrances. The top notes are reminiscent of Feuille Verte - sharp, spicy and a bit lemony. They then recede to create the way for one of most sensual ambery drydowns (with a hint of ambegris) around. The sharp contrast between the top notes and the basenotes is intoxicating and are what makes this offering from Creed very special. The sillage is perfect and longevity is high. I am on my way to procuring a bottle of this masterpiece !

It took me many wearings to get into Acier Aluminium, but now that I have, I can't get enough of this versatile gem. It's a dry spice and fruit scent. The topnotes are sharp and slightly sour, which creates the illusion of metal, sort of like the topnotes in L'Anarchiste. As it dries down it picks up a creamy fuzziness; it's not quite warmth, but more like a powdery fuzzy quality that makes it much more approachable and wearable than the topnotes would suggest. The more it dries, the rounder and fuzzier it seems to get, but throughout the dry down it maintains the spice and fruit notes that give it character. I could see wearing this in any season, and for either casual or formal occasions. It lasts forever (literally over a day on me) and I find it has near perfect sillage - I never feel like I am overwhelming others, yet I always know it's there. I've done a total 180 since the first time I sampled this...it's now easily one of my favorite Creeds and possibly one of my favorite scents overall.

Very Spicy. I think it smells like an incense shop.

I was expecting great things from a scent so universally praised, but I found Acier Aluminium to be a huge disappointment. The initial blast reminded me distinctly of a freshly cleaned hotel bathroom, talcum powder and unpleasantness. It gets more tolerable as it dries down to a creamy amber, but not enough to redeem it for me.

I was really looking forward to this one; from how I had heard it described I was hoping I might make it my signature scent. Alas, such was not meant to happen; my biggest dissapointment in fragrances yet. The worst part is, if I smell some after it has been applied for a while, I love the complex, mature mixture of freshness and spice. Unfortunately, I get a strong note of some type of wood initially, and this ruins the whole mix for me, makes it go almost sour. Hmmph.

Sheer, unadulterated decadence. A scratchy, vanilla mixed with amber purely sexual fragrance. Cannot describe this one other than to say it's outstanding. It's upscale, elegant, mysterious, sexy, and just unique. How does Creed do it? Or, how DID they do this one..

Truly sublime. This scent at once captures all the basic emotions that make us human, yet never goes as far to offend any of them. It exudes a certain lasciviousness without being overtly sexual (though it comes quite close); it manages to be decadent without being bacchanalian; it is lavish without being overly complex. How a scent could be so powerful, yet restrained from excess and devoid of filigree is what in my opinion makes this scent a magnum opus of the fragrance industry. The top notes are a harmonious citrus and spice, which settles into a dark, sensuous amber and vanilla. The sheer depth of these base notes (especially the ambergris) make one wish it would never fade. I will never be without Acier Aluminum in my wardrobe- it's just that intoxicating.

Anecdotally, I find while wearing this fragrance, women co-workers stand much closer to me while engaged in conversation, and are much more apt to initiate physical contact (a friendly hug or playful belly prod). Very rarely do they mention how they like the fragance, but by the way they stop to take in a whiff around me makes me confident that this scent is something truly magic.

Probably my favourite scent in the world EVER! This is THE most intoxicating, incredible scent I have ever tried. I will NEVER be without a bottle, even if I have to pay really silly prices! It just takes me somewhere so much better than where I am. Most likey not to everyones taste but you have to give this one a go! Thumbs, fingers and everything else I can find, up for this one!

Somewhere to the South of Heaven, somewhere to the North of Eden, somewhere to the East of Venusburg, and somewhere to the West of Cockayne, we found ourselves floating on a stream of silk inside a golden cloud of the most serene perfume. From one perspective, the sheerest luxury and decadence (soft pillars, scented chambers, caves of velvet), yet so warm and kindly that all negativity was banished at the door. From another perspective, the smile of a golden child, the pulse of a suave, rich music, and the workings of a strange magician with obviously royal connections. (de Charlus).

One of the most decadent scents I have come across-and absolutely intoxicating. The blend is somehow pagan and sinful. You know the masked orgy scenes in Stanley Kubricks Eyes wide shut? - thats the image I get from smelling this unorthodox blend of raw ambergris, resins and fruits with a slight lemony edge - Very cool and original.

AA is probably my favorite scent period. It is seductive and exotic, sparkling and just sweet enough. I think of it more of a cool weather scent although I cannot resist wearing it year round. Creed's use of ambergris (yet again) separates this from any other imitator. I cannot recommend this highly enough.

Probably one of the most under-rated Creed scents out there. The drydown, in fact, loosley reminds me of Parfum Nicolai's New York and a bit of Guerlain's Mouchoir de Monsieur. A very nice, classy light scent, although I'm not a real big fan of ambery drydowns this one is good.