Chèvrefeuille Original (1982)
by Creed

Chèvrefeuille Original goes on with very brisk, sharp green notes that trumpet a wake-up call to the nose. Sweeter green grassy notes follow in a few minutes, causing the composition to mellow appreciably. Behind these come the floral notes, all bright and spring-fresh. I smell lily-of-the-valley (muguet) along with the honeysuckle, and jus the slightest hint of anise, licorice, or fennel seed.

The floral accord sweetens considerably over time, but never loses its bright freshness or becomes heady. I attribute some of this effect to a very subtle and well blended minty-camphoraceous note. Chèvrefeuille Original continues in a linear manner for three or four hours before fading quietly into the background. It never morphs onto the standard modern Creed formula that underpins Green Irish Tweed, Silver Mountain Water, Millesime Imperial, or Himalaya, and that's all for the better.

I give Chèvrefeuille Original credit: it really is original and distinctive in the context of the modern Creed offerings. I can recommend it without reservation as a unisex scent for spring and summer.

I find the honeysuckle note in general to be very feminine. I have a huge bush of honeysuckle, which I stick my head into every summer as it's intoxicating. It doesn't smell like this. The Jo Malone rendition is nearer and I'm sure many more. This is a green/herbal mixture (get quite a bit of basil) and works well on that basis -- the drydown is wonderful. Maybe my honeysuckle is unoriginal.

Well, first of all, I'm glad I'm among half of the reviewers who can smell honeysuckle in this one. In the second place, I'm a sucker for mint notes,so this is a comfort summer scent which works well, (see Epicea, Selection Verte, etc.)

One reason it's not as popular as other Creeds is that it is linear, which is not a problem with, say, REL--which after 30 seconds of mandarin is all smooth leather--bu here the opening with flowers, apparently renders it unisex or downright feminine to some, as does the non-fungus drydown. Pity.
Creed could have put some moss at the beginning and tobacco at the end --or vice versa, but it would have ruined the composition.

This is my cutoff line between feminine and masculine. It's a close call, and if this had even average sillage, I would say it was too feminine for me. It is also close to my limit for sweetness, but only in the opening notes. The sweetness recedes, and the honeysuckle becomes dominant. Not much development here. It's longevity is poor, even for a Creed. It's quite lovely, it's different, more like a good ballad than a great symphony, however. It's a nice break from the millisime Creeds, but I don't think I will be replacing my current bottle when empty. There are more interesting things out there, and I don't think this one justifies Creeds' premium pricing.

While the fragrance smelled a bit generic upon application (bright, maybe piney, with musky undertones) it possesses a very spicy, complex base which emerges throughout hours of wear. I do smell fennel seed, and possibly a hint of fresh mint, but I certainly wouldn't call it "minty." It is, in fact, a scent that seems more like it was made by a "botanist" than a "floral arranger" (look to Fleur Du Male for that type of scent). It's the new foliage, wild weeds, and dried out flowers in the untended garden behind my great-aunt's house.

This is my first Creed scent, and it really wasn't what I was expecting.

It says "Chevrefeuille Original" on my sample vial, but I'm just not smelling any chevrefeuille in this concoction at all. It's pleasant, but it's not like any honeysuckle I've ever smelled. Maybe in France, honeysuckle smells like lavender, because *that's* what I smell. It's a soapy scent, to me, much like Original Vetiver, but without the lemongrass. I guess I smell the mint that everyone else smells, but mostly I just smell soap smell -- lavender with something else. If they wanted to give it a name that means lavender, they could have named it Arome 3.