Erolfa (1992)
by Creed

Hey Erolfa, how you doing? Been up to much late..................... oh don't run away from me. I was just starting to like you again. You don't smell bad at all, in fact I quite like you.

Ah well............ best go round and see Millesime Imperial instead at least he sticks around for a few hours.

As an ardent admirer of GIT, it disappoints me that Erolfa is not the Creed offering most commonly thought of as "smelling like Cool Water." Of course, they all seem to occupy the same space in the fragrance continuum, but to me GIT seems pleasantly sticky but not even remotely sweet or sickly. It has real depth; it evolves and does so noticeably, which is something an admitted once-and-future noob like me looks for in a scent. It also presents itself as a "natural" fragrance; never do I inhale it and think, "Well, that seems a little off."

Erolfa and CW, on the other hand, both share a sweet, synthetic, tinny quality that irritates me. Honestly, I expected Erolfa (with its seafaring marketing imagery) to be more akin to CSP Aqua Motu or Heeley Sel Marin, both of which I like and appreciate. Aqua Motu and Sandflowers are aquatic in an almost briny "sea-foam" sense (truly "oceanic"), and GIT is aquatic (sort of) in a fresh yet overtly animalic way (owing to the sticky, almost steaming ambergris dollop). I just don't know what Erolfa and CW are aiming to accomplish - they both seem engineered for mediocrity. Whereas I could easily pick GIT out of a group, I would have trouble distinguishing between these two. Maybe it's just me.

I agree with PigeonMurderer that this would be a neutral were it cheaper (CW to me is neutral). This, however, smells so common (no, not "bad" - just common) at its price that I must rate it accordingly.

Lovely stuff. As weird as it is to say it, yes... ozonic. It's light, airy, a little salty like a sea breeze, projected outward on a little soapy, floral, slight but bright citrusy platform. Sillage is surprisingly good for such a passive scent and longevity is excellent, particularly on fabric. It dries down to a slightly sweet floral base but I don't get sandalwood. I bought a flacon and I love it. You can wear it any time. Totally inoffensive but thoroughly enjoyable.

It starts with a salty oceanic accord and quickly descends into a somewhat cheap smelling, rather poorly balanced mixture of musky, citrus and synthetic woody notes. With a bit of curdling ozonic still on top. And some plastic. Quite frankly, its a bit nasty. Especially if I think about it.

So why do I love it?

I really don't know. I find it compelling. I like the aquatic note. It does smell a bit like the beach. There is something frivolous and throwaway about it which conjours a carefree feeling. I just do.

I initially found this scent unimpressive, as it's sillage and longevity are not good. But after almost 2 years of re-testing, at many different levels of application, from a spray or two to a downright drenching, I have finally com to appreciate this masterpiece. No other scent to date have I turned my initial opinion around for.

On it's surface it invokes a simple image, a rough saltwater ocean on a slightly overcast day. But it's construction is far from simple:

Top: Ozone, Sea Salt, Marine Algae, Seaweed, Morrocan Tangerine, Lemon, Bergamot, Orange, Mandarin, Lime,
Heart: Violet, Honeydew melon, Cyclamen, Jasmine, Ginger, Coriander, pepper, Caesarean Basil, Rosemary, Cumin, Pine,
Base: Cedar, Sandalwood, Musk, Ambergris

At first, the notes look dissonant, but when you analyze further, small doses of all these elements makes sense in evoking the perfect aquatic image. And that is what Creed has done. Both thumbs way up.

Allright I recant! This really is a great frag IF (see jforturi's 2003 review) you are around the seashore. In fact it is superb frag by the seashore. Skip the seabreeze and wear it at a board meeting? I don't think so.