Himalaya (2002)
by Creed

IMHO this fragrance isn't like the other Creed's that I enjoy (Aventus, Millisime Imperial, GIT) -- it lacks originality and that unique *whatever* that makes the other Creeds I like worth paying as much as I do for them. Himalaya doesn't seem to have that...whatever it is that I look for in a niche fragrance. It's not a bad fragrance by any means, there's just nothing that stands out about it to me that says "oh this is nice" -- or "oh this is definitely worth as much as I paid for it"

It's almost like this could be a brand name fragrance from guess or something.

Anyways...notewise, top is very fresh and citrus like.
I get a nice citrus blast, then musk and sandalwood.

I'd take Aventus over this fragrance any day of the week for any occaison....which is kind of a similar concept but the top is fruiter with Aventus, which I enjoy.

22nd January, 2012.

Creed = Expensive and classy fragrance!
Longevity is the main problem for most of the creed fragrances! (Or maybe all of them)
But overall quality is vey good and many of them smell great!
The opening is citrus bomb! It's very fresh and soapy and give you extra energy .
After one hour, become woody with a bit of citrus!
This is a very versatile fragrance that you can use it in all four seasons.
Projection is very good but longevity is average.
I get around 6 hour out of this and it's not fair for a $175 fragrance! (120ml)
Thumbs up because of great scent, very good quality and great projection.

7th November, 2011.

This is the lesser of Creed's cold, "mountainous" fragrances. It starts out as a very airy, cool citrus with mint and florals. Very soon the not-too-sharp citrus and mint assume the guise of that woody, dusty green that reminds people so much of Paco XS. Here it has a very sudsy soap quality to it, whereas XS is more sharply green. At this stage, it's probably the most sudsy soap scent I know of, even though it's not specifically a soap scent. As the wood starts to come back in the mid notes, it unfortunately brings with it some of that sweet cherry/wood note that a lot of designer brands have, which I don't particularly like. It also begins to get mustier here, and has lost all of the amazing freshness of the top notes, all the while getting more medicinal from the "cherry wood". It's almost like a failed Gendarme scent, having started out bright and soapy, but fallen into a musty, sickly rut. The herbal notes give it an unpleasantly cold edge, which is much colder than is necessary to create a cool, refreshing scent, but not sharp and tantalizing either, the way that some of the better icy aquatics can be. It's a summer scent trying to achieve winter by being really cold like Silver Mountain Water, but does so in an uninviting way. Overall, I'm just not drawn it by either XS or Himalaya. It would be a hard choice between this and XS if the price difference weren't so huge. Consider SMW instead.

5th November, 2011.

I've tried it twice, my first time was in Moskow, i got in a shop near the Old Arbat, chose this one among many Creed's and tested it. In that case, as well as i went outside where the frost was roaring, i appreciated the aromatic and metallic citrusy opening, the touch of mint and the green-herbal-orangy temperament together with the mossy and masculine (vetiver and ambergris) dry down. My second time was in the torrid south italy and i found it far less pleasant and somehow generic, really very similar to XS, may be more vintage (or classic), less synthetic, but equally dense at the end because of the dominant smooth mossy and ambery base. What can i say? I don't rave for these kind of fragrances, too muscular and herbal for the main part of their development. The smell here is initially angular because of grapefruit, later orangy, than woody with a sheer sandalwood and finally mossy with the dusty
millesime' sophistication of the link florals-ambergris plus the starring orangy feel. Not bad but not my cup of tea.

23rd October, 2011.

A very clean non offensive scent. Also very unique. It has a creamy masculine smell that recieves many complements. Its became my work scent . Very soothing mellow fragrance. Love it.!!

23rd August, 2011. (Last Edited: 11th September, 2011.)

I don’t know the Creed line very well, but just tried Original Vetiver and Himalaya. The former is a clone, the latter not so much a clone as simply derivative. Himalaya smells like 75% Salvador Dali’s Laguna mixed with 25% Cool Water. It settles down to a metallic musk without distinction. Laguna and Cool Water both have far more coherent drydowns.

Thank goodness I tried Irisia from Creed at the same sitting. Otherwise I’d have written this house off with 2 strikes.

Also, these names. I loved Irisia, but there’s not a trace of iris to be found. Original Vetiver without a bit of vetiver in the composition. Himalaya? Iconic mountain range full of bucket-list implications for the western bourgeois dilettante? Cliche watery-fruity fragrance? What’s the association? This is less le Labo misdirection than bad lifestyle marketing in the vein of RL Safari.

11th August, 2011. (Last Edited: 25th August, 2011.)