Cyprès-Musc (1948)
by Creed

Starts off with something jarring, discordant; I think it may be the mint disagreeing with the galbanum. That lasts for a few minutes. In fact, the first time I tried this on my skin, I was very put off by it. After a relatively short time (perhaps 15–20 minutes), however, things start to smooth out and the cypress begins to come out and dominate (or at least tame) the earlier accord. Then the scent becomes quite elegant and manly in a woodsy, musky sort of way, with a touch of the Creed signature ambergris rounding it out and mellowing it; and, voilà, the caper is pulled off smoothly and seemingly effortlessly!

Something must be wrong with my nose because I absolutely despise this stuff. Creed hatred or not, I gave this a chance. Other cypress scents have turned me off but... is this really cypress? It's very similar to cedar but cypress is more bright while cedar has a darker tone to it. Like a major 6th augmented chord versus a minor seventh. Smells watery at times. There's a mint note that counteracts the cypress, or is it playing with the cypress? I don't know. Don't like this one but honestly, give it a try if you can you just might!

Cyprès-Musc was the first Creed I tried and it remains a favorite of mine. I see it as a scent of ‘cool-warm’ contrasts: a cool, crisp Cypress wood, wrapped in a warm musk, supported by oakmoss. I think of it as an autumn scent: it suggests to me a walk in woods on late day in Indian Summer. The scent of pine needles on the trail fills the air; the heat of sun is felt, but in a quiet way. Intensely coniferous in its opening, I realize it won’t be for everyone. A rather simple scent, but unique. It lasts 12+ hours on me.

Green and musky and slightly medicinal all at once, with a strong sillage that isn't to be believed from a non-Millesime Creed.

I'm very fond of cypress-heavy frags, but know that not everyone will be as enamored of them. Do yourself a favor and order a sample of this one first.

Here's one of those scents that I can respect, but not enjoy. Cypres-Musc roars out of the bottle with bold conifer and lavender, riding on a tidal wave of soap. This opening is forcefully masculine in a very old-fashioned way, and smells to me both like a barbershop and like the freshly cleaned men's room at a pretentious luxury hotel. A mossy foundation soon becomes apparent, and while the lavender subsides the cypress and soap settle heavily atop the moss.

It's well over an hour before the musk makes itself known on me, and when it does it's very clean and blends right in with the brisk cypress. Cypres-Musc persists for some time on me and offers plenty of sillage. While it's great to have a Creed fragrance that lasts for more tha na couple of hours, I have to admit that this one is just too soapy for me. Give me dirt any time.

“A wonderful green and woody fragrance with fresh top notes of Spanish bergamot, woody cypress on a base of oakmoss, ambergris and musk.” Creed website
Cypres-Musc is the fragrance I’ve been looking for! It is superb. There is a good opening blast of bergamot (not just a basic citrus, this really has the ‘Earl Grey’ tone). Very quickly, incredible cypress resins emerge, the best I’ve encountered. They are green, coniferous, woodsy and give an incredible nature/forest smell. They have a deep, haunting quality that is irresistible. This scent makes me lose sense of time and be caught in the moment. It is very distinctive and dry, but it is not heavy and stays close to the skin. The resins are softened but not tamed by soft musk. This is not as turpentine-y as Eau D’Hadrien or Eau Trois (excellent dry scents in their own right). Enjoy its brilliant moments, and re-apply as needed. I am a huge fan of coniferous and woody smells, and this is one of the BEST!