Reviews of Original Vetiver (2004)
by Creed

Creed Original Vetiver

Notes: Vetiver from Haïti, Mysore sandalwood, iris from Florence, musk and ambergris, deep wood notes, mandarin, bergamot from Sicily, ginger (from creedfragrances.co.uk)

Lemon, bergamot, amber, musk, and rosewood are the most prominent notes when Original Vetiver is first sprayed. I am wondering where the vetiver is. Even after the fragrance has dried and is starting to settle, I do not smell any vetiver. What I do smell is basically a very woody-lemony cologne with soft amber-musk base. It's really not bad, but I would not classify it as a vetiver fragrance. The ingredients seem to be of reasonably good quality, however, I am having a very hard time getting excited about this fragrance. OV is Boring with a capital "B". It just SITS there, being lemony, woody and a tad spicy--in a nutshell, OV is mostly a soapy traditional scent and a bit thin on the base notes. This fragrance has none of the sparkle and beauty I would expect from a traditional scent made by a prestige house. I hesitate to suggest it as a good, all occasion, light and fresh fragrance because it is too expensive for what it is.

Lemme start by saying how much I've really, really, really tried to like Creed. Anyway, this one starts out innocuously enough, but by the dry down, you're stuck in soapy/grassy hell for the next 24 hours -- kinda like a really bad acid trip or something. And go ahead and try to wash this thing off! Can't do it! Hey, if you dig vetiver to the extreme, this is the scent for you. Go easy, though. Too much of this bad boy and the sillage gets imprinted on your cerebral cortex, just like The Phone Company wanted to do in "The President's Analyst." Remember that movie? Great flick! I'm neutral on the scent because I just don't dig heavy vetiver, and that's not Creed's fault; it's my problem and I guess I'll just have to deal with it. But a big thumbs up on the movie! Check it out!

What a blast of fresh cut grass!! Uplifting and masculine with a pleasing lack of sweetness. Very good duration and silage. A complex scent with interesting development. Unlikely to offend anyone (unless you over-apply massively).
16/05/06

Edit 21/06/09 - Well I stand by most of that except that I can't wear it anymore because of the everlasting musk in the base. It endures through several showers and interferes with my scent choice the next day. It would be wonderful for somebody who wanted to wear it every day, or several days in a row.
Changed from thumbs up to neutral.

After a good start the Creed Original Vetiver collapses within an hour into an unspectacular composition of vetiver and lime, all in all a soapy impression without the extra little kick. It is not bad but just pretty boring, just nothing I would buy.

Umm smells like soap I used to use back in NY when I was little... Smells very green and not a bad smell, but just can't see myself paying so much to smell like soap.

Despite the opening is very similar to Thierry Mugler Cologne, Original Vetiver seems to be better in terms of sillage power. If Mugler Cologne feels younger and fresher, the Original Vetiver is the grown-up version of it. Original Vetiver feels more matured, powdery & soapy and has different end notes than Mugler Cologne. Same with Mugler Cologne, Original Vetiver is suitable for office occasion and daytime. It will not offend anyone. Personally, I'll choose Mugler Cologne over Original Vetiver as Original Vetiver is too powdery for my taste, feels too matured for my age (25) and a bit expensive. It smells weird to the extent of making me want to vomit if worn during cold rainy days but during hot sweaty summer days, it smells heavenly. I could even detect a floral hint from the vetiver scent when I'm sweating. Great stuff.

This is too soapy. To me, it doesn't smell natural, it doesn't smell like vetiver, it doesn't smell like freshly cut grass, and it's not particularly smooth. It smells like a VERY nice soap. Maybe the body wash would be a good investment...this would certainly wake you up in the morning. If you're looking for a nice soap scent with good longevity, this is a top option, but I'm just not a fan of the genre. I was hoping for more vetiver and/or grass.

My favorite aspect of OV is the peppery dryness, but that note is done much better in Ormonde Jayne's Isfarkand, a similar but much more interesting (read: less soapy) scent.

The fresh smell of green grass, freshly mowed. Ah, verdant lawns, and spring air. Nice, really nice. Oh, but where's the vetiver? Could it be that OC didn't want to call this Original Grass? Nice, polite, country fragrance. Not what I would be looking for in a vetiver.

I have grown to enjoy vetiver. My first experiences with it in other scents were challenging--it made the herbals notes too harsh it made the flower notes too dry or sour. Then I smelled a lovely bitterness, like rustling dried grass (in Lorenzo Villoresi Sandalo) and decided to try it as a "soliflore" fragrance. In Creed Original Vetiver, this herbal lovliness shines through, supported by notes such as bitter orange and cedar. Vetiver, like patchouli, depends upon its quality for its palatability. Cheap vetiver, like cheap patchouli, is harsh and leaves a lasting bad impression. Quality vetiver, like quality patchouli, is a note that can elevate fragrance from merely good to exceptionally fine. The only problem that I continue to have with it as a solo fragrance is this: People in our culture, in our climate, have no reference point for vetiver. We cannot say, "ah, it smells like newly-woven baskets" or "it smells like a freshly-thatched roof." Instead, the guy at the check-out counter at the convenience store looked at his co-worker with the spritz bottle and rag and said, "What's that smell? Vegetable cleaner?" I paid and walked out the door without explaining. I will be the first person to admit that my tastes in perfume are far from the norm, far from popular tastes. But when it reaches this point, I wonder if I should stay home and enjoy it myself.

If you don't like a lot of vetiver in your vetiver scents, but you do like the crisp, citric and clean types of scents, then check out OV. I find that it's a little too soapy for my tastes, and I get nearly no sillage or longevity - one of the few Creeds with which I do have serious longevity issues. All-in-all there's nothing all that distinctive or interesting going on here to keep me coming back for more. It's a pretty typical clean, sharp, somewhat soapy, barbershop-type scent with a boring drydown. I still like the clearer, more mineralic 1948 Vetiver better from this house, and also like a few other vetiver scents better than either of those.

Initially it smells like the hot lemon towels they serve after dinner at an Indian restaurant close to where I live! A citrusy scent for warm breezy days.

It's too light and really lack of longervity. I recomend guerlain's Vetiver instead.

I tried OV when I bought SMW and OS. The first burst smelt like freshly cut grass,moss,water and the odour of a billy goat. Then it smelt exactly like a barbershop, actually it reminds me of Pinaud,Talcum powder,and Barbicide! One of those old fashioned but immaculate barbershop that you might find around New York City. I don't really know what Vetiver smells like, but I kind of like OV. I sprayed it on my wrist and couldn't stop sniffing it all day. Very fresh/antiseptic/soapy smell!

I dunno, smells great, but 3 x the price of Mugler Cologne which I enjoy more. I don't get it...

A nice pleasent smell, Mostly for the spring, but you can get away with it on cooler summer days as well. DOESN'T LAST LONG AT ALL! It has a perfect bottle, and Adds alot to your collection, but if you're looking for a signiture scent, then I'd advize a grassy scent with more oomph to it.

"Going old school today, eh Sir, with the old soap-beneath-the-armpits-for-deodorant-trick?", to which I replied "You'd think so, only this is a highly regarded recent frag from our dear old friends at Creed!"

OV on my skin is a soapy citrus frag with only a modest hint of vetiver. After the first 15-20 minutes the soapiness starts to recede and the vetiver steps forward, only to reverse course after another 20 minutes. The soapiness is intriguing, and on initial application I didn't think it would last very long. However, it acquitted itself very well, as it deepened and hung on nicely with excellent sillage; truly a well-crafted scent. Overall, however, there is not much vetiver. I do not like it as much as my dear Guerlain Vetiver, but any vetiver fan should search this out to try it, based on its depth and sillage alone.

Wicozani

I'm not a fan of citrusy, green almost overly fresh fragrances and this one is that to a tee. Its similarites to Mugler's Cologne are certainly well documented and while that is certainly true for the first several wearing I still believe that this fragrance is a bit better in its composition and there are certain very subtle nuances that are pleasantly different, but those will exhibit themselves only over several wearings and most people just don't want to wait that long. One great thing is that the stuff lasts a very long time and that is one fault certain more recent Creeds get heavy criticism for. Development is rather narrow, but that in itself is not necessarily bad. If you are die-hard loyal to Creed I suppose you might have to have this, but as a long-time Creed fan, I'll pass.

I like it a lot, but it's too similar to Mugler Cologne, a scent that I already have (and is also 1/3 the price). Sorry...no OV for me.

Smells like a citrus-grassy like fragrance.
I do not disike...However, I'm hesitant to recommend as of yet