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Citrus Bigarrade by Creed, 1901

Citrus Bigarrade by Creed, 1901 + add a photo
23 reviews
87% Positive Reviews
Rated #1922 in Fragrances
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Posted
By rogalal
The traditional citrus Eau of the Creed collection, along the lines of Acqua di Parma's Colonia or Eau de Hadrien. It pulls out all the stops, beginning with orange and bergamot in the starring roles, supported by just a pinch of mint and lavender for grit before lemon takes over. Just when I was worried that it might drop into lemon cleaner territory, a nice grassy lemony verbena took over, while a waxy orange blossom came in, hinting at the smell of a candle. This was joined by the expected petitgrain, which was nicely tempered and never got too rough, leaving most of the day with a pleasant waxed wood smell. All in all, a nice, top quality old fashioned citrus eau de cologne. It's well done, but so are others that can be had for quite a bit less money. That being said, this deserves a thumbs up for quality and tradition.
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By Redbeard
I'm finally reviewing this after several retestings. As remarked elsewhere, I meant to replace it with Neroli Sauvage because it was weak (how ironic!) but I soon learned the error of my ways. It's basically just a run-of-the-mill EdC, pretty intermediate on the scale of sharp vs. flowery citrus. The very top notes are a good rendition of the rind of a freshly-squeezed lemon slice. It gets weak fairly soon (though not unusually so for this genre) but manages to stay natural and unambiguously masculine. Even in the end, when it's gotten very weak, it still maintains more of the original zing than you typically find with these. It's perfectly decent stuff, but there's no need to pay Creed prices for a standard Eau de Cologne.
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By bokaba
One of the finest bergamot notes available in perfumery today! The opening is airy and crisp in the style of classic eau de cologne with a minimalistic Creed base of ambergris with a little neroli flower. This is not the smell of romantic groves in 18th Century Spain, but of industrial orange groves in southern California's Orange Empire c. 1900.
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Posted
By sjohnjay
To my surprise, this really lasts on my skin.
Either that, or this is another CREED that varies in potency, batch to batch.
It should also be noted, that: Beyond the beautiful and deliciously accurate citrus notes, lurks one of THE BEST musk bases in perfumery!
Extremely classy and sexy.
Simple, yet SOOO well-done!
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By JDE
A lively example of uber-brief but blindingly realistic-smelling citrus over a vaguely dirty base. I personally prefer "cleaner" smelling citrus, such as traditional Eau de Colognes and Portugals, but this is obviously composed with top-notch materials and is very well made.

At over twice the price of Acqua Di Parma and with less than half the longevity, i'll give it a miss, but Creed completists or citric cologne fans should get a sample, at least.
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By Diamondflame
While I wish this is more of a citrus 'brigade' with more potent hesperidic notes, I really can't fault Creed's rendition. CITRUS BIGARRADE is citrus in high definition, layered over what I took to be sandalwood and ambergris. Smooth, just a touch powdery and rather uplifting. I would have given this a thumbs up if it wasn't for the reality check I got from Monsieur Balmain.
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By Stereotomy
Creed's version of the Aqua di <insert Italian city name> -like scents.

Its citrus is sharper and edgier than Aqua di Genova, and it lacks the rose + woods of Aqua di Parma Colonia.

I'd rate it behind the aforemented two scents. If you're a Creed fanatic, you might like this as your summer Eau de Cologne. Might also repel some bugs, as it contains a lot of citral and stuff.
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Posted
By scentsitivity
Wonderfully tart, juicy citrus opening. The drydown fails to captivate me though: everything after the first blast is anticlimactic. Would love to see a similar opening with a more substantive development.
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By WhosYerBob
We've grown miniature citrus trees over the years for our own pleasure: miniature lime, miniature grapefruit and miniature lemon. When it gets cold, they are small enough to move into the house. So in the winter we usually smell wonderful citrus accords from the fruit that is slowly ripening, or the blossoms when they come on, or from the leaves and wood of the trees.

Citrus Bigarrade is a perfect distillation of the scent from lemon leaves, bark and wood. It has a wonderful citrus tang that's mixed with the earthier, woodier scent of the actual tree - rather than just the fruit itself. Truly a beautiful, delightful and special scent.

My wife was so impressed with Citrus Bigarrade, she asked me to apply a lot more so she could smell the top notes at full strength (!!!) . In all honesty, had it been Bois du Portugal she would have been submitted to a hospital, because I applied enough Citrus Bigarrade to drop a horse. However, even at that strength it never smelled over-powering; all it did was amp up the woodier heart and the lower basenote of ambergris. Like all citrus scents the brilliant top notes died away quite quickly, but a soft citrus note lingered.

The ambergris mellowed out at the 7 hour mark for me, mixed with the woody heart notes and dried down into a soft green scent.

I give it a 9 out of 10 (had the citrus lasted all day, I would have gladly given a 10). Citrus Bigarrade is the nicest, most complex citrus cologne I've ever applied. It has the initial citrus blast that I crave, followed by a beautiful dry down into an intoxicating soft green scent.
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Citrus Bigarrade by Creed, 1901
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Launched Date1901
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