Royal Scottish Lavender by Creed, 1856

Notes: Bergamot, Neroli Lavender, Clove Sandalwood, Amber, Vanilla Created in 1975 A splendid lavender it is. All that easy to wear it is not. If I may quote the venerable de Charlus:"Poetic, quaint, fresh, prim, confectional, medicinal, old fashioned, somewhat delightful if somewhat staid." If you want a fresh, spring-time, 'joie de Provence' lavender, de Nicolai's Haute Provence (nomen est omen) will be a good choice. If you want straightforward natural lavender, why not try the pristine lavender water from the good monks on Caldey Island, whose prices, I may add, are also more in the Christian spirit of sharing than Creeds Royal Bill? Like all the early Creeds, RSL is a classically styled fragrance, this one recreating a distinctly Victorian air, which is owed to the noticeable clove. It adds warmth and spiciness, but also makes for that certain stuffy-medicinal feel (not anywhere near the degree of Crowns Park Royal, mind you). This, however, passes after a half an hour or so, as the clove recedes and the classical base note triad comes forth. The amber is first and there's a faint animal/BO note. Finally, a very gentlemanly sandalwood-vanilla combination, interacting quite beautifully with the lavender, smoothens out matters. The fresh opening and the classy drydown are the best parts of this fragrance, while the middle recalls memories, fond or possibly less so, of days long long past. Personally I like it alot.

I have lots of respect for each of the woody/herbal/mossy "older gentleman" scents that creed makes. From BdP, Private Tabarome, BdG, Bois De Santal, Cypres Musc....I truly appreciate them all.

But this is my personal favorite "old man" creed. I have liked it since I first tested it, and put off buying it for a number of reasons, the most practical of which being: Royal Scottish Lavender isn't really all that accessible, contemporary or "mainstream friendly"....but I kept coming back to it so many times when testing, that I HAD TO buy a bottle finally (lot # CH21U05).

It starts with a blast of tart Citrus, and fresh, natural Lavender oil, a Lavender that smells precisely like what my fingers smell like 10 seconds after rubbing the lavender buds between them. Not too bitter or soapy like many Lavenders can be, very natural and endearing in scent.

This tempers, becomes greener and more mellow, accompanied by a light spiciness from clove, and then my favorite part of the scent begins to show.....it is a scent that reminds me of the literal first stick of incense I purchased with money from my own pocket......

...Fred Soll's Red Sandalwood with Special Herbs. This is a natural resin incense that smells incredible...and Creed has managed to capture this in the base of Royal Scottish Lavender!!! It contains Red Sandalwood, Pinon Resin, and doesn't mention what type of "special herbs" it uses, but one of them certainly could be Lavender resin. Anyways...

Red Sandalwood is not the same type of Sandalwood often used in perfumery, it is ontologically different, used more in folk medicine than anything else. Pterocarpus Santalinus (Red Sandalwood) has a drier, spicer, more medicinal smell than the smooth, almost buttery smell of Santalum Algum, or the smooth/dusty/sweet smell of Santalum Spicata.

And in addition to this wonderful woody note and the remnants of what seems to be a Lavender-root infusion or lavender absolute, there also seems to be a very classsic and beautiful mix of both Ambergris and Castoreum here. If you have smelled the castoreum in Cruel Intentions, the same olfactory profile pops up up here. And the Ambergris is alot like many of the older Creeds, and less like the Millesime base.

All in all, this is such a spectacular take on Lavender, and it is many many worlds ahead of the #2 ranked lavender scent, Czech & Speake's Oxford & Cambridge. However since it is a very classic, non-contemporary scent, I will advise everyone to test prior to buying. But if you're like me, in your appreciation for very natural, almost medicinal scents, you will absolutely love this.

Two thumbs way way up.