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Is my nose broken?  First time Creed experien

post #1 of 20
5/30/06 at 1:15pm
Thread Starter 
Ok guys,

So on a whim, I stopped into this "discount perfumery" inside the mall on my way from getting my haircut with my wife and daughter. I FINALLY picked up M7, which I really like... but wish it was "stronger" like Kouros. Anyway, on a whim I asked if they happened to carry any Creed scents. "Of course", was the lady's reply. She promptly took out Silver Mountain Water, Green Irish Tweed, Original Vetover and Tabarome. Here;s what I thought.

1.) SMW - Sickeningly sweet, light, somewhat girlie to me. Reminded me of about 10,000 other scents that burn off me in 15 minutes. $149.99 per bottle for this?!??! I think not.

2.) GIT - YIKES! I knew it was supposed to be a "green scent", but if I wanted to smell like a bag of grass clippings from my weekend yardwork, I can do it for free at home. No way, Jose.

3.) OV - Ah, at last, something that smells pretty good. Though I didn't find much special about it. It didn't seem particularly strong or different to me. My wife thought it was "ok", versus the nose-wrinkling and "Uhhh, no" comments on the other two. For $60, I'd try it. For $150, they can kiss my tookus.

4.) Tabarome - Wow... I've always wanted to smell like a cigar bar's leather seats... NOT. While I do tend to like tobacco or leather scented colognes like Azzaro or Polo and others, this one rubbed me the wrong way. I got the little scent strip about a foot away from my wife before she yelled "No. Don't bring that any closer."

Ok, so, what exactly is supposed to be the allure of these scents? Even IF I had really liked them, I didn't find them stronger than the average Vanderlbilt or Tommy cologne and their scents themselves didn't really seem "different" enough to warrant adding to my cabinet at home. Do I just suffer from Blue-collar nose or what?

For reference, my current favorite scents for me are M7, Angel, Polo, Kouros, B*men, Azzaro Visit, Thierry Mugler Cologne, D&G Pour Homme.

Thanks guys & gals,
Jeff
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post #2 of 20
5/30/06 at 1:58pm
I dunno what to tell you Jeff...

Personally, I think GIT is one of the best things I've ever smelled, much less worn. Its like Cool Water (shock!) but much more pure and refined.

SMW is still on my "to do" list. I have the sample, I just haven't tried it yet.

Same with Tabarome and OV. I have it, but all I've done is sniff the vial.

I guess the main thing to consider is "To each his own". I have smelled and tried things that make me want to scream and grab a cheese grater to get off my body (Kouros?), but to other people, they're in heaven.

I wouldn't stress over it. I don't think your nose is "broken" or "unrefined". You simply didn't like the way they smelled.

At the very least, you should be thankful that you don't ABSOLUTELY LOVE something that's so expensive.
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post #3 of 20
5/30/06 at 2:13pm
That's one of the interesting personalities of Creed, they definitely smell...different.

I'm not really a fan of OV, but perhaps if something stronger is what you're looking for, try Himalaya and BdP.

Creeds seem to have that classic drydown trait, where it really has to ease, fall in the right place and settle before you judge its overall composition. I think that's where the true beauty lies with Creed.
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post #4 of 20
5/30/06 at 2:21pm
Great reviews Jeff, and I have to agree with DrBubba's fine comments.

I can tell from your likes that you're a power scent user. Just my kind of fellow Basenotes member, although I still permit the lighter users among us to procreate.

I'm not Creed's publicity department but I sincerely believe there's a different concept behind the way the house makes and thinks of scents than satisfies your tastes. To speak casually and very imprecisely, I think Creed seeks to create an aura around its wearer rather than make the wearer the emanator or the scent, like a sound speaker blasting, say. This may account for some of the difference.

Other members will wisely say the above is BS, and it might well be. It's only an observation I've made on my own, as a consumer, and smeller of many scents. No inside info on scent concept here, I'm just trying to piece together the way things seem to work in my experience.

It happens I don't much care for the Creed's you tested, with the exception of the Tabarome, and this one took me many sample vial wearings to figure out and come to enjoy. Also it took finding the right weather. Now I go for it and it has supurb duration on me. Obviously GIT and SMW didn't appear to your nose. Nothing wrong with that, they don't appeal to mine either, but as DrBubba points out, they have fans here.

Creed makes a few powerhouse fragrances. They're older and you might hate them as well but they can have some powerful delicious stink. Acier Aluminum, Royal English Leather, and Orange Spice are very nice in my nose and they have force. I don't mention them to belittle your reviews--saying you-haven't-really-tried-Creed--but I mention them because the house isn't entirely represented by the four that have failed you. Maybe all the rest will, but there's still hope in some other bottle. Maybe Bois du Portugal, another of more recent vintage, will appeal to you. It's got force too.

I just plain love a bad review. Keep it up.
--Chris
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post #5 of 20
5/30/06 at 2:56pm
I've gotta get to work so this will be short...

Creed scents ARE different from other fragrances. They do seem overrated at first. Hell, I raised a huge fuss because my MI seemed to disappear so quickly--but lately it seems to last MUCH longer than I had thought.

I could write alot more about how the "Creed experience" differs, but I have to jet.

Since you said you like stuff to be stronger like Kouros, do check out Creed's Orange Spice. I sampled it once and loved it. It's not as easy to find as the major Creeds, but do try to get a sample of it. I can't tell you how the longevity is-I don't remember. It's really good smelling though.
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post #6 of 20
5/30/06 at 3:11pm
Your nose isn't broken! Everone has different tastes.

While I disagree with almost every one of your reviews, I don't begrudge you your tastes.

YOu might want to try Bois de Portugal. Warm, sensual and powerful!

To date, I've still recieved more compliments on Creeds than any other house. When I wear GIT (It's not the freaking Cool Water topnotes, it's the drydown!), there is an email that goes out from some women in my company that says something like "Dave's wearing THAT cologne again!" and I get more IT requests from women in my company (I recently found this out from a friend "on the inside&quot!
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post #7 of 20
5/30/06 at 3:15pm
I would suggest "skin" testing these. I actually really like all of the scents you mentioned....and I disliked both Tab and OV the first time I tried them.
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post #8 of 20
5/30/06 at 3:32pm
First of all let me say that I'm not a huge Creed fan so I'm not biased here. But c'mon dude, you hardly even tried Creed! I think one thing you need to keep in mind when wearing fragrances is that other people percieve them as more strong than you do. Not every fragrance needs to be a juggernaut of a scent. But if you tend towards stronger ones, that's cool. It sounds like you tested a ton of frags that day, which couldn't have helped your nose. Try testing some Creeds one or two at a time on your skin. It's hard to judge a scent from a card. Creeds in general, like other people have said, aren't known for their power or longevity, so mayber this really isn't the house for you. They do have some quality stuff though, so check it out, give it a bit more of a chance. If you're still dissapointed you can come stand by me because I am too.
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post #9 of 20
5/30/06 at 7:40pm
I think you need to have the habit of experiencing fragrances from opening through dry down and analyze them in order to be able to appreciate Creeds, IMHO. I also had similar experience when I first tried many of the Creeds you mentioned. GIT smelled like a weird unidentifiable fuss of staleness on the first spritz. Nonetheless I brought the paper strip home and about the time I got home it changed to something very pleasant, similar to cool water but way more refined. And 'refined' is the word here because that's the appeal of most Creed scents. Others like MI, SMW and OV at first to me smelled like a thousand other designer scents out there so I thought what's the point. But on comparison Creed defies the 'more alcohol/fixative, less ingredients, short initial blast of 'interesting' opening and about as good as nothing dry down ' formula of most designer scents. What I've noticed in most Creeds scents, as well as many niche scents is that they lack the greasiness due to the high alcohol/fixatives percentage found in most designer scents. They are softer, smoother, more refined, more exquisite and purer scents with more interesting twist of notes composition than the normal boring aquatic or green fresh scents out there. Personally I like GIT but won't use it, on the other hand I quite like OV, Himalaya and Erolfa to use on me.
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post #10 of 20
5/30/06 at 7:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SliderJeff

Ok guys,

So on a whim, I stopped into this "discount perfumery" inside the mall on my way from getting my haircut with my wife and daughter. Â*I FINALLY picked up M7, which I really like... but wish it was "stronger" like Kouros. Â*Anyway, on a whim I asked if they happened to carry any Creed scents. Â*"Of course", was the lady's reply. Â*She promptly took out Silver Mountain Water, Green Irish Tweed, Original Vetover and Tabarome. Â*Here;s what I thought.

1.) SMW - Sickeningly sweet, light, somewhat girlie to me. Â*Reminded me of about 10,000 other scents that burn off me in 15 minutes. Â*$149.99 per bottle for this?!??! Â*I think not. Â*

2.) GIT - YIKES! Â*I knew it was supposed to be a "green scent", but if I wanted to smell like a bag of grass clippings from my weekend yardwork, I can do it for free at home. Â*No way, Jose.

3.) OV - Ah, at last, something that smells pretty good. Â*Though I didn't find much special about it. Â*It didn't seem particularly strong or different to me. Â*My wife thought it was "ok", versus the nose-wrinkling and "Uhhh, no" comments on the other two. Â*For $60, I'd try it. Â*For $150, they can kiss my tookus. Â*

4.) Tabarome - Wow... I've always wanted to smell like a cigar bar's leather seats... NOT. Â*While I do tend to like tobacco or leather scented colognes like Azzaro or Polo and others, this one rubbed me the wrong way. Â*I got the little scent strip about a foot away from my wife before she yelled "No. Â*Don't bring that any closer." Â*

Ok, so, what exactly is supposed to be the allure of these scents? Â*Even IF I had really liked them, I didn't find them stronger than the average Vanderlbilt or Tommy cologne and their scents themselves didn't really seem "different" enough to warrant adding to my cabinet at home. Â*Do I just suffer from Blue-collar nose or what?

For reference, my current favorite scents for me are M7, Angel, Polo, Kouros, B*men, Azzaro Visit, Thierry Mugler Cologne, D&G Pour Homme.

Thanks guys & gals,
Jeff

Interestingly, I was a designer frag user when one day I tried samples of these exact Creed fragrances. SWM was like wow! to me...the mix of tea leaves and black currant notes was very unique to me, and the smell lingered around for a long time without being too overpowering...very fresh, very unique, and totally awesome !

I dont like the smell of raw vetiver, but OV smelled awesome...the vetiver has been relagated to a background note, and thats the way I like it...not to mention it lasts forever !

I havent tried Tabarome, but New Tabarome is one of my favorite tobacco scents..extremely well composed.

You should try Boid Du portugal, Royal English Leather, Erolfa and Orange Spice to experience the varied and fantastic Creed fragrance variety.
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post #11 of 20
5/30/06 at 8:20pm
I'm surprised you like TM Cologne & only think that Creed OV is "OK". They have a striking similarity, but OV has more of an "umph" to it.
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post #12 of 20
5/30/06 at 9:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SliderJeff

Ok guys,

So on a whim, I stopped into this "discount perfumery" inside the mall on my way from getting my haircut with my wife and daughter. Â*I FINALLY picked up M7, which I really like... but wish it was "stronger" like Kouros. Â*Anyway, on a whim I asked if they happened to carry any Creed scents. Â*"Of course", was the lady's reply. Â*She promptly took out Silver Mountain Water, Green Irish Tweed, Original Vetover and Tabarome. Â*Here;s what I thought.

1.) SMW - Sickeningly sweet, light, somewhat girlie to me. Â*Reminded me of about 10,000 other scents that burn off me in 15 minutes. Â*$149.99 per bottle for this?!??! Â*I think not. Â*

2.) GIT - YIKES! Â*I knew it was supposed to be a "green scent", but if I wanted to smell like a bag of grass clippings from my weekend yardwork, I can do it for free at home. Â*No way, Jose.

3.) OV - Ah, at last, something that smells pretty good. Â*Though I didn't find much special about it. Â*It didn't seem particularly strong or different to me. Â*My wife thought it was "ok", versus the nose-wrinkling and "Uhhh, no" comments on the other two. Â*For $60, I'd try it. Â*For $150, they can kiss my tookus. Â*

4.) Tabarome - Wow... I've always wanted to smell like a cigar bar's leather seats... NOT. Â*While I do tend to like tobacco or leather scented colognes like Azzaro or Polo and others, this one rubbed me the wrong way. Â*I got the little scent strip about a foot away from my wife before she yelled "No. Â*Don't bring that any closer." Â*

Ok, so, what exactly is supposed to be the allure of these scents? Â*Even IF I had really liked them, I didn't find them stronger than the average Vanderlbilt or Tommy cologne and their scents themselves didn't really seem "different" enough to warrant adding to my cabinet at home. Â*Do I just suffer from Blue-collar nose or what?

For reference, my current favorite scents for me are M7, Angel, Polo, Kouros, B*men, Azzaro Visit, Thierry Mugler Cologne, D&G Pour Homme.

Thanks guys & gals,
Jeff

I agree that you should test these scents again on your skin for a full day to make a proper analysis of them. But I don't believe in forcing yourself to like something just because everybody else does. If you don't like them then you don't like them. I felt the same way about those scents when I first sampled them and you know what? My opinion of them hasn't changed much. I don't find Creed scents that special with the exception of a few (Vintage Tabarome and Original Santal).
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post #13 of 20
5/30/06 at 11:50pm
I also agree that skin testing one or two at a time is the way to go...just spraying a bunch of paper strips probably isn't the best way.

KO
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post #14 of 20
5/31/06 at 1:25am
I'd say try some others if you don't like those four. Maybe somewhere other than "this 'discount perfumery' inside the mall"--maybe their samples are not in the best shape. One nice thing about Creed is that if you've tried four, you've tried . . . four. No reason to think you might not like others from the line. There are many. As a general matter, if something isn't strong enough for your liking, you can apply more generously.

Noticing that you seem to like very "strong" scents and think SMW smells like 10,000 other things, and not trying to be flippant but . . . maybe your nose is broken. I've gone through quite a bit in the last few years to keep my sense of smell functioning properly--dealing with sinus infections, allergies, narrow sinus passages, etc. There is a lot that can go wrong, and if your sense of smell gets dulled it can really sneak up on you, so you think you are still smelling normally but are really at about 20%. A good test would be whether your wife agrees with you about scents you feel have short longevity. If there is an issue, an otolaryngologist can get it sorted.
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post #15 of 20
5/31/06 at 7:54am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all the replies, guys. I agree with nearly everyone's thoughts on the subject.

Yes, it's possible that I dismissed these 4 Creeds too quickly to give them a real test drive... particularly since I didn't spray any on myself. To be honest, a couple of them I found so repulsive that I'm not sure spraying it on me would have helped much.

Thank you for the recommendations on other Creed scents. I was not even aware of these others that you mentioned. The trick will be finding a place that carries these scents here in Houston.

As far as physiological issues with my olfactory senses... I was merely using hyperbole with regards to my nose being broken. Yes, I do have sinus/allergy issues... but I'm pretty sure that didn't monkey with my ability to discern what I liked from what I didn't.

Any idea where I could sniff those other Creed's?

Thanks,
Jeff
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post #16 of 20
5/31/06 at 8:00am
Hey, Jeff. Houston surely has them all somewhere. I'd say Neiman-Marcus as a sure bet, since the one in my city has all of them, but there might be other smaller shops that also have them. Many Creed dealers don't have every scent, however. More likely they'll have only nine or ten. N-M here in DC has every one, however, and testers for each. As a fall back, that's where I'd go.
Best luck, but the sad thing is that these babies cost so much money (better deals online of course) that you may not like the package even if you like the smell.
--Chris
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post #17 of 20
5/31/06 at 8:19am
Thread Starter 
DustB,

Yeah, I'm sure somewhere has them... it's just a question of it being a place I can conveniently get to and if not, is it really worth it to me, you know? Thanks again for the thoughts.

Regs,
Jeff
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post #18 of 20
5/31/06 at 9:18am
I have been trying all sorts of Creed via decants purchased on this site (thanks scentemental!)

Give it a shot; 1/3oz atomizer for $12-$15, depending on which Creed.
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post #19 of 20
5/31/06 at 9:21am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by 4hits

I have been trying all sorts of Creed via decants purchased on this site (thanks scentemental!)

Give it a shot; 1/3oz atomizer for $12-$15, depending on which Creed.


Good call. Maybe I'll take that path. So many things vying for my cash... so very little cash to go around.

Regs,
Jeff
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post #20 of 20
5/31/06 at 11:56am
  • DJB
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LOL @ "blue collar nose" ;D
Funny post....
Everyone has different taste, so to each their own. There are lots more Creeds than the ones you sampled though, so next time you're out I'd recommend trying Royal English Leather, Epicea, and Acier Aluminium. These 3 are very good IMO, with great sillage and longevity, and somewhat less expensive than the other Creeds.
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