Creed

I promise that I'm not trying to be a jerk. But there is a rather large thread all about creed that was started just a few days ago. There are people on that thread who echo your thoughts. Personally, to me GIT is a singular creation. It is the epitome of fresh and warm. It is the most beautiful scent I have ever smelled.

A few of them are good, like Silver Mountain Water, and Green Irish Tweed. But the price is a bit too high really. For the same amount of money I could get two bottles of really nice stuff from houses like Hermès and Guerlain and have change left over.

I do have a couple of Creeds myself, but I believe it is best to get them in 30ml, (or as decants etc) and use just occasionally for variety's sake.

"Smells like" is written for some of the Creed fragrances because other houses have tried to copy those excellent creations.

Longevity is not a problem for Creed offerings like Original Vetiver, GIT, Royal English Leather, Royal Delight, Vetiver 48, Spring Flower, and many others. Some others like Silver Mountain Water and Neroli Sauvage might be fleeting.

You cant generalise the entire Creed catalogue by just going through the reviews of Green Irish Tweed, Original Vetiver/Santal, and Silver Mountain Water.

Try to order some samples and then make your decision. There are some real gems in there.

I come from the other direction. I find it difficult to find scents REALLY like that are not Creeds. There are a few, Acqua Di Parma probably being my favourite. I think its a matter of what you want from your fragrance.

There are some I like less and think are good but ultimately nothing special, but there are many, especially older ones which just "hit the spot" for me .The way they are constructed just seems to suit my taste

Well, Creed seems quite good at cultivating an image of exclusivity and class while really being more pedestrian in terms of availability than numerous other/genuinely niche fragrances. Some people are enchanted by Creed story, others find it to be nauseating PR. There are ardent fans and those who've left Creed behind for even more exclusive stuff. And then there are those who like some Creeds and don't like others.

Somehow they do exude a certain attraction to a relative newcomer like myself. And as long as I can get them (even in high-price Germany) on ebay or through other basenoters for the price that a bottle of Acqua di Gio will cost me at a normal store here, I'm willing to try 'em out. For now, Royal English Leather and Bois du Portugal are winners: absolutely brilliant, top quality, whether you personally like them or not (I do), and long lasting, too. Impérial is OK, but I like other fresh frags better. Royal Water is a complete flop in my book. I'm looking forward to Tabarome :-) So, my conclusion for now is that the older scents are better than the newer ones. Good thing is that you can always resell Creeds for a decent price, like an old Mercedes Benz :-).

In the end, as has been frequently stated here, it's all a matter of whether they're worth it to you and that is entirely subjective.

Cheers

You can also try offerings from other niche houses like L'Artisan and Serge Lutens, and then compare those to Creed. In my opinion, I like Creed better than those two niche houses....some of the stuff from L'Artisan et al is just unwearable.

I am currently exploring Frederic Malle's fragrances, and have found them to be expertly composed but its too early for me to pass judgement on Malle.

I look forward to you comments as I have not experienced these yet either.

The first time I ever smelled a Creed (at Perfumes Raffy), I had no idea who they were or anything about their reputation or history. THey were just another design house to me.

It was Green Irish Tweed! I instantly loved it. When Raffy told me the price, I was not shocked and thought it was worth every penny.

I had absolutely no preconcieved notions about Creed and still I was able to precieve quality.

Do I like all Creeds? No! Do I think they are one of the best Houses around? YES! For what they do right. I also love MPG, L'Artisan Parfumeur, Acqua di Biella, and many others.

P.S. Yesterday I just bought a 3.4 oz bottle of Himalaya! Another Creed winner! I do wish they could do something about their longevity!

OK, I am going to mention a creed that is almost never mentioned here (on the men's side). It's Creed Fleurs de Bulgarie. It is one of the most wonderful and wearable rose scents I have ever encountered. I am very particular about my fragrances and this one totally blows me away. Just about every time I wear it I get a compliment. It is one of those fragrances that is like having a conversation as opposed to linear. I spray it on and right away I am overwhelmed by roses! Ripe, fully opened, velvety red roses. Then, the tone of the conversation starts changing and by the time I leave the house, the ambergris accord starts chiming in. for about an hour I am smelling roses and ambergris and they keep up a very romantic dialogue that I find very comforting. After an hour, the ambergris is completely present with the rose fading to just a hint. Finally, the musk enters the scene and with the ambergris makes a very masculine presence that is at once clean and dirty (in a very sexy way). Can you tell I am completely in love with this fragrance? I wouldn't have even tried it except it was given to me as a gift. TRY THIS AT ALL COSTS if you like roses and ambergris. You will thank me later!

Kelley

By the way, it lasts at least 8 hours on my skin!

I agree. Fleurs De Bulgarie even one-ups Malle's excellent Carnal Flower. Its that good. Theres not much discussion of Creeds perfumes for women on this board....maybe because its a male discussion forum.

First of all, I would just like to nicely request to everyone to please never make a negative thread based on opinions that come from spraying scents on a card. To me that is just absurd. It seems to me that the higher percentage of oil in the scent the more it will change on skin, and most Creeds, being millisimes, have EDP levels of oil.

Now let me say that I too was incredibly dissapointed with Creed at first, and while I like Creed now, it is definately not the end all be all of perfume. However, they do have a number of very good scents that are easy to wear and interesting at the same time.

GIT, Acier Aluminium, Epicea, and SMW are my favorite ones out of what I've tried, but I have many more to try. Fleurs de Bulgarie, for instance, is one that I now know I REALLY need to try. There are definately some Creed scents that are not good at all, and some that are just ok, but overall they have more really good scents then nearly any house. It becomes a matter of opinion though when comparing them to the other greats. They are annoyingly expensive, and at this point in my life I can't afford to pay retail, but buying decants helps and so do discount websites like scentiments.'

I think that to give a fair evaluation of a scent you need to take it home and give it a couple of real wearings, and to fairly evaluate a house you need to fairly evaluate a good number of their scents. I suggest you do this, because Creed, while not invincible, does have a lot to offer.

I have to admit, it was Creed that got me into the niche fragrance world. I think there is something very alluring about their marketing, their history, etc. And they are simply the most accessible of the niche fragrances in a couple ways. One is that they are physically accessible - I can think of several places locally to test them. I cannot think of one place locally to test Malle, MPG, Villoresi, L'Artisan, etc. The second way they are accessible is that they are easy to "get" and to wear. They don't challenge me the same way that other "niche" scents do. The downside of that is that they don't wow me the same way either.

Paradoxically, this is also what I still like about Creed - the mix of quality and wearability. They're not as inspiring to me as other, more artisanal niche fragrances, but they are easier to wear on a daily basis in a variety of settings. I know I can reach for new Tabarome or SMW or Acier Aluminium when I need something that will smell good and not cause a stir - so they are something like a safety net to me. There are probably 10 or so Creeds that would make my top 50 list, but none that make the top 10.

The things I do not like about Creed these days are: 1) their marketing, which, while it was the "hook" that grabbed me as a newbie, now seems to me to be shameless name-dropping. So, while it works to bring folks in, I think it eventually loses just as many folks. 2) I also think their prices are high, and 3) they are too accessible in that too many people can too easily buy and wear them. So, yes, I guess I've become a snob in that way...I cannot forgive them for allowing K-Mart to sell SMW. Oh yeah, and 4) I think their bottles and packaging are simply not of a high enough quality for the fragrances and their price-points.

I personally would like to see Creed make a line for us fragrance nuts - something completely new, not relying on the Creed house base, and pushing the envelope a little more. It would be interesting to see what they did if they focused on art and creativity rather than making a marketable, accessible frag. I wonder what the odds of this happening are...

Thats where their recent release "Feuille Verte" comes in ... good luck getting and affording that

Yeah, and even at that price, I haven't read any reviews that say it's radically different from their other offerings. Maybe it is - obviously I haven't smelled it myself - but it seems they went for the super-upscale or status-symbol markets rather than the fragrance junkie market...guess those are more profitable targets! I'd like to see them do something controversial and wild like Piper Nigrum, Miel de Bois, MKK, Route du Vetiver, etc., then I'd think of them in a different light. That would add a new dimension to their current offerings.

There are Creed fragrances I like and others I don't like.Some of them have good longevity, some of them don't last. I find many of them original and refined, while others seem to me not too interesting. So, after all it's a question of personal taste and preference. I concur that the brand sometimes is a bit over-hyped, but they also have some gems in their line, as for example Cyprès-Musc, Selection Verte, Royal Delight, Angelique Encens or Chevrefeuille Original - all of those are exceptional IMO and have really good longevity. But buying Creed just because it says "Creed" on the package would be a waste of money - it's the stuff inside the bottle that counts.

Actually, Creeds are pricey - some of them maybe too pricey. On the other hand, the Private Collection frags are worth their money: a 8.25 oz bottle costs 175 EUR - the same price that you pay for a 3.3 oz Bond No 9.

Finally, I totally second this:

Well said!

On the contrary, I think that Creed are one of the few houses which strike a fine balance between creativity and wearability...Erolfa, Silver Mountain Water, and Imperial were unique and very wearable concoctions of their time.