Understanding Creed

In my opinion, you absolutely need to buy some samples (or ask for some for free) in order to really "experience a fragrance." As you try it more than once (each in isolation - one at a time), you will catch notes you didn't notice were there at first, increasing appreciation. Just my opinion from experience.

As for what you should try, I would suggest any of the following, they seem to be the most popular out of the more "modern smelling" Creeds:

1. GIT (as you mentioned)
2. Millisime Imperial
3. Silver Mountain Water

Popular old-fashioned (more mature smelling) Creeds:

1. Bois de Portugal
2. Selection Verte
3. Royal Delight

Not to throw you off, but my personal favs are Neroli Sauvage and Green Valley...

Have fun sampling

In general, I like the olders Creeds better than the newer fragrances:
'Vintage' Tabarome (not Tabarome Millesime)
Royal English Leather
Bois du Portugal
Orange Spice
Acier Aluminum
Original Vetiver (2004, there's always an exception!)

Trying to sample the entire range in one fell swoop is not the way to understand any perfume house. In fact it will probably cause more confusion than it will enlightenment.

I think that there are quite a few noteworthy Creeds: Green Irish Tweed, "Vintage" Tabarome, Royal English Leather, Acier Aluminium, just to name a few or the more noteworthy frags that I am familiar with.

Lightbringer-----don't doubt your misunderstanding of this 'phenomenon'....you're doing great! you're not the only one baffled by it all....

While I won't dismiss the range... all the ones I've tried so far are duds, and when there are perfume houses whose creations I enjoy that I haven't even begun to fully explore yet - and we're talking dozens and dozens of houses - I feel no urge to go delving into Creed.

Give it some more time and you may better appreciate Creed. And if it just turns out that Creed isn't your cup tea, that's fine too. Have fun finding what you like...

interesting enough when i wanted to try the older creeds the SA told me I was too young for those, that they were really made for people over age 40+, she still let me try them but said I would probably be more happy with the Millisime line

I am still going through the line so far I really like SMW, Himalaya, as my two favorites and I do enjoy Acier Aluminum but not sure to buy a bottle yet

I've sampled several Creeds, and they varied quite a bit (BdP, SMW, GIT, Royal Delight, Original Santal, MI, Angelique Encens), but one thing I don't get from them is the kind of dynamism that I seek, which even some super "cheapos" have, like Victory League. Angelique Encens might have it, but I don't like the notes in it.

Lightbringer, I was exactly where you are. And for me, the right Creed was (to use Bluesoul's term) my "gateway drug". I had given the house two major spray-fests at Saks, including several sample vials that left me going "WTF? What's so great about this stuff?" I thought I had found my ticket with Original Santal, but after taking it home, I found it too sharp, and was left thinking I was through with the house.

It all changed one summer day when the SAs left me alone with the Creed bottles while I was paying for something else and they were taking care of the billing. I saw "Bois de Cedrat" sitting there, and mistakenly thought it might be a woody scent (yes, my French is that bad! ) I sprayed it and was suddenly in citrus heaven! Just a beautiful, natural citrus that blew away everything I thought about Creeds. It wasn't one of the ones that everybody said I should like - it was the one that I actually did like.

I bought it on the spot, and almost couldn't put it away for weeks. And I realized that I had to go back and sample Creeds with complete disregard for what other people were telling me. I realized that the "old guy" scents and the "unpopular" ones were where I was likely going to find my scents. This is where the breadth of the line is so helpful. There is actually an enormous variety, and if you stick with it, it is very likely you will eventually find several that you like. I have also found that taking my time with each scent - not rushing to try them all, has allowed me to discover the complexity and beauty of each. Even the ones I didn't like earlier, now make more sense to me, in reference to those scents which I really like a lot.

I think it's important not to overrate Creed, because it creates a wall between many people and the beauty of their scents. It's simply a house with an interesting history, a determination to stick with some older methods, and the shrewd marketing savvy to take full advantage of these things. Perhaps a bit too shrewd for some of us.

Right now, my favorite Creeds are:

Bois de Cedrat - citrus that smells heavenly
Neroli Sauvage - another, slightly stronger citrus scent that gets tons of compliments
Epicea - a pine scent with surprising complexity
Bois du Portugal - if this is "old guy", then give me my wheelchair and a case of the stuff!
Les Floralies (aka Floralie) - a scent so delicate yet persistent that I simply marvel at its existence

Others that I like are Vintage Tabarome, Santal Imperial, and Angelique Encens. As you can see, almost none of the heavily copied, popular ones. So I recommend that you simply take your time, and try a few of the less well-known Creeds. If you're lucky, you may also do a 180 on the house.

Don't listen to Everso when it comes to Creed. I have come to the conclusion that what he hates about Creed is there "faux-aristocratic", tradition-laden persona, and not the scents themselves. By constantly bashing the house he has convinced himself that all of the scents are, in some way, over-priced, boring, copies, etc. etc. If he gave them all a chance with an OPEN mind I think he would come away quite surprised.

Now on to the question, I am assuming that you are rather new to the hobby as a whole so you should probably start at the newer stuff and work your way back. As has already been mentioned you should definitely try Millesime Imperial, Silver Mountain Water, Himalaya, Erolfa and a personal fav of mine Green Valley.

Once you have your feet wet you can go to the older stuff. The oft-heralded Bois du Portugal is a great place to start, as well as Royal English Leather, and a underrated one Baie de Genievre. I 100% agree with L'aventurier though, you really need to get samples (and Creed SAs are generally very generous with samples), to get a full testing, don't test everyone at the same time.

Edit: How could I forget Vintage Tabarome! That one too!

Don't try Silver Mountain Water, it's an insult to fragrance lovers

How could you say this? SMW may be the one that the OP falls in love with.

Oh yes, and I would add the also-lesser known Baie de Genievre, Epicea, and Bois de Santal, and the amazingly fresh Selection Verte and Bois de Cedrat.

btw, please consider joining my CREED SUCKS social group i've created, it'd be great to have more talent in there

I want in!!! Creed does rock!!!!

AGREE ps Green Valley is my favorite.

every scent that i have tried from Creed has been unique, original & enjoyable. that alone gets my vote for being a house worth investing in.

with the exception of Tabarome Millesime, every other scent in the millesime series is worth trying. from the non-Mill series, Two Roads and T_G_L covered some of the best..

How?

Maybe I shall.

Disagree, the blackcurrant note is quite unique in fresh scents. It's the only Creed I find bottle worthy.

Please do try Baie de Genievre and Green Valley as well, while not nearly as "popular" it ahs nothing to do with the scent and more to do with what gets pushed and what doesn't, they both are incredibly good frags. Millesime if I'm not mistaken is Creed's word for EDP, I guess that's another thing for Creed haters to hate.

Its not you, Its Creed.

And that is how a perfume should be judged. Disliking or liking a fragrance because of the marketing used to sell says more about the person doing the judging than it does the perfume or the perfume house.

With so many creeds, at first, due to price, and judging them off 1or2 sprays on a card, I dismissed much of the house. With larger, 5-10 spray samplings, I really began to appreciate the bases, and development of the line.

THere are still only a dozen I think I could wear, and only 4 deemed bottle worthy so far.

But I'd say test one or two frags in a day, and apply heavily, smelling their development throughout the day.
Even the scents you know you would never wear, you will likely have an appreciation for how well done each of it's many developmental stages is executed.

The few I like are not the more popular ones:

Royal English Leather
Royal Scottish Lavender
Chevrefuille (no one ever mentions this one)
Bois de Cedrat
Epicea
Vanisia
Angelique Encens

Of those I thought that only English Leather was bottle worthy and Vanisia decant-worthy. I wouldn't object if I received a bottle of the others, but I wouldn't buy one.

Amen to that!

ohh, how did i miss that! A*men

LOL. i've tried nearly (still haven't tried a few) every Creed fragrance available in NYC...and they're all within the realm of mediocrity......none of them have any boldness, intrigue, or ingenuity. they play it safe...and they are basically renowned because of the hype they create. IT IS NOT I, who has created this hype.....

on top of that....they have a false history, which is unconfirmed by all accounts...

then we'll get to the horrifically boring image and pseudo-aristrocratic concerns....far from being the most relavant in this discussion----but certainly the most humorous.

in a world of such glorious, fascinating fragrances----i have know idea why so many lemmings spend their money on Creeds. But oh well...it's a free world! do as you wish!

Everso, have you tried Royal English Leather, Epicia, Acier Aluminum, Bois du Portufal, etc. etc. ?

I have not tried REL, Acier Aluminium, Erolfa, OR Vintage Tabarome.

it's funny, but those are probably the Creeds that i am MORE interested in....but unfortunately the shops i went to were either out of stock on them...or didn't stock them.

EDIT: actually i HAVE tried Royal English Leather...and i didn't like it, however i would like to try it again, seeing as the first time i tried it...i was a little drunk

I'm not sure if Creed really is so hyped, after all, they don't advertise much. I think their popularity is more word of mouth and grass roots, culty. Perhaps the problem some people have with Creed is their offerings often seem dowdy.
I tend to like a Creed when it's old school. Jasmine Imperatrice Eugenie is my personal favorite. Jasmin, incense and sandalwood, all of the highest quality. I like the extremely soapy Vanisia, the warm Orange Spice and the regal Angelique Encens.
I also happen to find the understated bottles/packaging to possess a nice antique vibe.
Yes, the range is overwhelming, a lot of offerings that are more or less, brown water, but there's gold to be found in all the shale.

Wow if Silver mountain water is the only Creed you find bottle worthy, how bad is the rest of the line

Not a big fan off GIT. Loved Himalaya and MI. Bois du Portugal is nice, but far too spicy for my liking.

LOL! That doesn't help. I actually didn't say Erolfa( even though I think its great), but Epecia, which is one of the more , unique, ones they carry.

Dude, Silver Mountain Water is GREAT. You're welcome to your opinion but everyone I have ever met that has smelled it has loved it.

Any chance of a discussion on a bit higher level than
"your taste is crap....no YOUR taste is crap...."?

no chance Hirch...dont you see? we have a whore in here

Good for you. I think it's nice for women. As a matter of fact I would like it on a women. But GREAT?

Just look on the reviews there are enough people who disagree. I haven't tried any other Creed, but I can't believe this is their best. From what I READ, I think GIT, Vintage Tabarome will be better for me, and I refuse to believe that SMW is better than this ones.

And I'm not afraid of wearing feminie/unisex. I just think SMW would suit a lady better than me.

ahhhh! welcome to the ever condescending geezer, who essentially commits every crime he speaks against...the ultimate hypocrite! welcome sir! welcome!

This is a personal attack.I was addresing the general tone of the discussion.

How about rival parties retreat to their social groups for self-assurances purposes and then go back to discussing personal issues with each other through personal messages?

Thank you everyone.
--Chris

Are there rival groups? I don't think having rival groups is a good idea?
And is there a rule against personal attacks in posts? If not can we have one please, because to my mind that isn't acceptable.
I didn't make one - my post wasn't even directed at everso.

you. me. fight with chains. you bring a cannon. i bring 4 steel slingshots. after i defeat you, i'm gonna write "wishbone sucka" on your left cheek.....

rival groups. it's a part of life. WE ROLL, foo!

I have become somewhat of a Creed purist over the past few years, and my opinion on the matter is that most Creeds are an acquired taste. Except for several of the most popular such as GIT, SMW, MI, and Himalaya, they are somewhat hard to relate to, unless you take the time to study them on your skin, expose yourself to them repeatedly, and become very familiar with them. The reason for this is that they all have certain eccentric qualities, and all have been fashioned in a fastidious style by Creed, which I think can best be described as 'love it' or 'hate it.' That is to say, either you take the time to understand and comprehend their distinctive characters, or you don't. I understand and respect the people who dislike Creed for their own particular reasons, but I also hope that Creed-bashing diminishes over time.

In regard to the original poster's query, I will say that some of my favourite Creeds include:
Vintage Tabarome
Bois du Portugal
Acier Aluminium
Royal English Leather
Epicea
Baie de Genievre

And, from the modern Millesimes:
Green Irish Tweed
Millesime Imperial
Tabarome Millesime

If I made add my favourites on Creed they are Green Irish Tweed,Acier Aluminium,Bois du Portugal and Royal Delight but I must say I do have Everso to thank for turning me on to Knize 10 found I preferred it over Royal English Leather.

First off, I'm very new at fragrances. But I'm not very new at sales. That said, I disagree somewhat. In theory, the marketing for a fragrance (or anything, really) should appeal to the type of person who tends to like that sort of scent. The bottle design, advertising, scent, color, endorsements are all part of it. For instance, I was trying on fragrances last Friday (a huge number, I mean a lot) as part of a sort of "crash course" in fragrance for myself. The salesgirl first pitched D&G The One at me. I smelled it completely blind, thought "yeah, that kinda appeals to me, but not really..." Then I looked up and saw that Matthew McConaughey is the spokesguy or whatever. They've got a big picture of him behind the counter with the name of the fragrance. And then it made more sense to me. Because I like Matt, but I'm not a Matt McConaughey kinda guy. Then, I smelled Acqua di Gio, again completely blind. I thought, damn, that's a good scent. I could wear that out at night and feel like a million bucks. Then I looked at the big picture behind the counter. It was James Franco in one of the famous black and white ads. I'm a much more James Franco type of guy than a Matt McConaughey type of guy. And the AdG ad would have drawn me in much more than the D&G ad.

This, I think, is good advertising/marketing contributing to a good fragrance experience. An example of poor marketing/packaging is the Diesel Fuel for Life bottle. I avoided that like the plague for 6 months because I figured it was some stupid incredibly macho scent that wouldn't please me at all. This was because the marketing consisted solely of pictures of the incredibly stupid "hand grenade" bottle/bag combo.

you are most welcome, sir! glad you dig it!

The fact that various perfume factions consider some Creed sets (the oldies, the edts, the private collection, the modern millesimes) as "the best" shows that Creed has everything for everyone (except, naturally (pun intended), everso). This phenemona can also be observed on many blogs and sites, where some consider Angelique Encens and a couple of others to be the only Creeds worthy of talk, while elsewhere you will find big fans of the EDTs, and elsewhere the Imperials and SMWs rule.

Also this thread is the perfect example of why we had to create a state inside a state.

Well said. I also agree that JIE is an amazing scent. I was at a chronological Creed-sniffing session, and that one was like a peak on a graph - PING - right through the roof. That's probably the most unforgettable from that afternoon.


Yes, you're right about something for (nearly) everybody. In my early days here, I sort of thought it was modern millesime or nothing - I didn't realize that there was so much more. Once I discovered the other scents for myself, suddenly I became aware of other posters who loved them too.

I'm heartened to see that I'm not the only one who likes Epicea!

Just an aside - I really love the interview with Olivier Creed in Sniffapalooza this week. Very warm. I find the Creed family and their historical love for perfume much more fascinating than any celebrity who ever wore Creed, frankly.

Thanks for that link, what an interesting insight

"All CREED fragrances are made in a single location, a workshop in the woods of France, in Fontainebleau, by me, Erwin and a production staff of approximately 30 people who handle bottling by hand. That is all. No factories. No laboratories. No market testing. No testing on animals, of course. The master perfumer decides. I am the master perfumer today, and I decide. " from the SNIFFAPALOOZA interview

i dunno man....that all sounds like a big exaggeration to me! no testing? no lab? so they just assume ALL chemicals mix perfectly and they aren't checked for allergic reactions? or otherwise? i just can't buy that.

Well, I presume from what I've read that he has a home fragrance lab. Heck - I've got one of those, which in my case is a converted kitchenette. I think his is a little bigger, and he can probably afford whatever he wants. In my case, the Mountain Dew and the Spikenard Oil share a fridge, whereas he probably has both higher quality of components and beverages.

Trained perfumers seem to know their chemicals (as real substances sitting in their hands) better than chemists, frankly. Speaking as a chemist. So I have no doubt that the guy can do his basic arrival at a fragrance without legions of guys in lab coats. Although, again, I'm sure that subsequent stuff gets done. Whether formulation of flanker products like deo and whatnot gets done by what would amount to a lab or gets outsourced is an excellent question. But I'm sure that as a long-time professional he's quite aware of component limitations, etc., and doesn't need a lot of people to do testing.

But seriously, if P&G doesn't let marketing focus-group the fragrance design, what's so unbelievable that a perfumer who is actually in charge of the company is going to let that happen? Celine Ellena almost undoubtedly isn't going to let marketroids steer her juice, either. Thank God. And the juice says it, too. No way was Love In Black or Les Floralies the result of some damn focus group. Whatever one wants to say about Creeds, they're certainly not mass-market. Now the marketing per se - that's a different story. Presumably a fair number of marketing types. The difference is, I'm sure Creed tells them what to do and not vice versa.

A 30-person shop on the manufacturing end is totally believable. It's actually rather big for niche, IMO. This stuff ain't exactly Coca-cola. I met somebody who visited there, and it sounds like what he was talking about.

Wrapping up, I would argue that what he says is true - it just sounds a lot more romantic than it is. The reality is a small company cranking out niche juice on some old property. Like a Kentucky whiskey outfit. But he says it a lot nicer than I do. Bond no.9 dropped in France. I can buy it.

Bottom line, good marketing is making the fact that Creed was a small-time but long-time supplier of bespoke fragrances to famous people a long time ago (as I imagine many less well-known niche houses are doing right now) into a big deal now that those people are dead and gone. It's not a lie. It's just marketing. It doesn't bother me. I'm sure that 200-300 years from now, there will be a few survivors from today's niche houses that will be doing the exact same thing. "Obama wore our classic scent Bois du Blah." "Suppliers of cologne and shoes to George Bush The Second!" (Had to get that one in there! )

while i agree with you that perfumers may have the ability to judge chemicals and run small labs without gigantic chemical research departments may be true.........i still think Creed is exaggerating their whole business to look like nobody else----when in fact, they use synthetic stuff in their fragrances as well....they're not totally natural. and for synthetics of any type to be used, they have to be tested...properly tested! It's tough for anyone to really know how they distribute thousands and thousands of bottles of scents per year with the claimed 30 people around....i dunno, it just sounds a bit much.

importantly though....all of these historic claims made by Creed are unverified and potentially untrue. Anyone could claim they are part of a longtime legacy....hell i could claim that my upcoming fragrance project (IEDEI CUIR SINISTRA) originated in the royal regions of Kashmir in 1657 and have continued to this day....and that my fragrance is simply a family recipe developed for a king for that time for the modern market.....it's not hard to make up some 'facts' and present them like the truth. From what i've found, there is no credible source to verify any of these claims....the oldest Creed bottles i've seen for sale are from the 60s and 70s.....nothing before that. Even Turin referred to his claims as "dodgy" in his book....i think they are as well.

Everso, for someone who supposedly hates Creed, you are a bit too much into the company .. you post a lot on the Creed threads, you probably mention the word "Creed" more than actual fans of the house, and heck you even started a couple of Creed groups...granted, they are all in a negative tone, but why not just talk about the stuff you actually like? Believe it or not your persistent negative Creed posts are actually a form of marketing for the house as it makes new members more curious about the house. All this negative energy diverted towards Creed could be replaced by positive, insightful posts on stuff that you actually are interested in (and I dont mean a gazillion " knIZe TENzz RocKKsZZ!#@!@" posts..)

ouch.




















I love cologne.

AMEN! Sad really. Lets get the pink elephant out of the room. You troll every Creed thread and do nothing more than divert any meaningful discussion. It is childish and inappropriate.

I've only tried a few things by Creed, and like fragrances from other houses, some I liked and others I didn't.

Liked
1. Angelique Encens (thank you, beltz)
2. Acier Aluminum (again, thank you, beltz)

Eh
1. Le Chevrefeuille (mostly because it didn't really smell like honeysuckle to me)
2. Original Vetiver (spicy Thai soup! I like foody scents, but. . . this was too foody.)
3. Bois du Santal (for sandalwood, I prefer Tam Dao)

I'm kind of miffed that the one I liked the best is discontinued.
I seem to follow that trend in my preferences for TV shows, too.

Man, I am amazed by how unpopular Tabarome Millesime is on these boards. The opening blast of ginger can be overwhelming, but the drydown is a amazing IMO.

That said, my favorite scent from Creed is Bois du Portugal. However, I think Himalaya is probably one of the more approachable fragrances they make.