CREED Aventus breakdown

To me it is not bad but not worth the hype it has generated and i would not buy it, but hey i like it Creed is making a ton of money off of it and that is great for me because I want it to stay for a long time.

I can't agree with any of the categories in the poll. It IS one of their better new releases but it isn't 'completely in love'. Enamored maybe.

It would be nice if EVERYTHNG were cheaper, but that isn't likely to happen.

I'm obviously not disappointed with it and don't consider it terrible - because I WILL wear it again and again. Actually, Wonderwood was much more of an overhyped letdown that Aventus, but advertising writers do what they do - it's up to us to cut to the chase.

Aventus - for me - began as an average, run of the mill, nothing special frag.
The more I wore it, the more I liked it. The more I wore it, the more people around me commented positively on it. It's smooth & pleasant - and I STILL say, some days smoothly pleasant that doesn't rattle the windows when you put it on is JUST RIGHT.

It'd be nice with the same base stronger for designer prices

= dissapointing

Only thing terrible about it is the packaging.
and the name and concept themselves are good, no where close to great.
But the fragrance itself, is very dissapointing for $280/120ml

I own a 2.5 Oz bottle...it feels fantastic, the leather is wrapped tightly around the flacon. It looks like a bad-ass bottle which would whip any of the girly and bombastic Guerlain/Xerjoff bottles any time....its the GIT bottle for the year 3k.

The fragrance itself is between good and great for me..its an excellent fruity-chypre, certainly the best I have smelled amongst any in the past 15 years. A fruity-chypre for men which they can wear without getting 'metrosexual' looks.

And top points for one of the best pineapple notes on the market.

It's a decent fragrance, well made, though not what I'm personally looking for and ridiculously priced. While Xerjoff flacons are pompously ugly, this Creed label looks like it was designed with a Wingdings horseman and printed out on my deskjet.

It's an adequate designer fragrance. However, it is way overpriced - and the label is fugly.

i thoroughly enjoy the base notes, very masculine but still a little bit fresh. can anyone suggest a citrus fragrance with the sort of basenotes in aventus?

Yes, I recommend Aventus. Welcome to Basenotes!

I am quite pleased with this fragrance.

fair enough - anything at a lower price point? and not a 1oz bottle =)

I'm quite eager to try it, but man the bottle design is so ugly. The square label with a cheap looking illustration just sort of.. on it. It makes no sense.

Welcome to Erwin Creed's generation.

Perhaps we should page Olivia? . . .

just got my 4oz today, yay!

I really enjoy this one regardless of price. Maybe it's over priced, maybe it's not. It just smells good! It just has a certain quality that sets it apart from the regular old millesime line.

Erwin, at some point, will be the head of the house and will have his own style. This is unavoidable. It's very generous of Olivier to let his son stretch his wings, so to speak. In fact, I've read somewhere, that Erwin was also intimately involved in the creation of Windsor and the new Royal Exclusives line. If true, what better way to introduce your son to the world by letting him compose/collaborate with you and then charge almost double the regular line? Olivier must be very proud of his son. Aventus sells out almost as soon as it hits the shelves at Neiman's. I would like to see what Erwin does 5 or 10 years from now.

Robert, your nice post is quite generous.

I - and I stress out that's only me! - believe a lot more in earned merit than in inheriting a name.

Nothing Erwin was involved in so far strikes me as successful in terms of fragrance art, rather than money. (If he was involved in Windsor II, he should be held responsible for the unforgivable North Korea-nization of this wonderful masterpiece in a merely good scent.)

Aventus might sell out, but really seasoned noses such as Dullah's are not impressed.

"Windsor" II, for those who know Windsor intimately, is a sham. (If not, is there ANYBODY willing to exchange a flacon of Windsor for a flacon of "Windsor" II? Even if I add a $200 bonus? ANYBODY?)

Wood and Spice is, once again, a failure. For Creed standards, I repeat myself. (No, it is not a bad fragrance for Bergners. For $550 it is an outrageously bad fragrance.) It is a bit like a Tabarome Millesime which is both more simplistic, more boring, more primitive than the much cheaper (still not cheap) real Tabarome M.

I don't speak out out of some irrational hostility towards the House of Creed. For more than one decade, I have worn different Creeds 80% of the time. I spoke out for years against what I perceived to be the naysayers and such. At some point I simply could not pretend anymore I did not see the judiciousness of many of their points.

I am sure Creed would survive economically without my business and without that of some other disgruntled customers. I nourish no illusions about that.

Something they lost, though, and that is no pure nostalgia, malevolence, or made-up complaints. It is reality. May they live and prosper, but there is something about the soul of their business, if you'll pardon my Romanticism, which they sold out in more than one sense.

Aventus, imo, is the best of any Creed to date...and I have most of them.

Addict, very well reasoned points. Obviously you're passionate and Creed devotee. These may be growing pains we're witnessing. I'm not impressed with Spice and Wood and Sublime Vanille. But so what? Let's wait and see what "the kid" will become?

Robert, thank you for your kind response.

Again, you show more generosity than I am able to afford. If this would all be about a youngster's quest to find himself, with no consequences to others, I would be all in concert with your take on things.

Given that Erwin's [or whichever the leading Creed team is now) "experimentations" amount to compelling long-time customers to basically gamble, extremely expensively, whenever they try to buy, not only some new Creed, but even some old-time classic, I am less inclined to cut this kind of slack.

At least some Creed representative should openly, publicly and emphatically state: as of this year, not only do you, customers, have to accept the natural variations in what regards different crops of different essences, but also to accept that, under names you are familiar with, we are entitled to sell you any reformulation we feel like. Expect no consistency from us, and accept huge variations, no matter how wild, for the sake of our prestigious name.

Perhaps then unhappy customers could at least not contest the brand's level of honesty.

You echo many of my own reservations about Creed.

I am not rabidly anti-Creed, I just think many of their fragrances are a triumph of marketing over content.

I have a great deal of irritation about the hyperbole released about their fragrances, particularly claims of obscure royals wearing them not to mention celebrities alleged to have worn them.

When you consider that there are smaller perfumers like Bella Bellisimo whose products genuinely are far superior to Creed's offerings and at a much lower price point, the Creed spell is cast into a very bad light.

I don't buy into the thrall of Creed at all.

Erwin Creed was beaming when I complimented him on Aventus, especially when I thanked him on behalf of all men everywhere.

i like it but i don't want to buy it for now, maybe i will buy another few samples again next summer to see if i can change my mind

I have a Creed Sampler in my office desk drawer (that obviously leaks a bit) and every time I open the drawer I think, yup, probably pick up a bottle for summer.

My guess is that this could become the new entry point for a new generation younger guys to Creed in the same way as GIT was for some of us 20 years ago.

did actually just purchase today from the creed boutique no less. the salesman luis claimed to have been there when the store opened. he indicated that they had sold out of the flacon and he asked paris for a 500ml bottle to be made.

he also indicated (which im sure is common knowledge here) that 3 new creeds are ready to go. 2 women and 1 man (Original Cologne i think it was called - supposed to be fresh but old school).

as for aventus - it is enjoyable as a recall when i sampled. i do have some issues of longevity even when i put 4 sprays on my chest. its a fresh frag so presumably i could put more but i am somewhat disappointed with that.

may be a topic for another thread, but any tactics for how to make the most of your fragrance as far as promoting longevity (short of changing you skin)?

It's a subject for another thread. Threads actually, since it comes up pretty often and you can find a few of them with searches. It's not a good one to turn this thread into so that a recent creed release theme thread remains at the top of the forum.

Meh.

I thought I had longevity issues with it but apparently I just adapt to the smell and can't detect it after awhile. I've had multiple people comment on it 6-8 hours later. Sticks pretty good to clothes.

Yeah, me too. My first two wears seem to have been the victims of olfactory fatigue and "new molecule syndrome" (where some new note just doesn't really register well). My last wear gave me good whiffs after 13 hours. That was just 4 normal sprays in the morning - my usual routine for most fragrances. I got morning sillage from it. I had plotted to add a late spray on clothing if I had longevity problems, but I never needed it..

new molecule syndrome

I like it - this is why I can't even really talk about some new scents until I've worn them a few times. Hats off to those who can, mind you. I tell ya, having Aventus as an ambient blast from a drawer I onlt open once or twice a day for a few months is a very interesting way to get aquainted - it's a very feelgood scent for me.

Totally agreed. This is the step-up frag for the Fierce generation. A brilliant move on Creed's part.

If Creed is the Apple of men's fragrance, as KMF once put it, Aventus is their iPad.

There are at least 2 different batches of Aventus, each with different characteristics and strengths. You can tell if you've got the good batch by the opening "zingggggg" of the Pineapple note - it's sharp and prominent - "hey everybody, smell this, it's a tart pineapple! I've got more cowbell!". That batch lasts throughout the day. More than 2 sprays of that one and you'd have people complaining.

There's another batch which is tepid in comparison and requires 2-3 times the applications, plus the opening is noticeably attenuated and rounded.


LOL. Is Erwin going to be in a commercial debating his merits with Serge Lutens?

"I'm a Creed" "And I'm a Serge Lutens"

^

Well, if Octavian is right, then Chanel just put out Vista del Chanel! WHICH [as a .NET geek] I TOTALLY LOVE!

Creed used to be the Apple... , but Aventus is more likely their I-PED, at iPad prices.

I finally, for sake of study, have bought 3 different lot numbers of AVENTUS... and I'm appalled that a fragrance which is obviously predominantly synthetic could have so much wild variation. Batch c4210e02 is a very weak version all around, but especially in the base. A4210e01 has a good balance between pineapple, currant (givaudan cassis), and the smokey/lyral/ambergris/moss.....but despite this good balance, the scent is still too plasticy and weak. I finally received a flacon of batch c42b10j01, which was noted here as a very strong batch, and while it does have a much stronger base, the base smells like 20% HIMALAYA and 80% AVENTUS....like they literally just poured some Himalaya into the batch...it's that distinct. And while strong, there is almost none of the fruity cassis/currant note...which always was a synthetic....so there's no excuse for this omission. I've smelled at least 3 other lot numbers as well, and i really haven't smelled a batch that I felt was comPelli g or impressive....and such wild variation....more so than Green Irish Tweed or the other Millesimes....I don't know why exactly, but Creed's lack of quality control can no longer be honestly attributed to variation in natural ingredients.....this is ridiculous.

You're the best, man. Thanks for letting me know it's not all in my mind. It demonstrates you can't buy the stuff unsniffed and expect a good batch. When it's good, it's very good; when it's bad, why bother.

I have C4210E01 which I got at Neiman Marcus as it came out and I believe that this is the one most have been complaining about the longevity, however the more I use it, the more I like the scent. Where did you get the C42B10J01 if you don't mind me asking?

The one I just got (4 oz) and am not happy with is C42B10K03. The one I am happy with (1 oz) is A4210E01 same as DULLAH's. Wish I would have known, I would have sprung for the 4 oz then. I just ordered another one from the boutique, let's see what happens.

Ridiculous and unacceptable.

It is.

They take the fragrance buying public for a bunch of mugs.

If a car manufacturer has a fault, it recalls thousands of vehicles.

If Creed screw up a batch, rather than respect their market they take the money and flip the middle finger.

Ok so in a car manufacturer's case lives are at risk, but to me, if you are making a so-called quality product you have to, as the manufacturer of it, take ownership of your obligation to the people who fork out good money for your product.

Creed, in my opinion are a joke. The sad thing is, the laugh they are having is at the public's expense.

Assuming we are attributing this inconsistency to quality control issues only (which we can't be 100% sure of), this would imply that Creed really does compose/measure/hand-bottle the fragrances at their lab/workshop in France...are you willing to subscribe to this?

Double Zed, it wouldn't prove anything of the kind. Come on. Are you trying to get a silver lining from a bad cloud? Are you trying to establish reality by supposition?

Its a basic formal logic proof my brother and I am playing the devils advocate identifying the weakness in the logic structure here. The basic question is: who controls the quality/bottling of Creed fragrances? If its a big mega corp, I would assume it would be pretty consistent considering that a fragrance such as Curve has been pretty consistent over the years. On the other hand, hand bottled fragrances from small-time houses do vary in their quality/composition over time. Ofcourse the overly cynical would like to hear that not only are there zilch natural ingredients in Creeds, they are also bottled at mega-corps, PLUS they are so far down the totem pole there that they can't even match the consistency of Curve. An ideal scenario to jack off on.

Here's my friend Double Zed: "Got inconsistent product? What a benefit to the consumers!"

From what I understand, Millésime is defined as the best crops from a particular years harvest. In wine making, each years harvest can produce a slightly different grape depending on growing conditions. This can result in very little consistency from one vintage to another. Even though a winery may have a sterling reputation for producing a great wine, a change in these conditions can product an inferior vintage. Is the Millésime name used by Creed as an excuse for the inconsistency of each particular batch? It seems very easy to blame these issues on Mother Nature. It's no different then a great winery blaming the lack of rain for a less than perfect vintage. I accept the simple idea that a fragrance can have variations from one batch to another because of the natural materials used. These cavernous differences seem like something within Creeds abilities to control. If the product seems too different, don't release it.

I'm not sure I will live that long, Robert G.

It makes me think of 3 distinct possibilities:

1. Creed, rather than disposing of alternate/unfinished/first-draft batches of AVENTUS, they figured releasing them and taking the money was prefferrable to them.

2. Creed never chose a "final version" of AVENTUS prior to release....and is relying on customer feedback to make their decision for them.

3. The quality control supervisor at Creed is purposefully sabotaging their new launches, and being handsomely compensated by the comp.

And another extra-unlikely possibility:
-creed is purposefully varying the batches, in an attempt to fool less savvy consumers into believing AVENTUS must be reliant on naturals.

4. They're just plain unaware of the significant variation between batches. "No time to sniff! Chop Chop! Pour the perfume into the flacons and make sure they'll need yellow rubber gloves to open the bottles. I hear the ship horn blowing right now, get them boxed and out the door!".

^ Could be....

Here's my variation on number 4 - where they are aware of the differences and are engaging in a sort of wilful self-deception. My guess is simply that the supply chain on multiple components is dicey, and they're playing games to keep up with unexpectedly high demand. Same thing with Windsor II. The benny-tip crowd was likely getting pushy after a bunch of internet yahoos on a place called Basenotes, including this one guy named DULLAH (), bought up all of this stuff that Creed had no real chance in hell of making again for 3 years. And Creed said "Yes we can!" (especially if one of those customers was in any way related to the current main Love in White lover! )

I dunno. Sounds like supply and demand. And the moral to the story is buy early and buy often, 'cause Creed will oblige the demand, but not necessarily with identical product.

Personally, as an Aventus lover, I think it's a tempest in a teapot. We're just a bunch of nervous nellie noses 'cuz we can actually smell the difference. Most people simply can't. I see bottle variation as a kind of authenticity, myself. I'll take 90% quality with 10% variation over 75% quality that's dependable. With quality being defined by MY nose. And I'm not going to read too much into variations my nose detects now versus a few weeks ago, because my nose changes. DULLAH is doing it right with side-by-side. But I know that I would take any of these batches. JMO.

I can't believe that people are actually excusing this shocking variation in batches.

Guys, this is not a company producing cheap crap, they purport to be a quality fragrance house which seems incapable of getting their own products right - and then charges a ridiculous amount at point of sale for this shoddy workmanship!

Be honest, if this were any other house they'd be shot down in flames on these forums.

But no, because it's Creed, (all bow down at the very whisper of the name) somehow this is excusable.

There are other houses that use natural ingredients but still manage to be able to produce consistent products.

Sorry, I just don't understand why it seems that normally rational fragrance lovers here are prepared to excuse this just because it's Creed.

I checked my 2.5 oz bottle that I am happy with and the LOT reads C4210E01.

I said it before and I say it again: this variations between batches in such a short time is not acceptable and should I ever get a significantly inferior bottle, it's quite possible that I won't ever buy anything from them again - and I'd try to let them know that. Knowing about those differences (and knowing that it's not just an illusion) already makes me feel very wary about future Creed purchases.

I think it is poor quality control, possibly bolstered by the belief that an ignorant public would not notice.

And if these bottles are intended to be like wines with vintages and all, they should boldly display them on the front of the bottle, not convey the idea with cryptic codes that people cannot identify with.

Got any more info on this - like the notes involved and when we're likely to see the mens one?

I do agree with part of what you're saying. The PRODUCT is definitely getting a pass from most of us. If people are sitting on something that has decent longevity, or smells close to what they smelled when they made their purchase decision, they're cool with it. If not, they're POed enough to return.

But I think the BEHAVIOR - whatever on earth the reason actually is, is not getting a pass. Witness all the hysteria, as zz calls it.

Eventually, at the time of Creed's choosing, the explanation will come. It always does. Based on the fact that they went to a lot of trouble to generate the millesime concept earlier, I think it comes down to a practice which is acceptable in hand-crafted items and art. Ship your best effort with what's on hand. Screw reproducibility. And it makes sense to me. The reproducibility of items is a total modernism, and highly undesirable in many things. When I see modern reproducibility in native art, I run.

I would imagine that a lot of smaller niche companies show similar variability, but we never notice it because they're not put under the electron microscope of so many online noses at one time. But Creed is basically attempting to quasi-mass-market quasi-hand-crafted stuff. Everybody wants it, and they want it now, so something's gotta give.

If a change in Creed's behavior would mean no more Windsor I events, or no more Windsors of any batch, I'd say screw it - just keep doing what you're doing. And I'll bet a lot of others feel the same, and that's why Creed gets a pass.

for 280? let's see, all the Amouage scents are about the same, all the Frederic Malle's are cheaper, except Carnal Flower(which is 20 more), 6.8 oz bottle of Sycomore is 210, I don't get 280 for a mediocre, low sillage, run of the mill men's scent.

and don't have quality control issues.

Did you just agree with yourself?

You are agreeing with yourself, musclegod007? Sounds healthy.

LOL

But he's definitely right - these other brands don't seem to have such variability. I would think somebody would have noticed by now - even just a little bit. It does lend credence (no pun intended) to the idea that Creed is relying on thinly sourced stuff, and that these other brands simply don't.

But ya know what? Guess who's being talked about and who isn't? Creed - the troublemaking pop tart celebrity of fragrance manufacture!