creed spice and wood heavenly!!!

How does it compare to Bois de Portugal?

I shall watch this with great interest.

I'm thoroughly dissapointed in myself for having hosted a split blind.
It's a very weak (weaker than windsor) cedar/evergreen type scent, with everything else in short supply....where is the clove????

I mean, by no means is it a bad scent, it's actually surprisingly quite green in a "dark green" pine-needle/juniper bark sort of way, with a ton of bitter cedar, and a little cardamom. out of all the spices, I get a dry cardamom the most, no cinnamic notes at all, and only a modest helping of clove at best. There's really not all that much spice here.

What there is, is alot of wood. I shouldn't say alot, because the scent is so weak, but it's mainly a dry/stern/contemporary wood. It's a very "barky" wood scent, but with no charm or cheer. It's stiffer and more strict than Blenheim Bouquet by a significant margin, only there is no huge lemon note up top, matter of fact lemon and apple are very very light, no where close to being about the same as the Pineapple in Aventus. The bitterness of the scent, when it does have the slight apple note, reminds more of appleseeds than of apples.

As for the other notes besides Spices(not much) and Wood (quite a bit), I do get a dose of the same dry smokey birch and quiet florals from Aventus, perhaps with a little more bitter bulgarian rose this time.

I think lovers of Epicea or Tam Dao will really like this, if they don't mind no sillage and poor longevity. Perhaps even lovers of Prada Infusion d'Homme and Tam Dao will love this. And maybe even lovers of unsweet green/wood scents like Santos, looking for a chic modern parched wood EDC will love this. But I don't.

This is nothing like L'Anarchiste. NOTHING. L'Anarchiste has 100 times the spice, 100 times the apple, and 300 times the sillage of Spice and Wood.

I really shouldn't trash it because it's a very classy, bitter/non-sweet woody EDC/weak-EDT, very elegant in a sort of stand-offish way. But i just can't feel it at all. So not my style.

It doesn't.

Cool....just figured with "Creed - spicy - woods" it might be somewhat along the same vein.

haha... i knew you would hate this, dullah. Though much like Aventus, which you also hated, you are dead-wrong about this amazing-smelling fragrance!

"I think lovers of Epicea will really like this."

NOT!!!!! I hate Epicea! Epicea is an Indian-food, heavy-handed, clumsy dreck. Spice & Wood is the opposite.

"matter of fact lemon and apple are very very light, no where close to being about the same as the Pineapple in Aventus"
-- funny you say that, DULLAH, since you complained mightily about the domineering pineapple note in Aventus, and now you are criticizing the absence of such in S&W.

As I said in my review.... if you want some domineering, painted-on fragrance like Tobacco Vanille or Bois de Portugal, then this isn't for you.

However, if you have the olifactory sophistication to appreciate quality perfumery of the highest order, then you will love Spice and Wood.

I am being too harsh, as lovers of cedarwood soliflores will LOVE this one. As well as lovers of the light scent of fresh-torn pine needles. But my taste is my taste, and this to me, is cold, silent, and stiff. It is indeed very formal and masculine, but rather, an "anorexic masculine". Something like David Hyde Pierce in his most apathetically uncompassionate quiet moment.

I realize the cedar base of Windsor is also "aloof" and "stand-offish", but at least it has some sensuous/sweet/robust Tonka Bean to flank it, and floral notes to soften it and round it out. Not to mention the top and heart of windsor are so unique, inviting, and incredibly OPTIMISTIC, as Kevin said, "it's singing"

Apologies to those who love and will love this scent, but while it is extremely classy, I find it thoroughly unloving, cold in spirit, and incredibly pallid, flaccid, and boring.

Ha - too late. An incisive review. Thank you for the clear-eyed, non-fanboy POV. Commentary much appreciated.

i see many of your points, DULLAH.... but it seems you come to conclusions very fast.

you were brutal on Aventus, which turned out to be a very popular BN favorite.

might you take a bit more time to digest Spice & Wood before you trash it? seems you are quite the extremist. (hate/love)

I would STRONGLY suggest you smell it and form your own opinion before taking anyone else's.

Truthfully, I like Aventus quit a measure more than Spice and wood, despite Spice and Wood being a much more "high quality" smelling scent. Stylistically, Spice and Wood seems far too reserved. It actually will please quite a few fans of 80's style wood scents, looking for a much lighter, more contemporary alternative to a green/wood scent Like Cartier Santos, but don't want ANY of the contemporary sweetness.

And you make a fair point, that I have reached some decisive conclusions very quickly, and more time would no doubt give me a fuller understanding of the scent. I agree. But it's character has already been made very apparent to me, and I don't appreciate it's character at all.

As for the notes, I am sure I'll find others on subsequent wearings. But the dominant notes of this are a bitter cedar, absent any soft/round notes (like Himalaya or Windsor) to accompany it. A dark-greens/dry-bitter-spice accord, similar in emotion to Epicea. And the smokiness/burnt rubber of Aventus. The tiny helpings of rose, apple, and iris simply don't bring the scent any balance. the bitterness dominates.

And of note is that those who dislike the sweet/loud/spicy clove, fear not, there is none of that to be found. This is like ground cloves that have been aged to the point of tasting dusty and muted. CREED's use of the word "Aged", now seems a very apt adjective.

I am human, I have favorites, this is a board where we voice our differences, please learn not to take offense at differing opinions, even when they are presented with prejudice

^ I concur. Anyways its a pity the distributor of Creed in Singapore is not bringing this in, not even samples. Ah well.

I can think some other groups who might LOVE this:

--those who claimed Rocabar's chance at greatness was ruined by the sweetness/vanilla. As the green/wood notes in Rocabar share a similar character, although covered over with sweet resins and vanilla.

--of course those who wish Bvlgari Black had alot less sweetness, as the rubbery/smokey notes in Aventus are here in Spice and Wood, and that accord stays alive quite well on Fabric here in Spice and Wood.

--Perhaps also those seeking a more dry Padparadscha will like this as well.

---lovers of the Comme Des Garcons wood scents, or the woodier CDG incense scents.

It's all for those who seek dry wood with little-to-no sweetness.

DULLAH, in terms of quality of materials and composition, and the overall impression would you say this is basically on par with Blenheim Bouquet?

Qualitatively, it's higher ground than Blenheim Bouquet.
But the rubbery smell definitively keeps it from being utmost quality for me.

I mention Blenheim, due to the attitude/emotion both share, not the scent.
I once called Blenheim "A stern old mustached British man who despises humanity, but still enjoys nature"

As far as the smell itself, all Spice and Wood and Blenheim share is the presence of two vaguely similar Dry-woods/black-pepper accords.

Thank you. Looking forward to more comments on this new Creed.

I want to smell this soon. The suspense is killing me.

One last thing to add to the suspense...even though both these scents are MUCH sweeter than the completely unsweet Spice and Wood.....

Those who love the dryness of Tauer's L'Air du desert marocain, and the smokyness of Divine's L'Homme Sage, as well as their woody character and overall well-blended high quality profile, should DEFINITELY test this.

Something tells me I too will be disappointed by this fragrance, so I am in no hurry to try it. In general it would seem Dullah's tastes are quite to my interest just from past experiences/posts I've read.

Oh and I refuse to believe it could be on par with my HG Windsor. Haha

Well, you are looking to host an Aventus split, if it's the smoke/rubber part of Aventus you like, plus you like Cedar essential oil, and ground black pepper, you should definitely try Spice and Wood.

SOLD!

So let's see. I'm in on one split already. But anybody wants to off their supply, hit me up via PM. I'm your man.

I will be eager to try it.

LOL. Nathan Lane in a bottle?

Lane is that overly happy fat little gay man who talks alot.
No no no.
A rich wasp snob. Anorexic. Humorless. Stale. Mean-spirited.

BTW - thanks for this. i look forward to having Frasier flashbacks everytime I put this on!

I'll keep you in mind. I have my share from a split coming soon. From the sounds of these comments, I too will love it. But, we shall see. I had read Dullah's well spoken (written) disliked for this fragrance on another thread and really thought it was going to be bad. But now after reading a little more, my spirits are up again waiting anxiously for this fragrance.

Is there an episode of Frasier where they both go on a Hunting trip, and David Hyde Pierce's character tries very hard to dress and act more butch?

I have now tried this fragrance and I believe it's elegant and well made. I get the bergamont citrus opening that goes away quiet quickly only to leave the Cedar, apple and spice (Cardamon) to play a little symphony as I get little whiffs of each from time to time. It does not have great sillage, but it can be noticed 3-5ft away. What more do you need? Longevity, it can be a matter of opinion. I can smell it faintly on my arm about 12hrs after application and definetely well on my shirt (one spray) after the same amount of time. This is non-offensive fragrance with great versatility in my books. I could wear it in winter, fall, spring or summer as well as to any occasion. Now, this is my opinion. I know some may disagree with it but for all of those who are trying to decide wheather to try it or not. Please, do not let somebody's opinion sway you from this fragrance. You need to give it a try and make your own opinion. I was hesitant about this frag, but now I am glad I gave it a try.

Heck, I am copying this as my review on this frag.

I bought some of this recently...wore it today...it didn't wow me. I'm going to try it again soon...it definitely smells decent, but I'm not sure if I'm going to love it. For what it's worth, my wife took one whiff and immediately said "I HATE IT!!" even later when I wanted her to smell the drydown, she refused to go near me...

So are you gonna ditch the juice or the wife? I can see why she wouldn't like it. It's OK, but for the $ there are so many better frags out there.

I tried this recently. From my experience, Aventus and Spice & Wood get you to the exact same final destination. The journey to get there is different, but the drydown of both are uncanny to my untrained nose. For this reason, I will pass on the Spice & Wood even though I like it very much.

I tried it and liked it very much. Can see myself buying this soon.

He does come to conclusions fast, but correctly as well. DULLAH's opinion on the merits of a scent may shift very, very slightly over time, and he may discover new, less prominent notes with further investigation, but I find that his (seemingly) quick assessments of the fragrance itself, and its "personality", if you will, hold water from day 1. Whether others may like a scent which is not appealing to him is totally another question. I love my Aventus, but DULLAH's assessment of it has been my guide to the fragrance, and it's been right the whole way, just as his assessment of Windsor was spot-on. Whether I'm a Creed fanboy is questionable, but there is no doubt that I'm a fanboy of DULLAH's nose.


Comparisons to Epicea, as well as your interest, and the comments of others, make me want to give it a sniff for sure.

^^ I too wish I could pick scents apart like DULLAH. He has a much better nose than I probably ever will. I agree with most of the things he says as well.