Creed is so far ahead of the game that it takes you months to "get" them

No argument here!

I don't know if I would call them far ahead of the game, but they do take a while to fully appreciate.

Just like they "age like fine wine" in the bottle.

Royal Oud is a good incensey fragrance with no tricks. Just an appealing, safe formula with good ingredients. I find the oud to be prominent enough to pick out; it's the same synthetic oud in most of the other mass market oud fragrances. There may be a blend of real oud, but ouds vary so much it would be impossible for me to tell.

Personally haven't found a Creed fragrance I didn't like. Have had all positive experiences.

Real oud is now so rare and expensive it is hard to believe there would be much of it in a mass-produced fragrance. Even if it the company could afford it, it would be hard to find enough of consistent quality to make a consistent product.

Mona di Orio manages to pull this off, but never would this be possible for such a huge mid-market company like Creed. Not like they're really into batch consistency, anyway.

Is this the Easter Egg Hunt theory about the greatness of Creed? LOL.

I discovered Creed in about 1998, tried lots of them, and I still don't "get" it.

i have the opposite impression of Creed. I feel like they are the most "accessible" niche house.

Considering their epic price it might take even years (or forever) for some to "get" them.

THey are so ahear that theyre started to produce fragrances only in the 70s

Creed is the most overrated niche house in the world!

But if you like blind buy fragrances Creed is your house. For just 200$ every time you get different juice. That's just great!
There are 100 better vetiver based fragrances than Original vetiver for much less money.

The part I don't "get" is how no other house draws so much criticism and ire as Creed, at least here on Basenotes. Perhaps it's in response to the sometimes wild-eyed followers that certain Creed fragrances receive? Maybe some find it necessary to hate a particular house/fragrance in order to save all their love for another?

Go through Creed's entire catalog (trying the discontinued ones, too, like Angelique Encens, Vintage Tabarome, Cypres-Musc, Bois de Santal, Aubepine Acacia). At that point one should, at the very least, understand why SOME favor Creed's offerings to others.

Personally - I enjoy how wearable Creed's fragrances are, and how there always seems to be a time or occasion to wear one. Royal-Oud and Original Vetiver are both very wearable, understated, and masterfully blended. In Original Vetiver one can enjoy vetiver without being overwhelmed with its sharp, earthy/rooty natural character.

As far as price is concerned, there's really no sense in saying "Luxury Item X" is overpriced compared to "Luxury Item Y". Creed flacons in 250, 500 and 1000ml sizes allow people to experience Creed fragrances at as little as < $1/ml.

There are wonderful choices on Creed's line.

If I buy GIT and it smells great I want my next bottle of GIT to smell the same. Well that's not the case. And if I pay 200$ for a bottle of perfume I at least except to smell the same as my previous bottle. Is that to much to ask? The other perfume houses manage to do that for less money. See now why all the hate towards Creed?

I completely agree with the entirety of this post. Here's a good experiment for all you critics of niche house batch differences: For those that enjoy mixed cocktails, mix your favorite drink several times using the same "recipe". Does it taste EXACTLY the same every time? No, it doesn't, I know because I've been a bartender for twenty years. If you want everything you buy to smell just the same as the last thing you bought get yourself some designer fragrances and shut the hell up.

I have never found a Creed fragrance I did not like...or a Creed that lasted long enough to make it worth the price.

Fixed that for you.

Im fine with their prices so long it smell good.

I have quite a few Creed fragrances and personally ignore all the fuss surrounding the debate around the house. In my experience what makes Creed interesting is that certain fragrances like Bois Du Portugal that I go back to after having not worn for a while and I am again suprised by just how damn good it is. They seem to excel at fairly simple but very clever compositions with usually high quality ingredients. I am in the camp that prefers the older stuff to a lot of their more recent efforts however.

Creed is so far ahead of the game they've circled around and are effectively behind.

No, I still don't see why all the hate towards Creed. Batch variation isn't a phenomenon exclusive to Creed, nor is it a big issue if you buy from a retailer or business with a return policy and take precautions against fakes. As fragrances age they begin to smell different. As certain raw materials are not available and others are supplemented, they will smell different. As "restrictions" from IFRA have put pressure on the industry to not use allergens, ingredients are omitted and reformulations occur. So perhaps it is too much to ask - I wish the Antaeus, Pour Monsieur and Egoiste on shelves today smelled like the ones sold 30 years ago, just as I wish Millesime Imperial smelled closer to the Millesime Imperial I got 5 years ago.

Sometimes this comes down to adjusting one's expectations, especially when it's a question of citrus-heavy fragrances - where Creed really shines. Citruses have very short longevity - whether it's Creed, Guerlain, Dior, Chanel, Hermes, etc. I have several Creed fragrances that are parfum strength, like Angelique Encens. Its musky vanilla dry-down is on my skin 24 hours after application. Same goes for Bois du Portugal, Aventus, Fleur de The Rose Bulgare, Royal Delight, etc. etc. But no, Bois de Cedrat and Neroli Sauvage are not going to give more than 4 hours, and this is just the way it goes with citruses.

Yes, the coctail smells the same every time if they are made by a person who knows how to make them. Well my Musc Ravageur smells the same every time, same goes for hmmmmm EVERY PERFUME HOUSE EXCEPT CREED!

I think they are the easiest niche fragrances "to get" and are made to be crowd pleasers for the masses. They are a good gateway imo to niche from people coming from only trying designer scents.

I would say Serge Lutens is a good example of a fragrance house that can take months "to get them".

I think comments like that does Creed quite a big disservice, To imply a company that has created the likes of Cypres-Musc, Bois de Santal, Angelique Encens, Green Irish Tweed, Selection Verte , Windsor, Vetiver 48 are entry level is very wide of the mark.



Its very easy to be sensationalist when you've only tried one fragrance from a line. on I honestly don't know what you guys are doing as Aventus is one of the strongest scents out there.

I agree with this 100%!

Actually, there hasn't been much "hate" in this thread; people have been quite civilized and/or good humored in their criticism.

What's irritating is people who can't accept that other people might disagree with them and nobody's necessarily wrong. You don't like Creed? You just haven't spent the time to try and "get" it. You don't think Creed lasts long enough? You just have to change your expectations. You think Creed's whole style is pompous and overblown? There's something wrong with you!

How about just accept that people's tastes are different and stop being so defensive?

Excuse you, but I was responding to the word "hate" that limaaa used, when he asked "see now why all the hate towards Creed?" Your attitude is fairly unpleasant, though.

Feel free to disagree with me while I'm merely stating the obvious and reiterating facts. If you believe a citrus fragrance should last 24 hours on your skin, you should adjust your expectations or you'll be unhappy when it doesn't happen. It's the nature of a citrus fragrance and the way the ingredients behave once applied. That's universal - not exclusive to Creed.

Pompous and overblown? Easy to throw those terms around and, of course, very relative within this industry of luxury goods! LOL - Companies like Clive Christian are clearly much more pompous to the point of being gaudy - but that's the image they sell, as "the most expensive perfume in the world".

You've clearly made up your mind and are entitled to your opinions. I'm not trying to change your position, but don't think it will go unchallenged if everything wrong with fragrance, in your mind, goes back to Creed and the fact you've tried to "get it" since 1998. Maybe you're searching for something that just doesn't exist?

Looks like BN works again, at least 6 Creed threads on page one.

Sorry but I'm with those that feel Creed doesn't work for them... and yes, I'd worn Aventus a couple of time and I've had friends telling me it was weak, only perceptible if they were close enough. Don't know where all the "strong stuff" hype comes from.
And what makes it even interesting, the sample i've been wearing lately has very different drydown compared to the official sample i had some months ago. That was kinda smoky/ashy and the one i have now is quite clean/fruity. What's is supposed to be the good one?

I've split somewhere in the region of 25-30 250ml bottles in the last 8 months. I've tried every 2011 iteration apart from S01 and can't say any of them have had longevity issues at all. I've got 50ml of N01 and its absolutely relentless on me (10+)

I've had longevity issues with everyone of them. Well i have with most fragrances but Creeds are more expensive. Most of them are "fresh" so I don't expect incredible longevity here, but specifically talking about Aventus and all the good things I've read I was underwhelmed: not as strong or as longlasting as i've read (i don't like that kind of smell anyway, i'd chose himalaya or even SMW over it, scentwise).
In my case, i think they're quality scent, very approachable and likable, for "conoisseurs" and for "non aficionados" at the same time. They make a good job as fresh fragrances but, personally, I ask a little more when i venture into those pricetags.
And this is not only for Creeds, this is for Amouages, TFPB and others. I recognise I raise the bar a lot as the price gets higher.

double post...

I did around 3 sprays of Aventus last night before going out at around 7pm, i'm still getting wafts of that musky red apple/leather even now 17 hours later after a morning shower. 2011 batch.

Where in my post did I say that I thought everything wrong with fragrance goes back to Creed? Where did I say I was searching for anything? All I was trying to say is that some Creed fans seem to be hyper-sensitive to criticism of the house and react quite badly ("Excuse you??!"). Thank you for illustrating my point.

I haven't been trying to "get" Creed since 1998. I discovered it then, tried a few of the perfumes--even owned one for a brief time--didn't care for them, and moved on. Once in a while I sniff a couple of them just to see if I feel differently.

And I'd agree with you that Clive Cristian is pompous. Since I haven't smelled his perfumes, I can't say whether they're overblown or if the pompous-ness has any merit.

Here are my two cents in your two dollar expert discussion.

Ahead of the game ? = the "game" of selling the most scents to the most customers

It takes months to "get" it ? = to understand the ingredient - in this case, oud - that Creed puts as a specialty

This morning's difference of opinions about the validity of Creed is sparking a debate. This debate can remain where it is, without my two cents. But, the point I am trying to make, and I hope it will be read as I make it, is

The fragrance market is large. One does not have to chase after any one of the houses/manufacturers/lines/products ...
because there are products which are good - that they simply pop out - and that is by quality. Examples: Al Haramain - Attar Al Kaaba. Here is an oud blend, an Arabic perfume oil, which convinces my nose that it is good. By the scent of it. By the quality of it. By itself, as a product.

I am sniffing and enjoying Al Haramain - Attar Al Kaaba without any advertisement having influenced the sale, just by word of mouth via a virtual discussion group. QUALITY.

This time the manufacturer made the product and the consumer enjoys it - and nothing "got lost in translation".

I think I finally understand what this means! Sorry, everyone.
K

...

There's a lot of hate towards Creed because they are popular, and with more people trying something more people will hate it.

If I wasn't able to find them on severe discount, I wouldn't own any of them either. Their Creed Boutique asking price is just absurd. They're good, but they aren't worth their original price. What I find true about Creed is they are pleasing,but they aren't exactly challenging. People will be able to appreciate them right away. That isn't to say that it doesn't take a few months to truly understand the fragrance, but that is true for any.

It is the concept of "hate" towards any pricey brand that I don't understand.

By comparison:

If you drive a VW, you "hate" a BMW because you cannot afford it ?

If you wear a regular watch that keeps time which is the function, you "hate" a Rolex because you cannot afford it ?

WHAT MAKES PERFUME INTO A SPECIMEN that the House is "hated" when the regular chum with a regular wallet cannot afford it ?

I'm sorry but your reasoning is way off.

I'm pretty sure the big complaint is that people feel creed doesn't perform as it should, given its price point and status.

I would make the BMW comparison as well in this sense. For example, I feel most BMWs are overpriced and don't offer the reliability, style and performance that you can get from other similar luxury car manufacturers; however, certain cars, like the entire M line and maybe a few others (335?) are worthy of praise.

I don't think this is an issue of poor people showing disdain for expensive products, but rather having high expectations when spending their hard-earned money

So the gap, the discrepancy is that the products are overpriced, and should deliver for that price. But, why get emotional and express it with a word like "hate" if that discrepancy is a fact that can be considered in the decision whether to buy, or not.

Cool, calm, and collected.

It seems to me that fragrances have a special place. A very individual place, given that the reaction on the skin of the wearer differs. Cars drive, watches tick. Perfumes are supposed to lend a special aura to the wearer, something in a sense more elusive than cars or watches.

My view is that for that reason of such a "personal adornment" the emotions come more into play and then the word "hate" is chosen.

IMO - creed is not hard to get at all - quite the opposite, super mass market appeal. They are the pop music genre of perfume. Nothing wrong with that, but I wish they would take a creative risk sometimes.

I'm sorry because I used word "hate". I don't hate Creed. My opinion is that Creed is disrespectful towards their customers. I understand that perfumes change over years but not every year like in Creed case. I mean you sample a fragrance, you like it, you order a full bottle and you get different juice. That happened for me and I am disappointed and angry because of that. This is not a 20$ perfume, this is over 200$ perfume so of course people got mad.

lol, I've diluted my Aventus down to 50% because it was so strong. I don't want people to smell me across a large room!

Postumo, remember when a BN member and utube reviewer got sent home from work wearing 3 sprays? Yeah, I guess all the "hype" (stop using this disgusting word) is for nothing!

I have that sample of the Aventus batch youtube reviwer was sent home and it is great, fruity in the begining and gets smoky and amazing later on, really great projection and lasting power. Then I went with the split and got totally different juice

Who's split did you go with? I can only imagine there was a contamination problem as the 2011's are very uniform in my experience.

On the cost issue, I wonder how many of us here actually pay full price through the Creed Boutique / Neiman Marcus etc.

I got my 3 pre-GIT "old school" Creed bottles on the swap and sale boards on BN

Creed is really annoyingly pretentious with all the stuff about Empresses and assorted royalty (as if they were good judges of fragrances), they appeal blatantly to a snob market, and they do tend to play things safe. But they do put out a quality, useful product. Whether or not they are worth the price is up to the buyer.

The changeability is not really a Creed issue, though. Any fragrance is going to change in the bottle with time, just like wine, so a new bottle is quite likely not to smell exactly like the last whiffs of an old one. This is especially true of fragrances with a significant amount of high quality natural materials, which will vary year to year like the grape harvest. Being irate about consistency just encourages more use of synthetics, which are much easier to control. There is a certain sense that the best in art is always ephemeral.

That's definitely understandable. Some people are blowing it a bit out of proportion.

On the other side of the spectrum, though, I can also empathize with the people who shell out a good chunk of change on a fragrance, only to get something that smells different than what they're expecting.

If I bought a new car that was proven to put down 300 horsepower, only to find out mine is only putting out 280, you can be damn sure whoever I bought the car from would be hearing about it. After all, isn't that peace of mind one of the reasons to buy luxury items?

Mods, please move this to the Creed subforum!

With the exception of a couple of people that jump on every Creed thread to say something negative (and I think those people might exist because of what follows), for the most part Basenoters are actually quite fond of this house in general. My main beef is not with Creed itself but with people who have an almost evangelical enthusiasm for Creed and Creed alone. For reasons I don't understand, it is not enough for them to enjoy the scents but there is almost a holy war against anyone who would disagree.

If I jump on a thread and say Miller Harris' L'Air de Rien smells like a goat farm, a fairly polite debate might ensue about what I'm actually smelling. However, if I make even the mildest criticism of a Creed scent, I will pretty much be eviscerated. What weird insecurity is it that makes people behave like that?

And I'm no Creed hater. Windsor is perhaps my favorite fragrance of all time. I own full 250ml flacons of Creed scents and have several more on my to-buy list. I think they make some fantastic stuff. But I don't get the ridiculous over-reacting defensiveness of certain fans (and, it should be noted, this is a tiny but vociferous faction of BNers) when it comes to this house.

I see the other side, too. The people who jump on any Creed thread to bad-mouth it. But I really believe those people are reacting more to the Creed fanatics than Creed itself.

The phrase "Jesus, save me from your followers" sometimes comes to mind with Creed.

I think there are several aspects to the Creed "hate".

1) Their dubious marketing

2) Price

3) The performance / longevity of some of their fragrances relative to the cost

4) The fanboy nature of some of their admirers

5) Compared to other niche frags in that price range, some of the compositions (especially the newer ones) tend to be very simple.

As for me, I enjoy some of their stuff. I dislike a few, but most of them simply elicit a shrug of the shoulders. I've said it on here many times before... Creed is the Apple of fragrances.

Brian (and others),

Hopefully I've not been overly-defensive of Creed and, in doing so, taken on a nasty tone. Kagey, this is for you as well - I'm sorry to have been unfriendly, but you did make me feel as if I was really being overly defensive and nasty.

I feel that as much love as Creed's fragrances, and the house itself receives, a good amount of vitriolic material is generated from the hater crowd who feel that it's wrong a house should be so respected and its fragrances so loved. I accept people have different tastes, but this vitriol goes beyond that. It seems to often reek of an unusually high level of resentment and ignorance, and comes from someone who has not taken the time/effort to go through Creed's work and try to appreciate the beauty that many others see. If that never happens, so be it - but until one does that, it can't in all fairness be considered a fully informed opinion.

In the years I've been on the forums I've seen people banned for being non-stop Creed robots, their reason for being here primarily singing praises and bashing anything that isn't Creed.. and of course attacking any negative opinions/feelings about Creed. At the same time I've seen people banned for going on a hate fest against anything Creed and anybody who expresses interest/love of the house and its fragrances. These people are more into the drama of forums, I suppose, than a study of the contents of the bottle and not just its cover/hype/publicity/marketing.

Then some people just love to jump on the hate bandwagon. What I've wanted to do is challenge people to be even slightly more objective and bring specifics into the conversation to illustrate what they're driving at. You cite L'Air de Rien from Miller Harris. If someone cites a specific Creed (or two, three, more) it might help narrow down what that person isn't enjoying *in particular* from their "Creed fragrance experience". With such a diverse catalog, I just imagine it would actually take some effort to NOT find even a tiny bit of enjoyment for at least *one* of Creed's many fragrances created over the years.

I believe it *is* possible to walk into something with a closed mind or preconceived notions that will ultimately skew an opinion. Some people buy fragrances because there are more positive reviews than negatives, or neutrals or whatever. I'm not saying that's wrong, but that approach doesn't lend itself to broadening one's own development and education within the hobby.

There's a way of going about expressing one's self, no matter what the opinion on a particular matter might be.

I really don't feel like Creed are far ahead of every other house on the market. They have great fragrances and bad ins just like every other house.

KMF,

I don't understand why anybody would allow the "fanboy nature" of Creed admirers destroy, for them, an excellent array of fragrances. Same with the marketing - it is a little bit unfortunate that Creed has stretched truths and perhaps even lied to sell their fragrances. Dubious is a good word for it, and I'm also saddened being someone who enjoys the history of fragrances and seeking out vintages. Brad Pitt is now endorsing Chanel No. 5, but that's not going to change my opinion on No. 5, and I'd be surprised if the fans of No. 5 will feel any differently about their beloved fragrance due to this latest marketing campaign.

As for price, Creed is a lot less expensive than many department store fragrances if one "does it right" - i.e. - seeks out a large flacon and organizes a split, or takes part in a split organized by people on the board. Not always does one feel they get what they pay for with Creed, but that applies to so many other fragrances by all the greats: Guerlain, Chanel, Dior, Hermes, etc. I don't know why Creed is singled out for high prices when many other houses have surpassed them in price for years now and don't sell refills or 1000ml flacons of their fragrances. Many houses also have a much tighter control over their distribution than Creed does (like Chanel) where it then becomes less possible to find fragrances that are a fraction of the retail/MSRP set by Chanel.

Performance/longevity relative to cost - I can see what you're saying here, but noting specifics would help. Bois de Cedrat, for example, is one that lasts a VERY short time on my skin and clothing. Projection wise, many fragrances stay close to the skin - but I've come to appreciate that is due to certain ingredients and that many fragrances are designed to intentionally come off as "quiet". There are things one can do to extend longevity and projection as well, but there's also a lot of truth behind the notion that one ceases to notice their own scent while others around them can smell it quite well.

Which compositions are very simple (overly simplistic?) in your opinion? Again, I don't see myself disagreeing with this statement after the beat-down I gave Sublime Vanille. After I bought a portion of it, I found Sublime Vanille to be one of the most disappointing fragrances any niche house has released in recent years. Sublime Vanille smells cheap to me, even though it's very expensive at the store, as a "Royal Exclusive" in its crystal flacon. It may even contain some very expensive ingredients but I don't smell the quality in that one, and I also feel it's dull and just too simple for an already flooded genre of vanilla scents. The only one thing I can see it being for many people is wearable, as it's a very "safe" choice as far as vanilla fragrances go.

I have been very specific about things I didn't like in a particular Creed, and it got UGLY. My policy now is to only say good things about the ones I like and ignore the rest. It's not worth it.

I've also created threads singing rapturous praises of a specific Creed, and I did not have any problems with trolls jumping on. I took the time to really explain why and not just say something like: If you don't like Creed, it's probably because you're not spending enough time with it. (And Anthony I'm talking about the OP for this thread, not you; I think your point that if you don't like one Creed there are probably many others worth exploring is a very good one.)