creed

[maxman]

Meh, I did the CREED thing like a lot of guys do. I tried them all in samples here and there, picked the winners then bought what bottles I could afford.

They are a house that you can move in and out of very easily.
Would I pick up another bottle of Original Santal or Himalaya when they run out?

nope.

Aventus or GIT?

yup.

 

[goby]

I agree with this to some extent, but why compare today's Creeds to today's "middle range" designer scents? Even some old Avons are quite good, and some of their aftershave formulations have the longevity of today's EdTs!

Because I've never tried any Avons, and the thought of applying cologne from a glass firetruck doesn't excite me.

I've never liked any cheap colognes except the Bigelows Bay Rum. That's dirt cheap, and I love almost as much as my Creeds. So I'm sure there are other cheap colognes that I like.

 

[buffdaddy]

I think price over quality is subjective depending on the individual when it comes to Creed. If you're someone who collects and enjoys frags and can justify the price then it's totally worth it.

 

[MamaMia1988]

I like Creed fragrances, but my major problem with most of them is the longevity.

I like MI, GIT and VIW, but they don´t last on my skin longer than 4 hours.

SMW and Aventus are the only fragrances that last long on my skin.

Creed has raised the price from year to year..

I don´t know if Aventus is worh the money (170€!!!).

Aventus smells good, but there are (cheaper) alternatives....

I mean you can buy Amouage with that money....

 

[sarimento1]

I like Creed fragrances, but my major problem with most of them is the longevity.

I like MI, GIT and VIW, but they don´t last on my skin longer than 4 hours.

SMW and Aventus are the only fragrances that last long on my skin.

Creed has raised the price from year to year..

I don´t know if Aventus is worh the money (170€!!!).

Aventus smells good, but there are (cheaper) alternatives....

I mean you can buy Amouage with that money....

which Amouage would you consider? They are pretty different character than Creed.

 

[Jerry-built Hustler]

I think I'm going to have to eat my words, saying there are no Creeds I would purchase. I wrote that before smelling Aventus, which I just had a chance to smell today, in-store, for the first time. It's a very hyped fragrance, and is reportedly Creed's current best-seller. I can certainly see why. I really like it. The asking price for it is still enough to make me blanch, and I'm debating if I want to shell out that much. I think the quality of the ingredients is quite evident, though, no matter how technically overpriced it might be. Many fragrances with these types of notes turn synthetic and nasty smelling after a while; this one doesn't. While it does evolves a little, it stays true to its basic scent profile from first whiff to last. To me, that is an indication of high quality. I may get a decant of it from Perfumed Court, so I can live with a bit more and see if I want to buy a bottle. Based on how the back of my hand is smelling today, though, I have to say this is the first Creed in a long time that might actually get me to shell out for it.

 

[SIG9]

^yes Aventus is fantastic. I can't justify a bottle but I have a decant I cherish. It is one of the few fragrances I've tried that lasts for twelve plus hours. The supposed differences between Aventus batches also keeps me from buying (since I'd probably be ordering online).

 

[Jerry-built Hustler]

The supposed differences between Aventus batches also keeps me from buying (since I'd probably be ordering online).

The batch differences concern me as well. I'm not sure that buying in person would be a solution, either. The salesperson in the store where I was today said they have to make their testers last; some of them have been there for a few years. (Their tester of SMN Melograno had the old label.) So, I could compare the batch numbers on the tester and the bottle for sale, but if they were different, there wouldn't be a whole lot I could do about it. Unless there is a place that would be willing to accept a return on used fragrance, it's a risky purchase.

 

[Jerry-built Hustler]

I just noticed Nordstrom sells it online, and they have a no-questions-asked return policy. While this won't help you avoid an unsatisfactory batch, at least you'll be covered if you get one, unlike many sellers.

 

[MamaMia1988]

which Amouage would you consider? They are pretty different character than Creed.

You are absolutely right. Amouage is way different from Creed, but what I actually meant is that you could invest your money in other perfume houses with better qualities and exotic scents.

Amouage fragrances are more complex and more luxurious than Creed fragrances IMO.

To me, Creed fragrances smell good, but generic.

If you are also interested in Amouage, then you should try Epic, Jubilation XXV, Memoir, Interlude and Reflection Man( It smells generic to me, too).

Don´t forget to try female versions, too. They are much better than male versions.

Cheer.

 

[lt114]

The batch differences concern me as well. I'm not sure that buying in person would be a solution, either. The salesperson in the store where I was today said they have to make their testers last; some of them have been there for a few years. (Their tester of SMN Melograno had the old label.) So, I could compare the batch numbers on the tester and the bottle for sale, but if they were different, there wouldn't be a whole lot I could do about it. Unless there is a place that would be willing to accept a return on used fragrance, it's a risky purchase.

The current batches of Aventus are all good batches, from what I've heard. The bad Aventus batches are from 2012 I believe.
There's a 29 page thread on basenotes about this that might be worth checking out.

 

[Jerry-built Hustler]

The current batches of Aventus are all good batches, from what I've heard. The bad Aventus batches are from 2012 I believe.
There's a 29 page thread on basenotes about this that might be worth checking out.

Thanks. I perused a bit of that thread, mostly the last page. Even now, a lot of people are citing differences, however minor. Frankly, I'm reminded of the placebo-fueled, "I'm sure I can hear a difference," uber-geekery I see with a lot of audiophiles regarding the ability to hear differences in high-end audio equipment - in other words, a whole lot of over-think and making mountains out of molehills that may or may not exist in the first place. I think at this point, I'm not going to worry about it. Just to cover my butt, I'll order from a place that will allow for returns, but beyond that, I won't sweat it. I think the bigger deal is just making sure I get a genuine bottle, so I'll buy from a proper retailer, rather than try to go on the cheap.

 

[jwilock]

You are absolutely right. Amouage is way different from Creed, but what I actually meant is that you could invest your money in other perfume houses with better qualities and exotic scents.

Amouage fragrances are more complex and more luxurious than Creed fragrances IMO.

To me, Creed fragrances smell good, but generic.

If you are also interested in Amouage, then you should try Epic, Jubilation XXV, Memoir, Interlude and Reflection Man( It smells generic to me, too).

Don´t forget to try female versions, too. They are much better than male versions.

Cheer.

One man's "generic" is anther man's "simple" - in a good way. One man's "complex and luxurious" is another man's mumbo-jumbo. Not knocking Amouage. I find some of their stuff nice. But I often find some scents known for being "complex" as simply not very appealing. I tend toward simple and straight-forward. There's not a terrible lot of complexity to either Channel Egoiste or DHI, but I love both of them. And for different reasons I love AdP Colonia which is simple and straight forward, and there's a good reason it's been around for decades.

 

[jwilock]

Thanks. I perused a bit of that thread, mostly the last page. Even now, a lot of people are citing differences, however minor. Frankly, I'm reminded of the placebo-fueled, "I'm sure I can hear a difference," uber-geekery I see with a lot of audiophiles regarding the ability to hear differences in high-end audio equipment - in other words, a whole lot of over-think and making mountains out of molehills that may or may not exist in the first place. I think at this point, I'm not going to worry about it. Just to cover my butt, I'll order from a place that will allow for returns, but beyond that, I won't sweat it. I think the bigger deal is just making sure I get a genuine bottle, so I'll buy from a proper retailer, rather than try to go on the cheap.

Yes, yes. Exactly this. Unless they've smelled two different versions and can consistently tell the difference between them it doesn't mean very much. A whole lot like wine. There are indeed some people, a very small number, that can consistently differentiate between different wines, or vintages. For most people there'e just wine they like, and wine they don't like so much, and not much difference between a whole of wines they like. Only blind tastings allow people to know whether they are accurately determining differences or not.

 

[Jerry-built Hustler]

Only blind tastings allow people to know whether they are accurately determining differences or not.

Agreed. Placebo effect is huge in this sort of thing. The audiophile comparison is pretty apt, I think. Ask most audiophiles if they can hear a difference between a CD and an SACD (or a standard resolution file and a high-resolution file), and most will say yes, absolutely. Suggest the difference is in their heads, and they'll scoff at you. And yet, the one scientifically conducted, double-blind study that tested whether people could hear the difference between CDs and SACDs concluded that listeners could not tell the difference between them any more consistently than random guessing. Such a finding suggests that dramatic differences between the formats, which can be heard by humans, simply aren't there, but are perceived by audiophiles primarily because they expect to hear the differences, and convince themselves of it. However, there are pages upon pages of forum posts dedicated to how superior high-resolution audio is, compared to the lowly CD, which now sounds "horrible." Based on that level of chatter, you would think there's something to it.

I believe I see the same pattern in the Aventus reporting in the fragrance forums. It may seem incredible that so many people could swear they smell differences if there are no actual differences (or if such differences are so minor as to be inconsequential), but consider the source: the people who go online and actually write about such things in such minute detail are obsessive by nature (takes one to know one, believe me), and are most prone to convincing themselves of a difference. I would be very interested to see if they would be able to smell a difference in a blind sampling. I suppose there could be differences between lots, but I have a hard time accepting that a fragrance house like Creed could get away with such wide-ranging variations, given the prices they charge. Common sense suggests that is extremely poor quality control, and they would have a hard time sustaining sales at such a high level. I was concerned about the lot variations until I read that Basenotes thread and saw the almost-insane level of obsessive reporting. Once it gets to that point, I really start to see it as an erroneous, self-sustaining belief.

 

[Jbennett]

Got a decant if GIT in the mail today from the decant shop . Just out it on. Smells pretty good. Are the discounters like fragrancenet legit selling 1/2 price. Anybody know how the supply chain works that they can discount that much? Kind of worrisome with all the bogus knock off products out there.

 

[Jerry-built Hustler]

Got a decant if GIT in the mail today from the decant shop . Just out it on. Smells pretty good. Are the discounters like fragrancenet legit selling 1/2 price. Anybody know how the supply chain works that they can discount that much? Kind of worrisome with all the bogus knock off products out there.

A lot of gray market Creed comes from the Middle East. Creed likes to put out the word that product featuring Arabic writing is bogus, but that's not always the case. Some of it could be bogus, but some of it is real, obtained outside of standard US distribution channels. (The product intended for US sale does not have Arabic writing, so you'll know you're dealing with a gray market product if the packaging has some.) I actually bought a bottle of GIT and Royal Water from a high-profile mall store near me that had Middle East connections and sold slightly discounted bottles that were originally intended for Middle East distribution. I have no doubt they are real, as I have compared them side-by-side with decants I obtained from a retailer, and they are identical. Bottom line, though, is that if you are going to go gray market, you have to have your guard up, especially with a product like Creed. It's like the Rolex of fragrances.

As for whether or not Fragrancenet stuff is real, I can't say; maybe someone else can. They're selling Aventus for about 36% off retail right now. They guarantee it's legitimate, but if they're obtaining it outside of standard distribution channels, they might get duped themselves. They only accept returns of unopened merchandise, and they charge a 20% restocking fee. Technically, if they sold you a fake, that would invalidate the sale, and they would be obligated to refund the full purchase price, even if it was opened. (How else would know it's a fake unless you opened it?) However, you'd probably have a fight on your hands to convince them of it. With that in mind, I personally wouldn't go for it unless someone I trusted had already done extensive business with them and could vouch for the quality of their stock.

 

[ShaverX]

I bought a bottle of GIT from fragrancenet. it's 100% legit and I got a 2014 batch. That being said I think they reformulated GIT in either 2013 or 2014, it doesn't seem to have natural ambergris in the drydown anymore. I'd try to get a 2011-2012 batch if I where you..

 

[paintflinger]

I like Creed fragrances, but my major problem with most of them is the longevity.

I like MI, GIT and VIW, but they don´t last on my skin longer than 4 hours.

SMW and Aventus are the only fragrances that last long on my skin.

Creed has raised the price from year to year..

I don´t know if Aventus is worh the money (170€!!!).

Aventus smells good, but there are (cheaper) alternatives....

I mean you can buy Amouage with that money....

Cheaper alternatives to Aventus?


the BeautyEncounter.com link someone recommended is great. The prices there are cheaper than what I saw 2 years ago.

 

[jwilock]

Yesterday's shave was Trumper's Coconut oil soap, with Trumper's Limes Skin Food afterwards, and then a while later a couple of spritzes of Creed Virgin Island Water. Could there be a better summertime combo than that? Assuming you don't mind smelling like a Pina Colada of course.