Lets talk Creed.

[HoratioCaine]

Is Vintage Tabarome the actual name of the scent? I don't see it listed on either their UK or US websites. Both sites only list a single Tabarome as part of the Millesime collection. I take it that's the newer one.

The UK website lists seven fragrances as part of the Private Collection, including Cuir de Russie, but not Vintage Tabarome. The US website only lists two in the Private Collection: Selection Verte and Fleur de The Rose Bulgare. Evidently the scaling back of the US distribution isn't a rumor. Is it possible the Vintage Tabarome has been discontinued altogether?

 

[DGS]

Has anyone here tried Guerlain's Heritage? I have not, but the reviews I've read say it closely resembles Bois du Portugal.

 

[DGS]

Here is the least expensive on-line price I have found for Creed products. However, as Horatio warns, while this site claims to only sell authentic stuff, who knows?

http://www.perfumenetwork.com/boisdpomepsp25.html

 

[Austin]

Has anyone here tried Guerlain's Heritage? I have not, but the reviews I've read say it closely resembles Bois du Portugal.

I like Heritage better. It is more refined.

 

[professorchaos]

Is Vintage Tabarome the actual name of the scent? I don't see it listed on either their UK or US websites. Both sites only list a single Tabarome as part of the Millesime collection. I take it that's the newer one.

The UK website lists seven fragrances as part of the Private Collection, including Cuir de Russie, but not Vintage Tabarome. The US website only lists two in the Private Collection: Selection Verte and Fleur de The Rose Bulgare. Evidently the scaling back of the US distribution isn't a rumor. Is it possible the Vintage Tabarome has been discontinued altogether?

If you want Vintage Tabarome, you will now have to go to Paris for it. With the exceptions you noted above, such is the case for all members of the Private Collection. Guess those huge Flacons were selling too quickly!

 

[HoratioCaine]

Here is the least expensive on-line price I have found for Creed products. However, as Horatio warns, while this site claims to only sell authentic stuff, who knows?

Any place that sells Creed for less than standard retail is not an authorized retailer, which makes buying from them a case of caveat emptor. Something else to consider: The Perfume Network list the retail price of a 2.5 ounce bottle of Millesime Bois du Portugal as $150, from which they discount to $110. The thing is, the retail price for all 2.5 ounce Millesime bottles is $210, not $150. Compared to $150, $110 is a deal; compared to $210, it's absurd. The price difference alone is enough to make my B.S. meter go into the red; the fact that they are misstating the retail price makes them lose all credibility with me. Also, The Perfume Network are selling some of their Creed items unboxed. That's another tip off that the products could well be fake. They claim the unboxed items are testers, but they're only charging $4 less for the unboxed testers than they are for bottles that are supposed to be NIB. The whole thing doesn't add up.

 

[DGS]

Any place that sells Creed for less than standard retail is not an authorized retailer, which makes buying from them a case of caveat emptor. Something else to consider: The Perfume Network list the retail price of a 2.5 ounce bottle of Millesime Bois du Portugal as $150, from which they discount to $110. The thing is, the retail price for all 2.5 ounce Millesime bottles is $210, not $150. Compared to $150, $110 is a deal; compared to $210, it's absurd. The price difference alone is enough to make my B.S. meter go into the red; the fact that they are misstating the retail price makes them lose all credibility with me. Also, The Perfume Network are selling some of their Creed items unboxed. That's another tip off that the products could well be fake. They claim the unboxed items are testers, but they're only charging $4 less for the unboxed testers than they are for bottles that are supposed to be NIB. The whole thing doesn't add up.

All true. In fact, after I posted that, I looked up reviews of the site and found nothing but horror stories. OTOH, scentiments.com gets decent reviews and has BdP listed for $114 (and lists the correct retail of $210). Yet, such deep discounts may smell fishy (as indeed may the product in the bottle). http://www.scentiments.com/Product/ProductInfo.aspx?id=40446

 

[HoratioCaine]

If you want Vintage Tabarome, you will now have to go to Paris for it. With the exceptions you noted above, such is the case for all members of the Private Collection. Guess those huge Flacons were selling too quickly!

There's something I'm not clear on. It seems the U.S. website has modified its listing to reflect the only two Private Collection scents that are to remain available outside of Paris. Evidently, the U.K. site has not, but if that is the case, shouldn't Vintage Tabarome still be listed? Why would they list all the Private Collection scents except that one? I guess it's a moot point. I've never smelled it, and with this turn of events, it looks like I won't until such time as I make it to Paris. Bummer...here my curiosity in the older Creed scents was just getting piqued.

 

[koso]

Stay away from the (new) Tabarome. It smells like cat pee.

In which case, Pinaud Lilac Vegetal is an acceptable substitute, non?


Zing!

 

[HoratioCaine]

In which case, Pinaud Lilac Vegetal is an acceptable substitute, non? Zing!

Hey, if I gotta smell like cat pee, I'd rather pay $10 for the privilege, instead of a few hundred.

 

[The Knize]

<Ok I hear lots about creed but have never tried it. Is it really worth the price? What would be a good one to start with. Is there a way to get samples before one buys?>
<I am tired of mainstream cologne and want something different. My paypal account is finally fixed and i have around 400.00 left to spend on fun stuff.>

No, it is not worth the price. Not if you are paying full retail at $210 for 2.5 oz. Is your question really, "is this absolutely, unquestionably the best edt out there? Given that they are charging so much and given their reputation it must be." The answer is again, "no." Instead of samples, which you shoud be able to get some of from places that sell Creed, I would get decants. badgerdecants.com, as previously mentioned, is one heck of a lot cheaper than pefumedcourt.com and completely reliable as to having the authentic goods, delivering, etc. (Not so reliable at returning e-mails and the like, unfortunately, but Chuck is a great guy.) He five different Creeds available right now, each one of the five I would say is worth a try. I would actual say that each one of the five with worth buying a decent decant of, except I could not be sure how you would like the Virgin Island Water.

You will definitely want to try the GIT, perhaps the best known Creed, a popular choice, and as said previously, one that gets the most attention, and the Bois du Portugal, which is a favorite Creed of many of the people whose opinion I respect.

Do not get me wrong. I really like the Creed scents. I find most of them very clean smelling and interesting, but I also find most of them to have little tenacity (BduP is an exception), generally not all that complex, and just not overall absolute classics of their respective types. Not that it is not lots of fun to have a whole bunch of decants of them.

If I had $400 to blow on scents, I would be looking at getting myself a whole bunch of decants of various things, and if I really end up liking particular ones, buying a full ounce or so each of what I really liked. What I like for edts changes frequently over time, and even 2.5 ounces of something is probably a life-time supply. An ounce or even a half ounce is quite a good supply of a particular edt, at least for me.

If I had 400 bucks to spend and was really seeking the high end, in addition to the Creed, I would get a bunch of decants of Penhaligon, Czech and Speake, Acqua di Parma, Parfums de Nicola&#239;, Tom Ford, and maybe Floris, Guerlain, and Castle Forbes. I think any of those will take you well above mainstream colognes, maybe more so than the Creed, which while pleasent and interesting, seems to come with a boatload of hype!

 

[HoratioCaine]

I could not be sure how you would like the Virgin Island Water.

I had the Virgin Island Water and found I grew tired of its sweetness. My g/f at the time loved it for herself, so I gave it to her. I haven't missed it.

Good point about the other brands, as well as what you can do with $400. For only ten dollars more than the price of a single 2.5 ounce bottle of the Creed Millesime line, I could get 3.3 ounce bottles of both my favorite Santa Maria Novella and Penhaligon's scents. And considering I'd have 2 2/3 as much fragrance (by volume), which I liked at least twice as much as any Creed scent I have, the way I see it, the purchase would give me over five times as much satisfaction than going with Creed. How's that for new math?

 

[john parker]

Has anyone here tried Guerlain's Heritage? I have not, but the reviews I've read say it closely resembles Bois du Portugal.

I think it is close though not exactly. As a side note, some say that Guerlain's Heritage was a take-off on Zino Davidoff, which is very nice and a whole lot less expensive than either of the others.

 

[The Nid Hog]

There's something I'm not clear on. It seems the U.S. website has modified its listing to reflect the only two Private Collection scents that are to remain available outside of Paris. Evidently, the U.K. site has not, but if that is the case, shouldn't Vintage Tabarome still be listed? Why would they list all the Private Collection scents except that one? I guess it's a moot point. I've never smelled it, and with this turn of events, it looks like I won't until such time as I make it to Paris. Bummer...here my curiosity in the older Creed scents was just getting piqued.

According to the Creed rep that I talked to earlier this year, the Vintage Tabarome was being retired--he said that it would be "in the vault" in Paris. So, while you can no longer buy it in American retail outlets--or any other store, for that matter--you could have them whip up a batch for you in Paris. At some point, they might put it into production again.

 

[Obsessed]

Saks in Raleigh at the Triangle Town Center has a huge selection of Creed. If you go in, the Creed rep will walk you through everything. She filled up a bunch of generous samples for me the last time I was there.

So I guess it's a safe bet they have it at Saks in NYC? I may have to trek up there and see if I can get some samples. (Maybe the Penhaligon's counter will be generous, as well.)

 

[isaacc7]

Hm. 'Wet, dirty orange' immediately made me think "Terre d'Hermes", which can be had at Nordstroms for half the price of a Creed, or online for far less than retail.

I really like the Hermes scent, but it lasted all of 20 seconds on me...

 

[isaacc7]

If you want something nicer than mainstream fragrance, Creed is certainly not the only place to look.

Agreed! My favorite perfumer is Dawn Hurwitz of DSH


http://www.dshperfumes.com/

She has some amazing scents, my next purchase from her will be "Seven." I have bottles of Gingembre and an older scent called Majdoun I think. I loved her lavender scents and I'm itching to try her Fire Opel, For the Groom, and Menthe Modern. I'm also intrigued by her shaving products that she has under her essential oil page. BTW, she sells a lot more than essential oils there... Anyway, I've mostly been cured of looking a the big perfume houses since I've gotten used to her stuff.

 

[The Knize]

So I guess it's a safe bet they have it at Saks in NYC? I may have to trek up there and see if I can get some samples. (Maybe the Penhaligon's counter will be generous, as well.)

I got exactly one sample vial out of the Creed counter person at the Neiman Marcus in San Francisco. She said she only had samples of that one "flavor." Maybe Saks will do you better.

On the other hand, Pen's sent me a bunch of samples for free whereas others on this forum have had trouble getting anything out of Pen's and being told samples are limited to two per person.

I can't imagine what I would do with a full bottle of Virgin Island Water. Creed gets props from me for being creative, maybe even for having a sense of humor, in coming out with VIW. But it just is not going to be my every day edt.
Although I do not find myself wanting much more than an ounce of any edt. Maybe of BB or Douro.

 

[HoratioCaine]

According to the Creed rep that I talked to earlier this year, the Vintage Tabarome was being retired--he said that it would be "in the vault" in Paris. So, while you can no longer buy it in American retail outlets--or any other store, for that matter--you could have them whip up a batch for you in Paris. At some point, they might put it into production again.

Thanks, Nid. That was the answer I was looking for. Too bad, though. Based on what other people have to say about it, that's one I would have liked to have smelled.

 

[Kouros]

If you want Vintage Tabarome, you will now have to go to Paris for it. With the exceptions you noted above, such is the case for all members of the Private Collection. Guess those huge Flacons were selling too quickly!

The ebay seller Perfumewiz still has several Vintage Tabarome flacons for sale. They are all authentic as I have purchased from them many times before.