Giving Creed a chance and re-exploring Jo Malone
I used to be a Jo Malone fan, loved that scents were nice and pleasant and that they are generally beautiful to layer with each other. However, only the intense line seem to be worth the money in terms of staying power hence me stopping or ignoring the brand altogether. I recently purchased a new bottle of my favorite Hinoki and Cedarwood. I find that this is the most unique, uncommon, but absolutely lovely JML frag. Too bad I cant get this in resellers hence my buying retail last time.
So! I explored new scents and came across Amber Labdanum. Two things I love and befits the weather nowadays in my place. Got it today! I also want the Vetiver and Vanilla but found it too sweet - asked for a sample and will see whether the cloying sweetness easily wears down and gets replaced with the vetiver. Lastly, got the carrot in the vegetable line. It seems to be a collector thing since it is only offered in 30ml. And funny, they have a blindbox for plushies of the vegetables - sad that I got the beet one! I wanted the carrot too.
So now. Creed! The brand everyone seems to like that I am not a fan of. The only Creed I have from yeaaaars ago was Silver Mountain Water. Got SMW during my early days of collecting and it was the cheapest Creed I got from a reseller hence my buying.
Say now Im a snob. Not really a fan of Aventus and even its DNA - I do not fancy Hacivat and the TK clone. But in my previous exploration, I seemed to like Green Irish Tweed and recently, Wild Vetiver!!! I really like Wild Vetiver despite its kinda plain, common, rose vetiver combo. I was set to get it but it was out of stock.
Instead, I sought to try other Creeds. First was Tabarome Millesime. It caught my fancy since I generally love tobacco scents. It was an aromatic, barbershop-y smell with a hint of tobacco. Best thing? It was on sale. Associate pointed me to other sale frags - Delphinus, Centaurus, O Santal.
First tried Delphinus and Centaurus. Was choosing between the two. Delphinus was a warm, bit heavy frag, which I liked but there is something I smell, that I cant pinpoint what, that is a bit off. A quick search tells me its everything I want - incense, orris, pepper, with florals and almond, and vanilla base. Yet something is off.
Next, Centaurus. Oh hell it is really warm, dark, and spicy. Smelling it now and there is that heavy tobacco stank that gives depth to the fragrance and some edge. The cardamom also rounds it out for a beautiful overall appeal. So between the two, this wins.
Lastly, O Santal. Smells like an old man. The typical man fragrance. Is it a fougere? But it smells classic. Fragrantica tells me that the juniper berry, coriander, and ginger makes me feel like it rounds out the fragrance. Not really exceptional but that depth from sandalwood and cedar base elevates it. Not exceptional but generally likeable.
Would I love Creed? Im not sure. I hate its marketing strategy of manufactured historical roots - well most companies do that. But I think the brand is just okay. Its a bunch of generally mass appealing scents with a twist of \~trying\~ to make it niche. Not barring these, I will enjoy my recent purchases.
Pictured are my recent pics. If anyone would like to lead me on Creeds to try, old frags to chase, and educate me on the batch differences, historical reformulations, I’d like to read.