When it comes to men’s fragrances, Creed is one brand that’s certainly made a name for itself in recent decades. It often touts its rich history–though this may be exaggerated; overall, the brand is secretive enough that it refers to itself as “the most mysterious fragrance company in the world!” On top of that, with the prices they command, are Creed fragrances a worthwhile purchase?
In today’s installment of Is It Worth It?, we’ll discuss the house of Creed by looking at their philosophy and (alleged) origins, and examine three of their bestsellers (Green Irish Tweed, Aventus, and Royal Oud) to answer this question.
The House of Creed was established in London, England by James Henry Creed in 1760, making the company 260 years old. Originally, it was a tailoring house, but they also made scented gloves and fragrances by commission. At the time, England was a very dirty place and sanitation was non-existent. Bathing was actually quite discouraged, so the aristocracy and royalty of the time who could afford fragrances would buy them to mask the scent of the smells of the day. The scented gloves, for instance, could actually be held over one’s nose, should the need arise!
James Henry Creed established the House of Creed in 1760
King George III loved fragrances, and he commissioned Creed’s first fragrance, “Royal English Leather,” in 1781. In 1854, Creed relocated to Paris, and in 1870, the company received Royal Warrants from monarchies across Europe. In 1970, a sixth-generation member of the master Creed perfumer family, Olivier Creed, made Creed Fragrances available for the public for the very first time. In 1985, Green Irish Tweed was launched and quickly became a crowd favorite. In 2010, after 250 years of perfumery, Creed launched Aventus to great acclaim and it became an instant hit.
Green Irish Tweed has been a favorite of many fragrance lovers since its introduction in 1985.
Creed’s history is not entirely without controversy. It appears that no flacons exist before the 1970s or any publicly available information that supports their claims. This has led some to believe that the bonded history of Creed is an exaggerated marketing ploy. Some also criticized the ostrich plumes found on the label, which bear striking resemblance to a Royal Warrant but is not one in reality. We’re not sure which version of the story is true, there’s not much information to support either versions but what is not in question now is that Creed is a highly regarded perfumer.
Some have criticized Creed because the ostrich plumes in their label resemble the royal warrant.
In the consumer market, many companies will take advantage of the fact that many customers will believe that a higher-priced good is of higher quality as well. That’s one of the main reasons we do this series, to check and see if the price truly matches the value.
Creed boasts of high-quality ingredients and a meticulous hand-mixing process making their scents a superior product.
Creed claims that it’s using the highest quality ingredients in an old abandoned hand-mixed infusion process which leads them to have a superior product. Among fragrance enthusiasts, many are noticing that there are batch variations, and this supports their claim to a handmade product; whereas other perfumers who are using technical processes and chemistry are able to produce identical batches, one after the other.
Creed Royal-Oud
We have three fragrances from Creed, which we considered in this review.
The Green Irish Tweed is a house favorite at the Gentleman’s Gazette.
We usually take a closer look at the components of the products we examine in this series. But for fragrances that would require a chemistry setup and that is well outside the range of what we know how to do here and we’re no Bill Nye the Science Guy, So we’ll look at the overall appeal of the fragrances and how well they wear over time.
Creed Aventus is the best selling fragrance of the brand.
We are all very big fans of Creed fragrances here at Gentleman’s Gazette. They are well-rounded, sophisticated, and distinctive without being overpowering or too extreme. It’s a highly subjective measure but they look feel and wear like a gentlemanly scent. The bottles are elegant and masculine and feel heavy in the hand.
We all like Creed’s Fragrances here at the Gentleman’s Gazette because of their well-rounded, sophisticated, and distinctive scent.
As for how long they wear, the three fragrances we are featuring all have excellent longevity and sillage. A sillage is a degree to which a perfume’s fragrance will linger in the air when worn. This comes from the French word for “wake.” It is often interchanged with the word “projection.” For longevity, we’re talking about how long this fragrance is going to last on the skin.
All of the three fragrances are long-lasting and have skillage.
We notice that the fragrances will last 10 hours or longer which is excellent. They will get you through your day or your night out. This means you need very little of the cologne to smell great all day long. This is something that some of the cheaper perfumes can’t reproduce. The right quality may guarantee longevity, but there are also a handful of techniques to make your scent last longer.
Creed Boutique in New York
In summary, we can’t independently verify the history of the company, the claims they make about the product quality, or the production process. However, they do make excellent fragrances with long life and projection and these are usually the two main reasons that anyone would want to wear fragrance.
Royal-Oud and Green Irish Tweed from House of Creed.
Colognes are an incredibly personal choice, so we say if you love the fragrance then yes, it’s worth it. There are many websites out there that you can visit which will let you buy samples of the fragrance or you can go to a local store, perhaps the Nordstrom or Neiman Marcus, and there, you try the fragrance in person. Keep in mind that the scent might vary from batch to batch but perhaps you might not even care. Unlike other products, we can’t break down the components and look at the quality, we only have our personal experiences to inform us.
There are some stores that offer sampler sets if you’d like to try out the scents first.
Creed is definitely a high-end purchase and although there are many alternatives out there, if you’re the kind of person that likes the real thing, this is a splurge that will last you for years. We urge you to consider the price per wear and how important fragrances are to you. If fragrances are an important part of your life then the cost per wear is probably worth it to you.
Are Creed Fragrances worth the cost per wear? We say yes!
If it’s in your budget, consider buying the 3.3oz. bottles; this will give you a discount per ounce. For example, with Aventus, a 1.7 oz. bottle is $182 per ounce, a 3.3 oz. bottle is $131 per ounce. There is even a huge 17 oz. bottle, which is $62 per ounce, but that also means it’s $1,005 a bottle. If Creed fragrances can’t fit in your budget, all is not lost. There are many alternative fragrances out there which we will cover in another post, so stay tuned!
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